“Sur le Pont d’Avignon, on y danse on
y danse…” Lines from a 15th
century French nursery rhyme
Carol
writes: As we left the Mediterranean
coastline and headed north, our plan was to spend the next week in the section
of France called Provence. We were thrilled
with the continuation of the warm sunny days we had been enjoying along the
French Riviera. On our first day in
Provence, camped just outside of the tiny French village of Labesc, we were
shocked to learn of the Black Forest Fire very near our home in Colorado
Springs. The next day was even more
devastating for us when we learned that our house was in the mandatory
evacuation zone and our caretaker had received evacuation orders. These very dangerous and devastating forest
fires in our state are driven by extremely dry and relentless winds that are
commonplace in Colorado. Provence is
infamous for its powerful mistral winds, which blow 30-60 miles an hour about
100 days of the year. How ironic that
we were in an area also known for its tremendous winds! Every day for the next week, until the worst
of the fire danger was over, we hungrily gravitated to the Internet wherever we
could find it so we could get updates on the fire evacuation zones from our
local newspaper and from FB postings. If
our campground did not have Internet service, we pulled up McDonald’s locations
on the GPS and headed there.
The
mistral winds of Provence start in the Alps and funnel through the Rhone Valley
before they die down at the Mediterranean Sea.
It is said these winds have driven people insane (perhaps Vincent van
Gogh?), but for us it meant relief from the heat and fantastic laundry days.
The Roman Empire was a huge presence in Provence and there are many ruins to prove it—some of them extremely well preserved. In recent centuries many famous artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne, were drawn by the splendid lighting and arid climate of Provence, and they enjoyed many productive years there.
AVIGNON: Our first stop in Provence was near Avignon
at a lovely campground on the Ile de la Barthelasse, an island in the middle of
the Rhone River. Avignon has been known
to me from a nursery rhyme about its famous bridge that I learned to sing in
French as a young child. That little
ditty started running through my head as soon as we approached the charming
wall city.
We
began our visit to Avignon with a tour of the Palace of the Popes, the mighty
and sumptuous temporary residence of the papacy for 94 years (1309-1403). Nine popes ruled the Holy See from here in
what were obviously very extravagant surroundings, much of it remarkably
intact.
Although
the rooms were not furnished, the audioguide did a good job of explaining medieval
furnishings with tapestries and rugs typical in such a grand palace. The pope’s bedroom had marvelous frescoes of
hunting scenes. Unfortunately,
photographs were prohibited in any area with frescoes.
There
was nothing simple or plain about the massive dining hall
The
view from the tower was a grand one of the city. The gilded statue of the Blessed Virgin atop
the Avignon Cathedral next door made a nice backdrop for a picture from the
palace tower.
Now
for a walk out onto that bridge of nursery rhyme fame… The official name of the bridge at Avignon is
the St. Benezet Bridge, which in its heyday was a 22-arch masterpiece that
spanned 3000 feet. Today, only 4 arches
survive and so the bridge terminates in the middle of the Rhone River.
It
was a thrill to walk out as far as we could go.
There’s that nursery rhyme playing in my head again…
ORANGE,
FRANCE: With so many world-class
historical sites in France, sometimes it is a hard choice whether to take that
extra day to see a nearby most-exalted 3-star attraction or not. Al asked me what I thought about seeing a
Roman theater, and I made an impulsive decision that we should visit Orange to
see its triumphal Roman arch and grand Roman Theater.
The
great Roman arch of Orange was erected around 19 A.D., and the carving details
were preserved quite well.
The
Roman Theater in Orange was stupendous! It is the best preserved Roman theater
in existence and the only one with its acoustic wall still standing, thus
making it a fabulous musical venue to this day.
Tina Turner once performed here; she must have ‘rocked’ the place!
A
magnificent restored statue of Caesar dominates the theater backdrop.
