La Bonne Vivante

2005-03-30T13:57:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T13:49:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T13:45:00.000Z

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).

2005-03-30T13:39:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T13:36:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T13:31:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T13:28:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T13:19:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T13:09:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T02:17:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T02:15:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T02:13:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T02:10:00.000Z

Vanessa covered by wisteria in the JPP

2005-03-30T02:08:00.000Z

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!

2005-03-30T02:05:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T02:01:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T01:58:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:56:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:53:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T01:51:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:49:00.000Z

The nicely vaulted Lady Chapel at St-Trophime in Arles

2005-03-30T01:47:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:44:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:41:00.000Z

A profusion of colour and blossom inside the Theatre

2005-03-30T01:36:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:33:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:31:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:25:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:20:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:17:00.000Z

Bronze toreador outside the Arena

2005-03-30T01:14:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:11:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:09:00.000Z

Inside the cavernous temple within the gardens

2005-03-30T01:03:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T01:01:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:57:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:53:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T00:52:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-30T00:45:00.000Z

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...

2005-03-30T00:41:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:38:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:19:00.000Z

The courtyard of le Château Comtal

2005-03-30T00:12:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:05:00.000Z

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

2005-03-30T00:00:00.000Z

The imposing façade of St-Nazaire, Carcassonne

2005-03-29T23:58:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T23:53:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T23:50:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T23:03:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T22:48:00.000Z

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!

2005-03-29T22:30:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-29T22:20:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-29T22:13:00.000Z

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.

2005-03-29T22:07:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T22:04:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T22:01:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T21:49:00.000Z

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?

2005-03-29T21:45:00.000Z

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

2005-03-29T21:38:00.000Z

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...