Paris, Charles deGaulle Airport

Goodbye France. This has been a trip that far exceeded our expectations. The French people are wonderful, and the country in beautiful. France is a remarkably evolved country when it comes to infrastructure. I have never seen such well maintained and smooth highways as exist here. The network of trains makes it possible to travel virtually anywhere in France with speed and efficiency. We will miss you France. Now off to Mexico and home.

Paris last day

Today we had planned on seeing the inside of Notre Dame cathedral. When we arrived, we found a large group of people protesting. With no way to get in, we walked to the Musée Maillol. Along the way to the museum, we did a lot of window shopping. Boulevard Saint-Germain is lined with clothing and shoe stores along route we walked. We have seen the latest fashions for summer. After the museum we stopped at Ralph's for lunch, that is Ralph Lauren's restaurant in the garden area of his clothing store. Just as we finished a delectable meal showers burst upon us. Fortunately the wait staff brought umbrellas to us poor people sitting outside while we waited for our tab. It was great fun.

We are back at the hotel for a rest and to ready ourselves for the flight home tomorrow. So sad to be going. I am now a Francophile. I love this city.

Brick sautéd chicken breast at Ralph's.

I think it is great that they allow well behaved dogs into the restaurants here. Of course the well behaved part would disqualify our dogs.

Paris

We are in Paris for a few days before jetting back to Mexico City. The weather has been rainy and cold with a few glimpses of sunshine between rain showers. Everyday we have either been at the Louvre or the d'Orsay museums. Our hotel sits across the Seine from Notre Dame Cathedral. The location is perfect for walking to both museums, even in the rain.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Looking down river toward the Louvre, distance right.

The glass pyramid entrance to the Louvre.

Looking out of a top floor window of the Louvre on a sunny moment.

On one day of our visit to the Louvre, there were students in some of the galleries doing copy paintings.

Looking into the d'Orsay Museum. The Impressionist painting collection is wonderful. I saw my first original van Gogh and Gauguin paintings. We also enjoyed their collection of Art Nouveau works.

The Left Bank has a lively restaurant scene. We managed to hit a few. The area that we are in seems to be mostly people in their 20's and 30's. That may be an exaggeration since my unscientific survey took place at restaurants and bars from about 7:00 PM to late. They all seemed to be having a good time, as were we.

A pan of escargot, delightfully cooked in loads of garlic.

A sea food restaurant with an outdoor preparation area. That little tray of everything imaginable sitting next to the oyster shucker was ours. We ate it all. Our hands smelled of fish for two days. We are having a great time eating our way through France.

Le Vieux near Rustrel

We arrived at our little stone house in the hamlet of Le Vieux after dropping off our friends in Marseille. It was cold and raining for 3 out of the 4 days that we were there. A local told us that it is very unusual to have heavy rain this time of year. Since I had planned to paint landscapes during this time, the rain was inconvenient. So, we built a fire in the fire place and made the best of it. Rain or not it was beautiful.

One evening as the sun was setting two complete rainbows developed into full arcs. 

The house we stayed in while in the Luberon (Rustrel area).

The fireplace provided warmth and comfort against the cold and damp. No internet connection, but we had a lot of time to read and contemplate in a peaceful setting.

We did have one glorious day of sunshine. 

When the sun came out for the one day, the country side sparkled with an array of rich greens like I have never seen. Ochres and reds color the earth in this area so it makes the greens seem greener. The air was as if it had been scented with a delicate array of perfumes. There were wild flowers that shown brilliantly against the deep greens in the bright sunlight. It was a delightful few days in the country.

Beaucaire to Marseille to Rustrel

Wednesday morning we said goodby to our temporary home in Beaucaire, and we were off to the airport in Marseille. An hour and ten minutes later we were leaving our friends at the airport for their return to Arizona.

By 9:30 A.M we had arrived in Rustrel. As we had a few hours before we could move into our little house there, we walked around the tiny village of  Rustrel. Passing a little store and what appeared to be a meeting place for locals, we decided to go in and get whatever provisions were available. We bought a fresh baguette, cheese wrapped in grape leaves, milk, fruit, and a few veggies.

