Farewell to Provence

Pont St. Julien - Roman Bridge in Provence

Provence should be a fantastic and scenic part of our trip to Europe and I'm sure we'll leave it wanting to come back. The trip itinerary should lead us to Switzerland after Provence and it will be just as wonderful. On this blog, I'll be jumping to Germany for my next group of updates. I don't have any good travel books on Switzerland, so that's the reason for the lack of information on that part of our trip. I'll make up for it by doing more stuff on Germany.

The Luberon

The Luberon region rivals the Cotes du Rhone area for beauty and charm. It is probably more famous and has more tourists than the Cotes du Rhone. It is covered in hilltop towns, stone houses, old ruins, rocky outcrops, vineyards, and fields of lavender. You must use a car to really experience this area. Many of the towns are justifiably famous, such as Isle-sur-la-Sorgue which is called the Venice of Provence because of it's many canals. Rousillon is a Spanish-looking town seated at the top of a rocky hill. The Pont St. Julien is the only bridge left on the main Roman road from Italy to the region. Fort de Buoux is a ruin of a castle that once controlled the entire region, but was destroyed in France's religious wars because it was controlled by the Protestants. There aren't many specific sites to visit in the Luberon, but the country and towns are a feast for the culture enthusiast. There are many cheap places to eat and lodge. It's a great place to get off the beaten path and get lost.

The Cotes du Rhone

This is where I begin to get excited. There's something about this lovely, vineyard covered region of France that has an immense attraction to me. Cotes du Rhone literally means "hillsides of the Rhone." These hillsides are covered with beautiful vineyards, seldom-visited stone villages, warm Bed & Breakfast's, and world-class wineries. Mountains decorate the background. The background of the whole area is dominated by Mount Ventoux. You can actually drive to the top of this mountain for a spectacular view of the area, if the weather is clear. In this region there are lots of places where hiking and biking trails are laid out for people wanting to see the country and get some exercise too. The small town of Vaison la Romaine is considered the best jumping off point for seeing the Cotes du Rhone villages. Generally, food and sleeping accomodations are cheaper in the small villages than in the larger cities of Avignon, Orange, and Arles. A great way to see the area is to take a drive on scenic loops through the region stopping at the hill-top villages for food, refreshment, and local markets.

Orange, France

Orange is home to another of the greatest Roman remains still in existence. It is a complete Roman Theater that is the best preserved of any in the world. It is one of only 3 in the world that still has the accoustic wall still standing (the other 2 are in Asia Minor.) Orange was originally founded as basically a retirement town for Roman soldiers to live in after their 20 years service. This theater was part of the luxurious attractions of this lovely town in the South of Gaul (France.)

Nimes

The city of Nimes (pronounced "neem"), France, is the site of two of the most amazing Roman structures still in existence. It is also the location where denim material originated. It is 30 minutes west of Avignon. It is the place where all the water going through the Pont du Gard ended up. Nimes is a much quieter and smaller city than Avignon and a night here is a decent escape from tourist crowds.


The Roman Arena in Nimes is the best preserved of its type in the world. It's in better shape even than the Colosseum in Rome. It was built around 100 AD and is still used for live bullfights and other events.

The Maison Carree ("square house") rivals Rome's Pantheon as the most complete and beautiful building that survives from the Roman Empire. It has been dated to AD 4 during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Rick Steves says that the video they show inside the building is not worth the money and you should just enjoy this building from the outside for free. The building is quite impressive either way. An interesting piece of trivia is that Thomas Jefferson used the Maison Carree as his model when designing the Virginia State Capitol building.

There are several other minor Roman sights in Nimes and a few museums, but they seem worthy of skipping in favor of visiting other places in Provence.

Avignon

This picture shows the two main sights of Avignon - the Palace of the Popes and the St. Benezet Bridge. Aside from these two sights, Avignon is mostly just a good jumping off place from which to explore the rest of Provence. It is a large city that is one of the main stops of the TGV train from Paris.
The Pont St. Benezet was the only bridge across the Rhone River in the Middle ages. It was mostly destroyed by a huge ice flood in the year 1668, so only a small portion of the bridge still stands. It only has 4 arches now, but it once had 22, so you can imagine how much larger it once was. From the end of the bridge you get a nice view of the town.
Between the bridge and the Palace of the Popes is a nice park called Parc des Rochers des Doms. This neat little park offers a beautiful view of the river and the famous bridge.
The Palace of the Popes (Palais des Papes) is the largest surviving Gothic palace in Europe. It was the center of the Catholic religion for roughly a 70 year span in the 1300's and 1400's. It is quite barren now with few furnishings to see, but the architecture is amazing.

Le Pont du Gard

The Pont du Gard is one of the most remarkable surviving Roman ruins anywhere. It is a massive stone aqueduct bridge over a large river canyon. It is the second highest standing Roman structure in the world - the Colosseum in Rome is only 6 feet taller. The main arch is the largest Roman arch ever built. No mortar was used in the construction of this stone bridge. You are allowed to walk on this magnificent ruin for wonderful views. This could easily be the greatest single sight to see in all of the French region of Provence. Provence is littered with tons of Roman remnants and I will be profiling some more of them in future posts. The Pont du Gard is located off the beaten path between the cities of Avignon and Nimes.

