Le Mas des Tourterelles St-Rémy-de-Provence

... well deserved wash. It took some scrubbing to get 5 weeks worth of dirt off him but he sparkled once we were done :)
Another longish drive got us to Arles where the plan was to stay for 2 nights as it was home to van Gogh and lots of Roman ruins. We got a good park on the Rhone River just outside the city walls but the city itself made us feel a little uneasy and something was not quite right. The place was ...

... over 1.5 million tourists each year as it is the source of a natural spring. It's wierd seeing a fast flowing river and then walking 50 metres "upstream" and there only being a trickle.. and then a bit further and no water... nothing but a big cliff straight up!

The town itself is nestled in a valley and is particularly pretty at dusk when rocks take on the colours of the sunset ...

Wait a minute, we’re not traveling to Italy until tomorrow…but we spent the day in Arles exploring Roman architecture.

The biggest site in town is the amphitheatre, or coliseum. Glimpses through different side streets pull you even closer like the hub it has always been. Huge in scale, some seating is till original and large towers give sweeping views of the ...

Starry, starry, night.
Paint your palette blue and grey.
Look out on a summer’s day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.

Arrived in picturesque provencal France - immortalized by the many artist’s who have lived here over the years capturing the soft light, countryside and charming towns. Arles is our destination ...

... came down near us but we were lucky and just got debris on us. But enough whining about the weather.
Avignon is extremely beautiful and we have a lovely view at night of all the castle etc all lit up as we are camped on a sort of island in the Rhone. We arrived yesterday and explored the town and went to the Popes palace which is the best preserved castle of its age in France. We then ...

... block several times we got the last park in the whole area, and it was right outside the restaurant. Never mind that it required Alison to hold up traffic while I backed out later on.) it was past 2.00pm. We were most concerned that we would be too late. But no, they found us a table, and brought the Menu de Jour on a blackboard – three courses with two options for each course. Our French phrase book did not help us to understand ...

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... 34920;演，& 750;常有趣。
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注：Hotel: Logis Toppin 强烈推荐， ;二星的价੬ 4;，三星的ũ 36;量。

... were just walking outside to a café to get some refreshments. They seemed glad to see me. I checked in, quickly showered, then met up with the group in the hotel restaurant. While dining on duck and red wine, I shared my stories with the others. The adventures I experienced on this first day of my ride made me look forward to tomorrow's scenic, challenging climb up to the charming, medieval perched village of Venasque in the heart of Provence...

TO BE CONTINUED

... elevator (with a few partial shreds of dignity attached) and quickly move up the stairs to the next floor. Unfortunately, instead of spying the relative safety of their car, they are shocked to see a large number 11 painted on the wall, and the villainous elevator door slide open to reveal the moving shoe, then ankle, then shin, then knee of the snobbish (yet truthful) NFS. In just milliseconds, the true stupidity of the FLLs will be revealed to the omniscient NFSs ...