CHAPTER 17. SOUTH EAST FRANCE CONT.

In the morning we start out going west towards Nimes, with a stop at Tarascon to see the castle, but there is a 45 minute wait for a tour so we just see the outside and the adjacent church. We drive around the castle at Beaucaire and continue towards Nimes, but there are big black clouds over Nimes so we turn south and go to Aigues Mortes for another look at the magnificent ramparts. Then it is on to le Grau-du-Roi, a pretty resort and fishing village, and with help find the Palangre Restaurant on the Quay near a horizontal pivoting bridge. We have an excellent 4 course fish menu for lunch.

We thought we might have to drive to the south of Spain to get warm, but now the sun is out, and it is warm so we drive to Stes. Maries de la Mer and find a nice room for two nights in the Camargue Hotel. We walk to the harbor and see fishermen working on nets. There are some sand and some rock beaches.

Stes. Maries in 1986 & 1989 is a beautiful quiet seashore town that we enjoy a lot, and we use it as a base to see Arles and the nearby Camargue area that is so interesting. Unfortunately we return in 2000 and find it has quadrupled in size and is not nearly as attractive. Progress??

Continuing in 1986, we take a day trip to Arles. It is a beautiful mid April day, sunny and warm. Driving up the flat Camargue we see many fields of rice and asparagus.

We park in an Arles garage and visit the Roman Theater and Arena and see the cloisters of St. Trophene before lunch. A Norwegian man gives us his Herald Tribune at the Arena. We eat lunch at the Host. des Arenas restaurant where the food is very good and inexpensive. It is our favorite in Arles after that. We walk down to the Rhone and wait for the Reattu Museum to open for the afternoon; there is an exhibit of Picasso sketches as well as some good photographs and paintings all in an interesting old building.

We walk back to the car thru the Forum Plaza and drive thru the Camargue to Stes. Maries, along the way seeing marshes with many birds, including flamingos. We walk downtown for bread and postcards, and decide to stay three nights here because it’s so pleasant and the weather is good.

After some rain last night it is a nice clear day, with some bright clouds in the afternoon. We drive around the Etang de Vaccares (large pond in the Camargue), seeing many rice fields with birds, including many more flamingos, in the fields and shallow water to Salin-de-Giraud where we stop at the hotel restaurant for a great fish menu lunch. We have fish soup, crudités (raw vegetables), crevettes (best shrimp ever), small dorado fish, and fresh strawberries for dessert (at extra cost). We see large mounds of salt, and the wide, flat, sand beach at Plage de Piemançon before driving back to our hotel in Stes. Maries.

The weather is clear, but a cold wind is blowing as we make the easy half hour drive to Arles again. There is a Saturday market all along the main street which is packed with stalls and people. We find a parking place near the ramparts entry to the arena, and walk in. Inside Arles, we have time for one museum before it closes at 11:45 for lunch; we go to the Christian Art Museum. It is an old pretty church with bas relief sarcophagi, some dated from the 4th century. Downstairs is the Roman cellar, once part of the Forum.

We go to the Arenes Restaurant for another excellent lunch menu before driving to St. Giles to see the church. It is beautiful inside, and piped music adds to our appreciation. We drive back roads to Stes. Maries and stop along the way in the Camargue to watch workers planting melon fields and covering them with plastic over hoops. Most of the fields are rice.

It’s time to leave our friendly woman inn keeper in Stes. Maries. We drive to Arles, and east almost to Salon, then on back roads to St. Chamas and along the Etang de Berre, then on the green lined (on the Michelin map) scenic D65 road thru Roquefavor where we see a very tall aqueduct crossing the valley. Then it is on to Calas and the Restaurant du Chateau where we have a rare menu we don’t think is good. We continue via Bouc-Bel-Air, Cannet-des-Maures, and by some very red and purple dirt on a slow and scenic road up to la Garde Freinet and down to Cogolin, where we stop at the Clemenceau Hotel. We see vineyards along most of the way today.