A Visit to Rochefort, France

I went to the town of Rochefort the other day.

It seems that during the time of Louis XVI, Rochefort was a very important ship building town. You can still see the dry docks where ships where made, and where one is currently being made once again.
They are building a reproduction of the ship the Marquis de LaFayette sailed on when he went to help the Americans during the American revolution. Her name is the Hermione.
The original ship Hermione sank because of poor maneuvers on the part of her crew, but the plans for the ship are still around, so it is not too hard to rebuild her. She is being built using the original techniques used to build the first, 17th century vessel as much as possible.
You can go and visit her, the site is also a museum. You can see the foundry where the metal fittings are forged, and the work areas where the sails are sewn together, where the wood is carved and shaped, and where the rope is made, fitted, and covered in tar to prevent it from rotting. You can also take a tour of the ship.
Unlike in the movies, the Herminone's wheel couldn't be turned by just one man. It took anywhere from two or three in good weather, to 5 or 6 in stormy weather to turn the rudder.

The big red thing in the center of the picture is the winch used to raise anchor. It took most of the crew- some 140 men- to raise anchor. There are two of these winches, one fore, and one aft, 70 men were needed to turn each one. It took about an hour to raise the anchor, and there is a stop to lock the winch if the men needed to stop and take a break. Raising the anchor was the only time the men were allowed to insult the officers!

The Herminone's masts aren't made out of one whole, really tall tree. Instead they are telescoping, made of several separate lengths attached together. This makes possible to have taller masts-trees that tall and straight just aren't all that thick on the ground- as well as making it easier to repaire should the mast become damaged.

Next to the ship yards at Rochefort is the Corderie Royal, where rope was made for the ships. It is one of the longest buildings in Europe, because it needs to be long enough to accommodate the longest length of rope made there!

Oh, and I found a four leaf clover! I'll be glad to take it along on my return trip home. Bon Voyage!



**Check back for the photos. Google has some issues :(

Son et Lumiere

Well, things are winding down here.
We don't have much class time left. It's been a great experience to spend a good chunk of time here in one place at Avignon; I enjoyed my time and I've learned a lot. My French has improved so much!

The Son et Lumiere show at Avignon

We take the DELF exam in a few days and I'll be visiting with some new friends I've made. I can recommend this program to other students and especially my Foyer. It has been wonderful. The Directrice is the best and the other French students in the dorm have helped me by just being themselves. They do normal, student things and I know a lot more about French culture, customs and politics by being around them.


Son et Lumiere

Last weekend with the tourists now regularly calling in the city, they're staging "Son et Lumiere" light shows regularly at the Palais des Papes. These events are quite popular in France at significant tourist destinations, usually ones which include castles. They are held evenings and are often accompanied by music and narration.
I attended and took some photos to share:

The Son et Lumiere show at Avignon

                          

                     Two additional views of Son et Lumiere show.

Visit to Sorgue

With the arrival of spring weather and a few days vacation from school, the nearby towns of Sorgue and Uzés were waiting for a visit!

A street view in Sorgue.

The Isle sur Sorgue. It was very pretty, the town has many little branches and canals of the Sorgue river, many running right under the buildings! Unfortunately,I didn't  enjoy my trip as much as I might have because it was unexpectedly cold and rainy that day. I had dressed for the weather of the day before - sunny upper 70's Fahrenheit. I was also disappointed that I couldn't get to Fontaine de Vaucluse, which was where I really wanted to go.

According to my guide book, the place called Fontaine de Vaucluse is were the poet renaissance Petrach spent much of his time, and where he met his famous muse, Laura. It is also the place where the Sorgue river springs out of the ground; apparently it runs for many miles underground, and in the spring it shoots several feet into the air!

A view of the town market square.

 Sadly, Fontaine de Vaucluse is about 7 km from Isle sur Sorgue where the train station is, so it was too far to walk. None the less, Isle sur Sorgue is a very pretty town, with many excellent antique shops and art galleries, as well as the beautifully clear Sorgue running all through out.

The Ducal Palace, still home to
the Dukes of Uze!

