So, it’s a quiet rainy Sunday in Dinan (I haven’t yet finished my post about arriving in and exploring this wonderful town in Brittany), and I wanted to relate a few thoughts now that I am a bit past mid-journey on this trip to France. I loved my time in Provence, especially in Avignon and Arles (so much to see!) and in the beautiful hill towns of the Luberon. I also greatly enjoyed my time by the sea in Cassis and on the Giens peninsula but it was very busy there with too many people and too many cars. And, it was somewhat heartbreaking to look at that gorgeous blue sea and not swim in it! If I am lucky enough to return to Provence, I would visit in the early Fall once the kids are back in school, the grape vines and trees are turning gold and orange, and the intense heat of the summer is gone but the beautiful Mediterranean is still warm enough to swim in.
The people here in France have been incredibly kind, welcoming, and helpful, from my accommodation hosts, to bus drivers, to shop keepers, museum attendants, and people I have chatted with at bus stops, on trains, and on park benches. My friend G. (who is very much a people person) has asked me several times about my conversations with others. My longer conversations have been limited to easy, casual topics due to my level of spoken French but they have all left me feeling that I have connected well with the person or persons I spoke with. I am missing conversations with my friends and family back home, but I do also very much appreciate this time to be by myself and I do not mind long stretches of being alone and silent.
I have written with enthusiasm about all of the wonderful things that I have seen and experienced while here, but I do have a few disappointments to share. First, the level of litter and graffiti that I have seen (especially in some parts of Paris) is quite shocking coming from a very clean Vancouver. I really don’t know how people can stand it. Next, there seems to be very little recycling going on which surprised me and again makes me very appreciative of my home. It has been almost painful for me to put cardboard, plastic, glass and even organics into the regular garbage when I am so used to recycling it! Finally, the lack of wildlife and truly wild spaces has also been disappointing, but I guess is to be understood when this land of almost seventy million people, but only half the size of British Columbia and one eighteenth the size of Canada, has been settled, farmed, mined, quarried, traversed, fought over, and developed for thousands of years. Thank goodness for the birds I have seen, my two lizards, and yesterday at dusk I saw bats from my window which was very exciting. I’ll look for them again tonight!
Now about food as I seem obsessed with it since arriving in Dinan! Up to this point in my journey I have only had one restaurant meal and several purchased sandwiches. For budgetary reasons, and also because grocery shopping and cooking provide some downtime from my sightseeing, I have subsisted on these main staples: oranges, apples, bananas, peppers, carrots, salad greens, milk, yogurt, eggs, ham, baguettes, butter, jam, coffee, and simple pasta dishes made with tomato sauce, mushrooms, zuchinni, chicken once (meat is expensive here), and herbs de provence, especially rosemary plucked fresh and free from the hillsides. I have also bought cans of sardines in various sauces (basil and lemon, olive oil and lemon, sun dried tomatoes) when I was craving fish and they provided an easy, inexpensive, and surprisingly delicious source of protein and omega 3’s. Here is a very easy recipe for a delicious meal that I enjoyed more than once (photo top left): Boil up some carrots and potato pieces and add asparagus pieces in the last two minutes. Meanwhile, in a fry pan, melt a pat of butter with garlic and fresh cut rosemary and spoon it over the drained vegetables. Then, swirl the ham around in the residual hot butter, garlic, and rosemary in the pan for about a minute. Quick, simple, and very very delicious!)
But, since entering Dinan with its very many boulangeries, ice-cream shops, creperies, cafés, and restaurants (prices here are better than in Provence and Paris) I find myself reading every other menu board to see what’s on offer! Yesterday, I splurged on a lunch of Chinese food, of all things, (it was delicious), and I bought an amazing local specialty – a Kouign Amann aux Pommes. Not cheap at 3 euros, but omg, buttery, caramelized on the edges, flakey, buttery, a spiral of apple hidden in the centre, and did I say buttery?
And this afternoon, I visited the same shop to purchase another local specialty – a Far aux Pruneux. There is no line up at the shop in my photo, but every other time that I walked by this bakery, there was a big line up. The Far? Also delicious, but the Kouign is in another league!
