Today, we checked out of our hotel (the Novotel) in Avignon in western Provence to drive to our next destination, Aix-en-Provence, located in eastern Provence. But of course, we have a few stops to make along the way. Our first stop is Arles, a larger town, not on a hill, that is known for being the home of Vincent Van Gogh for part of his life. It is a very old, walled city, founded by the Romans, and also has many impressive Roman ruins. We follow the GPS advice to Arles, which takes us right into the city center, where a large open air market is taking place. Parking is difficult (heck, driving is difficult!), but we find a parking garage, conveniently located, that offers many spaces. We parked the car to begin exploring.
We make a brief stop at the tourist information center a block from the garage to obtain a map and then walked into the center and found ourselves at the Place de la Republique. This is the home of Arles Hotel de Ville and an old church. We briefly step into both to check them out. Here is a photo of the church:
There was a smaller, more gourmet, food fair happening in the Place, so we stopped to buy a few cookies. Our Fodor's travel guide has laid out the main sites to see in Arles, so we followed that advice. Our first stop was to see the courtyard of the hospital where Vincent Van Gogh stayed after he had cut off part of his ear. But first we were waylaid by a really nice lavender shop. The attendant was very knowledgable and nice, and she was able to offer a great gift idea for my sister: lavender body wash and body lotion, combined with a sachet in a nice gift bag. I bought it; I think my sister will really like it. We learned about the different kinds of lavender and there is one type that only grows in Provence that is used in the high end cosmetics and perfumes. The other kind (like the stuff we have planted at home) is also nice, but does not produce as good of a lavender oil, apparently. Anyway, then we were off the the hospital, called the Hotel Dieu. Here is a photo of the courtyard, which has been maintained to look as it did while Van Gogh was a patient. It is very pretty.
Here is the image of the painting Van Gogh produced of this courtyard:
Now, we will begin to tour the Roman ruins. Initially, we stopped at the Roman Theater, but the attendant did her best to communicate to leave here and go the the Roman Arena. She explained that the Arena was closing at 12:30pm today for a local fair, the Feria de Riz, which seems to have some type of Spanish and/or horse theme from the posters. The Arena is apparently still quite able to be used. Here is a photo:
Then we backtracked to the Theater. It was not discovered until about the 1830's since it had been quarried (aka looted) and ended up being built over. Here is a photo:
Our final ruins was the remains of an old Roman bath, which was next to the Rhone River. We admired both.
Before continuing on the Aix, we planned one more stop, a visit to the hill town of Les Baux. Les Baux is where they started mining aluminum ore, which is also known as bauxite, named after Les Baux. It is an area that is very rocky (where they find the bauxite, I would guess), and an old chateaux was built on top of one of these rocky hills. The village of Les Baux is known as one of France's most beautiful villages, and we would say, we have to agree -- it is super charming and immaculately maintained, but not that large, either. You can stroll from one end to another in just a few minutes, but of course, there are many shops, galleries, and food establishments to slow you down. We were slowed down by an art gallery. As we walk by, I recognize the signature of an artist, Jean-Francois Brahin, from a painting we had purchased at the Sausalito Arts Festival a few years back. The artist was visiting from France. Well, as it turns out, this is his gallery in France! He does not live too near here (about 40 kilometers according to the gallery attendant), but this where he displays his art. We admire the paintings in the the gallery and have a nice discussion with the attendant. We were very happy to have spotted this in this town!
We continued to enter the grounds of the chateau, which were nice, but not fascinating to be perfectly honest. But there were gorgeous views from here. Here are three photos: the first shows the rocky terrain of this area, the second is the ruins of the chateau and the third is the view:
We had thought that we might have had time for one more town today, San Remy, but we were running out of energy and decided the best course would be to go to Aix at this point, so that is what we did. San Remy, according to the guidebook, has great shopping, dining, etc., etc., and is referred to as the Hamptons of Provence. I'm sure it's all that, but we really prefer more of Provence's country charm and beauty. Maybe we're missing out ... but we'll never know!
The drive to Aix is uneventful, the drive in Aix is a nightmare! Friday afternoon rush hour on steroids! Our first problem was that our hotel's address is not recognized by the GPS, but we try to kluge it by putting in the street and a number that seemed close. The GPS takes into the town center, but then tells us to turn into what seems like a bus terminal. This didn't seem right, so we didn't follow her advice. That's when the trouble begins: with no destination, now we are driving in random in the town center without a clue. Fortunately, you can't make many wrong or random turns when the cars absolutely do not move!! At all!! So we are completely stuck and lost -- finding a place to pull over and try to come with a plan was out of the question. Finally, we got the idea to call the hotel. Rob spoke to an employee who had a GPS input suggestion for us, we we tried that. That got us close to the hotel, and suddenly we were able to see a sign for the Renaissance Hotel, and we found it. Oh my, thank goodness that was over!
We checked in, had a glass of wine in the hotel lobby and then proceeded to dinner. Our clerk at check-in suggested a restaurant called Bistroquet, so that was where we went. The restaurant was located in a tiny square, called Place Ramus, and it was wonderful. We each had a large salad with Italian cheese and then sea bass with ratatouille and risotto that was out of this world. Our white wine was local, from Cassis:
I was happy that I am able to make most of our transaction in French with our waitress. When it was time to pay, I took the bill into the restaurant. I realized that I wasn't supposed to do this, but I told the waitress, "Plus facile pour vous" (This is easier for you), which surprised her, but she answered, "Oui!"
There are throngs of people, mostly young people on the streets (it is Friday night), but we resist the urge to join in and return to the hotel.
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