Part 1 : Provence
Day 1 (8 km): We flew (as usual) from
Montréal's Mirabel airport. Unfortunately, the only
transatlantic flight out of Ottawa (our home) is to London. As a
result, we must coerce someone (usually one of our children) to drive
us the 200 km to Mirabel. At the airport we met a colleague (now
retired) we had worked with in the '60's. He and his wife had
arranged one of those house exchanges through an agency and they were
off to a small town east of Lyon to live in someone's house for a
month while the owner of that house lived in their house in Canada.
Interesting concept. I wonder if we'll ever have the courage to try
it. Our flight went directly to Satolas aéroport just
east of Lyon. We loaded our bikes on the shuttle bus that goes
from the airport to the two train stations in Lyon, Part Dieu and
Perrache. We found a train from Gare Perrache which allowed us to
carry our bikes free. (Check my web page on 'bikes
on trains' to see how you can do that before you go on your
trip.) We changed trains in Valence and arrived in
Orange in the early evening. We found a hotel (Hotel Le
Glacier), cleaned up and rushed out to dine. After dinner we wandered
around the heart of this ancient city. There's a remarkably
well-preserved Roman amphitheatre there which seats 10000 people and
is still in use. As we walked around the outside (all entrances were
closed) we could hear them inside rehearsing the opera "Carmen" which
was to be performed in the theatre on Saturday (3 days hence). It was
exciting! We knew we couldn't stay for the opera but we vowed to
return to Orange some day to see some spectacle in that 2000 year old
theatre. (In 1997, we did return and saw Donizetti's opera 'Lucia di
Lammermoor'. It was a memorable evening. If you're planning to go to
Orange, check the summer schedule of "Les Chorégies d'Orange".
It's worth it!)
Day
2 (54 km): There was a market setting up as we left
Orange. We bought pastries and headed east, stopping to eat them with
our coffee in the first village. There's a range of small mountains,
Les Dentelles de Montmirail , about 25 km east of Orange. The
small villages along the western edge of the mountains, Sablet,
Séguret, Gigondas,
Vacqueyras all produce superior Côtes du Rhône wines
and Beaumes-de-Venise, at the southern end of the range,
produces a very nice sweet muscat dessert wine. We bought a Gigondas
which we shared at lunch and a Beaumes-de-Venise which we saved. We
found a disappointing hotel (H. l'Univers) in Carpentras, a
rather grubby and noisy little city. After dinner we saw dancers from
the National Ballet of Armenia performing in a square in the
city.
Day
3 (54 km): On Friday mornings in Carpentras there is a
very large market which fills the streets and squares of the city
centre. We toured the market in our usual styles: Peter and I
wandering aimlessly, watching the people; Heather and Carol marching
determinedly from stall to stall - "power shopping" in action. They
made a couple of small purchases and then we headed out to the
north-east. In Caromb, just 12 km away, we found a nice hotel
(H. le Beffroi) where we unloaded our panniers and then continued
along the east side of the Dentelles, stopping at
Malaucène where we had a nice lunch in one of the many
cafés and restaurants on the bustling main street. Peter and
Heather toured the town and then returned to Caromb. Carol and I
continued north, passing fields of lavender, climbing to the pretty
little hamlet of Crestet with its
12th C church, 11th C castle and great view east to Mont
Ventoux and the Baronnies, and then on to
Vaison-la-Romaine, an attractive small town with extensive
evidence of its Roman past, before returning to Caromb. Having eaten
in a restaurant at lunch, we decided to have a nice picnic supper by
the church in this quiet village.
Day
4 (49 km): We headed south, skirting to the east of
Carpentras through St. Didier to Pernes-les-Fontaines.
There was a small market there near the impressive gates and canal.
We picked up some food and had our lunch in a very attractive setting
before continuing on to l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue,
a very picturesque small town with a number of canals (complete with
water wheels) and shady parks. We had a little difficulty finding a
hotel, finally ending up at the modern Hotel Acticentre. We took
advantage of their pool, since it was (typically) very hot
(35°C/95°F). The highlight of the day for me involved the
following exchange (in French) with the young woman at the desk while
I was registering at the hotel: (Woman)"You are Canadians!" (Me)
"Yes." (Woman) "But you have no accent!" This is great progress when
compared to my first trip to France in 1984 when a man in an antique
shop in the Alsace said this about me to my friend "Your friend
sounds like a university textbook." After a nice dinner we watched a
performance of modern dance in a unique outdoor setting - the stage
was on one side of a small canal while the audience all sat on the
grass on the other side.