On my outing this afternoon, I purposefully stocked up on healthy groceries to last for the rest of my stay here in Dinan so that I am not tempted to splurge on a restaurant meal. I know that I’ll soon be sampling another Bretagne regional specialty, crepes or a gallette, on one of my hiking days when I won’t be able to cook. I’m already looking forward to it!
Okay, I’m done obsessing and writing about food! The sun has come out so I will go for a late afternoon walk in lovely Dinan. Hello to everyone at home. 🙂
From Saint Rémy I said good-bye to the hills of the Luberon and Les Alpilles and travelled by train south to Marseille and from there to the town of Cassis and its protected harbour on the Mediterranean. In his guidebook “Provence and the Cote d’Azur”, Rick Steves had assured me that Cassis is a small town that has yet to be discovered and does not see the crowds that other Mediterranean coastal towns see. Hmmm, not so. It has actually been very crowded here with people on their Spring Break holiday, mostly French families but I have also heard a lot of German, some Italian, and some British and American accents. I blame it on the calanques. (More on those later!)
I went straight to my apartment, located just one block away from the busy waterfront street, and when I remarked on the crowds to my host, Guy, he advised me to walk to the Plage de l’Arene, the quietest and easternmost of Cassis’ four beaches. So, after settling in, that is what I did.
Plage de l’Arene. The red cliffs of Cap Canaille are the highest cliffs on the Mediterranean and rise up to 1,200 feet.
Following Guy’s advice, I walked the length of the rocky beach (thankfully, someone had fashioned a path through the rough jumble of rocks) and then climbed up and over a small rocky outcropping that that hid a tiny cove.
There was a French family of three there and the dad had just been out with his snorkel gear spear fishing, but without any luck. I sat for a while and watched the waves come in. It felt good to smell the sea air and see and hear gulls again. I retraced my steps along the beach, climbed up to the road, and then headed back towards Cassis but first I stopped in for a quick peek at the next beach over, Plage du Corton.
C’est moi, at Plage du Corton. Cape Corton is behind me, with the Plage de l’Arene hiding behind it and Cap Canaille behind that.
The next day was a very easy day for me with lots of relaxing. I went out fairly early in the morning to take a few photos of the town before everyone was up and about.
Here is a narrow street, just around the corner from my apartment, and a view of my sunny room where I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon doing some email, trip planning, and blogging. (Yes, the bed is not made. I told you I was having an easy day!)
In the late afternoon I took the local bus up the hill to the public swimming pool. It was a real treat to swim again, and fun to be amongst all of the French families. When I returned to the waterfront, the streets were very busy with people strolling about or sitting outside at a café or restaurant. Here, people are on a tour boat ready to head out to see the calanques (more on those later!)
After a nice dinner at my apartment (made by Chef Moi), I strolled over to the town’s biggest beach, Plage de la Grande Mer. This wide, family-friendly beach is composed of small, pastel-coloured pebbles that are soft underfoot. Children were having fun and shrieking in the way that they do when they run into the receding waves and then run away from the bigger-than-expected incoming waves. It was a very typical and happy beach sound. Parents and small groups were chatting while they watched their kids or looked at the sea, and a few brave souls were swimming though the water is still quite cold. I took just a few pictures…
and then I sat and spent quite a bit of time sifting through the pretty pebbles, choosing a small assortment of those that pleased me. It was a very easy day indeed.
Les Calanques
Okay, so I’m very very tired because I hiked the calanques today. The calanques are long narrow inlets along the coast between Marseille and Cassis that are edged with steep and craggy limestone cliffs. They are very beautiful and dramatic-looking as the water in the calaques is a turquoise blue and the cliffs are white and accented with dark green pines and other vegetation. Most definitely they are why Cassis has become so popular as there are amazing photos of the calanques on many travel websites and blogs, especially the Calanque d’En-vau which has very high vertical cliffs. In an instagram world it is a dream destination for a wow photo – but you do have to work for it! (Spoiler alert, I did not get that wow photo!)
I woke up early and was out the door by 7:30. I wanted to hike in the coolness of the morning and I also wanted to beat the crowds and the boats that visit the calanques. After a 30 minute uphill walk on narrow town roads, I reached the trailhead to the first of the three calanques on this hike, the Calanque de Port-Miou. A level dirt track paralleled this inlet which is completely lined with pleasure boats.
