“There won’t be any lavenders, and it will be cold.” This was the most common remark we heard. People thought we were wasting our time to go to the famed Southern region of France in December. After all, what is there that we have heard about the Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur region other than lavenders and beaches?
You’d be in the wrong if you think Provence as the two-dimensional European fairy-tale. With 2000 plus years of recorded history dating from the pre-Greek Celtic Gauls and peculiar nature formed through millions of years, Provence is full of history and extraordinary landscape. Provence region should be of interest to anyone who loves Roman history as many cities preserved their ancient roman ruins. This includes a complete Roman theatre with the entire back wall restored, an extremely rare case in the world. We only had 7 days in the region to explore, much less than what it deserves.
We chose Marseille as our starting point to work our way up North. Established by the ancient Greeks, Massalia is an ancient port city that still serves its port purpose today. Climbing up to the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde rewards you a magnificent view towards the old ports and the city. Evidence of the Medieval embankments and the hospitals in the port area are still visible today. Truly a good place for sunset views.
The port of Marseille as well as the few islands in its mouth
Because its almost Christmas time, the Vieux Port, or the old port in English, has set up some market and a ferry’s wheel for the general enjoyment.
Marseille is also a good place to buy a few daily cosmetics, namely, the Savon of Marseille soaps famous for the olive oil in its recipe. My homemade skin test (aka I tried it on my own skin in the shower) seems to show that the famed soap was still a little dry for my sensitive skin. Though, it could also be that I didn’t buy the right one.
One cannot miss the seafood when one is by the sea. Even though a lot of the food is not from the Mediterranean seas, Chez Roger still offered us delicious fresh seafood to indulge ourselves. With that, our extremely short stay in Marseille was coming to an end.
The pouring morning rain brought us to the old capital of Aix-en-Provence. With only 30 days of non-sunny days, rain is actually quite rare in this region. We will have to consider ourselves lucky. Thankfully, not much for planning for the day except to enjoy the quint atmosphere of the Aix.
The evening drive from Aix to Arles was made easy by the smooth French roads. We rested in Arles to prepare for the Saturday morning market in Arles. French are famous for their cooking, inside and outside of their homes. Cooking ingredients occupied half of the market stalls unlike ready-made food in markets of London. Because Arles is close to the Mediterranean sea, ingredients from Spain, Northern Africa, Turkey, Lebanon, and Israel are also added to the mix. Most famous of them all are the olives and spices.
True to its original intent of trading goods of all sorts, other merchandises are also traded at the Arles market.
Arles has all sorts of Roman ruins. Though not of the best preservation, the Arles ruins had its own charm and rustic characters to it. The set ticket to all the roman ruins, 5 to 10 minutes apart from each other, is the way to go here. If you are staying at Arles overnight, which I highly recommend, you can get discounts on the Roman ruins set ticket. For your reference, the Roman sites we visited are the Roman cellar, St.Trophime Church, Cloitre of the St.Trophime, Le Theatre Antique(Roman theatre), Les Arenes (Arena), Les Thermes de Constantin (Roman bathhouse). Each attraction can be done in a very manageable time, especially winter when there is nobody around! (You will notice this in the pictures that there are barely any tourists.)
St.Trophime, a Romanesque Church 
Intricate carvings. 
Prayer chapel in the underground cellar 
The Cloitre next to the church, an extremely tranquil place. 
Underground Roman cellar used for many purposes throughout the centuries
The arena and the Roman theatre are both being used currently in many local events, including the Provence specialty, Camargue bullfight. Unlike its more cruel cousin, the goal of the Camargue bullfight is to take the flower tied between the horns of the bull with a short hook. The bull is never killed, and audiences always cheer when the bull pulls a good stunt. Such an event only happens in Arles and Nime arenas in a few particular days of the summer. Make you book this in advance if you wish to attend.
Like many smaller cities, the cute little restaurant in the old town alleys always exceed expectations (with some research included of course). Below was a Mediterranean restaurant that only had a menu on a small board.
Veau 
Duck liver 
Asperagus
Arles is not a bad base for exploring the olive field filled little towns nearby. The most famous one, of course, is Saint-Remy-de-Provence. The town itself is full of charm, but we chose to focus on the Saint-Paul monastery made famous by Vincent Van Gogh, and the Glanum Celtic, Greek, and Roman archaeological site.
Situated outside of the main town of Saint-Remy, the Monastery stood in solemnness on the chilly winter day we went. Stepping inside the quiet monastery, one cannot help but be saddened, at the same time awed, by the tragic master who had only officially sold one painting during his entire lifetime. Saint-Paul’s monastery bears witness to his perseverance in difficulties, his strong wish to express his creative spirit, and his insanity. Perhaps in the realization of the imminent downfall of his physical and mental health, Van Gogh produced more than a hundred paintings during his one-year stay at the Mental asylum of Saint-Remy. Visit here allows you to see the exact sights which inspired his paintings, including the famous “Starry Night” and the bedroom paintings.
10 Minutes away from the Saint-Paul Monastery is another site that bears witness to the downfall of three different legacies, the Glanum Archaeological site. Celtic Gaul tribes, Greeks, and Romans have all left marks in this abandoned ancient town. The wisdom and artistic mastery of these ancients in architecture and city planning are truly what makes this site unique. In fact, the water system that collects rainfall and prevents the city from flooding still works today!
The entire site 
Celtic springs 
Greek fresco 
Greek column and Roman decoration. 
Roman bath house 
Roman water system 
Roman temples
Beginning from Glanum is the Alpilles mountains which supply much of the water to many different towns, cities in Provence lower down in elevation from it. However, towns like Les-Baux de Provence did not benefit from this advantage. But, that is what makes Les-Baux unique, a city perched on top of a horse spur-like mount which is protected by a castle mostly carved out stone.
Tracing the little alleys of Les-Baux leads you up to the astonishing castle.
The view on top of the castle helps you realize why Les-Baux is one of the most beautiful towns in France, and why Provence is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Lavender fields are asleep in the winter below the castle
