A Journey Through Belle France
Museum). When we arrived, we were met by Jacqueline, our guide for the day. Jacqueline is an older women with an enormous amount of energy and information, and that classy French elegance that I have always been envious of. Jacqueline showed us around the museum (built on the site of the old chariot racecourse) and told us about the history of the Roman occupation. The museum is full of all sorts of models that show what the city was like in its Roman heyday and sarcophagi from that period with detailed carvings on them representing everyday life and Christian bible stories. The museum also has beautiful statues, everyday items like glass artifacts and jewelry, and some more of those beautiful mosaic floors like the ones we saw in Vasion la Romaine. There is an incredibly rich history in this town and it is all well preserved
in this
wonderful
museum.
From the
museum,
Jacqueline
hopped on the
bus with us and
Day
9 - Arles & Cassis
Cassis
Arles
Today we said au revoir to the country and headed
toward the coast. Our first stop was Arles, probably most famous for
being the place where Van Gogh painted, cut off a part of his ear, and
eventually died. The history of this town, however, goes back much
farther to the Roman occupation. When we arrived in town, we headed to
the Musée de l'Arles Antiques (Ancient History 
Jacqueline gives us a history lesson.
The group studies the coliseum.
More mosaic flooring.
Museum Pass
we headed into the main part of the town. Our first stop was at a small sign that showed a Van Gogh painting. These signs are all over town and allow you to "walk in the footsteps of Van Gogh." The signs show the subject of the painting so you get the same
perspective that Van Gogh had when he painted it. In the painting to the left, you can see the four-story building that is in the background of the picture. The yellow house in front of the building is no longer there because it was destroyed by a bomb during World War II. We
were also privileged to see the Van Gogh memorial, the coliseum, the arena, and other Roman ruins in the city.
Once our walking tour was over, we said our farewells to Jacqueline and went our separate ways for a free afternoon in Arles. Linda, Laura, and I set off to Place du Forum for some lunch. This square, now full of little cafes, was
Left to Right:
(1) walking in the steps of Van Gogh
(2) A tribute to Van Gogh
(3)
The Roman Coliseum in Arles
once the Roman forum of this town. After lunch we went to explore the St. Trophine church in the Place de la République. The
entrance of this church is heavily carved with the tale of judgment day. In the middle of the arch above the door, Christ sits on a throne surrounded by the four evangelists with the twelve apostles below. Like the carved crosses in Ireland, this graphic representation enabled the illiterate masses to understand the stories of the bible. You could spend all day just looking that the entrance of this church and trying to see all the little individual stories that are being played out amid the larger stories. Inside this church was so graceful with beautiful statues, artwork, and stained glass windows.
Once we had our fill of the church we headed outside and Laura said that she wanted to wander around on her own a little. We had our reservations, since she admitted to us
that she gets lost easily. But she said that she would be fine, so we went our
separate ways.
Linda and I were actually a few minutes late
Entrance of St. Trophine
Arch over the door of the church.
The interior of the church and the beautiful stained glass windows.
getting back to the bus because we had been shopping and lost track of the time. We thought we would be in trouble until we realized that Laura was not on the bus. At first it was funny, but after about 20 minutes passed, we all got a little nervous. Sabine and Michaelanne were discussing leaving Michaelanne behind to find her and then having them
catch up to us in next town. While
Sabine was trying to figure out what to do, all the tour members had their faces pressed to the windows of the bus in the hope that someone would catch site of her. Suddenly, we all saw Laura running for the bus at full speed, in Birkenstocks no less. We were all so glad that we didn't have to leave with out her and Linda and I decided that we would not let her go off on her own like that again. Finally, after everyone was safely stowed on the bus, we were on the road to Cassis.
Cassis
Cassis is a small
seaside town built around a harbor that caters to pleasure boats and fisherman
alike. The town is surrounded by monumental cliffs and feels very
isolated, though it is only a few hours from Nice. The town has a very relaxed
feel about it and the water is clear as air. Our first glimpse of Cassis
was from the top of the cliffs as the bus meandered down the winding road
toward the town. Being from California, I was very excited to see the
ocean again. Even better, our hotel (Hotel Le Golfe) was right on the
harbor and Linda and I got the luck of the draw with our room. The view
from our balcony was perfect. After we checked in, Linda, Laura, and I
went down to the beach to put our feet in the Mediterranean. It seemed
like the whole
town
was at the beach soaking up the sun. These little guys on the boat
Our hotel
The boats just outside our window.
Everyday is an adventure here.
A glimpse of Cassis from above.
The clear waters of the Mediterranean
Côte d'Azur Varoise.
seemed to be having the most fun. Who knew you could entertain yourself for an hour just by climbing around on a paddle boat.
After checking out the town, we met the crew for dinner at a
restaurant just a stones throw away from the hotel. I ended up sitting with Jack, Judy, Francois, and Deb and we listened to Francois tell us all sorts of fun stories about him and his wife as we ate goat cheese salad (always a personal favorite of mine), duck in pepper sauce, and chocolate mousse. It was a culinary masterpiece. I LOVE duck, and have had it several times at home and in Paris, but this restaurant has them all beat. After dinner we all hung around by the harbor chatting because the next day was entirely our own, which meant sleeping in if you were so inclined. The harbor is so pretty all lit up it was hard to go inside, but we finally said our goodbyes and headed off to bed.