A Photographic Diary of My Trip: More Provence Countryside and Avignon

More pictures of the French countryside!

The village of Gordes, taken from a panoramic point

The surrounding countryside

The village is protected by these stone walls, a unique architectural signature of the region.

Driving on the way to Les Baux (which unfortunately I did not take many great pictures - maybe it was a long day and I got tired?) our tour guide stopped by this sunflower field.

There was a wedding at Les Baux (it would be an amazing place to have a wedding - the village is so quaint, and they have wonderful shops there that look old-fashioned but sell gourmet luxuries like regional olive and truffle oil, fine wines, and traditional candies). I bought a pack of nougat candies and "olives" - chocolates that look like olives.

Sad story about the olives though - they survived the entire trip, I was amazed that they didn't melt in the sweltering heat of Morocco - and when I got back home, I decided to give them as a gift to my aunt. So my parents drive up to LA to meet up with my aunt, and at the end of a long day of shopping and eating I pull out the candies from my bag and they were horribly melted to an unrecognizable state. I kept them in my bag and tried to stay indoors as much as possible, but I guess it was just too hot (it turned out to be one of the hottest days of the summer).

The tour ended with the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct


Back in Avignon, here is the main square where all the restaurants are



I had a totally surreal, Amelie-esque moment when my friends and I dined at the outdoor patio of one of these restaurants and the wind was blowing really hard. It reminded me of the scene with the dancing tableware. You could hear the whistling of the wind and the clinking of glassware, and I also remember there was a man strumming Gypsy Kings tunes for tips.

The next day, our last day, we ran around Avignon trying to see all the sights. We packed away lunch at the food market in the morning, had a picnic on the hillside watching the river, took in the vistas at Rocher des Doms, and toured the Papal Palace.

Here is the courtyard in front of the Palais des Papes, where the popes used to live


The architecture is stunning, these pictures really capture the dramatics



The views from one of the towers



And then it was time to say goodbye to Avignon. But it wasn't so easy, we accidently missed our train to Lyon, where we were supposed to catch a flight to Morocco. Thankfully, everything got sorted out in the end.

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Roussillon

After the wine tasting, I toured several picturesque villages. The first stop, Roussillon, was my absolute favorite! There used to be a thriving industry there for natural pigment paints (before synthetics became popular) because the soil has this striking ochre color, and the entire town is awash in lovely hues of ochre.

A sweeping vista of the Provence countryside - and my pants from Parisian brand Naf Naf! They were fun to wear around France and Morocco, but a little too unusual for casual Socal.

I love the little details...

And you can find yummy and unusual flavors of gelato here, like lavender (which was okay in my opinion, great to try but I wouldn't order it twice - now orange, on the other hand... *drool*)

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Châteauneuf du Pape

Following the Antic Theater was a wine tasting at Châteauneuf du Pape. On the way to the winery, my tour guide drove around the scenic points and vineyards of the area.

Apparently, this vineyard grows Grenache grapes, one of the select varieties of grapes that can be grown in the region and used to make the wine.

And at the winery I got to learn a little bit about wine tasting. I don't remember all of it, but I do remember to really swish the wine to get the smells going. And inspect the color of the wine against a white background. Oh, and also take two sips, a quick sip for your first impression and let it linger for the second, because the first taste is very different from the second.

I believe the name of the winery is Maison Bouachon. And I brought home a bottle of very expensive red wine for my parents! It was a pain to get home, but hopefully well worth it (they're saving it for a special occasion).

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: Antic Theater

Jury duty is sucking up all my time, but I still want to finish my photo diary of my trip so I'm going to do small spurts of photos from time to time.

After Nice, I took the train to Avignon and went on a day tour of the sights of Provence. Below are photos of the Antic theater in Orange, one of the best preserved amphitheaters in the world with a stage wall that still stands today.




There's a statue of the emperor in the wall, but a fun fact is that the head can be switched. ;o)

A Photographic Diary of My Trip: French Riviera

After Paris, my friends and I took a wonderful break in the coastal town Nice - it felt so good to be back near a beach (I'm from sunny San Diego - salty water runs in my veins).

Using my camera's nifty Photostitch feature to make this panoramic view of the beach - click for a closer look

The beaches here are rocky, which surprised me.
And topless is an option.
And there were a lot of older couples when I went...
maybe this is where wealthy French people vacation?

The water was lovely, although when you get out you have to step onto rocks and pebbles with your bare feet - ouch. And there seems to be glass everywhere (since it seems you can drink on the beach) but I didn't get hurt.

The market - where they sell flowers, produce, and local crafts

The town square has this beautiful fountain

and this oddly mesmerizing tile pattern.

I wish I had taken a picture of this amazing ice cream shop located in one of the main squares - not only did it have ice cream, it also had miniature frozen desserts, shaved ice, and popsicles!!! These seem to be rarities in Nice. I totally had a craving for a popsicle and this store saved the day.

We also hiked up to Cimiez, a wealthy neighborhood on the hillside of Nice, and visited the Matisse museum and saw some Roman ruins. On the map it looks like a small distance, but the elevation combined with the hot weather wiped me out.


Funny story at the Matisse museum, I took off my hat (a boater hat I had bought at a stall by the beach) and walked around, but my hat was too big for my bag so I had to hold it. And I put my sunglasses in them. And then the security guard, this funny old man, would pretend to tip money into my hat. Every time I met him. I must have bumped into him like three times. And finally, I decided to thank him in french "merci" and he found that wildly amusing. I thought that was a cute story.

Anyway, we also saw this beautiful Russian Orthodox church but didn't go in because the entrance admission was a bit steep.


Here is a picture of the beach just before we left.

But before we left, we took a night train to Monaco.


And had dinner by the waterside at this lovely seafood restaurant, where I tried some snails (and it actually wasn't that bad, although it's not worth the effort it took to get those teeny snails out of those shells). Had a bit too much wine...

and then went inside the famous Monte Carlo! It was pretty intimidating, seeing these people play thousand dollar stakes on roulette. If we had paid a bit more, we could have seen the high rollers. I couldn't take any pictures inside, so you'll have to trust my description that the interior exudes luxury and sophistication but was surprisingly smaller than I imagined.

Since I'm a poor college student, I just played a little slots.