How did they get
there?
fallen rock jammed in crevice
Having got caught up in the suburbs of Marseilles a few years ago we
headed north back towards Aix en Provence then cut across west on the
yellow D roads to Marignane passing through many industrial areas and a
huge centre commercial and after getting lost a few times ended up on a
free section of the A7 autoroute overlooking the Etang de Berre and oil
refineries. We bypassed Salon-de-Provence and Les Baux crossing the low
Chaine des Alpilles hills to St Remy-de-Provence for a walk around the
attractive old town with a massive church with mixed styles
and and an equally mixed modern yet old fashioned Jules Verne themed
carousel, before negotiating more busy roads to reach the pleasant
riverside aire at Comps just north of Beaucaire.
carousel at St Remy de Provence
From there we drove down to Arles via another centre commercial for a
hypermarket shop and free wifi at the Mc Donalds and then parked on the
quayside with other motorhomes, to look at the Roman amphitheatre and
old buildings. We came across several Camargue horse riders in
traditional dress in the main square providing a guard of honour for a
funeral. We also visited the Éspace Van Gogh, a quiet
courtyard with pleasant gardens for a rest before returning to Comps
for another peaceful night.
Carmargue horse
and rider Arles
Now heading north west we drove along rough country lanes to
Uzès crowded for its popular market and diverted a few miles
to St Quentin-la-Poterie famous for - pottery and previously a
centre for tilemaking. It was rather quiet with many of the workshops
closed on a Saturday, but a few interesting murals around the
village. Driving back through the middle of the crowded
market in Uzès (probably worth a stop but far too busy) we continued
through farmland and vineyards to Anduze, a pretty town on the
River Gardon but often subjected to severe flooding, as recently as 2002 from
the plaques on the wall. There were large clumps of tall bamboo trees
in the park and also at the Le Pradel campsite we
booked into for the night. These plants had spread from the
Bambouseraie de Prafrance a short walk from the campsite which we
visited the next day. An interesting place with large tree plantations,
reconstructed Laotian huts, displays and a Japanese garden,
also next to the steam hauled Train Touristique de Cévennes.
Laotian house
Variegated bamboo