Day
5 (26 km): l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is filled each Sunday
morning with a large brocante (antique/junk market) which
fills the town. We were there a long time - long enough, in fact,
that Heather and Carol stopped their high-speed
blitz to have a beer! We headed east through the pretty village
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse up a very steep climb and into the
Luberon, a mountainous area spotted with attractive little
villages. The Luberon is the setting for two outstanding French
films: Jean de Florette and its sequel Manon des
Sources ("Manon of the Springs"). Seek them out at your
video-rental outlet. The temperature was 35°C again. It's been
in the mid-thirties every day since we arrived in Orange. The route
past Gordes was très valloné (rolling
hills) and très difficile ! We continued on to
Joucas where we found a nice hotel (Hostellerie des
Commandeurs) with a great view of the red cliffs of Roussillon
and a very welcome pool!
Day
6 (46 km): We had breakfast in Roussillon. The sandstone
deposits in the area around this village are in a variety of shades
of ochre, from nearly yellow to nearly red. Wind erosion has created
a fantastic collection of colourful shapes. We carried on across the
valley toward the long west-to-east ridge of the Montagne du
Luberon. We crossed the little Calavon river on the hump-backed
Pont Julien, the best preserved Roman bridge of its kind in France,
and then climbed to the hilltop village of Bonnieux
where we had lunch. We continued east to Apt but we didn't
like the ambiance of the town so we headed back to Bonnieux where we
booked into the Hotel César for two nights. There's a great
view across the valley from the top of the village. We could see the
nearby village of La Coste as well as Roussillon and even Mont
Ventoux towering in the distance. Both Carol and Heather were very
ill that night. It marked the beginning of problems that plagued all
of us except Peter for the whole trip and even after our return. I
won't go into much detail. If I tell you that since that trip Carol
will only drink bottled water, can you figure it out? We think that
Peter's diet of Mars bars and Diet Coke spared him.
Day 7 (No cycling!): We took the 6:45 AM bus for the
one-and-a-half-hour ride over the mountain and down into
Aix-en-Provence. By the time we got there Carol was feeling
very ill again. We asked when the next bus back to Bonnieux left and
we were told not until the late afternoon. So Carol and I spent much
of the day in a park while she tried to get over feeling so sick.
Peter and Heather had come here mostly to see Cézanne's
atelier . They followed the walking tour "In the footsteps of
Paul Cézanne" which took about two and a half hours and showed
them many highlights of this very beautiful city. When they finally
got up to the atelier they found out it was closed on Tuesdays! Big
disappointment. We took the bus back to Bonnieux - that's Heather,
Peter, me and the wet dishrag that looked like my wife, only more
gray.
Day 8 (39 km): Carol's feeling a little better. We
stopped in La Coste for breakfast. It's an eerily quiet little
hilltop village dominated by the ruins of the castle of the infamous
Marquis de Sade. We continued on to Ménerbes, along the
way passing the house which was the basis for Peter Mayle's best
seller "A Year in Provence". We stopped to look into the old village
of Oppède (great view from the 11th C church) then down
into Cavaillon where we found a hotel (H. du Parc). Cavaillon
is a busy, not very attractive little city, the centre for the
agricultural activities in the area and famous for the sweet melons
prized so highly in Paris.
Day
9 (46 km): We cycled along a beautiful road into St.
Remy-de-Provence where we found a nice hotel (H. Canto Cigalo -
the song of the cicadas). The hedge along side the hotel was
rosemary! The aroma was fantastic. We dropped our panniers and headed
south. At the outskirts of town we stopped to see the Ruines
de Glanum, Roman remains of St. Remy's past. Then we had a
stiff climb to Les Baux-de-Provence, perched atop one of the
peaks of the Chaîne des Alpilles, a range of small
mountains just south of St. Remy. It is très touristique
so be prepared for bus-loads of people climbing to the top to see
the artisans' shops and the ruins at the summit.