Intro to Provence

Provence is famous not so much for the individual sights that you'll see as for the scenery, people, food, and culture. It is a very relaxing area to visit, with charming small villages, vineyards, mountains, fields of poppies and lavender, and welcoming chambres d'hote (bed and breakfast places.) Provence is famous for it's own type of food that is quite different from other places. It is also famous for its rose wines. It's a great place to rent a car and drive around in since that's about the only way to see many of the small towns and beautiful scenery. This is one area to relax in and take your time. It should be a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Paris. The poppies should be blooming in April when we plan to be in Provence.

Provence, but Not the Riviera

After Paris, our plans are to visit the South of France. Surprisingly, this will likely not include the famous French Riviera area. Why not, you ask? It's too glitzy, expensive, and decadent for me. It's basically like Las Vegas on the beach. There aren't a ton of historically interesting places here either. The fact that the beaches are primarily nude ones is another major reason to stay away. Let's instead just stick to historic, quaint, cheap, and relaxing Provence.

The Paris Plan - First Day

So what's a good plan of attack for Paris? We should be arriving early on Tuesday morning and leaving early Thursday morning. That gives us all of jet-lagged Tuesday and all of well-rested Wednesday to explore in and around Paris. The Louvre is closed on Tuesday, but is open late on Wednesday. Here's a tentative schedule:


Tuesday:

1) Around 7AM - arrive in Paris (probably Charles de Gaulle airport)

2) At the airport or one of the Metro stations, we can purchase a "carnet" of tickets that are valid on buses and trains around Paris. A carnet is a pack of 10 tickets and is generally the best deal.

3) We can also purchase Paris Museum passes at the airport or Metro station - or we can get it at the first tourist sight we visit.


4) I'm not sure if we will be able to check our baggage into our hotel at this early time of day. If we can, then we might want to go there first and drop off our luggage. Otherwise, we might want to find a locker at one of the train stations to put heavy luggage in.


5) Getting a quick bite to eat might be a good idea also at this time.


6) For our first place to visit, I vote that we head to Notre Dame. If people want to see St. Chapelle, it's near Notre Dame and could easily be visited at this time too.

7) From St. Chapelle, the Musee d'Orsay is not far away. It would be a logical next stop.

8) From Musee d'Orsay, a good next stop could be Les Invalides with the French Army Museum and the Tomb of Napoleon.

9) From Les Invalides, we are basically in the neighborhood where we should be lodging, so we can check in now if we haven't already.

10) If some or all want to quit for the day, this might be the time.

11) For those with lots of energy, there should still be enough time to see the Eiffel Tower, which is open late, or go by the Rodin Museum. Might be nice to walk around the nice parks in the area too. This would also be a great time to take one of the bus tours that are available.

12) I don't know when we'll mix in lunch and dinner.

The longest tour stops of the day would likely be Musee d'Orsay and Les Invalides.

Versailles

How do I start telling about the Versailles Palace and Gardens? This is the most famous palace in the world and perhaps the greatest symbol of opulance in existence. It was built by Louis XIV to showcase the riches and power of France. Virtually all palaces are measured up against this one - and they all fall short. Pictures can't do it justice because it's so massive they can't capture it. Versailles is a short trip away from Paris and we should definitely give it a good half-day to get a glimpse of it at all. I don't think we'll have time to really do this place justice. It will probably be best for us to do a quick tour of the palace and maybe a cursory walk through the gardens. We just don't have time to view anything else. The lines to get into this place are as opulant as the palace, so we should plan on getting here early in the morning. The Paris Museum Pass allows skipping of the ticket line, but you still have to go through the security check line. Also, there are few bathrooms here, so the lines are long there too.



The most famous room of the Versailles chateau is the Hall of Mirrors. This is where the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI was signed.

The gardens of Versailles are truly magnificent. You could spend days just meandering around in them.

Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees

The Champs Elysees is the most famous boulevard in Paris and the Arc de Triomphe dominates one end of it. The massive Arc is one of the most famous monuments in the world. It is free to go to the top with a Paris Museum Pass. From the top of the Arc you can get some of the best views of Paris. The Arc de Triomphe was originally commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. The Champs Elysees is the busiest street in Paris and it also has some of the most famous, and pricey, shops in the city. The Arc de Triomphe is on one end of Champs Elysees, but on the other end is the Place de la Concorde. There is a large obelisk at the Place de la Concorde commemorating all the 2,780 people who were killed at this exact spot on the guillotine. The obelisk is 3,300 years old and comes from the entrance to Rameses II's temple of Amon in Egypt.

The Lovely Cathedrals of Paris

There are many cathedrals in Paris, but the two most famous are Notre Dame and St. Chapelle. Both of these cathedrals are located on the Ile de la Citie, one of two islands in the Seine River which are the original site of the city.

Notre Dame dominates one end of the island. It is probably the most famous cathedral in the world and is especially famous because of the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo. The Paris Museum Pass allows you to go up the towers with no extra charge, though you can't skip the line at this site. At the top of the towers, you have a wonderful view and you can also see the famous gargoyles up close.

