Brick and stone and art

Tuesday 30 April

Brick is the favoured building material in Albi due to the abundance of clay vs stone in the area. Most of the town is brick, with the cathedral said to be the largest brick building in the world. It is certainly massive, and has several unusual features - side entrance (instead of the traditional west end entrance), a single nave with no transept, ceiling and walls completely covered with frescoes, relative lack of windows, austere exterior contrasting with highly decorated interior. It is St Cecilia's cathedral - the patron saint of musicians. It's probably my favourite cathedral to date, amongst some stiff competition.

The painter Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi, and an extensive collection of his works is housed in the bishops palace next door to the cathedral.

Carcassonne is a fortified city dating from 5th century or earlier. It seems a little Disney-esque with some features added during an 18th century restoration that are not true to type (some crenellations, some steeply pitched tower roofs.) Nonetheless it is a spectacular sight.

The town is full of little shops selling expensive (supposedly) local produce. We tried a spectacular looking candied clementine.

At the risk of becoming even more of a foodie blog - we ate he local dish which is cassoulet. Very nice. There are variations. The one we tried used duck leg and a special sausage. We enquired about the contents of the sausage and established that duck was one ingredient, but the others were too tricky to communicate. Possibly better not to know!

Pretty flamingos, roman relics, and a mad artist

Monday 29 April

Ever been to the Camargue in torrential rain? Now we have, and it was great, especially after the rain stopped.

The Camargue is a huge river delta formed by the Rhone River. The result is a very fertile, although sometimes salty, delta. Rice is grown there in paddy fields, it is famous for it's white horses, its black bulls and its flamingos. We got to see lots of flamingos. Yes they are pink - apparently the colour is a result of their diet of crustaceans and they turn their natural white colour in the crustacean off season when there are fewer crustaceans to eat. Suggest you all think about your intake of crayfish and shrimps in future.

We stopped at Sainte Maries de la Mer, a small town on the coast.

The town is named for the 2 (or 3) biblical Mary's who washed up there after being set adrift in the Mediterranean, and were met by 'Black Sarah'. All have since been sanctified, hence the name of the town. I'm afraid you'll have to look this story up if you need to know more, as it's a bit complex for right now - but it is fascinating and well commemorated in the towns church.

Lunch today is worth a mention. We ate gardiane de toreau - a local recipe for bull stew with rice. It was great, and definitely a new culinary experience.

Also visited the city of Arles, where it was raining too. Arles is well known for its roman remains, and for Vincent van Gogh having lived there for a period. As well as painting some of his most famous works in Arles (the hospital garden, the yellow cafe), he also cut off his ear there! Hard to beat that!

Arles has a well preserved roman amphitheatre (used for plays etc) and arena (used for gladiatorial battles). The arena is still in use today for various things including bull fighting. Still finding it incredible that such structures still exist 2,000+ years after they were built and in some cases are still in use today for more or less similar purposes.

There is definitely a Spanish flavour in this part of southern France, which is relatively close to Spain, and for a long time was actually part of Spain. One similarity is bullfighting. Interestingly there are two types of bulll fighting both of which take place at the Arles arena. Spanish bullfighting with matadors etc (which always has a bad outcome for the bulls.) And Carmaguese bullfighting which involves men trying to collect 'trophies' attached to the horns of the bulls as they run around in a bullring. Each trophy is worth money to the one who gets it. The stars are the bulls which are not harmed in any way and after a long career eventually get to retire gracefully. One suspects they may then be employed as gardiane de toreau, but this was not made clear.

Papal wines

Sunday 28 April

During most of the 14th century the popes lived in Avignon, rather than Rome, and there is a very grand papal palace there to show for it.

The popes who lived in Avignon enjoyed a glass or two and encouraged viticulture in the area by taking steps such as drinking the wine. The wines from a particular area near Avignon became known as Chateauneuf-du-Pape and remain so to this day.

We visited the Cave at Chateauneuf-du-Pape (we would call it the cellar door) and tried the wines. One of the sommeliers, Ben, helped us with the tasting (another cute French accent - the ladies were hanging on his every word.)

Today Chateauneuf-du-Pape is world famous thanks largely to Robert Parker. He wasn't a pope, but a very influential US wine critic who really liked the wines and said so loudly. After today's tasting I agree with him.

P

P.S. Unrelated to wines - did you know there were 3 popes at the same time during part of the 14th century? One in Rome, one in Avignon, and one elected by the council of Pisa (not sure where he lived.)

L'huile d'olive - the good oil

Sunday 28 April

Our first day of pretty solid rain today. It was cold too, even for Wellingtonians, and we wore just about all the warm stuff we had.

Had a fascinating visit to Mes des Barres (an olive mill in the Vallee des Baux near St Remy de Provence) where they manufacture olive oil, as well as growing the olives. It was all explained to us by Charlene, the farmers daughter, in a really cute French accent that made it much more interesting.

The farm itself could have come out of a Provence picture book.

