Hiking and other adventures.......

We traveled to Carpentras so we could gain access to hiking trails in Mount Ventoux and the Dentelles.  As it turns out, there is a system of buses to small towns called TAD, ansportation on Demand, that we could use to travel to small towns where transportation after the summer tourist season is not usual.  The TADs are small private vans driven often by women, in our experience.  The cost is the same as the bus (1 Euro, or $1.30), but often we were the only passengers.  One has to make a reservation and there are set times when they are available, so not as flexible as a taxi. So we could have 3 hours at Bedoin, the town at the foot of Mount Ventoux and 5 hours at Gigondas, the town at the foot of the Dentelles.

We spent our time in Bedoin hiking around town and getting as close as possible to the mountain.  Unfortunately, the best hikes were from the parking lot which was several kilometers from town and therefore, unavailable to us.  Nevertheless, we got close and enjoyed the town as well.

Mount Ventoux

Bedoin

Back at Carpentras we made arrangements for the next day's trip to Gigondas.  The towns around this area seem to be concerned with wine growing and selling.  Places to stay were few and usually out of of our price range.  The road to Gigondas goes through some beautiful towns full of vineyards, wine tasting and buying spots.  We thought it would be fun to travel here with Mayra and Rick.

Once at Gigondas, we followed a beautiful path through vineyards and up to a high spot where we could get an amazing view of the region and the Dentelles.

 

On the way down our path, Jim took a tumble and ended up with facial bruises, a cut on the head and many other bumps along the way. Fortunately, no broken bones and his glasses, miraculously in one piece, though a bit bent.   I cleaned the cuts with water and wrapped his bandana around the head cut and we surely turned heads as we walked into town!  I knew he would be okay when he insisted in his mid afternoon coffee before catching our TAD van back.   

 

Once back in Carpentras, we checked with a pharmacy next to the hotel and they agreed with my assessment that no stitches would be needed.  We bought the kind of adhesive strips that act like stitches and I put a large band aid over the largest cut on the head.  Jim insisted in stopping for ice cream at a place we had been eying the past 2 days.  The Glacerie (ice cream and other goodies shop) next to the hotel was always crowded but never at times we thought of eating ice cream.  Christophe, the young man who runs our hotel in Carpentras (he makes breakfasts, clean the rooms and is the concierge and receptionist along with another young man), explained that ice cream is eaten around 2:30 or so.  We showed up at 4 and closed the place.

 

 

Having accomplished our hiking goals and feeling in need of a break from hiking, we decided to head on to Aix-en Provence.  The internet in our hotel was vey slow and we were unable to find hotels from Carpentras, so we showed up thinking that it would not be hard to get a room on a Wednesday.  As it turns out, Aix is an amazingly popular destination and after many calls, we were able to find a room for only one night at Le Manoir, and inn which had been a 6th century cloister before being converted into an inn in the 70s

View from our bedroom

The breakfast room

 

A bit over our price, and so after settling in we visited the Hotes Des'Arts across town and made a reservation for the next few days.  When we arrived on Thursday morning, it turns out the evening clerk had not recorded our reservation and once again we were without a room.  Cedric, the day clerk, made many phone calls and finally founds us a place at something called Hotel B&B which turns out to be a chain of motels and was a few kilometers outside of town.  We were upset but went ahead and settled our things and learned to take the 13 bus into town.  We also found ourselves near the town of Le Tholonet and within access of the south side of Mount St. Victoire, which was one of the places we wanted to visit.  Thisis Cezanne country.  We visited his Studio and checked out the mountain he so often painted and made famous. 

In Cezanne's garden

 

The Mount St. Victoire photos will be on the next blog.  We found Aix dynamic, fun, interesting and diverse.  Full of outdoor spots to sit and watch the crowds.  Almost everywhere we looked there was some creative expression.  Lots of sun and good food.  A great place to visit.

The top part of a door

One more Place and café

 

Despite being far away from home, our thoughts this week are with Elena, Rod and Caroline.  Love to all.




 



Avignon and the Vaucluse in Provence

We spent the week in St. Remy following both the Van Gogh trail as well a the "Antiquities trail". These towns trace their beginnings to over 2000 years ago, and their buildings and some of the roads, are remnants of those times.  We got lost many times following footpaths out of town but somehow managed to get back safely. Here are some of the paths we followed and some scenes from this leafy and artsy town:

The house where we stayed in St. Remy

The Van Gogh trail showed a reproduction of the paintings on the very spot and gave info about it from the painter himself.

Canal path from town to our road

Took a bus to Avignon.    We ended up staying in the same hotel we stayed at 16 years ago (new management and improved presentation:  

     
 It is a convenient stop.

Avignon never gets tiresome. 

Whether we are wondering the streets and finding new places, or just sitting on a park bench, this town is entertaining.  A walk to Les Halles, a great market, revealed a lovely small square where we stopped to drink a cup of expresso and eat a ginger cookie.  

On the way to Les Halles in Avignon

We tried to visit Gordes for a day so we could hike to the Senanque Abbey, but were thwarted by a bus schedule error.  Undaunted by the set back, we had some coffee and a great apricot tart in a Patisserie in Cavaillon and took the next bus to a new town for us, L'Isle Sur le Sorgue.  I think you will all agree that this was one fortuitous mistake.

This town was built around the Sourge, the biggest spring in France.

We stayed one more night in Avignon so we could take the hike to the Abbey from Gordes.  It was well worth it.  Impressed by our stamina as we hiked 8 Kilometers during the middle of a very hot and sunny day.  (had no choice as the only bus to Gordes got us there at 11 AM and would leave at 4:30 PM).  A rocky, up and down hills GR 6 path to get to Senanque.