Then the trail narrowed and rose up, heading toward the beach at the end of the Calanque du Port Pin. It was another hazy day and looking out over the Mediterranean it was difficult to see where the sea met the sky!
A quick descent brought me down towards the beach at the end of the Calanque de Port Pin.
Beautiful! There were only a few other hikers about, the sun was at my back, and the gorgeous pine trees were kindly providing plenty of shade. I didn’t linger as there was still at least 90 minutes of hiking to arrive at the next, most dramatic, calanque. (I do wish they would post distance rather than time. Ninety minutes for who?)
I choose the blue trail which is longer and more challenging but which has more view points over the Calanque d’En-vau. First, the trail climbed steeply up for views down towards the end of the Port Pin inlet. One can walk all the way out to the end of the point which is what I did on the return trip, even though I was very tired. Half-way across the point, and on the other side, is where I met the monster!
Now, a word about this trail. Along most of the route, the trail is on rocky, lumpy, bumpy, uneven limestone and jumbled limestone rocks which makes it very challenging underfoot. This image, looking downhill, shows the typical, but not worst, trail surface on this hike.
So, I had to focus very much on foot placement while also enjoying the scenery as the trail weaved its way, generally uphill, to the Pointe d’en-Vau, and then along the top of cliffs on the north side of the inlet. It was very scary getting close to the edge for views down to the water! Here is a view near the beginning of the inlet,
then further along the inlet,
still further along,
and then a glimpse of the small beach at the end of the inlet!
Here is a zoomed in photo of that beautiful water. See how precipitous the cliffs are!
The trail continued along on the cliff top for some distance past the end of the beach, with views back,
and then a surprising view of the Mediterranean view opened up in a dip in the cliffs across the way.
After about another ten minutes or so along the cliff top, the trail began a slow descent, and then I reached this point. Uh oh. Way way down there are people on the trail (near the centre of the photo, in a little white backwards crescent shape).
Here they are, zoomed in. Where they are walking looks flat in the photo, but they’re actually heading down a fairly steep wide trail of jumbled rocks. But, it’s the part in-between, from where I am looking down and where they are that is considered “challenging” in all of the route descriptions. I really really didn’t want to go down, mostly because I didn’t want to come back up again! I sat for a bit, had some water, ate an orange, and tried to figure out if it was too much for me to go down there (“it’s just a beach and some blue water, I don’t really need to go down” vs. ”I’ve come this far, I’ll regret it if I don’t, slow and steady and I’ll be fine”).
I went down. Hands, bottom, and careful manoeuvres were definitely needed to go down this very steep section of rough limestone, and thank goodness there were some trail-side trees and bushes to act as anchors of support. Finally, phew, on the flat, between two walls of limestone, it was nice and cool and I could smell the sea in the light breeze. Here is a photo for Sophie and Aaron. There is a climber, with a blue backpack halfway up that wall of limestone!
I turned this next corner,
and here was the beach.
I walked to one side, sat myself down on the pebbles with this amazing view, and took a well-deserved break.
I couldn’t completely relax though because I knew I had to go back up! I ate half my lunch, watched the few brave swimmers and a couple of paddle boarders who paddled their way in to the beach, and then got back up again to start the return journey. Good-bye Calanque d’En-vau!
The long slog up the jumbled-rock trail was not fun, but I really enjoyed the climb up the steepest part. It is definitely less scary going up than down. A lot more people were coming down the trail now and I had plenty of opportunities to stop and catch my breath while I let them pass. At the top, I considered re-doing the blue cliff top trail but decided that I had had enough challenges for one day and so I chose the easier red trail which was a rather tediously steady downhill slog that led fairly quickly back to the beach at the Calanque de Port Pin. It was so busy there! It was close to noon now and people were all over the beach and the rocks and coming down the hill towards the beach like a line of ants! Wow. I was so glad that I had started out early.
I was very tired, and many of my parts were hurting, but the trails leading out to the end of the point were appealing so I headed up and out towards the point, and then over to the other side where I found a monster!
