My only picture of Paris, 2004, and my first time there in 8 years! The Place de la Bastille from the metro - after arriving in the train from Amiens we took the Métro to the TGV for Avignon. 

My first photo of Avignon, outside the city walls. It is a beautiful place and the atmosphere felt so much lighter than Paris, which we had left a couple of hours before. 

The Pont d'Avignon stretches only halfway across the Rhône, the farther half repeatedly collapsing into the river, forcing the architects to give up centuries ago. The song goes "Sous le pont d'Avignon" (under the bridge). 

A wall of Avignon carved out of the hillside by the Rhône 

Salve, Caesar. Having a tête-à-tête with Julius at the Musée Calvet in Arles. 

A neoclassical Venus is one of the first things a visitor will see on entering the Musée Calvet 

A Quixote-esque wooden Spanish cavalier (15th c) between two millefleur tapestries, looking about to take his sword to them! Musée Calvet, Arles 

You know I love Greek statues. This one in the museum at Arles along with many vases from when southern France was a Greek settlement. 

Brave goosey gander standing up to Jordan's teasing, protecting his little harem. 

The Tower of Philippe le Bel across the river, and in the middle distance, the Pont d'Avignon 

Villeneuve-les-Avignon across the Rhône. I love my zoom! 

Vanessa, don't look down. On a wall at the JPP, above the vineyard. With views across the river to Villeneuve (new town). 

Vanessa covered by wisteria in the JPP 

The very leaning tree at the JPP, it leaned across the road, and Vanessa and Jordan climbed up into the branches. They were always doing handstands and climbing trees - couple of monkeys! 

Jordan doing capoeira on the last evening at Avignon. We all liked the Jardins du Palais so much we visited three times in two days. 

The Amphithéatre d'Arles, imagine. Southern France is so close to Spain that it celebrates an annual Féria - the bullfighting season - where once there were gladiators. 

What builders those Romans were. Rooftop views of Arles from the Amphitheatre. 

View to the river Rhône from the top of the Arles Amphitheatre 

L'Espace Van Gogh, once a sanitarium where he stayed, now an artsy collection of gift shops and meeting rooms. With added glow and saturation, this is my version of Van Gogh's painting. 

Half a façade is all that remains of the Roman Forum in Arles - now the Place du Forum and brimming with cafés 

The nicely vaulted Lady Chapel at St-Trophime in Arles 

The entrance to the solid Roman Théatre Antique d'Arles - with a flowing Art Nouveau figure in the foreground 

Inside the Theatre - lone twin columns like this always remind me of the Forum in Rome 

A profusion of colour and blossom inside the Theatre 

Vanessa and Jordan wielding toothpicks at each other after a dee-lish Moroccan lunch, before we set off for Nîmes. A hot day. 

An artsy shot of me on the steps of the Maison Carré - an impressive edifice 

The Maison Carré is a museum full of Roman archaeological finds. Here, a statue of Livia the wife of ...I forgot which Emperor... beside a floor mosaic 

La Maison Carré (rather boringly means the Square House) in the centre of Nîmes. Was a Roman temple dedicated to the Imperial Cult. 

L'amphithéatre de Nîmes - I love the old stones against the blue sky, little splashes of green, and the red hints of the café 

Bronze toreador outside the Arena 

The Neoclassical (late 18th c.) Jardin de la Fontaine (Fountain Garden) at Nîmes. Lots of water lies under this network of balustraded walkways, I guess the fountains are only turned on for special occasions 

There were many nooks and crannies to explore in the Temple, which they think was dedicated to the goddess Diana 

Inside the cavernous temple within the gardens 

The last of the ground we would see before our long walk up the winding paths to the top of the garden 

The Roman lookout tower (Tour Magne) at the top of the Jardin. You have good eyes if you can spot Vanessa and Jordan smooching. 

After everything I had explained over the course of the trip, I leapt for joy when Vanessa correctly identified this marine folly as Baroque 

Standing on the edge of the bridge with Carcassonne la Cité behind me. We were staying in the town of Carcassonne across the river but went to la Cité for dinner. We would visit properly the next day. 

The bustling centre of Montpellier. Cool tram system in the background (see same in Houston pics), in front of the Opéra. We were supposed to watch “Les Choristes” but ran out of time - yes, it was released a year ago in France. 

Within the walls of la Cité, Chez Saskia, the cutest restaurant I've ever seen, beside the cutest hotel I've ever seen. We did not eat at one, neither did we stay at the other... 

Carcassonne at night, with the frigid waters of the Rhône rushing wildly below us 

One of the rooms at le Château Comtal, a haunting altarpiece beside a frescoed wall 

The courtyard of le Château Comtal 

As I left the Château, crossing the bridge over the dry moat, I spotted Jordan doing capoeira and Vanessa doing handstands 

Some plub-ugly corbels at the entrance of St-Nazaire. Meant to scare away demons, today we find them rather funny.  

The imposing façade of St-Nazaire, Carcassonne 

The striking apse glowing in the darkness of St-Nazaire, Carcassonne 

The young Mary with her mother St Anne at St-Nazaire, Carcassonne 

An appealing ruined window in la Cité. There were people at a café on the grass in front of it. 

This is one of my favourite photos. Within the walls of L'Abbaye de St-Michel de Frigolet. It was a glorious day! 

L'Abbaye de St-Michel de Frigolet, which we visited on the way to Arles. In the field below, we'd enjoyed a lunch of baguettes, brie and apples. Délicieux! 

The Tower at Barbentane - medieval, much newer than the one at Nîmes. Olive trees grow wild on this hill. Barbentane was the sleepiest town I have ever visited. Afternoon siesta stretched from 12-3pm. 

An irresistible view of an unknown town on the way to Carcassonne. We stopped the car on a bridge and piled out to capture it. 

A wall at the Oppidum, one of many Roman settlements dotted around the region. This one was on an extremely high hill, and as it was already a cool and windy day, we were buffetted relentlessly at such an elevation.  

Giant alien helipad? Or a really odd circular field. One of the views from the Roman hill. Sooo windy up here! 

Jordan in the trusty Renault Clio at the base of the high Roman Oppidum 

A random and slightly enigmatic architectural feature on a craggy hillside between Montpellier and Carcassonne 

A field of windmills, champ des moulins. A quick snap taken out the car window somewhere in Languedoc-Roussillon. Speaking of windows, doesn't it look like Microsoft wallpaper? 

Narbonne Cathedral on the running visit we made there - stopped for lunch between Montpellier and Carcassonne. 

The last picture I took in France: a red shop display in the red city, Toulouse. From there I took the really horrible night train to Paris. Adieu to the wonderful South...