For a Few Baguettes More

We only managed a short visit to Marseille but had a nice time and managed to get a good sense for the place. Walking around the old port, we could almost hear the sailors of the past chanting La Marseillaise. "Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras. Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!" *

* (Translation: "They are coming into our midst. To cut the throats of your sons and consorts!")

Some other highlights of Marseille include a rather average bouillabaisse and finding a Laundromat open on a Sunday.

In the afternoon we took a boat trip to see the Calanques. These are basically the Mediterranean version of fjords. They are inlets or coves surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. 

Despite the poor weather they were still quite impressive and beautiful.

For months, Yaz had been searching for a large clear square worthy of being called Europe's largest. Finally she found it, Lyon's Place Bellecour.

We took a funicular up to the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière which had some cool mosaics...

...and a great view of the city.

Later in the day we walked through the city's 17th century buildings, many of which allow you to enter the inner courtyard.

Lyon was home to the world famous Lumiere brothers who created the very first cinematograph, i.e. the first film. We visited their house, learned of their inventions and saw their films.

We also saw the following room in another museum of Lyon. You get 100 points if you can tell us why this photo is interesting. Leave your guess below, the answer will be revealed in the next entry.

On the road between Lyon and London we stopped at the Abbey of Fontenay which was founded in 1118.

A few people have complained about the difficulty of leaving a comment about our blog. The easiest way is to press "comment", then choose "Name/URL" from the options, and then just leave your name. Good luck!

Miscellaneous Provence

In addition to the sights of the region, there are of course also the tastes. Highlights included daube de boeuf, crème caramel and this soupe de poisson in the small town of Fontvielle.

There is also plenty of fresh food in the region, such as in the market in the centre of Aix-en-Provence.

One cool thing in Arles was the Vincent Van Gogh tour. Old Vinnie spent 15 months in the town hoping to start an artists' colony, and painted some of his greatest works there.

As you walk around, there are displays of the Van Gogh paintings in the same location at which the original easel would have been placed. Here are a few examples.

Café Terrace at Night

Jardin de la Maison

 

Starry Night Over the Rhone

L'Entree de Jardin Public

L'Escalier du Pont de Trinquetaille

Well that's the end of our story of Provence in three acts. We hope you enjoyed it, cause we certainly did.

Historic Provence

In 118 BCE the Romans founded their first colony outside of Italy which came to be known as "Provincia Romana". This region would eventually be known as Provence.

There are still many Roman ruins from that time including the Théâtre antique d'Orange built in the 1st century CE. 

The theatre hosted the greatest Greek and Roman tragedies, which in time became more low-brow bordering on pornography. Unfortunately, when the Catholics took over they banned the theatre and ruined everyone's fun.

The Romans also built an amphitheatre in Arles which was used in the old days for chariot races and gladiator battles. Today it's used for bullfighting.

We checked out the theatre in Arles which had a rather minor acrobatics show.

Perhaps the most well-preserved and most interesting site was the Pont du Gard. While the Romans of Nîmes had enough drinking water, they didn't have enough bathing water or fountain water. So they built a 50km aqueduct from Uzès including the 49m high, 274m long Pont du Gard.

(For those of you at home playing "Pedantic Geography", the Pont du Gard is actually in the Languedoc-Roussillon region rather than in Provence)

The next major historic influence on the region was during the 14th century when Avignon became the centre of the Catholic world and home to seven popes. The Palais des Papes was very interesting and really showed how involved in politics and power the Catholic church was throughout the Middle Ages.

Also in Avignon is the famous bridge, or half-bridge. It looks a little something like this.

We climbed the mountain to reach the castle at Baux-de-Provence, where amongst other thing we saw some medieval siege weapons. Josh's favourite was of course the trebuchet. This one, the biggest in France, could fling up to 100kg over 400m.

Finally, if you've always wanted evidence that ghosts exist, then you've probably convinced yourself that you've found it. But if you haven't, here it is. An unedited video from inside the necropolis at Arles.

Natural Provence

We spent almost a week in Provence before heading North. There was so much to see and photograph in the region that we have split it up into three blog entries. 

First up is what the place is known for, its natural beauty.

We happened to be in Provence during the blossom season. As a result, much of our driving was interrupted by Yaz squealing over the pink and white trees.

 

While we say natural beauty, of course much of the landscapes has been manicured into magnificent green fields.

Even more manicured was this garden at an abbey near Avignon.

Aren't daffodils pretty?

We spent Thursday maxin' and relaxin' in the Camargue.

The Camargue is a wetlands area at the mouth of the Rhône River. It is famous for its semi-wild white horses known unsurprisingly as the Camargue horse.

Throughout the reserve you can also find red squirrels in the trees and nutria in the swamps. 

The area is home to over 400 bird species.

While they are all over the reserve, we saw the most birds at the bird park.

Other than herons, egrets and mallards this is also one of the best places in Europe to see the greater flamingo.

Stay tuned for our next entry on Provence which will aaargh...

(By the way, whenever you see orange text, it is a link to another website. Usually a video clip from Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

P.P.S. A few people have complained about the difficulty of leaving a nice supportive comment about our blog. The easiest way is to press "comment", then choose "Name/URL" from the options, and then just leave your name.

Carcassonne

Good news everyone! We've been to Carcassonne

 

It's a walled city which has existed since Roman times and been reinforced by the Visigoths and the Franks. It's very pretty and historic. Here are some photos to prove it!

 

 

 

Andorra

Andorra is the largest of the European microstates, it's also the highest; Which is why we decided to go there, to the resort of Grandvalira, to ski and snowboard.

Did you know that you can also learn things while at the snow? We got these facts from the columns along the chairlifts.

Andorra Fact No 1: Andorra is a co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, as co-princes. This means that the President of France, as Prince of Andorra, is an elected monarch.

Andorra Fact No 2: The population of Andorra is about 80,000. (The lifts at Grandvalira can carry 100,000 people per hour)

Andorra Fact No 3: Skiing first became popular in Andorra in the 1930's. (Luckily we came at a not so popular time)

Andorra Fact No 4: In Andorra, one can search for the tamarro. This is a non-existent mythical animal which looks like a deer but has legs on one side of its body shorter than the other.

Andorra Fact No 5: The one and only official language of Andorra is Catalan. It sounds like a mixture between French, Spanish and Gibberish.

Andorra Fact No 6: The highest point in Andorra is Coma Pedrosa at 2,942m. Josh tried his best to get higher.

Andorra Fact No 7: Andorra maintains a small Army, and all able-bodied men who own firearms must serve.  The Army's main responsibility is to present the national flag at ceremonies.

We took one day off from skiing to relax. We bought a few things in the giant shopping area known as Andorra La Vella.

We unwound at the spa resort of Caldea, which included Roman baths, Jacuzzis, a hammam, an outdoor heated pool, saunas and more. (We didn't take a camera, so this one is from the net)

And in the evening we did Ice-Karting. This is exactly what it sounds like, Go-Karts on ice. It looked like this...

But it felt like this (Click Here)

Finally, a special treat for this week's blog entry, a blooper reel! These come with a warning though, so if you are afraid of bad language, turn your speakers off.