{"id":763,"date":"2012-06-28T21:00:58","date_gmt":"2012-06-28T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=763"},"modified":"2025-11-23T06:04:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T06:04:22","slug":"the-medi-camargue-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2012\/06\/28\/the-medi-camargue-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The Medi, The Camargue And More"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s now week ten and still we keep moving around France\u2026\u2026\u2026it doesn\u2019t look like we\u2019ll manage to squeeze in any more countries; so much for being a tour of Europe!\u00a0 We feel like we are constantly on the move, we don\u2019t often seem to stay in one place for very long and yet we seem to be missing so much along the way, or rushing through places where it might be nice to stay longer.\u00a0 Rodney is still keen on squeezing in Switzerland, but we only have less than\u00a0four weeks left and we have to get back up the full length of France for the ferry on July 23rd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we started week ten with a quick breakfast and a de-camp, which was then severely delayed by my discovery of the can of Coca Cola that Rodney had placed in the freezer the day before.\u00a0 Great idea, as it is so hot down here, but unfortunately the coke was no longer in the freezer.\u00a0 It was now frozen all over the walls of the freezer and dripping everywhere inside the tiny fridge.\u00a0 It took us ages getting the whole thing clean and \u2018unstickied\u2019, before we could close it up and get on the road.<\/p>\n

We drove back to Agde and strolled around the old town and a flea market; we saw a few classic items, but with nowhere to put them, we passed on by.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Fantastic trompe l’oeil walls in Agde<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next stop was Cap d\u2019Agde where we strolled around the yachts and took a phone call from Rosie in Australia!\u00a0 Thank you so much for ringing, it was lovely to feel connected again and to hear all the news from Sydney.\u00a0 As it was now lunch time, we sat in one of the restaurants on the quay and Rodney ate another huge pot of moules with frites, while I had a not so good version of goats cheese salad, before heading back to Eileen.<\/p>\n

Now we were heading further east; back past Marseillan, though S\u00e8te, over the Canal du Rhone, through Palavas les Flots, Carnon Plage, La Grande Motte to Le Grau du Roi.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Canal du Rhone Sete<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We thought this would be the best area to find a big supermarket, but every one that we managed to find had barriers at the car park that were too low for us to get under!!! I ended up walking with my French basket and Rodney stayed in the van to rest up a bit.\u00a0 Finally, with the food cupboard and the fridge re-stocked we turned north up to Aigues Mortes.<\/p>\n

This is an amazing place, set on the edge of the salt marshes of the Camargue.\u00a0 It is a completely walled city, which from the outside looks just like a big old empty fort.\u00a0 But there are entry doors on\u00a0each corner and one along\u00a0each side and when you go inside there is\u00a0the most\u00a0lovely old mediaeval city, with cafes, and shops and lots of tourists.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aigues Mortes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It really took me by surprise and it was a shame we couldn\u2019t stay longer.\u00a0 A couple of Aussie girls on bikes, tried to recommend a campsite to us, but their description was so vague and despite driving around for ages we couldn\u2019t find it, so decided to aim for the coast, as was our original intention.<\/p>\n

By the time we arrived at Stes Maries de la Mer, it was 8pm.\u00a0 We pulled up at the Aires on the Promenade and managed to find a slot for little Eileen amongst all the big boys that had already set up camp.\u00a0 We went for a stroll along the front, expecting to see a long, wild, sandy beach, but it has been \u2018renovated\u2019 with enormous boulders creating groynes and lots of small sections of bathing areas.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t attractive, though I suppose it is functional for the holidaymakers, but we decided to leave early the next day and drive on further east.<\/p>\n

