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.