 Even when the lavander is not in bloom, the valley is spectacular.

We left Avignon just as it began to feel like home and are hoping to hike around Mount Ventoux and the Dentilles.  Just as difficult to get to as Gordes and the Abbey were.  We'll see if we can figure this one out.  We are confident.  

Provence, France

Arles was our first stop this week.

Arles and the Rhone river

Sunny, dry and hot days with cool nights.  So we walk all over, stop to rest at town squares or benches and city walls that were constructed by the Romans ages ago.

Provence has a long history of invaders.   Arles' landscape can be said to be dominated by antiquities and a relentless sun.

Roman amphitheater used for entertainment (gladiators shows, bull fights and other productions, maybe rock concerts when they get it restored)

We followed a map that guided us to Roman, Medieval, Renaissance times and then Van Gogh, who painted all over town.

A Van Gogh scene from my camera 

Arles seemed a bit overrun by tourists, at least in the old part of town where we stayed.  The place where we stayed was a renovated 16th century town home near the city walls. The narrow alley ways made it impossible to tell what time it was and whether it would be sunny.  At night, there was absolute silence.  No sounds at all.  No crickets, birds, cars, planes, people. I have never experienced such a feeling of being deep within the stone confines of a place!  Yet, from the kitchen's back window we had a lovely sight of almond trees and bright roof tops:

St. Remy is a softer kind of place.  Leafy, and dominated by les Alpilles, what we came to explore.

The Gauls fought the Romans in St.Remy, where we are stationed for the week.  There are visible remnants from all of them. We walked to Glanum, the early Roman settlement which might have given birth to St. Remy.  As it turns out we are here during Patrimony Days, Culture days, so to speak, so we are able to get into museums for free!  We spent a bit of a day exploring the St. Paul de Mausole Hospital where Van Gogh was hospitalized before his death. He spent 1 year there and turned out about 150  pictures and 100 drawings during that time period. Imagine what we could have had from him had he lived with some sense of security most of his life!  Or maybe not,since security does not seem to engender a creative spirit.

Starry Night

Entrance to St. Paul's hospital

Today we spent some time in Les Beaus, a town built on a cliff south of St. Remy.  There was a special exhibit in the quarry, a large space, where images were projected in a multimedia project.  My favorite were the impressionist's work that were projected on the ceiling, floors and walls all around us with amazing music to go with them.  Could not use flash but her is a sample of the work: 

It was enchanting!  We ended up the day the best way possible;

Hi all,

Just thought I'd get going with the idea of a blog.  Will be working for 2 more weeks and until then I'm meeting up with many friends to make up for the next 3 months of being on our own (Jim and I only).

So this is the address and I'll try to do as Becky has done so well, once a week a post with pics.  We'll see if this oldster can keep it up.  Stay tuned.......




September2013
Barcelona.

View from the Museum of Catalan Art's Restaurant

We have walked every inch of this amazing city.  Sometimes we even actually know where we are and where we are going. I gave directions to someone last night who was going to the Pilau of Music!

The Palau of Music

Inside the  Palau of Music

Beautiful architecture everywhere (especially at the Pilau of Music where we heard some beautiful classical guitar played), sunny skies, warm sea, what else could one hope for? Oh yes, good food and lots of cafes.

Guided by Rick Steves, Lonely Planet and Cousin Federico, my grandfather's brother's grandson, we have managed to sample everything from Gaudi to Roman ruins and even some modern art.  Our room in an apartment building in La Ribera neighborhood is withing walking distance of everything folks come to see.  We have learned to use the bus to go to Parc Guell and the metro to Montjuic.  Both places show an amazingly creative imagination.  I like the way this city is a blend of so many experiences, dynasties, conflicts, victories and defeats.  All these are evident  in the architecture which changes from house to house.

The history here is of incredible repression.  From what I learned, Barcelona, and the province of Catalunya where it is located, was on the wrong side of various military conflicts over its long history, and each time they lost, the punishment was repression.  At some points, the walls kept the growing populace from moving out and therefore many died from diseases due to unhealthy living conditions.  Isabel and Ferdinand sent the inquisition to keep things in check. The native language, Catalan, was forbidden and it was not until 1975 that it was allowed in schools. Las Ramblas, cousin Federico tells us, was place where prostitutes and homosexuals would be tolerated.  It is now an amazing place to stroll and watch people from all over the world walk by and sometimes interact.  Cousin Federico also told us that Barcelona took on the Olympics in 1992 in an attempt to develop tourism to save the city from bankruptcy.  It worked!

There are strong feelings about becoming sovereign state instead of being part of Spain.  Many flags are being flown now in anticipation of the September 11 celebration, which is an interesting one.  It celebrates the Bourbon dynasty winning over the opposition.  Barcelona was on the wrong side of this and as the result the city was ruled by a strong military presence for some centuries!  The striped yellow and red flags (Catalunya's flags) are everywhere, but equally visible are the flags with a star which are flown by those who would like to see Catalunya be independent from Spain.

As an aside, Jim has had some interesting experiences bought on by people noticing his PD.  A couple stopped us in the middle of Las Ramblas to tell him about the Deep Brain Stimulus surgery success the wife experienced,  She demonstrated her gait and showed Jim where the battery lies.  They were quite jolly about the results and encouraging of Jim to consider it.  The very next day, while eating the mandatory Paella at a sea side restaurant, a waiter carefully draped an extra napkin around Jim's shirt collar and lovingly explained his Dad suffers from PD.  Jim seemed warmed by these reactions.

Today we will spend our last day here at Sagrada Familia and, if I can help it, back at Montjuic, an enchanting array of gardens and paths on a hill overlooking the city and the Mediterranean sea.