Orange
Today we went to visit the historical town of Orange, home to many Roman relics. Orange gets its name from the German House of Nassau, the House of Orange which ruled since the 12 century. It was ceded to France in 1713.
Of particular interest to us was the Theatre Antique, a Roman theatre which was probably built during the reign of Augustus Caesar (27 BC – AD 14).
This theatre, which is still in use today, contains the only remaining Roman complete stage wall in the world. It is about 103m wide and 37m high. The theatre is built in a semi-circle, with many tiers of raised seating looking down at the stage. Tickets for the shows cost several hundred euros.
Of interest is the statue of Caesar that you can see in the photo. The head is removable, so it could be easily modified to suit the Caesar that was currently ruling without having to build an entire new status.
Orange also contains its own Arc de Triomphe (The Triumphant Arc), which was built 100′s of years before the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Built around 20 BC, it commemorates Julias Caeser’s victories during the Gallic Wars.
Lavender in Provence
Today, we went to the villiage of Sault, the lavender capital of Provence. What looked like a 50km drive on the map turned out to be a drive along the smallest and most bendy road I have ever been on. I think that our average speed must have been about 5 km/h. However, when we arrived at hilltop town of Sault, the view made it all worthwhile. There was field after field of purple lavender bushes, all alive with the buzzing of thousands of bees, busy pollinating the bushes. You could see all the way down the Luberon valley, and to the snow-capped mountains in the distance. This is some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen.
Although it can get quite frustrating driving down the narrow roads, constantly being slowed down by blind corners, roundabouts and tractors, it is a really pretty, laid back part of the world. I very quickly learned that since you are going nowhere quickly, there is no point in rushing. Rather slow down, enjoy the view and arrive when you do.
On the way to Sault, we made two stops. The first was at the lavender museum in Coustellet, where they have a short video showing the growing and harvesting of the lavender. They also have many exhibits detailing the distillation process. There are loads of old copper stills, very reminiscent of the whiskey stills in Scotland. I was staggered to hear how much lavender is required to obtain the oil. You need about 300 kg of lavender to make 1kg of essential oil.
The second stop was at a wine shop (also in Coustellet), where we wanted to stock up on wine. This shop had a very interesting feature. There were about six petrol pump hoses in the shop, which were used to fill your own containers with the local vin ordinaire. They just measured off the wine and charged by the liter.
We were really thirsty and asked for a bottle of water. We were a bit startled to be presented with a wine bottle filled with water. So it was a rather interesting site seeing Craig and Lois driving down the road, drinking straight from a wine bottle. I am glad we did not have to explain that to a traffic officer.
Both lavender, and lavandin grow in France. Lavender only grows between 600 and 1500m. It is cultivated for the pure oil, which contains medicinal properties. Lavandin grown almost anywhere, is far more hardy and prolific than lavender. It is mainly used for cosmetics, however it has no medicinal properties.
The Pont d’Avignon (Pont St-Bénezet)
The Pont d’Avignon (Pont St-Bénezet), built between 1171 and 1185, is a famous medieval bridge in Avignon. It originally crossed the Rhone between Avignon and Villeneuve-les-Avignon. The original span is 900m, however over the years it suffered much damage due to floods. In 1668 it was finally abandoned, and now only four of the original 22 arches remain. You can still walk to the end of the bridge, where it dramatically stops in the middle of the river.
The name Saint Bénézet comes from, a local shepherd boy who was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river. There is now a small chapel on the bridge, where he has been interred. I found the chapel a refreshing and cool break after the heat of the sun on the top of the bridge.
The bridge was very commercially important, since it was the only way to cross the river between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. This of course resolted in the merchants using it to transport their goods.
The well-known song "Sur le pont d’Avignon" (On the bridge of Avignon) speaks about people dancing on the bridge of Avignon. However they more correctly danced sous le pont d’Avignon" (Under the bridge of Avignon). They would have danced beneath the arches of the bridge on the (the Ile de Barthelasse , the island in the middle of the river.
I have included the words below:
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les bell’ dames font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les jardiniers font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les couturiers font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les vignerons font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les blanchisseus’s font comm’ çà
Et puis encore comm’ çà
The Pape Palance
The Pape Palance is the Palace that was built when the Pope moved his court to Avignon from Rome in 1305 (more correctly – he fled a corrupt court in Rome). It is an enormous building, looking down onto a large square, which is surrounded by cafes and street musicians. The palace is still used today, now as both a function venue (there are several very large halls, filled with tapestries from the time), and also as an amphitheatre (one of the squares has had raised seating and a stage added). A wonderful self-guided walk takes you through the palace, where you can view the halls, paintings and tapestries from Medieval France.
This is a view of one of the many quaint courtwards.
And finally a view from the battlements. It is a very long walk up to the top, however the view is magnificent.
Trains and automobiles (but no planes)
Today we took the high-speed TGV train from Paris to Avignon. The trip on these double-story trains takes about 2 ½ hours at an average speed of over 300 km/h (the TVG train holds the world speed record of 515.3 km/h).
This is the day I have been dreading for a long time– driving a left-hand drive car on the right-hand side of the road. I suppose that there is no putting it off for any longer, so off we walked to the AVIS counter. I soon discovered that there are actually two train stations in Avignon, and not one. Naturally my car was booked at the other station. Just when I thought that we would have to some-how find our way to the other station, the assistant changed our booking so we could collect a car from the station we were at.
(For the record, the Gare TGV is the new high speed train station, which is where you will probably get off from Paris. The other station is the Gare Central. Check your station when booking your car.)
The hire car was a Renault Modus Diesel, which was a great little car. It was very comfortable and efficient. We traveled over 800 km on a 40 l tank. We managed to find the hotel with relative ease, but I was really nervous driving on the wrong side of the road. A trick I learned was that whenever you are unsure which way to do, simply follow the car in front of you. It sometimes means driving where your was not planning on going, but I managed to muddle my way through without needing the 100% insurance I had taken out.
I was warned how bad the French drive, but in general I thought they drove OK. However, remember that I am comparing them to Cape Town drivers.
Over the next few days I became more comfortable, and I was driving like a local in no time.
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