Cruising Burgundy & Provence to the Cote d’Azur (2
Published date:
05.18.09
Cruising burgundy & province to the cote d’ Azur
Ms province
3252009 to 462009
We were met at the airport by the GCT van and quickly arrived at the Ellington hotel. It was close to the sea and many great bistros. We had the customary introduction talk and welcome drink (not juice this time but local liquor. Very good!). Our guide for this trip was a 37 year old Frenchman named Olivia. Olivia spent several years in the USA and spoke excellent English. His parents live in Paris, where he grew up. He now lives in marselle’s. He was very nice, very informative and may have been the best overall guide we ever had. After the intro: We went with friends for dinner. We walked through the town and investigated our many options, settling for a seafood place where we all had frites and mussels. The mussels were small but we got a large pot full of them and they tasted great.
On our first morning we had the mandatory buffet breakfast with soggy eggs, raw bacon, lots of sausage and lots of great breads and croissants. Then it was off to see the city. The best way to do this is to take the little train. It costs a few euros but no walking and a great view of the highlights of Nice. We walked from the hotel to the sea, past some nice fountains and pretty parks. We reached the little train, paid our fee and waited about 5 minutes enjoying the views of the sea. The train took us past the parks, through the midevil section of the city and up to the Parc du Chateau for the spectacular view. The Chateau, itself has been gone since 1706. Nowadays, Le Chateau refers to the 92 meter hill that towers above the city of Nice in France.
The Parc du Chateau is located on top of the hill and there is a playground for children to have fun, many flowers and shady walks through the trees. An artificial waterfall built in the 18th century and ruins of the 11th century castle are historical reminders.
The views from the Parc du Chateau are outstanding, one can see the winding, narrow streets of Old Town in Nice, the more modern city of Nice, Provence and further out... the deep blue Mediterranean Sea washes along the sands of the Baie des Anges. The train narrates everything you see in both French and English.
After the train, we walked through some local parks, enjoyed the fountains and monuments some more and then returned to the hotel to catch up with the tour.
We went to a local grocery store, bought a sandwich and some munchies for our upcoming bus trip and returned to the hotel for a few hands of bridge out in the court yard. It was a beautiful spring day and we loved the crisp cool breezes. At 1 pm we boarded our bus and headed out to the country side. In an hour we had eaten our lunch and were at the Rhone American Cemetery and memorial. With all of the heyday; around the Normandy invasion we often forget about those troops who left Italy and sailed to the French Rivera to liberate southern France and support our troops in the north. The cemetery is small compared to the Normandy cemetery but it is quite big in its own right and it is good to see how our government has and continues to honor those who gave their lives in Europe for our welfare.
After paying our respects we boarded our bus and traveled to Arles to meet our ship. The MS Province was docked on the Rhone river facing north, we boarded, were introduced to our crew and our hotel for the next couple of days. We had a wonderful dinner with lots and lots of wine. Arles is a beautiful medieval city. We had 42 passengers and 14 crew on our ship so we all got to know each other quite well. After dinner we set out to see Arles on our own
We found a huge amphitheater similar to the coliseum in Rome and several quaint restaurants
Arles is an extremely ancient town, having been established by the Greeks as early as the 6th century BC. The Romans took the town in 123 BC and expanded it into an important city, with a canal link to the Mediterranean Sea being constructed in 104 BC.
In 40 BC, it sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey, providing military support. Massalia made the mistake of backing Pompey; when Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward. The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion
Arles remained economically important for many years as a major port on the Rhône. The arrival of the railway in the 19th century eventually killed off much of the river trade, leading to the town becoming something of a backwater.
This made it an attractive destination for the painter Vincent van Gogh, who arrived there on 21 February 1888. He was fascinated by the Provençal landscapes, producing over 300 paintings and drawings during his time in Arles.
Many of his most famous paintings were completed there, including the Night Cafe, the Yellow Room, Starry Night, and L'Arlesienne. At each of these sites you can see the real site and a copy of how Van Gogh painted it.
However, van Gogh's mental health deteriorated and he became alarmingly eccentric, culminating in the infamous ear-severing incident in December 1888. The concerned Arlesians circulated a petition the following February demanding that van Gogh be confined. In May 1889 he took the hint and left Arles for the asylum at nearby St-Rémy-de-Provence.
