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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 12, 2017 14:31:42 GMT
I usually take the train to go south, but every few years I decide that I need to remember what a pain it is to drive 700 km in one day, hoping that maybe I will see something interesting along the way. At the same time, I generally feel that the TGV gets me places too quickly, with no time to adjust to the idea of a different region and and different climate. So anyway, I left Paris around 9 am last week and headed for the A6 autoroute. Rush hour should have been ending, and school was still in session in France, but it took me more than an hour to escape the southern suburbs. The Dutch were on the road with their caravans, and I also saw quite a few Swedish plates on cars -- now that is a long drive! Most of the cars were full, but I only had the car radio to keep me company.
I took my first pee break about about two and a half hours. I am always impressed by the autoroute service stations.
That's my vehicle in the foreground. I was involuntarily upgraded to a bigger car than I would have preferred, but it was perfect for a road trip. There was no plastic tag attached to the key, so I needed to document what it looked like.
There were a few interesting châteaux and/or ruins from time to time, but I had to keep my eyes riveted in front of me.
Second and final pee stop for the day.
I arrived at the toll plaza before Lyon. Ouch, the amount of the toll reminded me of another reason to prefer the train.
After Lyon, the A6 becomes the A7 and you feel that you are in the south of France at last.
And late in the afternoon, I finally arrived in the scorching hot town where I had decided to spend the night.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 12, 2017 16:54:49 GMT
My principal destination was Avignon, but I wanted to stop somewhere before there for the night, a place about which I knew nothing. And so I had chosen the town of Bollène at random, a place about which I knew nothing other than it was extremely convenient to the A7 autoroute. I had considered Pont Saint Esprit, through which I had passed a few times, but no, I wanted a totally new place. Bollène is situated midway between the Tricastin nuclear power plant and the Marcoule nuclear power plant, which are both along the Rhône. The delightful (I suppose) Ferme aux Crocodiles is also in the area. The reptiles bask in the warm waters rejected from one of the power plants. I'm sure there is a horror movie that would be made about this situation if we were in the United States. Regarding what I would find in Bollène, I began to wonder if radiation was responsible for the behaviour of the residents.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 12, 2017 17:07:26 GMT
It does look attractive, like many such towns. Were they zombies?
I hope you took the train back. I had a long rail journey from Toulouse to Amsterdam via Paris, as I was not allowed to take the plane from Mtl to Brussels, because I had slightly less than 1 year on my passport (nobody informed me about the new rule, and it was about the last time I actually used a travel agent). There was no TGV from Toulouse then; don't know if there is now.
I hate autoroutes anywhere, but it is true that the French service stations - and autoroute cafeterias - are very good. The mandatory English "On the Run" station must elicit quite a bit of scatological humour among actual English-speakers...
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 12, 2017 18:49:17 GMT
I have an eye for certain details and the one that struck me immediately was the 4th photo in my previous post, the one with some flag poles. I saw that one flag was missing, and I immediately understood where I was. Even worse, as I walked through that area, I noticed three municipal police talking to who was perhaps the only municipal vagrant, since I did not see any others. Already, towns with "municipal police" can be considered suspect (but not always). A town that has municipal police generally feels that the "other" police are not doing enough. Anyway, the guy was sitting on some steps, not in front of a building and not really anywhere that could cause a problem to any local businesses or residents. The discussion (which I could not hear) did not seem acrimonious but clearly it was a case of "you shouldn't be here doing that." The man in question seemed to be quite "under the influence" already and did not seem really preoccupied by the police. He pulled out a new can of extra strength malt liquor and popped the top. Wrong move, because it sprayed all over the young policewoman who was standing in front of him. She squealed in dismay. One of her colleagues snatched the can from the man and poured it over his head. The third colleague seemed more reasonable and pulled his arm away saying "hey, that's enough." I felt it would be unwise to stand there watching, so I continued on my way. I don't know what happened next. However, I was totally certain that I was in a stronghold of the Front National, as I had suspected when I saw that there was no European flag displayed next to the French flag. I filed this information away to investigate on the internet when I returned to my room. As there was nothing useful that I could do, I continued to wander. I looked up the disease rouget and saw that it was a skin disease affecting pigs, sheep and humans. Wikipedia tells me that the name in English is erysipeloid so it is clearly no longer common since none of us has ever heard of that name. However, the photos were absolutely disgusting, so we can unreservedly thank the unnamed Bollène person who developed the vaccine.
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Post by bjd on Jul 12, 2017 19:13:40 GMT
Lagatta, there still is no real TGV from Toulouse to Paris. The tracks from Bordeaux to Toulouse cannot take really high-speed trains. They are now talking about 2024, but I have heard talk about Toulouse-Paris by TGV for years now. However, the TGV to Bordeaux now takes just over 2 hours (for the past week or so, to Rennes in just over an hour), so the trip to Toulouse will be shorter as well.
Kerouac, that area is FN country, isn't it? Didn't Orange have the first FN mayor in France, known mostly for removing books from the municipal library.
We have 2 municipal police officers here but they mostly seem to do things like issue permits for market vendors. I never see them otherwise.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 12, 2017 19:35:43 GMT
Anyway, back at the hotel, I investigated the politics of Bollène and discovered that it was not Front National at all -- it is to the right of the Front National. The mayor is from the Ligue du Sud, just like the mayor of Orange. They think the Front National people are sissies. So, should I have stayed in Bollène? It is not an easy decision, but it is not different from people who decide to visit the United States of Trump or not. There are good people everywhere, and at least 45% of the people of Bollène appear to be good, just counting the ones who voted. So I gave Bollène the benefit of the doubt and spent a satisfactory night there.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 12, 2017 23:43:49 GMT
Oh, this is great! I have not taken a solitary road trip in years, but they used to be a big part of my life. From the beginning, you really brought it all back to life for me -- the glary daze that takes over even as you remain alert, the annoyance of having to stop to pee, the decision of where to spend the night -- all of that, but also the kind of happy thrill when you first see the highway signs showing that you're nearing your destination.