Next I visited Uzés with a friend. It's is a lovely old city,  the seat of the dukes of Uzés, one of the oldest duchies in France, going back to the time of Charlemagne. The dukes of Uzés are still living and remain in possession of their ancestral palace. Parts of the ducal palace are open to tourists- palaces need a lot of money to upkeep, and charging visitors is a great way to get it.


The ducal palace was pretty interesting, though it is a bit expensive to visit-10€ on Saturday and 18€ every other day. I though the outside was a bit more interesting that the inside. It was built in three stages- late medieval, early renaissance and late Renaissance/Gothic, so three distinct architectural styles can be seen. The oldest part is a high defensive tower.
We climbed all the way to the top-135 steps- on a terrifyingly narrow staircase and were rewarded with a truly stunning view!

An interior of one of the public rooms
in the Ducal palace.

Me at the Ducal palace, Uze.

Inside, the palace is still furnished, which is a nice change from the empty chateaux-monuments so far, though the furnishings had a mis-matched air to them which makes me think that it's mostly the things the family doesn't  want or can't  fit in their primary residence in Paris. A bit of a very fancy storage locker, decided!

There is also a Haribo candy factory and a museum in Uzés, so that was our last stop. We learned about the history of the Haribo company and how it makes its candy. We also were able to buy some at their boutique. It's a very good place to take children.

Home office of Haribo candies.

Some Days, You're the Pigeon...

A pigeon roosts on the head of this figure.

 I saw this statue with a pigeon on her head! It made me laugh. Some days you're  the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

Yesterday I went of the student exchange association trip to Arles and Sts. Maries de la Mer. The trip was interesting, except it rained steadily all day and wasn't very warm. Arles was the same as last time, the only difference beings it was wetter and they had the weekend market up, which was interesting.
Sts. Maries de la Mer seems like it would be very nice in good weather. Even in the rain the beach was pretty. However the town itself was all shut up because of the weather.

I also signed up for a horse back tour of the Camargue, which was mostly fun.

The arena at Nimes.

The cathedrale at Nimes.

A very handsome fountain at Arles.

 It would have been awesome, but it rained all day. The Camargue was pretty. It reminds me a bit of swampy areas around the Mississippi river, though I think it isn't  quite as warm as say the Everglades or Louisiana's bayou. More like Tennessee or Mississippi. There were many water birds: herons, egrets, even pairs of swans. One was on a nest -- she watched us very carefully!

Art works at the Petit Palais, Avignon.

Friday I went the Petite Palais, which is a museum next to the Palace des Papes in Avignon.

The French sandwich called the Americain.

I saw a sandwich at a street food stand nearby called an Americain, and wanted to know what it was. It turns out to be a steakburger in a baguette with the sauce of your choice  so I got mayo with fries. Not really anything American, but tasty!

Nimes: Easter Time In France

Cathedrale of Nimes.

While France is historically called the "cradle of Christianity" owing to the ancient Gauls who first accepted the new religion during the Roman occupation, to Charlemagne fame, today not many attend regularly and some laws are now in force to prevent public expression of religion. Still, they are very interested and even adamant about their Easter holiday weekend. In fact the Monday after Easter is a national holiday to allow people to travel back home from their Easter celebrations. Strange.

Easter is (still) an important holiday in France. Everyone goes traveling to see their family, so the trains where quite crowded. It seems that Easter in France still has more traces of the ancient spring celebrations that existed before Christianity. Along with the usual chocolate rabbits and eggs, they have chocolate fish and chickens. They have chocolate euros too, but I think maybe they are more of a Christmas thing that ended up in my Easter basket because they were left over :) I do like chocolate!

'CocoEuros' for holidays.

Roman arena of Nimes.

Chocolate novelties for Easter.

On my return I had a long stop in Nimes, which is the principal city of the Gard region. Nimes is an ancient and very interesting city. I didn't  have time to see too much, but the train station lets you off right down town so I was able to see some of its pretty shopping area, the large cathedral and a very impressive fountain. I also saw the famous Roman arena, which is still used today. They have bullfights in the style of the Camargue (the swampy areas near the Mediterranean)  which doesn't  involve injuring or killing the bull.