A few tips for olive growers:
- prune out the middle of the tree to let the sun into the fruit
- water infrequently (not more than twice a month in Provence)
- don't fertilise too often as the trees do best in poor soil (once in 5 years in Provence).

Full marks to the M'boro plantation for all of those I think!

A few tips for olive oil users:
- buy it in tins as it is degraded by light
- extra virgin is best as it has the lowest acidity (< 0.5%) compared to virgin (<2%) and the rest at unknown higher levels
- drink 2 tablespoons a day and you can live to be 122 (a local woman is the proof of this apparently!)

P

Ancient roman bridge, inter alia

Saturday 27 April

A visit to the Pont du Gard has to be today's highlight. It is the largely intact roman bridge built to carry an aqueduct across the Gardon River. It was built around 2,000 years ago and now preserved as a UNESCO heritage site. A few facts and figures were quoted to us:
- the PdG is 275m long with a fall of only about 25mm (so that the water flowed downhill)
- it is up to 49m high
- it is estimated to have carried about 200m litres of water a day
- construction is thought to have taken 15 years and involved 1,000 workers
- the larger stones in the lower parts weigh about 6 tonnes each
- the entire aqueduct from Uzes to Nimes is 50km with a fall of about 17m

It is a remarkable feat of engineering and construction and has certainly stood the test of time and floods, while many more recent structures have not.

The PdG is now part of a historic site complete with visitor centre and museum (which sadly we did not have time to look at.) It is great to see something as magnificent preserved in a determined fashion that should see it remain for a very long time yet.

Even the graffiti is old.

En route to PdG we visited the village of St Paul de Vence. It is known as a 'perched village', so called because it is perched on a high defensive position and as a result has been well fought over down the centuries. It is a medieval village with narrow, winding streets, and views of mountains and sea (we think, as the day was quite misty and we couldn't see them.) It's main current claim to fame is it's recent inhabitants which include Mark Chigall the artist (now deceased) and others of his ilk. You can buy things there, and we did.

Also called at Aix-en-Provence and strolled the Cours Mirabeau (the main street) in the rain. This town was home to Paul Cezanne the artist and Emile Zola the writer. Provence the province looked very attractive even in inclement weather. It is of course the subject of Peter Mayle's book 'A Year in Provence' which I now intend to read.

P

Health

Friday 26 April

Pleased to report that J managed the steep walk to Eze village,although with some difficulty. Her ankle seems to be on the mend but still needs the brace for support.

Unfortunately she now has a bad cold to contend with as well and is having the usual dreadful cough. We saw a doctor in Monaco tonight who prescribed additional medicines and is confident they will help. She thinks the asthma is the problem rather than a cold. We will be experts on European health systems soon.

P

Nice and Eze(y)

Friday 26 April (a little bit of rain today)

Been waiting a long time for that awesome punny title. The DomPost would be jealous.

Today we visited Nice (the city on the French Riviera) and Eze (a hill top village nearby).

Nice is a major French city of about 500,000 on the Mediterranean sea. It has the famous 'Promenade Anglais' along the foreshore - rather like Wellington's Oriental Parade footpath, but Frencher. This footpath was built by the English in Victorian times when they discovered the weather to be more desirable in the south of France than back home, and hence began the popularity of Nice and other locations on the riviera as holiday destinations. Sandy beaches don't last at Nice, due to wave action, so there is an artificial stony beach which has to be replenished regularly with more smooth stones. Not so nice to walk on, but at least you don't get sand in your socks and sandals!

Nice seemed lovely from a far. But closer up it was a little run down and dirty, compared to other places we had visited recently, and we had a pretty mediocre cafe experience which took the edge off things. The place was very busy even in this off season time, and must be horrendous with all the crowds in the summer. However, the markets and narrow streets were fascinating. There was lots to buy, but we only bought tablecloths (pl).

Eze on the other hand was amazing. It is literally a hill top village, accessible only on foot, and with terrific views across Nice and the coastline. Only a few hundred people live there,many of them artists these days.

A little surprisingly, given it is built on a granite hill top, it has well developed gardens, including a huge cactus garden.

It's interesting to see the change in building styles as we move around.
Paris - grey and cream coloured apartments with wrought iron railings.
Dijon, Beaune - half timbered houses, yellow ochre and cream colours.
Nice and the riviera - brighter colours, especially the shutters - lilac, blue, green, pink. Plastered houses with deep terracotta oranges and yellow ochres.

P

Chamonix (warning - nothing but trains in this one)

Thursday 25 April

Chamonix is well served by rail, although the main line SNCF trains weren't running when we were there - engineering works by the look. But more to the point, there is also a little rack railway in town. This is the Montenvers train, in French 'le celebre petit train rouge a cremaillere', when you put it like that, don't you think that everyone would want to ride it!

The Montenvers train runs up to the Mer de Glace, a large glacier, and has been taking tourists there since 1909. For those interested it is a rack railway, overhead electrified at 11kvAC, 1m gauge and with grades up to 22%.

Sadly it wasn't possible to fit in a ride before we had to leave town, but I did have a nice conversation in French with the lady at the ticket office.

