Because my husband wants to see the Mediterranean and Cassis. Can't seem to get him to change his mind.

Do you think the REST OF the trip is okay?

emh

I had my first sea urchins served raw in their half shell in a café along the port. I think it is their season!

It's really hard to set up an itinerary and plan a big trip like this when you have never been there before and people well comment on things and you don't have any clue what they mean. You just have to rely on what everyone is saying and hope for the best.

Stu, what Michelin map would I buy to be able to do the route you just mentioned?

Can anyone else tell me if we have booked too much in one day or not enough? We are now planning on flying in to Paris and then taking the TGV to Avignon and picking up the car there.

Thanks everyone for helping me. Hopefully soon I can move on to the next leg of our trip.

emh

>>Stu, what Michelin map would I buy to be able to do the route you just mentioned?<<

Map #114 is the best - however, you may not be able to find it in the US or from some of the internet sources. You could wait till you get to France & purchase it then. If you can't wait till then, get map #340 - but you will have to squint more to read it and some of the smaller roads are not on the 340 map.

Regarding packing 10 days worth of advised activiities into 5 days. Don't visit every town that seems cute/historic/charming/etc ie. - don't visit Aix, Nimes, Avignon, Arles, Uzes, etc - just pick 1 or 2 (I've advised this before). Get the Green Michelin guide and the Cadogan Guide and read thru these for further descriptions of the sites. Michelin has a rating system, and Cadogan is opinionated and will tell you if something is over/under rated. Also, don't try to do too much of the same "type" of stuff - mix countryside, with historic sites (Pont du Gard), with small villages, with outdoor markets, with larger cities, with chateaux, with "do nothing" moments. Also, don't drive too far just to visit one site (Cassis, for example). Remember, shops close for lunch and many sites do too. If you drive all the way to Aix and get there at 12:00 with the intention of shopping - you'll have to wait till 3:00 - which will screw up the rest of the day's planned activities.

Stu Dudley

Against the grain, but we don't travel with a plan , except for restaurants should we be in the area. We read what we like to see and can fit things in on our own clock. And the trip is truly ours not following in anyone's footsteps
and it keeps us open to serendipity.

Some times I think going to these towns/villages, we will be seeing countryside along the way and the cities aren't all the same. It is hard without being there arleady. Sorry if I am irritating you. I have dropped Arles and Nimes (only did Nimes so we could see the Roman architecture). I have dropped all the Avignon sites also except of what we may see while we are staying there. Thursday we aren't going to do much accept Pont du Gard and leave the rest of the day open for whatever we feel we need to do before we leave for the Dordogne. I have also added Les Alpilles Drive after St. Remy on Wednesday. I think that's enough. I am sure there will be times while we are there were things just change and we decide to chill for a day. But to have a baseline and the advice will make it so we don't make too many mistakes along the way.

Hope that sounds better and not too rushed. Thanks for the advice.

emh

I notice that you are planning to visit Vaison on Monday. I suggest that you maybe swap your Monday & Tuesday itineraries to be in Vaison Tuesday morning to be there for the market.

>>going to these towns/villages, we will be seeing countryside along the way and the cities aren't all the same<<

Seeing pretty countryside depends on which cities you are visiting. If you stay in St Remy, for example, and visit Nimes, Arles, and Avignon from there, you won't really see any scenic countryside that you won't already have seen by just touring the immediate area around St Remy/les Baux/Mausanne. Heading north from St Remy to Avignon is not that special, IMO, and west to Nimes is not scenic at all, most of the way. Ditto to Arles & Uzes. However, if you stay in the Luberon and head to the Alpillies via Senanque, Venasque, Mormoiron, Bedoin, Malaucene, it is quite scenic. Same with the partial "lavender Route" that I've suggested as a way to get to Vaison from the Luberon.

Like I've stated many times, there are many similarities between Nimes, Arles, & Avignon. I notice you've dropped most of these, but I would not short-change Avignon. While you are there, take the suggested walking itinerary in the Michelin guide.

While at the Pont, visit Uzes - one of my wife's favorite shopping towns and a little different from the rest of th medium sized cities. An efficient day would be to skip breakfast at your hotel (it really is almost never included in the room cost) and have breakfast at an outdoor cafe in Uzes in the big open center. It's fun to be in these towns before the tourists arrive, and you can watch the shopowners open up their stores. If you are there on Wednesday, you can watch the market getting started also. Tour Uzes after breakfast. Just before noon closing, head over to the Pont & have a lunch at the cafeteria before everyone else has lunch. Then tour the museum while everyone else is at lunch - it will be a lot less crowded then. After the museum, go see the Pont. I'm not a museum buff - but I really enjoyed the one at the Pont - it explains & demonstrates the wheres/whys/hows of aqueduct building by the Romans.

Stu Dudley

Stu - I love to watch shops open up in the morning before things get crazy, when people are out in front of their doorways sweeping the porches and it's still kind of quiet. We will go to Uzes for breakfast and then go shopping and visit the center, etc., until they close the shops for lunch. Then spend the afternoon at Pont du Gard. My husband is excited to see the museum too. That night we will just take it easy back in Avignon before our big drive the next day. I have divided the days between big towns and driving routes to small towns and took out Les Baux, Arles, and Nimes. I think two markets is enough for my husband. Don't think I could get him to do much more. (I could do them all!!)

Thanks again for all your help everyone. Really appreciated.

emh

>> took out Les Baux, Arles, and Nimes<<

I would not take out Les Baux. Getting there is quite scenic, and many people consider it a "must see".

Stu Dudley

I agree with Stu, it would be a shame to leave out Les Baux. There are several really wonderful restaurants there also(sitting at the foot of the village). This month Mirielle Guiliano (French women don't get fat)
reviews them on her webb site and you can read abit about Les Baux.

Okay, I put Les Baux in after the Les Alpilles route. That should work. Thank you for that. That is why I am in debt to you all.

emh