Our destination was La Camargue. Instead of a direct route, we went the leisurely
way—planning to make a stop at Les Baux and not in any hurry. We took a scenic drive (green on the Michelin
Atlas Routier, France 2012—which we had to re-purchase at the first rest stop
on the “péage”
from Nice to Lagnes since we forgot to pack our earlier version) through the Parc
Naturel Regional des Alpilles and on toward Les Baux. The drive took us up and over small mountains
covered with pines and rocks much like the drive from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe
over Route 88 by Caples Lake. The road
was not heavily traveled and we encountered few other cars. An impressive fortification, ruins of Tour
les Opies, were perched high on a rock halfway to our destination. We spotted an impressive raptor—some kind of
hawk—scouring the land for lunch. On the
other side of the mountains, we passed vineyard after vineyard and olive
orchard after olive orchard until we reached Les Baux.
Les Baux is located high on a rocky plateau overlooking the
Val D’Enfer (infernal valley) with its rocky walls and foreboding drops. The powerful feudal founders of Les Baux
claimed to have descended from one of the Three Magi--Balthusar; and a museum
of “santons” (“little saints,” dolls five to 12 inches high that were first
made after the Revolution when the churches were closed) depicting French life
long ago and the three Magi.
In the Middle Ages, Les Baux was considered the place to see
troubadours singing of their longing for wealthy and powerful women. It was considered at the time the most
famous Provençal Cour d’Amour (course of love). It was destroyed in 1632 because of its
allegiance to protestanism. In the 19th
century, bauxite was discovered and mined here—named for Les Baux.
After coffee, we meandered around the town taking photos,
buying things, visiting an exhibit of photographs of Princess Grace of Monaco
that was shown both outside on the occasional walls of the town and inside the
building which housed Le Mairie (the town hall). Her son, Prince Albert, was made the Marquis
of Les Baux, so they had an affiliation with this medieval town that still endures. There were photos from his birth, the
proclamation of his “marquis-dom,” and a letter of thanks to the people of Les
Baux for their heartfelt expression of sorrow over the death of Princess Grace.
We skipped the trebuchet and other instruments of war that
are on the plateau at the top of the town and which were allegedly used by the
brutal feudal lords of Les Baux. Instead
we found sustenance at a restaurant overlooking the valley—La Pitchoune. Wonderful repast of mushroom soup (velouté
des champignons) and salmon for Cindy, salmon for Phil and my first “steak
frites” of the trip, which was good and which won’t be repeated often. The meal was joined with wine from Gigondas.
We drove away from La Camargue, passing "les guardiens’" houses
sporting their thatched roofs, stables of white horses, and rice paddies.
On our way back, we stopped at a Géant in a shopping center, the
likes of which we’ve not yet seen—much like a mall we might find at home,
including a Galeries Lafayette and many other specialty shops.
Nonetheless, we picked up a few additional
necessities and found our way back to Lagnes—tired but satisfied.
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