 

The SNCF train station at Nimes.

A rainy, cool day at Royan.

April is the very beginning of the tourist season here. The beach at Royan was just warm enough to be pleasant, and the attractions for the tourists have returned for the season.  I did go walking in the surf but the water is still too cold for swimming. It was still early and cold enough in the season that the beaches weren't  crowded.

Le Printemps et Avignon

Its beginning to feel a lot like spring time!

Dining on the cheap--as the locals do
from the supermarche!

Now that it is getting warm and the tourists are just starting to arrive, the city seems to be giving itself a bit of a face lift. Buildings are getting new roofs and shops are being renovated and painted.  They like to re-use even very old buildings here.The cafes have all set up huge umbrellas in preparation for the hot summer, and they have set up barrier walls to mark out which seats belong to which restaurant.

Renovation and construction of buildings
is now in full swing at Avignon.

Restaurants, even fast food, is expensive in France! However, I've  discovered that a good way to get around this is to buy already prepared food at the grocery store and take it somewhere to eat. The food is quite good and much less expensive. Especially when I stick to French favorites like jambon, ham or le thon, tuna; or regional favorites like cassoulet, bean stew. It seems to be what the locals do too. I see lots of them buying the same kinds of things around lunch time along with bread, fruit, vegetables and cheeses.

 

I saw quite an antiques market setup in the square, la Place d'Horlogue today! They had all kinds of things-- jewelry, silverware,  porcelain, linens, decorative objects, old farming equipment, war memorabilia; it was

La Place d'Horlogue
Tourism is starting to bloom as well here!

quite an eclectic collection. I saw a few things I liked, but nothing that would fit well in a suitcase.

The roof tops and tower of Avignon Palais.

 The street vendors at the place de Horlogue are mostly selling jewelry and painting. I wasn't  particularly impressed or unimpressed, though there was one rather good water-colorist. There is also a tram that you can ride around the city. It's apart from the city buses which operate year round. The tram starts out front of the Palais des Papes and goes around most of the historic sites. Its about 7€ a person I think, which was a bit much for me, but it does look like a good way to see the city without getting lost- which is something to consider given the maze of streets that is Avignon!

The road to the Barthalese area at Avignon

At the Isle Barthalese, camping and lodg-
ings for the budget minded in Avignon.

The place to board the river ferry at Avignon.

Finally, I visited the Isle Barthalese today, which is the largest river island in Europe. It is accessible by bridge for cars, bicycles and pedestrians, and by ferry for bikes and pedestrians.

The ferry is free, but unfortunately, while it runs every day in the summer, it only runs Wednesdays and weekends in the spring months. 

The isle has a large camping area, as well as sports facilities and an organic farm where you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

A view of the adjacent  Villeneuve les Avignon
from the walkway.

 There is also a very pleasant walkway along the river. While the river is nice for walking, the rest of the isle is better suited for car travel, unlike Avignon within the walls where walking or biking is the best way to get around.

Some Visitors

I've been distracted the last few weeks by some surprise visitors from home. The Mistral wind was blowing hard when they arrived; we were freezing!
But it slacked off and the sun was quite warm when they left a few weeks later. School has been keeping me busy. I'm glad to have a routine, otherwise it would be boring here! It's not that there isn't stuff to do, it's what to do. I think there's so much, one can't really decide-- so it's boring without a routine. Humph!
Oh, my visitors. Well, they came. I can say that much.
We used our French muchly, and they made a lot of the same mistakes as me--I felt redeemed! I'm not the only one around here who can't always get the right verb tenses. I had my first French quiz last week. It went well-- no surprises. My spelling isn't too good in English either. I'm working at it-still.

We also went to the towns of Orange and Arles: 

In Arles my camera went out, so I hope to post more pictures--if the memory card isn't dead :(

The wonderful roman theater at Orange.