Beneath this crevice there must be a sea cave. There was a small crack in the rock surface on the cliff top, about 40 cm long and 5 cm wide, that expelled air with a loud, strange moan each time a wave came in, like a hurt whale or monster exhaling with belaboured breath. It was a very unsettling sound!
Once I understood the cause of that strange, repetitive sound, I decided that I rather liked the monster and so I sat near the edge of the cliff, off to the right, beneath the pines. This time, I was able to fully relax as I finished my lunch and looked out over the sea, with views down into Port Miou to my left and across to Cap Canaille in the distance ahead of me.
Heading back towards Cassis, I couldn’t resist taking this photo looking into the boat-lined Calanque de Port Miou.
And, as I neared town, I also had to photograph the westernmost and last of Cassis’ four beaches, the Plage du Bestouan.
At the far end of this beach there was a small rocky outcropping that I was compelled to explore as I was leaving Cassis the next morning and knew I would not be back here again. Sigh, stairs down from the street, then more stairs up and around the outcropping, but it was worth it for a view of the harbour that I had not yet seen.
Then, I as returned back around the headland to the end of the beach I heard happy shrieks and looked down to see three girls, huddled together on the rock below, waiting excitedly for waves to crash onto them. What fun!
Now, by this point, I had been walking fairly steadily, and often strenuously, for about six hours. I won’t name all of the parts that were hurting but the list is quite long and I was seriously wondering if I’d make it up the stairs to my apartment. Yet, when I got to the harbour-front street, the lighting was so lovely, and there was some blue in the sky, so I just had to take these last few photos of the town of Cassis, by the sea. Thank you, calanques, for bringing me here!
I do not like getting behind with my posts as it makes them much harder to write. My days are just so full, and I’ve had some technical issues and slow wifi, so I’m going to skip ahead to this morning because…it is snowing! Yesterday I travelled from Avignon to Orange and then on to Vaison-la-Romaine where there are two large Gallo-Roman archaeological sites. While waiting for my bus transfer in Orange, and again when I alighted in Vaisson, ”Le Mistral”, a cold and strong northwesterly wind, was blowing and the temperature hovered around four degrees! After finding my studio apartment and stocking up on groceries for my three day stay, my intent was to have a quiet afternoon and evening of rest but the late afternoon light called me back outside to go explore the castle-topped Cité Médieval which is perched on a bluff across from the modern town (which is not so modern!). To get there, I had to cross the Pont Romain, a stone bridge over the river Ouvèze that was built by the Romans in the second half of the 1st century AD. The bridge is still in use today by pedestrians and vehicles, some 2000 years later! It has survived many floods including a massive flood in 1992 which completely covered the bridge and took out several modern bridges further downstream!
Bundled up against the wind with almost as many clothes as I had brought with me, I climbed the steep and narrow road that zigzagged up to the medieval city. The sun, when it managed to occasionally push its way through the clouds, was very welcome and there were very few people about. It was exciting to pass first under the city gate and then beneath the splendid bell tower with its bell housed in an open wrought-iron frame in order to let the strong Le Mistral winds flow through. As I toured the narrow streets, I considered which of the characterful stone houses I would choose as my own. Perhaps the tall, narrow, and captured princess-worthy tower shown in the photo on the right?
Or perhaps one of these two? (I very much wanted to peak into the courtyard of the house on the right).
Finally, I choose the one below, on the left, which actually had a handwritten ”Maison à Vendre” sign with two phone numbers listed! The house sits beside a charming shop that sells tapenade, wine, and other gourmet items. Handy! (Remember that you can click on any photo to enlarge it. If you buy the house, you must let me visit!)
I climbed higher up the hill to the castle that was built in the 12th century by the Count of Toulouse who claimed the town when he defeated the last of the prince-bishops that had ruled Vaison since the 4th century.
It was very atmospheric being all alone up on the rocky hill with the blustery cold wind, and there were excellent views all around.
A view to the northeast of the lower town of Vaison-la-Romain where the Romans once lived. Archaeological evidence has also been found of occupation here during the Iron Age and the late Neolithic. A view east of the Ouvèze River valley, with Mont Ventoux in the distance.A view below the castle to the south, zoomed in, of vineyards and forested hills.