In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists.
We visited Saint Trophimus, formerly a cathedral, major work of Romanesque architecture, and the representation of the Last Judgment on its portal is considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture, as are the columns in the adjacent cloister.
We boarded our ship for a delicious lunch and a lecture on Van Gogh. Then we cruised up the Rhone towards Avignon
The sun room - forward was a wonderful place to play cards and watch the river. We went past several locks, lots of wind mills and several nuclear power plants.
When we landed in Avignon it was raining heavily but we decided to see the city at night anyway. We walked the cobble stone street while Oliver explained the highlights.
Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309, when Pope Clement V, unwilling to face the violent chaos of Rome after his election (1305), moved the Papal Curia to Avignon, a period known as the Avignon Papacy.
Clement lived as a guest in the Dominican monastery at Avignon, and his successor Pope John XXII set up a magnificent establishment there, but the reconstruction of the old bishops' palace was begun in earnest by Pope Benedict XII (1334-42) and continued by his successors to 1364. The site, on a natural rocky outcrop at the northern edge of Avignon, overlooking the river Rhône, was that of the old Episcopal palace of the bishops of Avignon. The Palais was built in two principal phases with two distinct segments, known as the Palais Vieux (Old Palace) and Palais Neuf (New Palace). By the time of its completion, it occupied an area of 11,000 m² (2.6 acres). The building was enormously expensive, consuming much of the papacy's income during its construction.
The Grand Chapel, where the Avignon popes worshipped. Was on the hill adjacent to the palace itself.
Under Popes Clement VI, Innocent VI and Urban V, the building was expanded to form what is now known as the Palais Neuf. Jean de Louvres was commissioned by Clement VI to build a new tower and adjoining buildings, including a 52 m long Grand Chapel to serve as the location for papal acts of worship. Two more towers were built under Innocent VI. Urban V completed the main courtyard with further buildings enclosing it. The interior of the building was sumptuously decorated with frescos, tapestries, paintings, sculptures and wooden ceilings.
The popes departed Avignon in 1377, returning to Rome, but this prompted the Papal Schism during which time the antipopes Clement VII and Benedict XIII made Avignon their home until 1408. The latter was imprisoned in the Palais for ten years after being besieged within in 1398. The building remained in the hands of antipapal forces for some years – it was besieged from 1410 to 1411 – but was returned to the authority of papal legates in 1433.
Although the Palais remained under papal control for over 350 years afterwards, it gradually deteriorated despite a restoration in 1516. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789 it was already in a bad state when it was seized and sacked by revolutionary forces. In 1791 it became the scene of a massacre of counter-revolutionaries, whose bodies were thrown into the Tour des Latrines in the Palais Vieux.
The Palais was subsequently taken over by the Napoleonic French state for use as a military barracks and prison. The remaining interior woodwork was cleared away for use of the structure as a stable the frescos were covered over and largely destroyed
The next day we took a detailed tour of the city and of the pope’s palace with a local city guide. The rain had stopped but the mistrial was there in full force. We were impressed by the many shops and restaurants, the pastries and the opera house.
The mistral is a fresh or cold, often violent, and usually dry wind, blowing throughout the year but is most frequent in winter and spring. It blows from the northwest or north of Europe through the valley of the Rhône River to the Mediterranean. It also affects the whole of Sardinia in Italy.
The mistral is usually accompanied by clear and sunny weather, and it plays an important role in creating the climate of Provence. It can reach speeds of more than ninety kilometers an hour, particularly in the Rhone Valley.
The ship went out of our way to sail past St. Benezet Bridge before making a u turn and returning to our trip.
The Pont Saint-Bénezet, is a famous medieval. It originally spanned the Rhône River. It was built between 1171 and 1185, with an original length of some 900 m (2950 ft), but it suffered frequent collapses during floods and had to be reconstructed several times. Over the centuries, it became increasingly perilous as arches collapsed and were replaced by rickety wooden sections.
The bridge was finally put out of use by a catastrophic flood in 1668, which swept away much of the structure. only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today.