PONT
DU GARD: Now that we were getting caught
up in the thrill of viewing wonderfully well-preserved Roman ruins, the next
day we headed off to nearby Pont du Gard, which certainly lived up to its claim
to fame as one of the most remarkable surviving Roman ruins anywhere. Pont du Gard was part of a massive Roman
aqueduct (circa 19 B.C.) that was built to provide water for Nimes, one of
ancient Europe’s largest cities. The
30-mile zigzagging route was an engineering marvel, and it is a wonder that
this grandest portion, built to span the river below, has survived for 2000
years!
What a wonderful feat of engineering! Primitive construction tools, along with rudimentary mathematics, were used to build this massive 3-tiered arched aqueduct bridge—all to carry precious water in a 4-ft wide, 6-ft deep channel at the very top.
ARLES,
FRANCE: The next day we moved camp to
the city of Arles, an important ancient travel intersection between Italy and
Spain. First on our itinerary was a visit
to a well-restored and relatively intact Roman Amphitheater.
One
could imagine the ancient gladiator competitions that were held here. During competitions, sometimes merely the
mood of the crowd was enough for the Roman emperor to make a decision whether
the losing gladiator would be spared or be given the death sign (thumb down).
We
roamed the quite passable circular hallways on two levels—a snap since the
theater is a present-day entertainment venue.
We made a brief walk through St. Trophine Church--simply because Rick Steves declared that this church “sports the finest Romanesque main entrance” he has seen anywhere. It was pretty impressive.
We
had some time to spare before hopping onto our bus back to the campground, so we
took time to pay homage to Vincent van Gogh, who spent 2 years of his life in Arles
where he cranked out some of his best work.
We walked a small section of the “van Gogh easel walk” along the streets
van Gogh knew so we could see through his eyes the places he painted. At each stop were photos of the final
paintings for the now-and-then comparison.
The “Café at Night” venue was interesting in an historical sort of way
but would have been better without the modern-day seating areas at street
level.
By
far, the most rewarding easel stop was the garden pictured in van Gogh’s “Garden
of the Hospital in Arles.” Obviously,
the flowers have changed, but the garden design and fountain with the golden arches
of the old hospital in the background haven’t changed to any extent in over 130
years. Most likely a victim of bipolar
depression, van Gogh was hospitalized here for over a year; however, he did
quite well from an artistic standpoint and produced more than 100 paintings in
a little hospital studio that was provided as a part of his therapy.
Now…
Then…
LES
BAUX, FRANCE: Our last stop in Provence
was to visit the medieval hilltop castle ruins at Les Baux. The modern day town of Les Baux sits at the
base of this windblown spur (baux in French) on which are the haunting remains
of a mighty former citadel from the Middle Ages. At the start of the tour we passed by
displays of medieval siege weaponry,
with
pastoral scenes of present-day vineyards and olive groves visible in the fields
below.
Dozens
of rooms that once formed this fortress castle were clustered up against the
natural rock faces.
The
size, method of construction, and organization of the rooms reminded us of ruins
we have seen from what would have been a slightly earlier Anasazi civilization
in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.
…no
kivas here, however, instead just the remains of an ancient chapel with Gothic
arches.
To our untrained eyes, this civilization was much more advanced than the Anasazis and showed evidence of a clever water catchment system (now only home to fields of poppies), constructed as a slanted stone field that caught rainwater which then flowed by means of water channels (cut into the rock face) into huge cisterns.
Pigeons were used at Les Baux as a means of communication in addition to being a source of food--just like in “Game of Thrones.” A stone pigeon rookery that was carved directly into the rock face looked as if the birds had just left the nest.
We
will always remember our week in Provence and how we were captivated by its
ancient Roman and medieval history, along with its warm sunny days with strong
mistral breezes. We will not soon forget
the added personal angst we experienced in Provence with knowledge of the
forest fire that came so close to our treasured home.
“You
lose sight of things…and when you travel everything balances out.” Anonymous
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