Chilled but happy, I returned to my apartment to have an early night, and now I will venture out into the still (lightly) falling snow to visit the archaeological sites of Vaison-la-Romaine…
A sculpture of the Emperor Hadrian, found in the excavated theatre, has been placed in a niche here in the ”Sanctuary with porticoes”, a vast building that was open to the public for religious purposes.
The Roman city of Vasio Vocontiorum flourished here between around 100 BC and 450 AD and covered an area of over 70 hectares. The excavations, begun in the early 20th century, encompass about 15 hectares over two sites and comprise the largest archaeological center open to the public in France. Revealed are streets and the foundations, walls, and columns of homes, shops, religious buildings, baths, and even a theatre that could seat 6000. Extensively restored, this theatre is still used today for performances.
I had delayed my morning outing to wait for the air to ”warm up”, but that did not happen. The wind was bitterly cold and so I soon had to find refuge indoors in the excellent on-site museum. Here, there were two very good films available in English which described the history of the site as well as aspects of the day to day lives of the Romans and Vocontii who lived here. The museum featured displays of marble sculptures, pottery, glass, coins, tools, craft and religious items, as well as beautiful mosaics found during the excavations.
Back outside I tried my best on focus on listening to the informative audio guide while juggling map, glasses, camera, pen, paper and listening device with frozen fingers. It was still snowing (!) and the wind was still strong and fiercely cold so I headed back to my apartment (that was thankfully nearby) to find warmth, sustenance, and a very welcome afternoon cup of coffee.
Suitably fortified, and with an added layer of warmth provided by donning my hiking rain pants, I returned to tour the second site, La Vilasse. The snow was still falling in tiny, dry, swirling flakes but the wind seemed to be a little more settled and the afternoon sun, hiding behind thin clouds, had warmed things up a little. Okay, enough about the weather (did I mention it was snowing?)!
Here are several photos from the ”La Villasse” archaeological site.
This Roman street had shops lining it on either side.This pool is part of the enclosed garden that belonged to the largest residence unearthed in Vaison. The vast home of 5,000 square metres included the central garden, courtyards, kitchen, dining room, study, baths, sleeping areas, servants’ quarters, etc. It also included a row of shops that were leased from the owner of the home.This area was part of the Dolphin House, another large residence owned by a wealthy family. Beyond there is a very large green field that was the town’s Palaestra, a place for sport, with the public Thermae (baths) nearby.This fishpond, once fully lined in white marble, was part of the large garden of the “Dolphin House”. I learned from the audio guide that the Romans planted decorative trees such as acacia, oak, cypress and plane, as well as fruit and nut trees such as cherry, apple, pear, pomegranate, fig, chestnut, almond and hazelnut. Vegetable crops that they planted included asparagus, squash, beans, melons, pumpkins, and herbs.A view looking over the various rooms of the Thermae with its cold, warm, and hot bathing areas.
The audio guide also provided information about the Cité Mediéval that I had visited yesterday and the nearby 11th century cathedral, Notre-Dame de Nazareth. Outside the cathedral, in the area beneath the apse, the foundations of the massive church are exposed to demonstrate how Roman stones were often used in the construction of medieval buildings.
The cathedral, built in the Romanesque style, is very simple in design with few embellishments.
The interior space is also starkly simple. With no flamboyant Gothic decorations, the beauty of the stones and the architecture shows through.
The adjoining cloister was a serene place that featured beautiful stonework.
And while I was in the cloister, I received a wonderful gift. A woman who was there with several friends began to sing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” so beautifully! Back in the cathedral, she sang three more hymns, impressing us all with the acoustics of that glorious space and with her own exceptional voice. It was the best way possible to end my day in Vaison-la-Romaine.
April 3, 2022
It’s still cold out! The temperature is supposed to rise to eight degrees today but with the windchill it will continue to feel much colder. My plan today was to do a ten kilometre hike to the small and picturesque hilltop town of Crestet. I took a morning walk through the town to test both the weather and my resolve, and after much deliberation I decided to have an inside day. I don’t really like to ”cross anything off of my list” but I think it was the wise choice. I can catch up on blogging, do a load of laundry, and rest up my feet for my next destination of Arles where more monumental Roman ruins await. I hope everyone back home is well and enjoying Spring. Thank you for joining me on my journey. 🙂
