Wednesday 18th October 2017

We needed to check out the locality of the train station, to take Le Train Côte Bleue into Marseille, as well as parking facilities. Our host at the camp had suggested we use Istres station, which was just a little north of our site.

We had read that there was a train strike on 18th & 19th October with limited journey times, so thought best to check out our options.

French rail network is very susceptible to strikes, delays and cancellations, so always check your travel arrangements prior to departure.

Using our Franglais we managed to purchase our tickets for Thursday. (Timed tickets for each journey).

Tickets sorted, we made our way to Martigues. We had read that due to the charm of its canals, bridges and islands, it is also known as the Venise Provençale.

Martigues

Using our trusty Google map app, we found a car park and started to walk towards one of the quays. We hadn’t gone far, when two fire tenders, with sirens blaring, pulled up at one of the buildings.

The traffic wasn’t going anywhere, especially as a large coach now had no possible way of passing the emergency vehicles and was holding up all the lunch time traffic! The noise of car horns was deafening and the lengthy queue of traffic just appeared to mushroom in all directions. Axe in hand, a fireman made his way up one of the ladders and began hacking at the window shutters. Time to make a hasty retreat.

Fireman to the rescue

Boy, were we glad we had made it into the car park when we did!

We began by walking along the Quai des Girondins. In the distance we could make out the rather towering sight of the Viaduc de Martigues. It is the autoroute A55.

Viaduc Martigues

Along the quay side were numerous restaurants which made choosing one for lunch challenging. Each was advertising a wonderful ‘menu du jour’, on typical chalkboards.

We had taken to using Trip Advisor to help with our decision making, and went with  Les Terrasses. A nice table for two in the sun. Perfect!

Stuffed ravioli to start and entrecôte steak with Roquefort sauce & frites for Ray. Squid in aioli & mussels for me. Yum! We were not disappointed.

Lunch!

Our only plan following lunch was to take a stroll in the late autumn sun,  along the quays and waterways, through the cobbled streets and squares.

Martigues l’Iles

Leaving the quay on the north of the island known as  Ferrières we made our way onto the central island (L’Île). We wandered down the Rue de la Republique pausing briefly to peek inside the large open L’Eglise de Sainte Madeleine. Neither of us are religious, but we are always in awe of the interiors and exteriors of the many churches we encounter.

L’Eglise de Sainte Madeleine.

Leaving the church we passed over the Canal Saint Sebastien and spotted a most picturesque quarter, known as Le  Miroir aux oiseaux.

Miroir aux oiseaux

Here were quaint pastel coloured dwellings, former houses of the local fishermen, with a variety of pavement cafés, bars and restaurants. Truly a peaceful and picturesque spot.

We then followed the quai des Anglais, where many anglers were hoping for a catch and the large palms graced the pavements. We watched the local shuttle boat pass by and head towards the south of the town, Jonquiéres.

We then looped back around L’Île, admiring even more boats and imagined dining at one of the quayside restaurants in the evening.

Quai des Anglais

Whilst we were walking we spotted an incredibly large jellyfish in the clear waters near the bank and were thankful we were not bathing at the time.

Impressive Jellyfish

Later we made our way over the drawbridge towards Jonquiéres as we were here. There was a very large car park and lots of markets and shops in a maze of streets and pedestrian zones, if you enjoy that sort of thing.

Sunday 15th October 2017

Another glorious day and we were making our way to Nîmes. It is in the Occitannie region and once an important outpost of the Roman Empire.

The name had cropped up a few times whilst we were at the Pont du Gard. (Also known as the Nîmes aqueduct).

The city of Nîmes has a number of well preserved Roman monuments; the most famous being the Arena of Nîmes.

On our arrival, we located an underground car park quite easily in the centre of the city. It was in the area of the Esplanade Charles  de Gaulle.

The area was delightful with well positioned shaded seating areas and some lovely water features, such as rills and fountains.

The Pradier Fountain

The amphitheatre was just a short walk from the public garden area and was just as imposing as we had imagined.

Nimes Amphitheare

There it was in all its glory, smack bang amongst the modern buildings of the city, but nevertheless not looking the least bit out of place. (Big plus, not another tourist in sight!)

We purchased a combined ticket for the amphitheatre, Le Maison Carrée, a restored Roman temple and La Tour Magne. (An 18 m stone watch tower, part of the city wall, with panoramic views over the city).

We were informed that we would be able to walk to the other 2 monuments, but a word of caution. Yes, you can, but the Tour Magne is situated at the top of Les Jardins de la Fountaine, which means a steep walk, so be prepared.

Nimes Amphitheare Exterior

We were provided with an audio guide for the Arena, which we were able to use quite easily, by following the numbers located on various parts of the walls. If you are interested in the history, then this aid is fantastic and provides huge amounts of detail about anything and everything relating to the Arena, including how it is still used as a bull ring and a venue for concerts or sporting events.

Quite A Climb

We were blown away by the vastness of the construction and in admiration of not only the incredible building skills of the Romans, but also the huge amount of dedication that is being paid to the monument through its long term restoration project.

Built in AD70, still in remarkable condition

It was possible to walk almost anywhere, apart from on the arena floor, which had been set up for an event. Even up to the very top and take in the views.

Arena Floor from the cheap seats

You can climb to the very top of the arena and admire the city but some of the rises are quite high, so make use of any thing you can find as a lever!

Time to head off for a bite of lunch before taking in any more ‘history’.

We found ourselves at Big Fernand, L’Atelier du hamburgé. All the produce is French and fresh. Home made mayonnaise and delicious fries with herbes d’Provence, which was a new condiment for us.

Feeling nourished we reverted to our Google map to lead us in the direction of Le Tour Magne. It led us to Les Jardins de la Fountaine by one of the lovely waterways in the city. A marvellous gadget!