The bridge's construction was inspired by Saint Bénézet, a local shepherd boy who was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river. Although he was ridiculed at first, he dramatically "proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a huge block of stone. He won support for his project from wealthy sponsors who formed themselves into a Bridge Brotherhood to fund its construction. After his death, he was interred on the bridge itself, in a small chapel standing on one of the bridge's surviving piers on the Avignon side.
The bridge was also the site of devotion by the Rhône boatmen, whose patron saint was Saint Nicholas. They initially worshipped in the Chapel of Saint Nicholas on the bridge itself (where Saint Bénézet's body was also interred) but the increasing dilapidation of the bridge led to the clergy refusing to preside over services for fear of a total collapse. A new chapel was erected on dry land in the 18th century at the foot of the bridge, on the Avignon side.
The bridge had great strategic importance as the only fixed river crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. It also formed the only river crossing between the Comtat Venaissin, an enclave controlled by the Pope, and France proper under the authority of the Kings of France. As such, it was closely guarded on both sides of the river. The left bank, which was controlled by the French crown, was overlooked by the formidable fortress and the citadel at Villeneuve-les-Avignon.
Tonight we had another fantastic dinner and more great wines but after dinner we were entertained by Pablo who played a organ and sang songs from countries all over the world . as he changed locations, he also changed his hats and he and the crew came out and danced and carried on with the passengers. We had a ball.
Today we cruised with a short stop in Viviers. Which is a community in the département of Ardèche in southern France. It is a small walled city situated on the right bank of the Rhône. The Viviers Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Vincent de Viviers) is situated on a high plateau overlooking the city. We took the road up to the cathedral and enjoyed the fantastic panoramic views. The winding cobble stone streets, medieval architecture and good company made the hike very enjoyable.
This evening we went to the home of Joelle Giorana for a home hosted dinner. Joelle’s husband picked us up at the ship and drove us to their lovely bed and breakfast. Joelle showed us around their home while her husband went to pick up a second load of guests. The dinner was delicious and the wine and brandy flowed freely. We had a little language barrier but Joelle spoke Spanish as well as French and chip was able to translate using the Spanish.
Lyon
Upon landing in Lyon we took the typical bus tour of the city.
We rode up the mountain past roman ruins to Fourvière basilica. Built in 1872 and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, saint patron of Lyon, this massive church made of white marble has been compared to an elephant with its feet up. It is a typical example of the 19th-century "eclectic" style, with architectural elements recalling antique, classical and Gothic eras. The Byzantine-style interior decoration is extremely exuberant, too much so for some people.
Next to the basilica is the panoramic viewpoint, with the best view over the city. If the weather is clear, the Mont Blanc can be seen in the distance. This is a very good point to start your visit of the city because you can really see its general layout.
Later in the day we had a lecture on the French Resistance.
The next morning, we went to the Résistance museum.
The Musée de la Résistance, commemorates French resistance to Nazi occupation, in which Lyon played a central role.
The museum is located in what used to be the offices of the Gestapo and Klaus Barbie and contains exhibits and historical documents related to the Resistance. While it avoids being too downbeat, the museum will leave few unmoved. The themes of the exhibition are the onset of war and the beginnings of the resistance and deportation. Using a trilingual infrared audio system, you can move through the exhibition at your own speed. There are many films on life during the occupation and others on concentration camps. They were more graphic and higher quality then the films we have seen in many holocaust museums.
Since May 2005, Lyon also has a public bicycle service which allows travelers, after registering a credit card, to pick up, and drop cycles to and from over 300 points around the city. You need a credit card to make use of the service. The prices are very cheap: €1 for the card, then €1hour of use, with the first half hour of each use free. If you have taken a bike and realize that it has a problem (broken chains, warped wheels, flat tires or even missing pedals are commonplace), just put it back into its place and repeat the procedure to take another one. Recent improvements to the system have made this operation fast and easy.
Note that the system only works with a European creditdebit card. Otherwise the transaction is aborted, no explanations given on the terminal. It is supposed to accept all cards with a chip, but those with foreign cards could experience difficulties. The terminals have very limited English and that makes it a rough start, but once you get to know the system, it is a great way to move around the city. There are so many bikes that it can sometimes be a problem to return them.