I will add more later as we have no Internet at our house, so I am using my iPhone. There is supposed to be wifi in the Pub in Rustrel. I will go find out, if it stops raining. It has been raining since 1:00 P.M. yesterday, Wednesday.

Beaucaire

Tuesday we stayed in Beaucaire to pack and prepare for departure. It was a warm pleasant day to walk down along the Rhone.

Roussillon

According to a French tourist sign, it is one of the most beautiful villages in all of Provence.

It sits on a hilltop overlooking the ochre quarries in the vicinity of Apt, France where ochre was industrially mined in the 19th and 20th centuries. The red and yellow earth is a dramatic contrast to the greens of pines, oaks, and chestnut trees.

The view of Vallée du Calavon looking north and east from the town is dramatic. The top photo below looks out toward the town of Rustrel where we will be spending a week starting tomorrow.

The village of Roussillon was almost as red and the ochre ground. The mortar used in the construction of the buildings is a warm red brown.

There are beautiful red poppies everywhere this time of year. You see them along the roads, and in fields of grape vines and orchards. 

Saint-Rémy de Provence

Vincent van Gogh spent a year in the asylum in Saint-Rémy de Provence, 1889-1890. It was possibly the most difficult year of his life and yet he painted some of his greatest works here. Today there are markers throughout the town that indicate the spot from which many of his works were painted.
Unfortunately there are no van Gogh paintings to see in Saint-Rémy.

We went on Sunday to peruse the art fair set up on the streets in the center of town. It was a cold and windy morning, but the sun was out.

Here is Bill getting into the spirit of things by picking out a little masterpiece to take home to Tucson.

I selected a lovely little oil painting from this gentleman.

We stopped in at shop that sold olive oil, truffles, and candied fruit. In the foyer hung these great lighting fixtures. They were cut out grey panels with the negative image of a floor lamp in the middle. Canvas was stretched over them, and they were illuminated form the back.

 Susan put together another gourmet meal for us. Roasted peppers, artichauds, and shrimp.

Chateau-des-Baux

Les Baux sits on a spur of the Apilles. It's walls are built to the very edge of the rocky outcropping. It is said to be the most dramatic fortress site in Provence. Views across the fields and orchards below seem to be infinite. The fort is thought to date back to the 10th century. It was destroyed by Louis XIII in 1633.

Inside the remains of a chapel that was built into the rocky escarpment.

Reconstructed trebuchets are demonstrated in the photo below. Instead of large rounded stones, they use big water balloons.

Bill's souvenir Roman helmet that he has shipped home.

The views from the fort are spectacular.

A village was built at the base of the fort which now has become shops and restaurants.

We had lunch at a restaurant with a terrace view. We had salade nicoise, canard, pommes frites, and boeuf steak. Oops, et vin.

Pont-du-Gard

The Roman aqueduct over the Gardon river is a remarkable structure in the sense of the age of the structure and that it is still standing strong. Of course its placement in a beautiful riparian setting. It is a French national monument with museum, visitor center, and evening performances with the lighted aqueduct as a back drop. A few photos of the structure follow:

Chateau-de-Grignan

From here we went north to Chateau-de-Grignan. A small town surrounds this chateau that was restored between 1913 and 1931 by Marie Fontaine. 

It was originally a forteresse médiévale first cunstructed in the 11th century. In the renaissance it was transformed into a chateau in the 15th century. In the 17th century it became the palais classique Chateau-de-Grignan. After the French revolution, it was destroyed and abandoned.

The following photo is of a sculpture of "Marie" at the center of town.

The chateau entrance.

Below is the reconstructed chateau.

Below is the Grand Gallery. A beautifully paneled room.

A view of the dining area of a restaurant in Grignon where we had lunch.

We took today off, sort of. It is another holiday here so most everything is closed including the gas stations. We managed to find an open super market, and we were able to shop for supplies. A regional market is set up in Beaucaire. The town is mobbed with not a spot to park. Most of the booths are selling clothing, shoes, jewelry, or everything one can imagine.

The booth below was raising funds for a rural program of vaccinations and animal registration. The cat was standing next to the baby goat licking the goat's face just before the girl picked up the cat. It was cute.

Well dinner is ready. Let's see, there is salad, boiled shrimp, olives, French bread, and a few cheeses.