Blogs from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe - page 6

Day 4 of the cruise... read more

The next phase of our trip was a river cruise on the Rhone River in Provence, France. We were on the Ama Kristina which is one of the ships on Ama Waterways line. We started in Avignon and will finish in Lyon, north of here by about 150 miles. There are twelve locks along this section of the river and that was the major design constraint to the Ama Kristina…it was designed to have eleven inches on either side when it went through the locks along the river. Needless to say, it is a tight fit. The top deck is called the Sun Deck but it is too cold to be out there much. Besides the sundeck, the bow has two passenger levels, the lounge, and the dining room. The midships has three levels of passenger ... read more

Moustiers turned out to be a pretty village clinging to the side of a tall limestone cliff. A rushing stream runs right through the middle of the village, dividing it into two parts that are joined by two or three bridges. Above there are two tokens of religious fervour: a chapel perched on a rock perhaps 100 m above the village, and a gold metal star hung from a chain that spans the gap the stream has carved in the cliffside! I climbed up to the chapel, just because I wasn't already tired enough after 66 km of riding. The next day we embarked on the challenge of the Gorges du Verdon. The ride actually started with a long descent from Moustiers to the point where the river emerges from the gorge, to feed a hydro ... read more

Walk along the Red cliffs of Dramont Set against the natural backdrop consisting of the Esterel mountain range, Saint Raphael on the French Riviera is a well known seaside holiday resort, halfway between Cannes and Saint-Tropez. With 36 kilometres of coastline stretching from the Alpes-Maritimes through the Gold Coast (Corniche d’Or). Saint-Raphael has over 28 different beaches : sandy beaches, pebble beaches, creeks and rocky inlets. So today was My first tour with Heygo guide Eniko, what a beautiful walk following the rocky paths along the coastline & into the forest. The views were stunning & the intense red cliffs against the beautiful blue Mediterranean and the green pine trees was breathtaking A less happy memory for this part of Saint-Raphael is the landing of the allied troops during the Second World War on the Dramont ... read more

Aix is an hour drive from Avignon. We visit the Musee Granet named after famous local painter Francois Marius Granet. The museum houses a collection of French painters from 16th century on. We get an audio guide and enjoy art by Picasso (of course his art is everywhere). They have a self portrait by Rembrandt (he is Dutch, how did he get in this museum)? They have more than ten Cezanne masterpieces and work by Renoir and Van Gogh. After lunch we visit Fondation Vasarely. This is a modern art museum. I am not a modern art fan but I still joy visiting modern art museums. Modern art is often very colorful. Aix is a old Roman city with narrow cobblestone streets. The old city has blockades to keep the cars out. The city is known ... read more