ETAP Hotel Avignon

... and get the plane to Singapore. We should be sleeping in a hotel bed this time next week at Bintan Island and while this has been a fantastic trip I will be glad of a bigger bed and some luxuries.

Very warm regards to you all - we are missing the dogs heaps and we pat as many here as possible.

More news soon but not sure where from - it may not be until Bintan.

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We have enjoyed many good meals in France, but two stand out from the vast number in restaurants that tend to offer a menu with generic dishes (well prepared though), rather than distinctive cuisine. This could relate to our budget of course.

Nimes
We arrived in Nimes in the late afternoon and booked into the Hotel des Tuileries, a lovely hotel in the old part of town very close to the Arena. The host, Andrew, recommended a ...

... driver behind us). Ok, so he was waving and flashing behind us and we had no idea what he was going on about so we figured he was either mad or had never seen a car with a right side driver, but then later realized when he drove by that he was only pointing out that the bulb had blown.

Finding the resto was a bit of a challenge, the 3 others (4 including the one we found out was closed on the website before ...

... synagogue and Lucy attempted to translate the broad-brush story of the history of the local Jewish population. There was an Arch here as well, but it was small, jammed up next to a church and not very impressive. The apothecary museum is here, but it was closed too. One thing we did enjoy was the covered marketplace which has a long, arched ceiling that lets in lots of light. Most of the shops were closed, but it was very pleasant to walk ...

... learned a lot about tasting wine and how to tell if it is good or has the potential to be a good wine in years to come. In the afternoon we took the bus to Arles which has several well preserved Roman ruins and quite a few museums. We saw some work by Picasso and Brassie which was really inspiring for Brandon. Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles and produced a ton of art during about the last two years of his life. Unfortunately ...

Believe me you don't want the story but here are a few photos and videos of what was a wonderful adventure for the most part.

The bull running was a random and free event - just next to lovely beach. Camargue horses are breathtakingly beautiful in the wild.

Unfortunately no photos of characterful and cultural city of Arles because only took the camera out one day - the day we went to The Camargue obviously.

... in a couchette on a night train firstly let me say 'good choice' and then allow me to paint you a picture. The general idea is to allow passengers a chance to lie down for a nights sleep while transporting you to your destination so you wake up there refreshed as if by magic. Hmm a few problems in the realisation of this dream are the fright of being suspended on a bed 7 feet up in the air that jostles around with the train, the smell of 6 travellers ...

... valleys keeping the channel all at one level. It was stunning. A series of stone arches on three levels constructed over the river Gard. There were remnants of the continuing waterway across the land across the hills on each side. The lower part of the aqueduct was wide enough for a bus to drive over and we hung around on that walkway for quite a while. And it did not cost me a cent! I apologise to the French authorities. While I went climbing Anne was kept amused by the ...

... in a nice camping (Bagatelle) on an island in the middle of the bridge. There was also a big swimming pool, but we didn't had a chance to use it. We spent most of the time enjoing the city. It was a quiet city, with not much going on at night. We met an italian, Carlo, who moved to France and marryed a french girl. He was very kind to us and gave us information on where to stay in Paris.