Driver extraordinaire

One day in Arles with clear blue skies, a warm breeze and temperatures in the low 30s reminds us of Freo!  We went to the Van Gogh exhibition yesterday and can well understand why he loved painting here so much with all the bright light and beautiful colours.  We are staying in a small apartment right beside the Roman amphitheatre built in 90AD which is in the middle of a maze of tiny alleys and passages with dead ends, cul de sacs and one way signs. Some alleys are only wide enough for a small car to pass through.  There is a reason why French people drive such small cars!  Tony is Driver of the Year after all the very windy roads we have travelled for the past few days.   Amazing scenery and so many photo opportunities.  In this huge country it is easy to imagine a line on the map can be traversed in a few hours, it took a few days to descend from Geneva, down the Rhone to Lyon, through the Ardech, the Cevennes and the Tarn valleys to Arles via a small commune called Paulinet, where we found the Chateau de Paulin and saw Carcassone from the distance as we were in a hurry!  The journey has been full of scenes you might only see on a travel poster!  Travelling through ancient landscapes riven by great waterways where the French have lived and farmed for centuries, we were amazed at the vastness and the spectacular rock formations - almost Pilbara like some of them, with folds and buttresses round every corner.

Natural Bridge in the Ardeche

Ruined Castle on the Tarn - the locals took stone etc from the castles/chateaus during the revolution to build their own houses

Tony at his family's chateau!!!

 Lyon was a lovely surprise too.  It is well worth a visit to see the old town and the new yet to be nicknamed building at La Confluence of the Rhone and the Saone Rivers.  They even set up a welcome bunch of flowers for their guests in the main square!

Lyon from the Basilica

Sometimes the French people get bad press from tourists but we have been met with overwhelming friendliness and a desire to help when they can.  You are greeted by everyone in shops and cafes and on the street, bonjour, bonsoir, bonne journee, merci always with a smile and always happy to speak some English where our French doesn't quite come up to the mark.  I have really enjoyed speaking French again to the point of  my brain thinking in french when tired, haven't done that since Weston Tech all those years ago!

While the media is full of stories of strikes and woe, we have found nothing but nice people going about their business and happy to see us.  All our AirBnB's have been great and the hosts very friendly and helpful indeed.  Can highly recommend it.  

Oh and today we were in the Camargue and we saw some flamingos which nest there in summer - bit far away but you can see they are pink!!

The Roman Arena in Arles.