On the bright side,  I applied for and got a "La Carte Zou!" from the SNCF train station at Avignon. It gives me 50 per cent off for all my trips in the region, me and two others, that is--that's a bargain. So I used it for these two trips

At Orange: In the meantime, I can say that the weather was frigid the day we visited Orange, but the ancient Roman theater with its small interior movie theater was the saving grace--because it was heated! We learned about the site from the interesting video presentation and enjoyed our picnic lunch there.

The next best thing about Orange was the Cafe-Bar we stopped at. Open on Sundays, we were so glad to enter inside and were greeted by the owners, a husband and wife who graciously served us hot tea at the bar and also waited on their customers easily in French, English or German! How nice is that?!
Please do stop in at the place: V Cafe,  2 Place de freres Mounet Orange
Tel. 0490663214

They serve good, hot and tasty food at fair prices.

A hot drink at V Cafe, Orange warmed us up!

We wanted to visit a few other places, but being low season, they were closed on Sunday. We did see the interesting museum located across the street from the theater, and their cathedrale. While it was impressive structurally, it's sad to find that sooo many churches in France today now fill the role of "museum."

The visit to Arles was a week later; with the Mistral winds tamed for the day, we enjoyed fine a spring day. At Arles we saw the Roman Arena, the local museum, the Roman baths, the cathedral St. Trophime, the Cloister of St. Trophime, the Roman theater and their city park, all very attractive and most quite interesting.

The Roman amphitheater at Arles.

 We also saw Les Alyscamps, the ancient Roman cemetery, one of the few surviving intact burial grounds of antiquity in France. It was most interesting. We also attempted to visit the Museum Reattu but were very disappointed. It's undergoing renovations and, at the moment, has a chaotic schedule of openings. It may be opened for the summer season, but the renovations are scheduled to continue through 2013. Blah! We so wanted to see its art collection. Also we tracked Van Gogh a bit and realized that his presence there is a bit mystical--the society which holds some of his works was also closed and maybe moved from it's first building to a newer one, so some of the signs we followed were out of date.

A map with Arles indicated.

A Painting by V. VanGogh of Arles Les
Alyscamps cemetery.

One of the best things we did in Arles was to enjoy our picnic lunch at the fountain in the town square at the Hotel de Ville, and to meet a woman in her bakery when we stopped by to buy a baguette before lunch. She was very kindly and corrected our French! We weren't the least bit bothered; we thanked her, and we all laughed. Such a kind heart, for sure.

A Marseille!

The central port with boats moored.

Marseille is quite lovely. It is a beautiful old port town surrounded by mountains and the Mediterranean sea. The feel of the city reminds me a bit of New Orleans, both are warm French port cities, but Marseille is much larger than New Orleans.This was my first time seeing the Mediterranean; it really is as blue and clear as you see in photos!

A view of some calanques.

 I want to come back when it is warm enough to swim, because while the weather was nice and warm, the water was still very cold. The mountains are beautiful as well, they are good for hiking and rock climbing. You can see beautiful views of the sea and the city from them. Unfortunately, Marseille does not have many proper beaches, instead the coast is rocky. They have many calanques, which are long thin coves made by fingers of the sea reaching into the mountainous coast. The calanques often have small beaches in them, and are perfect harbors for boating or scuba diving.

The city is also quite interesting. Marseille is quite old, it was originally a Phoenician city, though most of the buildings are more modern than that, most seem to date from around the 18th century.

The Cathedrale of Marseilles.

A view from the cliffs, hiking above
the city is a great view!

The cathedral in Marseille is beautiful, and unlike some of the churches I have seen here in France, still in very good repair. Up high on the mountains over looking the port in Notre Dame du Garde. This church is also beautiful, and has a splendid view of the city and the sea. It is dedicated to the protection of sailors. The port is guarded by two massive and impressive fortresses.

I went hiking in the mountains with some others this past week.  It is beautiful though, the mountains over look the Mediterranean. It was crazy windy though.

I think I like the Mediterranean coast, I want to come back and go to the beach when it is warmer, it was pretty warm today and yesterday, but not beach going warm. Today I explored the city with wonderful guide. We went to an art museum and saw a couple churches. Everyone has been very nice here; they've kept me quite busy. Unfortunately the week end is over so soon!

A view of the Mediteranean shoreline.

