DAY 2 - AVIGNON TO VAISON LA ROMAINE
Friday, September 30. Took the shuttle bus back out to Avignon Gare TGV and picked up a rental car from EuropeCar (booked and paid for through AutoEurope). Since my wife wasn't able to join me for the Provence portion of the trip, I decided to indulge my interest in Roman history and explore as many of the Roman sites in Provence -- of which there are many -- as I could. Not something my wife would be particularly interested in. First stop, after a couple of wrong turns, was Orange. Here there is a stunning Triumphal Arch and Roman Theatre (Theatre Antique d'Orange). There's a great electronic carry-along "audioguide" tour of the theatre -- highly recommended and included with the admission ticket.

On to Gigondas, where I took lunch at l'Oustalet (www.gabriel-meffre.fr/oustalet/). Had the wonderful lunch "menu" which included entree, plate, and dessert. The plate was a filet mignon of pork, and dessert was a warm chocolate torte filled with chocolate creme. With a glass of the house wine (a red Gigondas), the bill came to 34.50 Euro -- one of the best meals and best bargains of the entire trip. Highly recommended. There are also numerous "caveau" -- or wine-tasting rooms -- around town, including the highly recommended caveau of the "vignerons de Gigondas".

Next stop was Seguret, just off the back road from Gigondas to Vaison la Romaine. Beautiful hill town with interesting back alleys and steep, narrow roadways.

Arrived in Vaison la Romaine around 3:30pm, where I checked into L'Eveche in the "Cité Médiévale" (www.eveche.com). Great bed-and-breakfast style accommodation in a wonderfully restored house with marvelous, friendly, and helpful owners who speak excellent English. Two nights here for one person with breakfast totaled 140 Euro. Had an unremarkable dinner at an Italian restaurant called "Le Vieux Vaison" near the foot of the old town.


DAY 3 - IN VAISON LA ROMAINE
Saturday, October 1. Explored the narrow streets and back alleys of the Cité Médiévale. Then crossed the L'Ouveze river to the "modern town," where ironically the remains of the original Roman town are found. Toured the Roman remains of "Puymin" (which includes the museum and Roman Theatre) and "La Villasse" (which includes the "Street of Shops" and "Palaestra"). Also explored the modern town, which is built on top of much of the original Roman town.

sounds like a great trip, welcome back

Thanks, Rumsey - your timing is perfect! We leave for Paris and Provence in about 5 hours. The tips at CDG were especially helpful.

mom

DAY 4 - VAISON LA ROMAINE TO ST. RÉMY DE PROVENCE
Sunday, October 2. Departed Vaison for the Sunday market in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Très bon! Picked up some knick-nacks like lavender soap and towels for gifts. Then on to Bonnieux. Stopped to see the Pont Julien -- an old Roman bridge on the Via Domitia, the Roman road that once connected Italia and Gaul (France). Explored Bonnieux's back alleys and steep streets. Had a marvelous lunch at Le Fournil, where I ordered the "menu" for 26 Euro. Included a salad of tomato, olives, and fromage; a fillet of sole; and a rich "chocolat du moment". Also ordered a half-bottle of vin rouge: Chateau La Canorgue 2003 from a local winery. Another outstanding lunch! The restaurant was not crowded when I arrived around 12:30pm, but was packed when I left at 1:45. Followed the back road to Menerbes, where I stopped and explored this interesting and beautiful hill town.

A WORD ABOUT DRIVING IN PROVENCE. Having a good sense of direction and being able to read and understand the Michelin maps is essential. I had copies of Michelin's "332 Local" (Drôme, Vaucluse) and "340 Local" (Bouches-du-Rhône, Var) maps (purchased from Amazon.com), and studied them carefully each morning before departing. I rarely found road numbers marked on secondary road signs, came across several back road intersections with minimal or no markings, and took a few wrong turns that forced me to stop and re-read my maps. Once you get used to the way the towns are posted on the major road signs, however, navigating becomes much easier. That was my experience.

On to St. Rémy. Arrived about 4:00pm, and checked into Hotel Villa Glanum about a mile south of town (www.villaglanum.com). The hotel is a bit too far outside of town to walk into the centre ville, but is right next door the Les Antiques and Glanum -- two remarkable sets of Roman ruins dating back to the 1st century B.C. -- and across the street from the Saint Paul de Mausole hospital where Van Gogh was a patient. Unfortunately for me, not one staff member I met at the hotel spoke a word of English, and my French is really poor, so communicating was a challenge. But the staff always greeted me with a friendly "bonjour", the room was very comfortable, and the price was right: 63 Euro per night, including breakfast, for one person (I stayed here 4 nights while exploring the area). There's a nice pool and patio area with afternoon bar service in back of the hotel.

