Provençal charm in Avignon and Arles

After Beaune, Joe and I trained to Avignon, a city both beautiful and grimy, that is simultaneously a piece of French history and a hub for immigrants and new-comers. We really enjoyed this interesting mix of grit and charm, and loved wandering the cities winding streets, exploring the Papal Palace (although the audio guides bored us to death), shopping in their fantastic indoor food market and reading in the beautiful gardens overlooking the city. We took a day-trip to the smaller, lovely city of Arles, a place where Vincent Van Gogh had lived and been intensely inspired. In Arles we climbed Roman ruins, ate exotic flavors of ice cream, and drank cool drinks to escape the heat. It was coming home from Arles on the train where we met a lovely Bostonian couple who we enjoyed so much that we ate dinner with them two nights in a row! After Beaune, Avignon was a nice return to urban life mixed with the delicious flavors, and somewhat laid-back feel of Provence.

Delicious ice cream in Arles, portrait by Joe. I had fig flavor!

Nice cold beer on Arles terrace

Beaune and our Burgundian delights!

It's funny how sometimes the place you are the most skeptical about ends up being the highlight of the trip. While Joe and I had an amazing time in Avignon and Nice (those posts to come), both of us agreed that Beaune was the jewel of our trip. My dad had recommended we go there and swayed us to take Burgundy over Bordeaux (which turned out to have a  massive outbreak of e.coli during the time we would have been there! Thanks Dad!).

We spent only two full days in Beaune, and stayed at an adorable b+b called Hotel Rousseau, run by an elderly Madame who keeps cages and cages of chirping birds. The room was a cliche b+b room with floral wallpaper and dark wood bed and armoir. The bed wasn't the most comfortable and there was a musty smell but we loved it anyways.

Day 1 we spent in Beaune, wandering the town, the Hotel Dieu/Hospices de Beaune, the town's church, and the medieval Caves (wine cellars), where you pay 10 Euro to taste 15 of the regions finest wines (all Pinot Noir and Chardonnays). The second day we rented bikes and biked through gorgeous vineyard hills to 5 different wine-producing towns, stopping to sample wines and picnic on the way. The last night in Beaune was magical. We dined at this fantastic communal-table style restaurant and by the end of the meal were sharing food, laughs and stories with everyone at the table. Overall, we were swept up by Beaune's medieval charm, the incredible food, lovely people, and of course, the wine.

Our darling b+b in Beaune, Hotel Rousseau.

The Hospices de Beaune, a hospital which ran from the 1400s to the 1970s!

Joe took this beautiful one. This holds the host in the Hospices chapel.

End of Paris + Normandy

Here are a few favourite pictures from the end of Joe and my time in Paris, and our day trip to Normandy. We took a tour of Normandy with a hilarious Dutchman who hated Belgians and made really racy jokes, but was incredibly informative and knowledgeable on WW2 history. Despite it really being something I did for Joe, I ended up finding our day trip really moving and would recommend it even if you are not so fascinated by WW2.

One of many picnics, this on in the Luxembourg Gardens

 

paris with joe

So I clearly have been off the blogging thing for quite a while, as I adventured around France with JG. I left the laptop (and internet connection) at home and just soaked in the beauty of Paris, Burgundy, Provence and the Riviera. Life's pretty hard, right?

Thought I would post a few very nice pics we took with Joe's gorgeous SLR around Paris, with more to come from our time in the rest of France. Having already been in Paris for 3 weeks, we focused on giving Joe an exciting, full, yet not overly cliche first-time Paris experience.

We stayed in the Republique area, but in a nicer part then where I stayed with my school, right by the Canal St Martin. It was absolutely lovely, and we definitely recommend an apartment share in Paris when you visit, especially in this area. We really had a chance to experience the young, ridiculously hip Parisian scene there, and rented a really charming musician's flat with posters from "Breathless" and keyboards propped up against the wall. The only downside was the 4 floors of walkup, but at least it helped balance out the multitude of pain au chocolat and croissant we would eat every morning.

Walking to diner in the Marais, first night

Espresso first night