A day in Provence: St Remy and Les Baux

August 24-25, 2015

I took the TGV (high speed train) from the Gare de Lyon to Avignon on Monday, August 24th.  I had read up on the layout of the Gare de Lyon and the TGV system in general ahead of time, so the trip went smoothly.  However, I would recommend getting a seat on the upper level if possible -- the view is better!

Claire (my landlady) and her cousin Frederique picked me up at the Avignon TGV station, which is outside of Avignon proper, and took me to my hotel in town.  I had dinner that night at a nice little outdoor cafe down the street and then walked around town a bit, but I will save the Avignon photos for later.

They picked me up again the next morning, and we first went to the wonderful house in St. Remy that Claire and her husband, Bertrand, had rented for the month of August.  We had a little aperitif featuring an anise-flavored drink (whose name I can't remember), some tomatoes, bread with anchovy paste (!) (which Claire loves), etc... then headed out for lunch at one of their favorite spots in this charming little town.  The lunch was delightful.  Here are Claire, Bertrand, and Frederique:


And here is my salad!  I don't normally post food pictures, but it was beautiful, and delicious. You can't see the figs, but they were certainly the tastiest figs I've ever had.


Then it was time for the trip to Les Baux, a village with the ruins of a medieval castle/fortress high on a hill.  Bertrand sat this one out, so the three women went to rent... the motorized bicycles!  I had heard of these, but had never seen one, much less ridden one.  

We went past some beautiful countryside, with me in the middle and the two experienced riders flanking me (single file of course).  We stopped for photo ops occasionally:


Can you guess which of the above cyclists is from France and which is from Oregon?

Frederique had an important text to send:


Here is our destination in the distance:


We first stopped to see a spectacular show inside a former quarry (carriere).  The quarry (no longer in use) had many surfaces (not just one big room), and images were projected all over the walls, ceiling, floors, etc.  The first film (actually sequences of film and still images) was a tribute to Jules Verne, and the second featured works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.  It was really too dark for photos, but I lightened these two up enough to give some idea of the effect.  Note that all the people in the photos are spectators; there were no performers.  (The two in the first photo are, in fact, Frederique and Claire, and Claire is in the foreground in the second photo.)



(This area was once a major source of aluminum ore -- hence the name, bauxite -- but I believe this quarry was a limestone quarry.)

The village has many unique features -- Claire pointed out to me this house built right into the rocky hillside.  (I think that white object over the tower may be a satellite dish, but I'm not sure.)


Walking through the streets of the village -- not too many tourists yet:


Then we went up to the castle/fortress area.  Claire found a shady spot to sit for a moment (it was a pretty warm day):


The castle dates from the 11th century, and has clearly undergone a great deal of erosion, but there are some vestiges of structural detail:


(Those aren't steps on the left side of the photo, but we climbed some that seemed almost that steep! Fortunately, there were very sturdy railings.)

An interesting formation (yes, that's a person on top):


And a close-up of some of the tafoni (honeycomb-like features in the weathered rock):


We were treated to some nice Provencal views, with vineyards and olive trees.  I believe the road in the second photo is the one we took on the way back.



The road back was filled with unexpected adventures:  First, the battery on Frederique's bicycle kept giving out.  I stood by and watched (and sometimes helped) as she and Claire yanked the battery out and shoved it back in (which was not easy), since Frederique suspected that the contacts were at fault. Even though we were heading back, there were still some extended uphills.  Fortunately, Frederique was the youngest of the group, and pretty strong.  She reported at the end of the trip that the battery eventually gave out for good.  (She had called the rental company at one point, but perhaps she gave up on them as well.)

Of course, my bike couldn't be left out of the fun... we were headed downhill on a winding road (with cars!) when it started making a loud rattling noise.  I pulled over, and Frederique, who was behind me, immediately knew what it was -- the rear fender was broken!  After asking if I was familiar with the show "MacGyver" (vaguely), she pulled out her trusty Swiss army knife and sliced off the remains of the fender (which was plastic), without touching the tire.  So, the bike was still making a noise, but a much quieter one, the rest of the ride back.  (Claire had realized at some point that we were no longer behind her and had ridden back to find us.)

Upon returning home, did anyone call the bike rental company to chew them out, or discuss doing so?  No!  We sat on the patio and had another nice little snack before Claire and Bertrand drove me back to my hotel.

So... a very full and unforgettable day!  :)  (and good French practice too... we spoke French most of the time.)



2 comments:

  1. There is so much in this post! Love how you describe the ups and downs of motorized biking and the setting is fabulous. Yum, figs! The 11th century castle....do you think it's constructed of sandstone? Saw some tafoni in the sandstone at a beach north of Ano Nuevo earlier this year.

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  2. Hi Tina,
    I read up on tafoni and learned that it can be formed from sandstone as well as "sandy limestone". I think either would be a candidate here; limestone might be more likely.

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