St. Chapelle is another Gothic cathedral that was originally built to house the "authentic" Crown of Thorns. While Notre Dame took over 200 years to build, this cathedral was built in an unbelievable 5 years. This building houses the most magnificent display of stained glass you will find in the world. It will leave you awestruck.

The Musee de Rodin

Auguste Rodin is the most famous sculptor since Michelangelo. He is probably the only sculptor in "modern" times that has made readily recognized pieces. The museum devoted to him is right next to les Invalides near the neighborhood we plan to lodge in. I may take the time to just walk by this place and see it quickly since it's covered by the Paris Museum Pass and we'll be in the area.



Perhaps his most famous sculpture is The Thinker.

The Paris Museum Pass

The Paris Museum Pass pays for itself once you've gone into four museums. You can buy passes that are good for 2, 4, or 6 days. All we should need are the 2 day passes. The really wonderful thing about getting these is that they allow you to skip the line at nearly all museums. This can definitely save hours of time over a couple of days. It's good for over 60 museums in and around Paris including the Louvre, d'Orsay, Notre Dame towers, St. Chapelle, l'Armee, Versailles, and Arc de Triomphe. I recommend we buy it either at the airport in Paris or at whichever site we visit first. Ordering over the internet is not cost saving since it costs over $20 to have the pass shipped to the US. You cannot buy it online and just print it out on your home printer.

A Museum for the Men!

A short walk from the area of Paris where we plan to lodge is a museum that the men of our trip will certainly enjoy. If you are a history and/or military buff, this is a can't miss spot - the Musee de l'Armee located at Les Invalides. This is a large complex that was once a hospital for soldiers and also contained a golden-domed church. The hospital portion has been converted to the French Army museum and the church is now a shrine that contains the tomb of Napoleon and General Foch (of WWI fame.)

Just under the golden dome of the cathedral is where the tomb of Napoleon is located. I've always been fascinated with this low-born man from a nondescript island who rose to become the most feared military mind of his day. He was the "little corporal" who became the mighty emperor and later fell to the bottom and died on a lonely island. Prior to 1803, had I lived in the exact place I live in now this man would have been my ruler, since he owned the Louisiana Territory. He was the most powerful man in Europe, if not the world, by the time he was 34 years old. It was said that his personal charisma on a battlefield was worth an additional 10,000 men. Above is a picture of his tomb.

In addition the remains of Napoleon, this huge complex has one of the best military history museums in the world. Loads of old cannons, guns, and artifacts. There is also a whole wing of the complex that is dedicated to WWI and WWII. This museum could easily take up a whole day of your time. I recommend we let those less interested in this stuff take the whirlwind tour and then go sight-seeing nearby.

Musee d'Orsay If You Don't Like Paintings

The Orsay has quite a collection of priceless antiques in addition to its paintings. For those of you who aren't into art, this may be just the ticket. Some of these furniture pieces have particular interest to me since I've dabbled in woodworking.

Lorraine Forest Desk, Emile Galle

Lady's Writing Desk, Henry van de Velde

Clock, Christian Ferdinand Morawe

Chiffonnier, Jean Dampt - notice the handles are carved mice

Paintings of the Musee d'Orsay

Even if you are not into art very much, you will probably recognize many of the paintings in Musee d'Orsay. Everyone has heard of van Gogh and Monet! If you really love art, then this place will be a paradise for you. Below is a taste of what you can see in this fabulous museum of the Impressionists and their contemporaries.

Circus, Georges Seurat

Poppies, Claude Monet

The Angelus, Jean-Francois Millet

Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh

It shouldn't take more than two hours to get through this museum. It is located a short walk from the area of Paris where we plan on lodging.

Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay is the finest Impressionist museum in the world. It contains more originals of famous Impressionist paintings than any other museum. It used to be a huge railway station, but was converted into this museum in the 1970's. It contains paintings of Monet, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir, and Seurat among its treasures. It also contains some really neat furniture and decoration pieces from the period 1850-1914. The museum is not far from many other sites so those not interested in Impressionism can see other sites. This museum is also only a short walking distance away from the area where we will likely be staying in Paris. I'll be posting more concerning this site in later updates.

Other Stuff in the Louvre

Besides just having art, sculpture, and ancient history stuff, the Louvre also houses many priceless antiques from the last 1,000 years. Some of these may be more interesting to people in our group than any amount of art pieces.

This first piece picture above is the actual writing desk of Queen Marie Antoinette. This is the queen that the French revolutionaries sent to the guillotine.

Next up is the scepter of King Charles V of France.

This third piece is the jewel cabinet of Empress Josephine, Napolean's wife. Pretty impressive cabinet work, if you ask me.

This fourth piece is the actual helmut of King Charles IX of France. His shield is also in the museum. Doesn't look very comfortable, does it?

This last piece is the crown of Empress Eugenie. She was the wife of Napolean III. This impressive crown contains countless diamonds and emeralds.

There are also lots of tapestries and other antiques that the French call "objets d'art." You can also see the living apartments of Napolean III in the Louvre. They are supposedly set up just as they were during his reign in the mid-1800's when he lived there.