What a way to start the day!\u00a0 We took 12 photos before breakfast !!<\/p>\n

We woke early and as we hadn\u2019t really unpacked much the night before, it didn\u2019t take long to set off.\u00a0 In fact, we left before the council official had arrived to collect the fee, so we ended up having a free overnighter.\u00a0 We discovered two brilliant roundabouts on the way out of town and managed to get pictures of both of them.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Tiny lighthouse roundabout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then we drove across the Plaine de la Camargue. We spotted our first flamingos, they are such strange creatures and walk surprisingly fast through the water; I guess it\u2019s those long legs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Flamingos doing what flamingos do……<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We pulled up somewhere right on the edge of the Etang de Vaccar\u00e8s and ate the jamon, melon and pastries that had been intended as last night’s dinner.\u00a0 We saw lots of the beautiful white horses that are so famous in this region, but unfortunately never saw a gardian (cowboy) rounding up the small black bulls.<\/p>\n

Parking in Arles was fairly successful and we spent hours wandering the streets, visiting all the spots made famous by Vincent Van Gogh and also\u00a0some very good\u00a0Roman remains.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Van Gogh’s picture of the Hospital of Arles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Rodney’s picture of the Hospital of Arles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s a lovely town, but it was very hot and dusty. We stopped for lunch and much needed cold drinks at the \u2018Caf\u00e9 Amphitheatre\u2019.\u00a0 We ordered jamon sandwiches, but received fromage\u2026..I\u2019m sure my French really isn\u2019t that bad, but it was served with a smile, and we had already had jamon for breakfast, so it was all good\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"
The amphitheatre at Arles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As we\u00a0drove out of\u00a0Arles, with my right knee\u00a0now wrapped in\u00a0ice, we started to see rocky outcrops and the scenery changed dramatically from the previous week.\u00a0 Our next stop on today\u2019s \u2018Rodney Tour\u2019, was the Moulin de Daudet (the famous poet lived here) just outside Fontvielle.\u00a0 Rodney wanted to re-enact a photo that his father took of him when he was 15 years old.\u00a0 He tucked his shirt in and pulled his shorts up over his waist (a la 1967) and I took the photo.\u00a0 Unfortunately, when we checked the original, the steps were in a different place, his shirt wasn\u2019t tucked in and we needed Ivan there to complete the picture.\u00a0 He did, however, still have blonde hair.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Rodney at the Moulin de Daudet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We drove past the Abbaye de Montmajour, where the wonderful film \u2018A Lion In Winter\u2019 was filmed back in 1968; no time to stop, Rodney still had another place to visit before the day was finished.\u00a0 Around 3pm we arrived at the amazing Les Baux de Provence.\u00a0 The view of the place as you approach is fabulous and when you arrive in the village at the top of the hill you find a lovely place with marvellous views of the surrounding olive trees and fields of grapevines below.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Les Baux de Provence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The view east from Les Baux de Provence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I fell in love with Les Baux, especially after we had visited the Chateau des Baux .\u00a0 I wish we could have arrived earlier, as it would have been wonderful to spend the whole day wandering around the ruined ramparts and gazing out over the surrounding peaks.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Looking down on the village at Les Baux de Provence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Part of the Chateau Baux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We also had to get to the Carri\u00e8res de Lumi\u00e8res at the far end of the village.\u00a0 This was an extraordinary experience.\u00a0 The caves, created by the quarrying of limestone, have been turned in to a monumental backdrop for multimedia shows.\u00a0 You walk through a small door and find yourself in an enormous cavern.\u00a0 Music plays as enormous paintings by Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin are illuminated on the 14 metre high walls.\u00a0 There are pillars of rock in the centre, so you walk around these in the dark looking in all directions at beautiful pictures.\u00a0 Sometimes they even look as if they are 3D.\u00a0 It was wonderful and I would have loved to have stayed longer and watched it all again.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Carrieres de Lumieres<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, exhausted and dusty, we drove up to Remy de Provence and pulled in to the Camping Pegomas.\u00a0 It was late and the swimming pool was closed, so we both\u00a0had cool showers and fell in to bed exhausted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s now week ten and still we keep moving around France\u2026\u2026\u2026it doesn\u2019t look like we\u2019ll manage to squeeze in any more countries; so much for being a tour of Europe!\u00a0 We feel like we are constantly on the move, we don\u2019t often seem to stay in one place for very long and yet we seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6665,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions\/6665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}