pam

Getting out of Town:<BR>I really did know ahead of time that the traffic was bound to be bad as this was Bastille Day Weekend. The receptionist at Le Cep in Beaune inquired where we were headed to next and then said: "I am sorry that Madame and Monsieur will be in their car at least 12 hours". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry but it was 8 a.m. and we were totally ready to leave. Like the head of a small army I had planned and prepared this departure and rallied the troops out very early that morning. <BR>As we were about to enter our vehicle the receptionist came out and said "Oh, but today is market day and you cannot get out this way!". And so it began.<BR>If you've ever been to "market day" anywhere in France you know how special it is and also how infuriating it can be if you are in a car as they close off access to many surrounding streets often without clear directions (or any directions) as to alternate routes you can take. My husband (against my pleading) decided we should all go see the market for a few minutes as he thought that a few minutes could not possibly make a major difference between when we would arrive in St. Remy de Provence. He was probably right, although we'll never really know. I loved the market and watched a man cut a whole duck up with the skill of a surgeon, bought some beautiful "straw=like" sweaters and a bag to go with it. My son bought the bandana he had been searching for all over Paris and could not find (black & white with pirates and rock n' roll people on it)lol.<BR>In about 30 minutes we were on some road hopefully headed towards St. Remy de Provence. <BR>Driving was a breeze for a long time. No traffic and no problems...and then:<BR>Everything came to a grinding standstill for more than 2 hours in a blistering sun we had no experienced in all the time in France. Thank g-d for that air-conditioner. We stopped at some greasy spoon rest stop along the way (yes, they even have those in France) and felt afterwards as if we could go on. <BR>

pam

Should have read "not experienced". Sorry

pam

After travelling in bumper to bumper traffic for about another 30 minutes or so, suddenly we were crusing along at high speeds and well on our way to St. Remy. When we arrived there we had a little difficulty (even with our map) in finding our hotel which was located <BR>between St. Remy and Noves. Once we found it, we didn't have any trouble in the future. The gorgeous plane trees leading up to this amazing hotel "La Maison De Bournissac" were spectacualrly beautiful but didn't prepare us for the breathtaking views once we arrived at our destination. I cannot recommend this hotel strongly enough. It is definately a little undiscovered jewel (although the restaurant has quite a following), the hotel is not as yet widely known. This fact will be changed in short order I'm afraid and then none of us will be able to book there lol.<BR>The hotel is more like a private villa where you have world class service and amenities and the food at the hotel restaurant "La Maison" is simply outstanding. One of our fellow fodorites vacations in St. Remy every year and I remember him saying that his meal at "La Maison" was one he would never forget. We won't either. The meal took all of 3 1/2 hours and was set in the outdoor courtyard with illuminated lanterns dangling from the trees. The service was impeccable and even the fact that the mistral had started and the temperature made it feel more like October couldn't dampen our spirits. There are only 16 or so rooms at "La Maison" and that is the number of outdoor tables they have. All the tables were full this evening and almost all the diners retreated upstiars at some point during the dinner to retrieve their heavier clothing items as we were all freezing.

pam

Our room consisted of a sitting area and bedroom and a view which one could only describe (sorry for using the same adjective) as "breathtaking". The mountains in the distance with the porvence countryside,the pool, the outdoor courtyard and sitting areas all created an "other worldly" experience I will never forget. Yes, this was definately my most favorite place. I adored what I saw of Provence and would go back tomorrow. I daydreamed about owning a little cottage there and what it would be like. My son and I came up with a business we could run in order to pay for our little "villa" and then I found out that an American could not open a business in France. YOu can indeed buy a villa or other housing, but you cannot set up a business there unless you were born in France. At least, this is what we were told. <BR>What a heavenly rest we all had and when we I awoke I almost felt like someone should pinch me as I couldn't believe my eyes. The sun which had been quite elusive had come out, the temperature was warm and the sun glistening on the beautiful surrounding countryside was a sight I thought I'd only see in pictures.

pamm

We headed for Glanum. My teenage son simply adored the ruins and so did we all. We spent quite alot of time here and when we were done it was around 2 in the afternoon and we set out to find something to eat. Ha ha. Everywhere we went we were told that lunch was over. I guess we were still working on Beaune and Paris "time" and were now beginning to understand that Provencal restaurants have different hours. We drove through all kinds of little villages, some that even looked deserted to us...no luck. We ended up driving back to St. Remy and going to this little Patisserie and buying whatever they had as we were now starving. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring St. Remy, seeing where Nostradamus was born, buying wonderful linens and soaps in the town and really just enjoying the vitality of this little town. St. Remy is small but very lively and has many wonderful shops. I can't see how anyone would not like it. It was also a convenient base for us and after a day, we felt quite at home here. We ended the day by going to Joel Durna'ds chocolate shop and tasting some of the most remarkable chocolates it has ever been my pleasure to consume.<BR>We bought ALOT of chocolate as presents. Mr. Durand told me I would have no problem with melting chocolate as long as I didn't keep it in the hot car or out in the sun and he was right.<BR>Dinner our second night was at Le Bistrot d'Eygalieres, not very far from St. Remy. We would highly recommend this restaurant but it is a bit pricey.<BR>A great place for a special night out.<BR>When we returned to our hotel, most of the guests were in the sitting room having some late night conversations and some drinks and we joined in. It was magic...the room had a soft glow and the beauty of the grounds all lit up at night was infinitely memorable. <BR>Sweet dreams.