We paused to take in the Temple of Diane, which had definitely seen better days, but more interesting was the filming which was taking place in the gardens.

Numerous people dressed in period Roman costumes listening carefully to the instructions of the director.

Roman Film Set

We made the long, steep walk up towards the Tour Magne, pausing every so often in the pretence of taking in the views.

At last we reached our target – The Tour Magne.

The Tour Magne

The next target was to ascend the spiral steps to the top of the tower. Unfortunately there wasn’t anywhere to pause and take a breath, as the stairs were steep and narrow.

Inside view from top of the stairs

Somehow we made it to the top! Once again we were rewarded with stunning views across another city. (At least the descent would be a lot easier!)

We made our way back down through the gardens, listening to the shouting and screaming of the actors below us.

By the time we reached the bottom, there were many ‘slaughtered’ actors littering the gardens, but the filming had ‘cut’ for a moment, so we moved on.

We made our way back to the car via another lovely walk. The Avenue Jean Jaurés/Les Allées Jaurés.

Avenue Jean Jaurés

Time for home and put our feet up!

Saturday 14th October 2017

Recently I had been in contact with my head teacher from the school I had left in July. She and her husband had been in France for the last 5 weeks and it just so happened that they would be in Avignon over the weekend. We made arrangements to meet at noon to catch up over lunch.

Ray and I took advantage of the park & ride again, and surprisingly, it was very quiet, albeit a Saturday morning.

We arrived an hour early in order that we could re-visit Les Halles, the covered market which had been closed on our previous visit.

The market did not disappoint. There were numerous stalls selling a huge variety of local produce and specialities of Provence; fish, meat, cheese, bread, vegetables, as well as local wines, handmade pastries and flans, salts, herbs, olives and olive oils.

The choice was endless, and typically laid out in the most inviting fashion.

Les Halles Fish Stall

Just a small example of the wonderful array of shellfish.

We wandered back towards the Place de L’Horlage. We have taken to purchasing a memento, in the form of a painting or photograph of the places we have visited and Ray spotted a stall with lovely watercolours of Provence.

He got chatting to the artist, who’s English was much better than his French and before long had purchased a delightful ‘petit’ watercolour of Cháteauneuf du Pape, which we had passed through the other day.

Just at this moment, who should we bump into but my headteacher Karen and her husband Martin. It was fantastic to see them both and we spent the next few hours catching up and sharing notes about our travels so far.

Reunion with Karen & Martin

Lunch over, we said our goodbyes and left Karen and Martin to enjoy the sights of Avignon and we headed back to the car park.

Avignon City Walls

As we left the city ramparts, we noticed a few of the huge river cruise ships moored up.

We headed over to take a closer look. They certainly are magnificent looking boats. The Swiss Corona, the Viking Buri and the Amacello.

Whilst strolling on the promenade we spotted that the 1 hour Rhône River cruise (Les Croisìeres MireioAvignon) was about to depart, so decided to give it a go.

It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour. In fact it was a very soporific way to spend an hour, after lunch, in the heat of the afternoon!

It certainly isn’t the way I would recommend you choose to explore Avignon, as a walk around the city would be more preferable.

Nevertheless it was a smooth cruise taking in views of the Pont d’Avignon and Villeneuve d’Avignon, which we hadn’t visited.

Villeneuve des Avignon

If time had allowed we would definitely have taken the option of one of the other cruises offered, such as the lunch cruise to Arles, with time off the boat to explore the city too.

Friday 13th October

We had enjoyed a meal on Wednesday night in the Restaurant du Château in Tarascon and it was not difficult to notice the chateau, as it was lit up and directly opposite our table!

Tarascon Château

So following the purchase of my new bike in Avignon, it was time to test it’s durability and my road riding skills and head off to the Cháteau.

We left our campsite in Vallabrègues for the 7 km ride to Tarascon. (Saddle sore sprang to mind at this point!).

The ride was reasonably easy, no hill climbs, just a gentle rise in the gradient in parts and my pilot riding ahead did a brilliant job leading me along the safest parts of the road.

Tarascon Château from bridge

The Chateau at Tarascon was built around ca 1400 and sits on the banks of the Rhône, opposite it’s sister city of Beaucaire on the other side of the river. It has also served as a military prison from the middle of 17th century, up until the early 19th.

Château Walls

We entered the Chateau, crossing the bridge over the moat, which surrounds it and towards the middle courtyard.

Tarascon Castle Courtyard

We used the guide we had been given to explore the castle on the Rhône side first. This eventually led us to terrace, which was vast and allowed us to enjoy the views over Tarascon, Beaucaire, the River Rhône , as well as the Alpilles Mountains.

Terrace Tarascon

Church of Tarascon

To access the town side of the castle, we had to descend via the northern turret. Most of the rooms on this side were the royal apartments. Although the rooms are devoid of any of their former possessions, inventories from the 15th century have been used to create ‘a picture’ of what life may have been like in the life King René.

Tarascon Battlements on Rhone side

I particularly liked the braille books. I’ve never seen these before.

Braille books in museum

If you are interested in contemporary art, then this might be a place to visit. There were many regional exhibits in different areas of the chateau, not to everyone’s taste though.

Contempary Art In Room 12, King René Chambers

(Read this brilliant blog and you will get ‘a real’ flavour of the Cháteau).

Our particular highlights were the ‘en-suites’/latrines in some of the royal apartments. Even the French had standards! (Sorry the picture wasn’t clear enough to print).

Having had our fill of medieval castles, we set off for home in amongst the Friday night traffic. Friday 13th night traffic!!

Home safely, not even a little saddle sore, we enjoyed a G&T in the late evening sun and looked forward to our nightly visit of our colony of bats and our resident owl.