It was raining when we got up this morning and it continued to rain on and off most of the day.
Our first stop was Arles. As it was still raining and Jill was not 100% (her bronchitis is not being kind to her at the moment) I headed off with the umbrella to explore.
I had two targets in mind, the remains of two Roman Buildings, the Théâtre Antique and Les Arènes. Théâtre Antique, an outdoor theatre area, built around the end of the first century BC, has been rather neglected and could do with a bit of TLC but Les Arènes, built around the late 1st and 2nd centuries is a very impressive building - a mini coliseum where chariot races and gladiatorial displays were once held.
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| Theatre Antique, Arles |
From Arles we headed for the mountains and Verdon Gorge, passing an area of many lavender farms (Provence is famous for its lavender - no lavender out at the moment). The Verdon Gorge (in French: Gorges du Verdon or Grand canyon du Verdon), is a river canyon that is often considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful. It is about 25 kilometres long and up to 700 meters deep. It was formed by the Verdon River, which is named after its startling turquoise-green colour, one of the canyon's most distinguishing characteristics.
The most impressive part lies between the towns of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie and Castellane (the route we took), where the river has cut a ravine up to 700 metres down through the limestone mass. The village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie was just delightful. It clings to the side of the valley between two limestone peaks. Higher up the mountain, there is a chapel under a star suspended over the town on a 227m chain. The road to Castellane was very slow and windy, through quite a few tunnels and the scenery was spectacular.