Had a light dinner in a small sidewalk cafe in St. Rémy.

DAY 5 - LES BAUX-DE-PROVENCE & ARLES
Monday, October 3. Followed the Michelin Green Guide recommended driving tour from St. Rémy, which approaches Les Baux from the north on the D27 (though I never saw a sign that actually identified this road as the D27, but it did indicate Les Baux). There wasn't much of a crowd at Les Baux when I arrived around 10:00am, and the wind ("les mistral") was really howling on top of the ancient chateau! Interesting ruins on top of a broad, rocky plateau with amazing views as far as Marseilles to the south.

My next stop was for me a highlight of the trip (remember, I'm here for the Roman history) -- the "aqueduc romain" or "Aqueducs de Barbegal" southwest of Paradou on a back road in the middle of nowhere (not well unmarked -- I drove past it before recognizing my mistake). Described and located in the Michelin Green Guide, these are remains of a Roman aqueduct built in the 1st century B.C. to bring water from a spring in Eygalières to Arles, and also to provide power for a series of tub (flour) mills through a cut in the hill at the south end of the aqueduct ruins. These mill ruins are described in some detail in "The Roman Remains of Southern France, A Guidebook" by James Bromwich (London and New York: Routledge, 1993). The remains of this rare Roman industrial site descend the hill steeply, and face a beautiful open, empty plain to the south. The ruins looked like they haven't been touched since the Romans abandoned them almost 2,000 years ago (unlike many of the other Roman ruins I toured).

On to Arles, where I wandered through the ancient city and visited the impressive Roman amphitheatre (4 Euros to enter). Ate a delightful late lunch at 3:00pm in the shadows of the amphitheatre at the Brasserie L'Aficion (omlette, frites, and a glass of vin blanc). The amphitheatre is in the midst of a complete restoration, and apparently has been restored several times since the Middle Ages.

Back to St. Rémy for an unexpectedly excellent dinner at Le Bistro des Alpilles on the "ring road". Ordered the "menu" which included artichoke soup, chicken with spagetti and olives, and profiteroles chocolat. With a carafe of house chardonnay, the total bill came to about 40 Euro.

DAY 6 - PONT DU GARD, UZES & TARASCON
Tuesday, October 4. What can I say, the Pont du Gard is amazing! You certainly don't have to be interested in Roman history to appreciate this architectural and engineering marvel. I parked on the "left bank", where I learned that while there is a parking fee, there is no charge to visit the Pont. I walked up and down the hillsides on both banks of the Gardon river for great views of the site. I did purchase a ticket for the museum and movie in the visitor center, but wasn't impressed with either. Save your money. It was 10 Euro for the movie, museum, and parking.

Then on to Uzès, where I had lunch at the Cafè Le Renaissance on the quiet and very pleasant Place aux Herbes (an omlette fromage and a glass of white wine).

Stopped at Tarascon on my way back to St. Rémy and toured the Château de Tarascon along the banks of the Rhone. An interesting medieval fortress palace in a lovely setting overlooking the town and Rhone River. The Michelin Green Guide for Provence has a good description and floor plan of this chateau.

Returned to Hotel Villa Glanum and walked out the back door to visit the Roman ruins of Glanum. "Les Antiques" is comprised of a Roman triumphal arch and mausoleum on one side of the road. The arch is the oldest such Roman structure in France, dating from about 48 B.C., while the mausoleum is considered the best-preserved in the Roman world (the base is decorated with amazing bas reliefs on all sides, representing battle and hunting scenes). Across the street is Glanum -- amazing Greek and Roman ruins spanning several centuries from the 2nd century B.C. to the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., including a Roman forum, baths, temples, and homes. A spectacular setting at the foot of the Alpilles that wasn't discovered until 1921! Access to Les Antiques is free, but there's a fee to enter Glanum, which includes a small museum displaying some very interesting artifacts found at the site.

Finally, dinner around 8:00pm at L'Apostrophe on Place de la Republique in St. Rémy. Had an entree of carpaccio de-boeuf; a plate of tagliatellas (pasta); a half-bottle of Cotes du Rhone Villages "Domaine Alary Daniel et Denis" 2002; and a dessert of chocolate cake with "glace vanille" (vanilla ice cream). Quite good. Highly recommended. Total came to 41.50 Euro.

Keep it up - I'm waiting for 'the end' so I can print and read all at once...

OK, OK, I'm getting there...

