I keep thinking that the days can’t get any better on this
visit and THEY DO. What a MASTER travel
planner Emilie is!
Our 8 night stay at La Villa Noria has been absolutely
wonderful. Philippe and Sylvie have been
such gracious hosts – very helpful. And
we enjoyed playing with “their children” – Herbie and Indie, 2 playful cocker
spaniels. I stayed away from the cat!
Philippe and Sylvie
(L to R) Indie and Herbie - cocker spaniels
Our room with the interesting ceiling at La Villa Doria in Provence
Our patio at La Villa Doria in Provence
We have seen SO MANY bikers in this region. With the Mont Ventoux close by their apparently is a favorite area for bikers – they are all over the roads, and present driving hazards too!
The mistral winds woke me up during the night – really, really strong winds. Apparently this is common in this region and they are used to it. It stayed strong all day.
We had our breakfast and then hit the road to Orange. We had a bit of trouble finding the right parking area but finally found a space near the Arc de Triomphe – the one built in 20 AD!!! Yes, 20 AD and still standing. It is beautiful. Positioned in the middle of a small traffic circle – not as large as the one in Paris at L’Etoille but impressive and 2,000 years old.
The Arc de Triomphe in Orange - 2000 years old!
Beautiful ceiling on the Arc de Triomphe in Orange
Arc de Triomphe in Orange as seen from the city street - in a park with traffic circle around
Canal running through Orange
Then we walked through the town where they were having a market to the Roman theatre built in 40 AD. Part of it has been ruined but it is still used for performances. In fact they were setting it up for Phantom of the Opera (Phantome de la Theatre). We took the audio guided tour and enjoyed that a lot. I learned a new word here – the vomitorium – which is a section of the theatre that divided the classes. I loved that the “foreigners” were put in the section with the beggars, prostitutes, and homeless. Also, they explained that the large statues were made in a way that the heads were removable so when they got a new emperor they just changed the head and the body was the same. Smart!
The exterior of the Roman theatre in Orange - beautiful structure
Statue outside the Roman theatre in Orange
The old Roman theatre - I loved the "vomitorium section" myself!
The stage area - they were setting up for Phantom of the Opera - I'll bet the performances are spectacular with the sound, sight and setting!
The statues above the stage were made with removable heads - change the head once a new emperor is crowned! How practical!
The interior spaces of the ancient Roman theatre - it was so much cooler inside.
The seating areas in the Roman theatre in Orange
Ruins of an old temple outside the Roman theatre in Orange
Ruins of an ancient Roman wall in Orange - if those walls could talk!
They were having a "market" in Orange when we visited - I have been fascinated with these but I think Tim is over them! This was a merchant that had all kinds of olives - how wonderful they looked.
Then we drove to the Pont du Gard – an old Roman aqueduct built almost 2000 years ago. It is the tallest Roman aqueduct still standing and was originally 31 miles long. This is the only portion remaining and has 3 levels. We walked all around and enjoyed that a lot. We had a light lunch here and then hit the road again.
The Pont du Gard from the north on the left bank
The Pont du Gard from the south looking at the most ancient side
We had skipped Arles the other day since it was market day so we went back en-route to La Barben. It was great.
We saw the ruins of the old theatre, the large Roman amphitheatre, and the old church in the square next to City Hall (Hotel de Ville). We stopped at a sidewalk café for a coffee and I had my favorite – Isle flottante – yum!
The Hotel de Ville in Arles
Typical street scene in Arles
Entrance to the ancient theatre in Arles
The Roman amphitheatre in Arles - beautiful structure
Front of the Roman amphitheatre in Arles
Then we made the remaining 35 minute drive to La Barben. Tonight we are staying in the Chateau La Barben as guests of the owners, Bertrand and Gislaine Pillivuyt. As we drove up – WOW! Gorgeous chateau.
It has 5 “chambres d’hote” and we are in the Auguste Room. Auguste was a brother of the owner of the castle and also the lover of Napolean’s sister. Lot of history here. The original family were loyal to the king of France and that caused many problems at the chateau over the years especially during the revolution when the rebels pillaged the castle. We took a guided tour at 5 pm and got to see all of the special rooms that are right outside our Auguste Chambre!! This is a VERY special place for sure. Glad Emilie arranged this for us.
Entrance to the Chateau La Barben
The Chateau La Barben as seen from the "upper patio" - this is already 3 stories up!
Larry at his chateau - I could do this, I think!!!!
Entry to the castle from one of the patios at Chateau La Barben
Our suite - the Augustin Room - at Chateau La Barben
Our "French bathtub" - no shower - at Chateau La Barben - bathing was difficile!
Our sitting room area of our suite at Chateau La Barben
A bit fuzzy (but I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures) - the tapestry outside our suite
View of the property from our room at Chateau La Barben
At 7:30 we were invited for aperitifs with the owners and one other couple from Grenoble – Danielle Noirey and Jean-Claude Mille who are also staying here. Bertrand took us to one of the large drawing rooms that we had visited on our tour and then with an old key opened up a smaller room with comfortable chairs. Gislaine told us in French that the paintings on the walls were of Versaille – quite old. A beautiful room. This is where Bertrand and Gislaine receive their guests each evening at 7:30. Bertrand has a small basket with lots of bottles “of goodies” and he serves the guests.
We had rose wine with a pamplemousse (grapefruit) wine first and then we had a white wine with cassis (kir). The one with pamplemousse was really good and refreshing. Gislaine spoke a little French while Bertrand was quite fluent. We made it through over an hour of “aperitif time”. Bertrand wanted to see our “guide book” that Emilie had prepared. He was impressed and Jean-Claude and Danielle were too. Gislaine said that “she wants to see France with an Emilie tour”! Everyone was so impressed with our tour. We feel so fortunate to be having all of these experiences – and we are only 2 weeks into it!
Then their daughter prepared dinner for us in the old kitchen that was used as a pastry kitchen. It was delicious – a wonderful fresh salad and then a huge piece of fish followed by apricots with lavender for dessert. We enjoyed our conversation with Danielle and Jean-Claude even though our French wasn’t the best and their English about the same. A fun time. We had a few times that a conversation just stopped and we went on to something else as we didn’t know the words – or gestures – to explain the thought. We even talked about Obama and Holland – interesting political discussion!
Our table d'hote in the old kitchen - Gislaine Pillivuyt, owner, and
Danielle and Jean-Francois from Grenoble who were also guests at the chateau
After café we retired to the Auguste Suite and slept
well. During the night the mistral winds
died down a lot and the air was calm. It
is SO QUIET in a castle at night. But
Tim wondered if the castle has ghosts!!!! Ha! Didn't hear any as we both zonked out!
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