Day
10 (32 km): There was a market in
St. Remy which must, of course, be checked out! We tore ourselves
away (it was actually pretty easy for Peter and me) and headed west
through St. Etienne-du-Grès, across the N570 and on to a small
country lane (D35) which took us through beautiful fields of
sunflowers (appropriately) into Arles. We found a central
hotel (H. le Cloitre). The cloudless sky, the 35°C temperature,
the still used Roman arena and theatre, the spirit of Van Gogh all
contribute to making this the most Provençal of all cities. We
did some touring, then Peter and I found a shady spot to do some
reading while the women ferreted out all of Arles' treasures. A nice
day!
Day
11 (60 km): There was a large market setting up as we
breakfasted in Arles. I must say our power shoppers were quick with
it, despite its size. We've happened upon so many markets already on
this trip, they may be tiring. We headed west across the Rhône
and were immediately in the marshy area known as the Camargue,
a large swamp at the mouth of the Rhône. We saw egrets,
flamingos, the famous white horses and black bulls, bamboo and lots
of water. It's dead flat all the way to Aigues-Mortes. At
35°C again with no shade and a wind in our faces, it was a tough
60 km. Aigues-Mortes is a well preserved walled town which was once a
major seaport from which two Crusades were launched and through
which, it is said, the Black Death arrived in Europe. Now, however it
is silted in, about 10 km of mosquito infested salt flats from the
sea, and tourism is its major industry. We found a hotel (Royal
Hotel) outside the town walls with a welcomed pool. Heather has been
troubled by reports from home of her father's failing health. She
wonders if she should return home but her father says no. (He was
right. Although he ultimately succumbed, he had a couple more good
years. Tough old guy!) We walked the ramparts of the town, wrote
post cards home and then had a lovely meal including tellines
persillades , tiny mauve-grey clams cooked in their shells with
lots of garlic and parsley in olive oil. They were delicious. (Rest.
Les Enganettes)
Day
12 (66 km): We cycle to the sea at Le Grau-du-Roi
and then followed the coast west to Palavas-les-Flots.
This whole strip reminds me of Virginia Beach. From Palavas west
there is a thin strip of land all along which separates the
Mediterranean from a series of shallow ponds called
étangs . The water in these ponds has a reddish
tinge due to the large number of tiny shrimp in the very salty water.
Flamingos thrive here on this salty seafood diet. The Canal du
Rhône is dredged out of the middle of these ponds to allow an
inland waterway connection from the Rhône to the Canal du Midi.
To allow for the dredging equipment, there is
a towpath right down the middle of these large shallow ponds
along this canal which is a little rough but still cyclable. It's a
weird feeling cycling straight across a lake. From some vantage
points on shore it must have looked as though we were cycling on the
surface of the water. We arrived in the busy fishing port of
Sète just in time to see the joutes nautiques
(the nautical jousts). If you're ever in Sète, you must
see this spectacle. There are two boats, each with a long ramp
sticking forward from the bow. On this ramp stands a man with a
cudgel (a long pole with a padded knob at the end). There are ten
oarsmen in each boat and, sitting up at the back of the boat, there
are two musicians, one with a flute or recorder and the other with a
drum. At the signal, the musicians begin to play, the oarsmen begin
to row, the two boats charge at each other like jousting knights, and
the two men on the ramps try to knock each other into the water. It's
great entertainment! We decided not to stay in Sète because
the last time we were there it was very noisy - there's lots of
"action" in Sète. It's a lot like La Rochelle in that way. We
went a little out of town to the west and found a disappointing hotel
(H. St. Clair) and a disappointing restaurant . We should have stayed
in Sète.
Day 13 (26 km): We decided to take a "beach day". We
cycled 20 km down the Corniche des Plages to le Cap d'Agde, a
typical Mediterranean beach resort town. We found a modern hotel
(l'Alhambra) and separated to tour the town. It's very crowded, lots
of shops selling T-shirts, junk food, etc. Carol ventured on to the
beach for a while. Peter and Heather braved the blistering sand for a
couple of hours. I figured out beaches a long time ago. You've got
your sand, your sun and your water. Yawn!! You can probably tell that
a day at the beach is not my idea of fun. The town is pretty enough,
with well kept ornamental plantings. There was lots of activity in
the town in the evening, lots of young people cruising, looking for
action.
Select next trip segment.