Il Neige!

Ancient sculpture, olives and snow!

What looks to be the "three graces."

Rarely, il neige! It snows here.

An elegant sculpture of a Roman woman.

 It was snowing here today. There were lots of  small kids out chanting, "il neige,il neige!" I guess it doesn't snow very often!



Friday I went to a sculpture museum, mostly Roman and Etruscan stone carving with a little bit of early Christian/medieval, and some Roman/Etruscan pottery. Avignon not only was a home to the Romans and the medieval Roman Church, but also a big destination for theater. Its central location made it a favored spot for the Roman invaders.

Everyday, quality goods from Roman times.

It was interesting to see, because unlike the sculpture you tend to see in big art museums, this stuff had the feel of being generally more common. It seemed like it was more sculpture for a people and places that were important enough to have someone make them stone carvings, but not work for kings or royal cities.

 I went wandering around today after class to check out the city more. It seems there is some kind of children's marathon that goes on in Avignon. I came upon it just as it looked like they were approaching the finish.

The entrance to Avignon Market.

I also found what seems to be the market, le marché, in Avignon. Like in many other French cities, it has the name "Les Halles." I think it's where many of the locales shop. It has some of the same kinds of things as the one I went to in Royan or Saintes, but smaller.

There weren't any of the open air stands like in Royan, Everything is all inside, though there is an open plaza in front of the building; perhaps there are more stands when the weather is warmer.

The all things olive seller at the market.

There are so many crus des olives here!

The products are similar, but not the same as those in Royan. Here, there is much less fish and seafoods, more smoked meats (viandes fumées), and lots of olives and olive oil. We are in Provence, after all!



  For Mardi Gras we had a little party at the Foyer. It was a fun change. We all wore hats to dinner. It seems the custom. I made my own. It was trés artiste! However the other French students at my Foyer were a bit surprised by its whimsy. I explained that in New Orleans, elaborate Mardi Gras chapeaux and masques are de rigeur. Even the French, it seems, can use a little bit of culture!

The Asian stall at the Avignon market.
There is a good Asian population here in France.
It recalls the days of French Indo-Chine.

The spice seller at the market.

Getting Into the Swing of Things

My view of the courtyard at the Palais Des Papes

We Are Study Abroad --EIU!

This is New Student Week! for us foreign students, and it's generally been a lot of fun! And my student ID gets me into the dining hall and discounts in lots of places, likes stores, museums, travel and more.
We toured city sites and met each day for social activities as well as to finish our registration. Friday morning topped off the process when we took our placement exams. This determines our class schedule the rest of the semester. Yeah! I've got no 8am classes this semester! Classes are starting.



The weather here is great. It's the south of France after all. True, the Mistral winds do blow cold in winter, but the sun is warm and the skies, very blue!

I went to the Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon with the rest of the exchange students. The entire trip was a bit confused. Apparently, it was not very clear where and when we were supposed to meet up, so we ended up going in two groups.

The Papal throne, ca. 14th century

 The Palais interior was a bit less impressive than I imagined. You can definitely tell it was built to be a fortress. The walls are thick and high! I didn't get to learn as much of the history as I would have liked, but it is free the first Sunday of each month, so I shall have to go back.

The interior is not in particularly good condition. The structure is still fine-- massive stone buildings tend to last after all, but the interiors seem to have been damaged. Many of the frescoes and tile are gone or badly damaged, and it looks as though anything that wasn't part of the building is basically gone. There is no furniture, no rugs or tapestries or anything else you might expect to find in a place where some of the the most powerful men in Europe once lived. I would guess it all fared badly in the Revolution. All of the statues around the doors to the Papal chapel  have been beheaded!

Surviving fresco, the Papal apartments

Decapitated figure, entrance to
Papal chapel

I  want to go back to their gift shop! They have working toy wooden crossbows and hand crossbows, along with other cool things. I want one!

The fast moving Rhone river at the
Pont d'Avignon

I also went to the Pont d'Avignon, which was interesting enough. It has a very nice view of the Rhone river. The river seems to be quite fast moving, and I would imagine it is very dangerous to fall in!