DAY 7 – ST. RÉMY DE PROVENCE & EYGALIÈRES
Wednesday, October 5. Market day in St. Rémy. Parked in the information center parking lot just south of town around 8:30am and spent the next three hours exploring the market stalls which stretched across town from the Place de la Republique and through the back streets of the town center. More gift shopping, including olive oil and three yards of fabric for a table cloth my wife has vowed to make. Also walked over to the shop of Chocolatier Joel Durant (on the ring road just south of Place de la Republique), where I bought a box amazing chocolates. Don't miss this shop. Highly recommended!

On to Eygalières for my biggest lunch splurge of the trip at Le Bistrot D'eygalières (Chez Bru). Chez Bru is a Michelin rated one-star restaurant in the heart of this lovely town. Ordered the "Menu Degustation" for 75 Euro. I can't name the particulars of each coarse, but everything was exceptional. Included an entrée salad, soup, plate, cheese course, and dessert of crème brulee with fruit and berries. My server introduced and explained each dish upon presentation in French, but my French comprehension just wasn't good enough to pick up the particulars.

Explored the back streets and hilltop ruins of Eygalières, which were quite lovely.


DAY 8 - AVIGNON TO PARIS
Thursday, October 6. The first major snafu of my trip. Arrived at Avignon Gare TGV with plenty of time to turn in my rental car and locate the platform ("voie") and " repère" (spot for car #5) for my 10:22am train (TGV 6172). The train pulled in about 10 minutes late after a brief announcement was made in French. Everyone (I thought) got on board, and off we went. Well, this was the wrong train, terminating at Lyon Part Dieu (not Paris Gare de Lyon). Apparently this train had snuck in front of TGV 6172 at Avignon, and the conductor, who didn't speak a word of English, was beside himself with concern. Finally, he found a conductor who spoke some English, and I was instructed to correspond with the "midi" (noon) train -- TGV 6616 -- in Lyon for Paris. He scribbled all sorts of notes on my PREM ticket (again purchased and printed out from the SNCF website 60 days prior), apparently for the benefit of the conductor on TGV 6616. When I found the spot on the Lyon Part Dieu platform where I was instructed to go, there I found about a half-dozen other Americans who had made the exact same mistake I had. We decided that the French do little things like this on occasion just to confuse and confound us Americans.

Although the conductor on TGV 6616 did hassle me (in perfect English) and imply that I was really just an idiot, he did accept the PREM ticket with all the scribbles on it. TGV 6616 arrived in Paris at 2:00pm – just 30 minutes later than the train I was supposed to be on.

Took Bus #63 across town through the back streets of St. Germain des Pres to Invalides where I had booked a room for five nights at the Hotel Varenne (44, rue de Bourgogne; www.varenne-hotel-paris.com). After a long rest to recover from my stressful train ride, I wandered over to the 1st Arrondissement and found Willi's Wine Bar (13, rue des Petits-Champs; www.williswinebar.com). Got there early enough to snag a table without a reservation (around 7:30pm) and had a nice dinner of an excellent crab salad followed by white fish with mushrooms. Including a glass of wine and dessert, the total bill came to 48.50 Euro.


DAY 9 – MY WIFE ARRIVES IN PARIS
Friday, October 7. Up early to meet my wife at the ROISSYBUS stop at the corner of Rue Scribe next to Paris Opéra. She arrived at Paris Opéra about 8:30am after an hour-long trip from CDG into town. Cost was 8.80 Euro one-way.

Breakfast back by the hotel at Café Musée Rodin – café crème for me, chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) for my wife, and croissants for both of us. Yum. Toured the Musée Rodin, which was quite nice and uncrowded at 10:30am; walked around the Invalides (but refused to pay 7.50 Euro each just to see Napolean's tomb); and walked over to Rue Cler where we explored the many shops and couldn't resist having a crepe trois fromage (crepe with three cheeses). Heading back over to Paris Opéra, my wife's shopping spree commenced in earnest at the Galleries Lafayette, and we finally returned to the hotel for a much-needed rest laden with shopping bags.

Ate dinner at La Fontaine de Mars on rue St-Dominique in the 7th (had 7:30pm dinner reservations). Dinner of two entrees, plates, desserts, and a nice Cotes du Provence rosé came to 118 Euro. The featured special was scallops, which came on a bed of diced vegetables, and was simply divine. I would definitely eat here again.

What a tremendous trip! LOVED how you toured Provence! I wanna see that part of the world one day myself! Reading great trip reports has given me so much information. Thank you!

And finally, the last installment...