pam

We headed for Glanum. My teenage son simply adored the ruins and so did we all. We spent quite alot of time here and when we were done it was around 2 in the afternoon and we set out to find something to eat. Ha ha. Everywhere we went we were told that lunch was over. I guess we were still working on Beaune and Paris "time" and were now beginning to understand that Provencal restaurants have different hours. We drove through all kinds of little villages, some that even looked deserted to us...no luck. We ended up driving back to St. Remy and going to this little Patisserie and buying whatever they had as we were now starving. The rest of the afternoon was spent touring St. Remy, seeing where Nostradamus was born, buying wonderful linens and soaps in the town and really just enjoying the vitality of this little town. St. Remy is small but very lively and has many wonderful shops. I can't see how anyone would not like it. It was also a convenient base for us and after a day, we felt quite at home here. We ended the day by going to Joel Durna'ds chocolate shop and tasting some of the most remarkable chocolates it has ever been my pleasure to consume.<BR>We bought ALOT of chocolate as presents. Mr. Durand told me I would have no problem with melting chocolate as long as I didn't keep it in the hot car or out in the sun and he was right.<BR>Dinner our second night was at Le Bistrot d'Eygalieres, not very far from St. Remy. We would highly recommend this restaurant but it is a bit pricey.<BR>A great place for a special night out.<BR>When we returned to our hotel, most of the guests were in the sitting room having some late night conversations and some drinks and we joined in. It was magic...the room had a soft glow and the beauty of the grounds all lit up at night was infinitely memorable. <BR>Sweet dreams.

pam

Sorry.who can understand why it posted twice? I certainly didn't press "post my reply" 2x, but whatever. Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't. I apologize for the double post here.

pam

We opted for breakfast in our room and was surprised that it arrived so quickly (much more quickly than if we were in the breakfast room) and enjoyed the delicious fruits,croissants, home baked rolls, homeade preserves and the amazing hot chocolate and espresso. <BR>We were off to Les Baux.<BR>The village is classified and labellized "one of the most beautiful villages of France",which it most certainly is. It was restored patiently with much care. With a treasure of historic buildings: church, castle, town hall, hospital, vaults, houses, doors... without counting the movable objects and the collection of tables, this just scratches the surface of what one can see. The beauty of this village must be seen. It is also one of the most heavily touristed places in France and parking was difficult to find.

pam

If you are a shopper, Les Baux was made for you. There seemed to be endless narrow streets filled with restaurants, all kinds of stores featuring linens, tapestries,porcelains and soaps of all kinds. I bought many presents to bring home from here, mainly small porcelains and soaps. I adored Les Baux. My son and husband climbed to the top of the Castle and the winds at the top were very strong. My son emerged with his hair standing straight up and looking like Yahoo Serious.

pam

Back to the hotel for a very brief r and r and now it was off to "La Gousse D'Ail" which is really fantastic. Tuesday is Bouillabaise night and Thursday is Jazz night. Unfortunately, we would be on our way home on Thursday and so bouillabaise night it was.<BR>The french title of this restaurant I believe translates into something like "The Clove Of Garlic" and there is alot of garlic (which I love) in this food. The vegetables and fish were so fresh and the restaurant is very lovely. We were actually happy that the meal seemed "expedited" here as compared to the other 2 restaurants we had eaten at but we still had a long,leisurely dining experience. My son<BR>enjoyed this restaurant more than the other two we had dined at.<BR>The next day we went to Arles.

pam

How silly can you get? We thought that we were going to be able to do our laundry right in St. Remy. It took a loong time to find out exactly where the laundromat was as all the locals didn't seem to know lol. I even had the correct word for laundromat from my Rock Steve's phrase book, but no cigar.<BR>We asked a group of people where the laundromat was and even said the name of the street but they apologized and said they had no knowledge of it. It was the next block over.<BR>My son was not happy carrying our laundry all over St. Remy but we finally found the laundromat. We were (hahaha) going to drop it off and pray that we received most of it back after it was washed,dried and folded.<BR>I entered the laundromat and the owner immediately starting pointing at his watch "Ferme, Ferme!" he yelled at me. It was 12;15 and the sign on the door that I now read said that it closes at 1. I guess he was in a rush to have lunch or something. That was it. It didn't re-open until the next day and there were no "serivces'" offered. I would not be able to drop it off unless I wanted to pick it up the same way I had left it-dirty.We shoved the laundry back into the car and drove off to Arles.