In the afternoon we walked the city, stopped for ice cream in an open air café, and wondered through secret alleyways and into secret hidden court yards and enjoyed watching people relax and play along the river bank (large swimming pools, soccer fields, steps and benches made the river bed into a community park.
We had a lecture on the silk industry and a silk painting demo. A free afternoon to shop and roam some more
We visited St. Jean Cathedral, The cathedral hosts a spectacular astronomical clock. It is especially worth seeing when the bells ring. Over the main door, the rose window, known as the "Lamb rose window", is a spectacular work of art depicting the life of St Stephen and St John the Baptist.
After dinner we all went up on deck while the ms province headed south on the Rhone to the end of Lyon, then transferred to the Saone River to head north again. The lights of the city we extraordinary and Oliver’s commentary brought the history of the city into the light.
Our first and only stop on the Saone is Macon and then it’s a bus ride to gay Pari.
Macon is in the Saone-et-Loire department, to the south of the Burgundy region, north of Lyon.
The town and region, is best known for its local wine. If you can tear yourself away from wine-tasting for a while, the town is a very pleasant place to pass some time.
The town is the most southerly in Burgundy, and perhaps the first town that you come to heading south through France that feels 'Mediterranean', with canal tile roofs and pastel painted buildings.
The section of town along the banks of the Saone River is the most interesting, and attractive, for visitors. The cathedral Saint-Vincent deserves a look.
Since it is a long way to Paris we stopped at a local winery - Chateau Clos du Vovgeot - for a pit stop and some simple shopping. We also had a lecture on growing grapes for good wine.
Our next stop was a delightful little town where we had lunch and a tour of a catholic hospital. Hospices de Beaune Hospital
The multicolored roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu have become one of the symbols of Burgundy.
The Hôtel-Dieu was founded on 4 August 1443, when Burgundy was ruled by Duke Philip the Good. The Hundred Years War had recently been brought to a close by the signing of the Treaty of Arras in 1435. Massacres, however, continued with marauding bands still roaming the countryside, pillaging and destroying, provoking misery and famine. The majority of the people of Beaune were declared destitute.
The hospital received its first patient on 1st January 1452. Elderly, disabled and sick people, with orphans, women about to give birth and the destitute have all been uninterruptedly welcomed for treatment and refuge, from the Middle Ages until today.
Who would suspect this architectural jewel of holding some 5,000 items, among which the most famous is the polyptych of The Last Judgment (Rogier van der Weyden)
Soon we were in Paris; we checked into our hotel and took a short walking tour of the area. The Fenton’s and Weindorf’s decided to find dinner along Gaitity Street. It was theater night and the bistros were jam packed. We found a nice place and proceeded to try and figure out the menu.
After a nice rest in our hotel, we took the included bus tour of Paris. It was very well narrated and included all of the highlights with a brief stop at the Effie tower. We left the bus at the Dorsey museum and walked around Paris on our own. We started at the petite palace and enjoyed the “not so famous’ but oh so fabulous works of art and the lovely garden. We t hen walked to the champs de elsay where we stopped for a good Italian lunch. This was the same place we ate dinner our first night after the Seine river boat tour. The weather was good and as always the people watching was fabulous. After lunch and a few glasses of wine we walked back to the louve where pat and I took the bus back to the hotel. Dee and chip went off to the victor Hugo museum.
We rested and met up with the Fenton’s for dinner. This time we choose Chinese it was very good.
Our third morning in Paris started with Oliver taking us on a walking tour of the marshes (the Bastille section of Paris.) We took the underground (two lines) to just past Norte Dame. We walked the medieval streets, stopped in a synagogue. Visited the Jewish quarter and found a number of hidden gardens and courtyards. We ended up at Notre Dame. Pat and I went in to see the cathedral (this was our 4th visit but it never gets dull.) while Dee and chip went to the Lourve ( we have see that too many times) and we were too tired to see it again. T his evening we had a farewell drink (actually a bottomless farewell drink) and some nice good bye discussions with our group.
Back home through Philly. And the sun shine and warmth of phoenix Arizona
Traveler: John from Maricopa, AZ traveled
on March 25, 2009
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