DAY 10 – PARIS
Saturday, October 8. Breakfast at Café le Bonaparte on the lovely and relatively quite Place Iglise de St-Germaine des Pres in the 6th. Then to St. Chapelle, where the line was short at 10:30am and the grand hall was simply beautiful. Next was rue Moufftard, where our daughter had given us very specific instructions on where to buy here a certain pair of shoes (she was in Paris this past summer, but hesitated to buy them at the time). More shopping ensued, and we finally headed back to Ile de la Cité laden with more shopping bags.

Decided upon lunch at Le Vieux Bistro in the shadow of Notre Dame, based on several recommendations I had read. I had the beef bourguignon, my wife had chicken. My dessert was a wonderful chocolate mouse, while my wife enjoyed the "crème brulee grand marnier". With a bottle of souvignon blanc, lunch came to 108 Euro.

Visited the Deportation Museum behind Notre Dame, then walked over to the Pompidou Centre where we purchased a general admission ticket and wandered through several modern art exhibits. Finally overcome with exhaustion, we hopped on Bus #69 at Châtelet and returned to the Hotel Varenne for a well-earned nap followed by a very light dinner at a nearby street café.

A NOTE ABOUT THE HOTEL VARENNE. This hotel comes highly recommended on TripAdvisor (and elsewhere), and we were not disappointed. Excellent three-star accommodations in a quite street just a half block from the Musée Rodin, a half block from bus route #69, about a block from the Varenne metro stop, and about three blocks from the Invalides metro stop. The hotel rooms are tiny, but the bed was quite comfortable, the flat-screen TV picked up over 20 channels (including CNN International, BBC, and EuroSport), and the bathroom was nicely arranged. For 125 Euro a night, the hotel is an excellent value for Paris. We took the breakfast only once (10 Euro each), and found better value and flavors at the Café Musée Rodin around the corner. The neighborhood is very quiet, which is quite the opposite to the rue de Buci area in St. Germain des Pres where we had stayed during summer 2004. So if you're looking for lively night life and lots of close-by cafes and restaurants, the Hotel Varenne neighborhood may not be for you. We liked both neighborhoods -- they're just very different.


DAY 11 – PARIS
Sunday, October 9. Breakfast at the Hotel Varenne. We then walked four blocks to the Musée d'Orsay. At 9:30am on Sunday morning there was no line. We went right to level 5 where the bulk of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings are on display, and found that most everyone else in the museum was here too (but nowhere near as crowded as the Mona Lisa room at the Louvre). We really enjoyed this museum, including the stunning architecture of the place (the museum is converted from an old train station). Some surprises included "Whistler's Mother" (the only American painting we saw), a fascinating detailed cut-away model of the Paris Opera, and a special exhibit of Van Gogh's famous self portrait in its own room on level 1.

Our next stop was Angelina, across the Seine and through the Tuilleries. Yes, it's quite a tourist hangout, but the dark hot chocolate I ordered and white hot chocolate my wife ordered were simply delicious.

Then around the corner to Lauderee at 16, rue Royale. We bought a box of macaroons, and headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap. After a light dinner at the Café Bonaparte, we boarded Les Vedettes du Pont-Neuf for their 8:00pm cruise on the Seine. A night-time cruise on the Seine is still one of our favorite things to do in Paris.


DAY 12 – PARIS
Monday, October 10. Breakfast at Lauderee at 16, rue Royale, and then to the Louvre. We tried to get tickets for the 11:00am English-speaking guided tour (weekday tours are at 11am, 2pm, and 3:30pm), but it was already full, so we opted instead to rent audio headsets which provide user-selectable commentary. We're glad we did! These worked out great, and we were able to browse through various collections and objects in the Denon and Richelieu wings at our own pace and choosing. Highlights included the Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Roman statue gallery (of course!), the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks, the Napoleon III Apartments, and the Code of Hamurabi. The audio headsets provide commentary on all the museum's major paintings and objects.

After 3 hours at the Louvre, our brains were finally filled up and we headed over to the Taverne Henri VI on Place du Pont Neuf for lunch. I've read many positive reviews and comments about this small tavern, and we were not disappointed. We had a lovely lunch -- quiche for my wife, a cheese plate for me, and glasses of wine for each of us. The owners' were friendly, and happy to correct our poor attempts at French with broad smiles.

Next we were off to the Bastille metro stop for a visit to Place du Vosges in the Marais. Finally returned to our hotel after another relaxing ride on bus #69 (for the cost of one metro ticket, this bus route is a great way to travel across town and take in the many sites of central Paris).