pam

Upon entering Arles my husband spotted a laundromat and believe it or not- we had a terrific time doing laundry in this open,airy little place. We met people from all over the world and we took turns watching the clothes wash,then tumble. Learning to use the machines was a whole new experience and for some reason I could never explain, even my son had fun here. He never even goes near a washing machine at home. Go figure. Becuase the dryers were super capacity (unlike the ones in St. Remy) we were done in no time at all and ready to eat lunch in the outdor cafe where we were told Vincent Van Gogh had eaten. VanGogh painted more than 200 pictures in Arles (according to the brochure) and often ate at the cafe we had lunch in. We had paella and then went to look at the Roman Forum which is really something to see. Sometimes they have bullfights inside but they didn't have any special activities the day we were there.<BR>We were going to "explore" on the way back and ended up going into many little towns and villages- some of which looked like they hadn't had guests in quite some time. It was actually quite interesting. I actually think we were lost and my husband was promoting it as a scenic "adventure." It turned out to be alot of fun.

sylvie

Dear Pam,<BR>

sylvie

Hello,<BR>Just reliving the La Maison, I did not know they gathered after hours. In the Restaurant area? It was one of my favorite places. S

Explain

I know, each to his own, etc., but I wonder why people travelling on such a grand scale as Pam and Co (posh hotels and restaurants, unnecessary car rental in predictable traffic jams from Paris to Provence when 2 1/2 hours in TGV would have done the trick, etc. ) would bother to waste one day of their precious vacation time at a f..g laundromat ! Wouldn't your hotel do laundry ? And FYI in France there are drop off laundry services, except that for some strange reason they are not offered by laundromats, but by dry cleaners ("pressings" in good French).

pam

Wow...grand scale? Yes, we stayed at lovely places and ate good food but I guess everything is relative (check out the Ritz,George V and many others)...people stay at these as well.<BR>Doing our laundry took little over 2 hours and during that time we took turns looking at the surrounding area in Arles a bit and then returning. We also met people from New Zealand, Denmark and New Jersey who were also doing their laundry.It was actually an interesting experience and one which was essential. If you did indeed read the post, you know that there were no "services" available. My first choice would have been to drop off the laundry for it to be washed, dried and folded but there was no such service in any of the hotels I stayed at or at the laundromats we went to.Yes, they were willing to dry clean my clothes. There was an individual price list in all the hotels we stayed at and I was unwilling to pay it.IN my hotel in Beaune they asked me if we had more than 3 items? (when I stopped laughing I went and washed out some of our items). There have also been numerous posts (and I have seen this happen myself in Italy) where you are either charge $163.00 for an undershirt and pair of shorts to be cleaned or you might never see your clothing again. <BR>Travel is about many things and there is a wide range of options for everyone.<BR>You should also know that I did have woolite,etc to use to wash out items nightly, which I did on occasion. I simply preferred to use a machine and dryer.<BR>IMHO,it is a shallow person who defines experiences by how much things cost or how little. Someone could stay at the finest hotels,eat wonderful food and derive very little from the travel experience. I met some wonderful people in that little laundromat, did a task which brought me "back into the real world" and took a relatively short amount of time. Yes, to me it was "grand"<BR>

pam

Hey Sylvie. Off the main dining area there was a library and a sitting area, if you recall. It was in the library that we gathered. Nice of you to write.

pam

Explain:<BR>I needn't explain anything to you. You already seem to know everything and apparently if people don't schedule their trip the way YOU think they should, you feel perfectly justified in lacing into them. Pick on someone else- I'm a New Yorker.<BR>Yes, we could have taken the TGV and decided not do for a variety of reasons . I spent over a year researching this trip on my own and certainly knew that this was a possibility. People have the right to make their own decisions and choices. This fact seems to have eluded you.

pam

BTW...yes, we did past a "pressings" place and I went in to inquire about washing, although I was fairly certain they only did dry cleaning.I could have gone back to Paris and eaten at Taillevant for what they wanted to do our family's laundry.lol<BR>

pam

I apologize for getting "sidetracked" here. Last "episode" coming up tonight. If you've stayed with me this long the final episode involves:<BR>1.A screaming match with a restauranteur<BR>2.The rock n' roll concert and amuseument area<BR>3. Monaco and Nice.<BR>4. Home Sweet Home. <BR>