P

Annecy - the bridge of lovers

Thursday 26 April

Annecy sur lac was a transit point rather than a destination but is a quite beautiful town on the shores of Lake Annecy, the second largest lake wholly in France. As with most places here, there are many hundreds of years of human history in evidence. So the NZ concept of a beautiful lake being unspoiled and natural does not apply - there are castles, churches, villages, towns, roads, boats etc everywhere - but lets say its tastefully done.

Annecy town is built around a river and has quaint closely packed buildings, shops and cafes jammed into odd little spaces, and a large very pleasant park. Thats where the bridge of lovers comes in - it crosses a river in the park and as legend has it, couples who kiss on the bridge are assured of eternal love and happiness. So ...

To the locals credit they put in place environmental safeguards for the lake as long ago as the 1960's. Today the lake is known as the cleanest in France and the waters look very clear to the eye. We took a boat ride around the lake to check out the sights.

P

Monaco - the rich and the famous, and us

Thursday 25 April

A small change of plan has meant that we are now staying in Monaco rather than Nice, which is actually a huge bonus. The hotel is the Fairmont Monte Carlo, right in the heart of town. Of course in Monaco everywhere is in the heart of town as the whole place is only 2 square kilometres.

We are a couple of minutes walk from the grand casino and various other famous sights. We checked out the casino briefly. Didn't see James (Bond) but there were a number of cars parked outside that might have been his. There are Ferraris, RR's and Aston Martins everywhere.

The Monaco grand prix is on in a month and one can see the preparations even now. The famous hairpin bend is right outside our window.

The Hotel de Paris (not our one) is the most well known and excessively opulent hotel in town. We dropped by for a look and had a quick glass of champers. (The happy pic is from before we got the bill!)

Monaco as a place is so completely over the top that I can't imagine living here, but then, there is no chance of that happening!

P

P.S. Our hotel lobby has a neat line in sparkly shoes that would grace Mi Piaci I'm sure. Nothing there in my size though.

Chamonix - Mt Blanc

Tuesday 23 April

Chamonix is a small ski resort town high in the Alps (1,035m) and is the main access point to Mt Blanc, the highest peak in western Europe at 4,810m. We were really lucky to strike a good clear day with sunshine and blue skies so took the opportunity to ride the cable car up the mountain.

The Mt Blanc cable car is 'pretty serious' when I compare it to the Queenstown gondola for example. The first stage goes up to 'Plan de l'Aguille' at 2,317m which has amazing views over the town (l'aguille is the needle). The next stage goes up to 'Aguille du Midi' at 3,842m in an incredible single cable span of over 2.8km. Only 5 of our group were dumb (brave) enough to take the second cable car but were rewarded with super amazing run out of superlatives mountain views into France in one direction and Italy in the other plus downwards through the clouds to the town.

The air is thin at that altitude, and I found I had to have a breather after a couple of flights of stairs up to a high viewing platform. Or possibly it was because the stairs were "see thru" expanded metal and there was nothing under them for a very long way down...

New respect was found for the people who build things at these heights and in such difficult locations. Also for the skiers and climbers in their dozens who were heading even higher to the peak itself for more adrenaline rush type activities.

P

Dijon (sorry, trams again)

Monday 22 April

In Dijon there was also a tram ride option. Only one member of the tour group took it up even though at 1.50 euro it was a real bargain.

The city has a superb new tram system which by all accounts has hugely reduced traffic congestion. The population of greater Dijon is about 250,000. Perhaps Wellington should have a tram system too?

The tracks are laid on mostly on medians from what I saw on my limited inspection. In many places the tracks are grassed which didn't (or hasn't so far) caused any issues. We ran along very smoothly at <30kph where there was potential for traffic or pedestrian conflicts, and 50kph elsewhere.

I happened to observe a driver shift change at one of the stops. The incoming and outgoing drivers kissed each other on both cheeks as they swapped. I'm not sure if that is in the company procedures or not. But I'd still want to think hard before introducing it in NZ.

P

Dijon for mustard, gingerbread (and art)

Monday 22 April

Dijon is famous for mustard (home of the Maille brand) and has mustard shops where one can chose from a large range of flavours. Two thirds of the mustard seed used to make Dijon mustard now comes from Canada. Not sure how we have got by for so long without knowing that. Anyone for trivial pursuits?

Pain d'Epice (spiced bread or gingerbread to us) is another well known local delicacy so we acquired some to taste. And yes it does taste like gingerbread too.

Dijon is a beautiful town with much history and a very walkable city centre packed with historic buildings.

It also has the well known Palais des Beaux Arts, which is a fine arts museum. We sat in the adjacent square sipping coffee at a cafe and looked at the Palais from the outside without having to go in.

I put this piece of good fortune down to 'la chouette' (the owl) which is Dijon's adopted bird/mascot. There is a bronze owl on the side of the city cathedral and legend has it that touching this owl brings 7 years of good fortune.

P.S. When I say sipping coffee, see the pic that shows J's coffee. Locally its called cafe gourmand and is really more of a mini high tea!

P