Made our last dinner reservations for Bistrot Le P'Tit Troquet on 28, rue de l'Exposition in the 7th. Although I have read many rave reviews of this lovely restaurant, I wasn't aware that this is also a Rick Steves pick, and found the dinner crowd to be predominantly American. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was wonderful, the hostess was extremely friendly and patient, and we had a marvelous dinner. The total for two entrees, two plates, two desserts, and a half-bottle of Cotes du Rhone rouge was 73.50 Euro -- easily the best value we found for dinner in Paris. I guess Rick Steves has good reason to recommend this place -- we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Finally, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower and took the elevator up to the second level. Enjoyed one last, long look at the lights of Paris, and vowed to return as soon as we can.


DAY 13 - PARIS TO WASHINGTON, DC
Tuesday, October 11. After one last breakfast at the Café Musée Rodin, we toted our luggage over to the Invalides metro station, purchased two one-way tickets to Aeroport Charles de Gaulle Terminal 1 (16 Euro), and boarded the RER (connecting at St-Michel Notre-Dame for the RER B line to CDG). There were a couple of stairways where we had to haul our luggage, but all in all an uneventful and relaxing 40-minute ride to the airport. Boarded United Airlines flight 915, departed CDG on-time at 1:00pm and arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule at 3:05pm at Dulles International Airport.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions at rumseydog97@yahoo.com

>>I did purchase a ticket for the museum and movie in the visitor center, but wasn't impressed with either. Save your money.<<<

I enjoy Roman ruin stuff too, and we spent over 2 hours at the museum - really enjoyed it. There is lots of info about the "whys & hows" of building aqueducts in Roman times.

In the '05 Michelin Red Guide, Chez Bru was elevated to a 2 star restaurant.

Excellent trip report.

Stu Dudley

Welcome home, Rumsey. Your report brings back so any visits and you ate at several of my favorite places. We love Eygalieres and is where we base ourselves each year in Provence.

>>On to Gigondas, where I took lunch at l'Oustalet (www.gabriel-meffre.fr/oustalet/)<<

This was our favorite in the Dentelles area - dined there twice - once inside & another time outside in the lovely plane tree shaded center of town. It's new, so hasn't made the tour books yet nor the Michelin Red Guide. Patricia Wells featured l'Oustalet in one of her articles in the Herald Tribune. Here is their own web site:
www.restaurant-oustalet.fr

Stu Dudley

Stu, it was one of your trip posts that turned me on to l'Oustalet in Gigondas! Thank you so much! Coincidentally, Patricia Wells had one of her week-long wine-tasting classes in Vaison just before I arrived there, and l'Oustalet was one of the restaurants she took her whole group to.

Rumseydog, thank you so much for a wonderful (and comprehensive) trip report. Paris and Provence -- perfect combination. I am so in the mood now to plan a trip myself...

I enjoyed your mention of Taverne Henri IV -- my DH's favorite memory of our last visit to Paris, too long ago now. Glad to know it's still a good place to go. I googled to see what the Web had about it, and found this interesting site: http://www.wineskinny.com/past_issues/travel/paris_winebars.htm
Hmm, lots of good material there. Maybe we could have a trip with lunch every day at a different wine bar? Now that sounds like fun...

What a fantastic trip you had, Rumseydog!! You make me want to go back again to Provence and Avignon, although that I was there this past June.
Pont du Gard is amazing architecture's feat..
Do you know that the Romans built this acqueduct without using any kind of nails?The only thing that hold this Acqueduct together is the soil that they used to built it..
Do you like Uzes? and of course my beloved Avignon...
I used to spend my summer there when I was a teenager..Back then my cousin lived in Rue Thrier..
Welcome back and thanks for the memories ..

Hello Rumseydog, I just posted on another thread that since I have discovered Fodors I have found travel writers for the various travel magazines a bit boring as I have discovered many of our Fodorites tend to write more interesting and informative trip reports. Your trip report here certainly is a good sample of what I was referring to!!

Although I have not had the pleasure to visiting France yet (it is in the works) I found your trip report such a great read. Thank you for sharing your time in France. Wishing you and your wife many more beautiful trips.

Wonderful trip report, with great information for future vacation planning!

I've got reservations to stay at Hotel Varenne in April 2006, so I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your stay there.

Diane

Rumsey, just loved your trip report, we enjoyed many of the same things just a year ago. Thanks so much for your excellent report.

I've finally had a chance to complete my photo gallery from this trip and post a copy of this trip report. As you might expect, there's a heavy dose of Roman history in these photos.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~davegilbert/europe/

rumsey, you beautiful dog, loved your photos. I took a good one of the campanile in Eygalieres that I had Exposures make greeting cards for me.

Wonderful report - thank you. Brought back many memories of my trip to Provence in June.

Wow! You trod in so many of my footsteps I'm surprised you didn't trip! Lovely report that brought back instant recollections of so many places I have haunted over many, many years.