AnselmAdorne

abbydog, l'Abbaye de Montmajour is halfway between Arles and Fontvieille, perhaps 5 kilometres from each.

I spent a couple of hours at Montmajour last May. It may not appeal to everyone, but I have a particular interest in medieval architecture and tend to go out of my way to see things like this. The setting is entrancing, the crypt intriguing, and the closters quite striking, both in terms of the intricate carvings and the astounding views of the ruins of the Église Notre-Dame.

If you are also interested in this kind of thing, consider visiting the town of St-Gilles, 15 kilometres west of Arles. While the 11th century abbey is but a shodow of its former self, the facade is still in reasonable shape. Michelin says it is "thought to be one of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture in the south of France." The crypt is also marvelous. It contains the tombs of St Gilles himself and Pierre de Castlenau, the papal legate whose assassination in 1209 touched off the Albigensian crusade.

Anselm

abbydog

Thank you, Anselm! I had forgotten about St. Gilles, and it looks like an easy detour to see it.

AnselmAdorne

Oh, one last thing about St-Gilles. You have to pay to see the crypt. There is a little office on your right as you stand in the square in front of the abbey. You can buy your ticket there, and then turn in through a gate into a garden on the right side of the church. Follow the signs down to the entrance to the crypt.

Anselm

4totravel

I am not one of the chosen few but I'll throw my 2 cents in...
Monday is market day in Fontveille.
If you end up in Fontveille in the evening (9;30ish if memory serves) the arena in the center of town hosts bullfighting or "bullfighting in training", if I knew the technical language of bullfighting this would be more interesting, but young "matadors" (without spears) play with a few bulls. fun to watch with all of the locals (for about 5 Euro).
You said you didn't want to miss anything!

nancyz

re:the chosen few....I meant no offense to any other regulars, I was just using a few random names I had remembered, mainly to attract their attention, which they so kindly responded to.
I just mentioned Fontveille because it was in the vacinity....glad to know it's not a must see, but I would like to go Monday night to see the bulls, especially knowing they don't use spears.
Thanks PBProvence for the in depth reply. I'm sure now that we'll have enough time. I'm at the point now where I can get back to my 'at home world', which has been sorely neglected lately!!! In the past few years I've come to realize the only time I'm really happy is when I'm planning a trip!! or on one of course.
This board gives me some comfort in knowing I'm not alone...or crazy...well I can't be sure about the crazy ....

rex

<<I meant no offense to any other regulars>>

...but in essence, you offended EVERYone on this forum, newbie and regular alike, by giving NO clue what your post is/was about. Your message header says, in all practical terms, "my message is so important that every single person should stop and read it to find out what it is about".

The use of message headers is vitally important in maintaining the useful nature of this forum. Imagine going to the library, and having to take every book off the shelves to see what it is about.

I know this sounds scathing... but if a dozen people read this, and if even one of them was thinking about posting with the message header "Desperately seeking info", and is persuaded otherwise... well, then, I'm sorry for disparaging you... your mistake will have helped improve the quality of subsequent posts.

nancyz

Rex: I am duly chastised! and will take your harsh admonition to heart and be more to the point in future headings.
Would just like to note that you have already replied to this heading earlier and already knew what the topic was so I am wondering why you are still reading it, if it is of no interest to you?

rex

I didn't say that it was of no interest to me... I said that EVERY visitor to the forum has to stop and read the text to know what it is about.

Repear readings of a thread are quite natural, and are, of course unaffected by the message header (although there are plenty of threads that I stop and look a second time because I don't remember... "is that one something that I would like to follow?&quot

PBProvence

I'm sorry, Rex, I didn't realize that you had become the official "chastiser" for all "inappropriate" (in your mind) headings on threads.

Considering that you read and reply to just about everything on this forum, seeing our screen names in the heading should have given you some idea that the subject matter would have been the South of France.

rex

I'll gladly relinquish the title. Someone want to tackle this one: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34587337

nancyz

Thanks PBProvence for the backup! Maybe Rex has a bruised ego not seeing HIS name? And as for confusion with the heading, the more I think about it, I think it was just fine, I got exactly the results I needed and if anyone else 'wasted' their time reading the post, maybe they learned something.

rhkkmk

didn't read all of above...but why don't you take the train to venice and get your car as you leave there??? saves hastles and expense...i hate those venice garages...don't leave anything in the car!!!!!

there is a great leasing agent in NJ called autofrance...if you need a car for 17 days they have great deals...just to put one other thing in your mind...

hopingtotravel

Was thrilled to see the favorable reports for Les Romarins in this post. We're staying there toward the end of April and now I'm really looking forward to it.

4totravel

I believe the bullfight thingy was a Tuesday night...you might want to check before you go there.
PS - my "chosen one" comment was not meant as derogatory...just more tongue in cheek.

mpprh

Hi

I've got notes about Course Camarguaise here with links to 2005 dates :
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/la...amarguaise.htm

Peter

nancyz

Thanks Peter, it looks like the bulls will be sunday night on May first the day before we get there. Oh well, maybe next trip.