Then, as soon as I read this sentence: The town seemed quite appealing at first glance. I started hearing the ominous music in my head. The statue with the grateful, disease-free livestock didn't help the mood, nor the "heroic" one with the oddest juxtaposition of figures ever.
A pause here to say how absolutely lovely your pictures are throughout -- love the flowery lampost and the photo that follows it with the benevolent giant towering over the buildings.
Good points about not pigeon-holing all of the residents of Bollène, and a hopeful message besides.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 12, 2017 23:54:58 GMT
I had never heard of the Ligue du Sud. Odd name. Of course there was the Lega Nord in Italy that was even against "swarthy immigrants" from southern Italy.
As soon as you mentioned the flags, I understood. The flagpoles are too tiny on my screen to notice that one was absent.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 13, 2017 5:05:42 GMT
Orange is also under the spell of the Ligue du Sud but remains a main attraction in France due to its theatre built in the 1st century. It could seat 9000 people, separated by rank into 3 differenct sections. The top section was for prostitutes, slaves and people who did not possess Roman nationality. It closed in 391 but escaped demolition, and it has become the site of the principal opera festival in France since 1869 after reopening in 1823.
King Louis XIV said that this was the very best wall in his kingdom.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 13, 2017 17:35:36 GMT
On to Avignon. I confess that I did not look up the reason for this roundabout decoration, but I will presume that there is an air force base in the vicinity. It was too early to go to my hotel, so I went directly into the city to get my "Off" programme. It takes a certain amount of time to choose among 1800 spectacles. But that is not the point of this report. I'll talk about the other stuff elsewhere. I generally choose the same park bench in the shade next to the tourist office, and this is the view I have every year. It is oleander season of course. The streets of Avignon were safe from killer trucks. While most of Avignon does not have the slightest resemblance to Haussmannian architecture, rue de la République, the main street of intra muros, is the exception. Last photo before leaving Avignon a few days later. I wish that more suburban shopping malls had this sort of vegetation in the car park. And then I was on the road in the direction of Alès...
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Post by amboseli on Jul 13, 2017 20:49:23 GMT
Very nice! Brings back memories from many roadtrips to the Côte d'Azur or the Languedoc, always picking a different village/town for an overnighter ... 1200/1300 kms being far too much to drive in one day.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 14, 2017 5:32:41 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 14, 2017 5:40:44 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 14, 2017 11:15:50 GMT
What a knockout of a trip! I failed to comment on the last installment, so a quick question on that: what made Orange flood? It doesn't seem to be in a deep valley and using google translate didn't help me.
Lovely to see Avignon and I'm looking forward to your separate report on Off.
This latest section is absolutely dazzling and the gorges seemed ever more beautiful with each picture. The stone houses are wonderful and seemed perched in places only eagles go. Could you tell of some of those rural ones were still in use?
I see there is tubing on the Tarn. Guess that's a universal thing now.
What a change once you left the gorges. That fairy tale castle with the landscape spiraling up to it is magnificent. Looking forward to more!
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2017 12:05:29 GMT
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Post by patricklondon on Jul 14, 2017 14:05:23 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 14, 2017 14:12:43 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jul 14, 2017 15:01:02 GMT
Patrick, what a gift! A friend of mine, who is 82, has lost most of his vision and is legally blind. He is thrilled to get audio books.
You have a beautiful voice and also pronounce the French very well.
K2, the Dutch are great travellers, perhaps because their country is so small, and almost entirely flat except a bit in the south, but nothing like the Ardennes in Belgium.
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Post by mossie on Jul 14, 2017 15:05:06 GMT
I really envy you on making that trip. Some super scenery.
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Post by bjd on Jul 14, 2017 15:26:41 GMT
One of the nice things about France is how the scenery and architecture change quite dramatically over distances that are not that long. Personally, I prefer the greenery and architecture of Aveyron and Dordogne to the dry rockiness of the area around Avignon, but that is just a personal preference.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 14, 2017 17:56:19 GMT
WOW! Glorious report..I especially liked the rugged scenery around the gorges of the Tarn...beautiful.
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Post by fumobici on Jul 15, 2017 1:44:27 GMT
This report is a stunner. The (yes, I did) charming towns and the beautifully scenic territory make an intoxicating looking combination. Terrific photos too, but some places its easier to take great photos than others. The bell tower in one town has the same number of windows all the way up; the Italianate towers of the period add an extra window each floor up the tower to make it stronger and more stable. I've gone through this several times just drinking it in, I hope it continues.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 15, 2017 5:04:22 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 15, 2017 13:57:51 GMT
Stop! Stop! You keep adding more great stuff before I've burbled on about previous great stuff! Beautiful, beautiful trip captured in gorgeous photos. Are you happy about amping up the envy level here past the bearable point?
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Post by lagatta on Jul 15, 2017 14:26:16 GMT
I do hope you have all listened to Patrick reading about Stevenson's journey.
K2, did you really crash their cookout?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 15, 2017 16:07:14 GMT
The local youth hostel did not seem shabby at all.
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Post by whatagain on Jul 15, 2017 21:35:31 GMT
Nice report. Am following the same route but only on highway. Just nearing Aix. We saw reflections of a glowing fire then smelled the smoke. Heard on the radio they closed the railway tracks and have 8 Canadairs 2 helos and 500 Firemen fighting the fire. Cats got stressed.
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Post by lagatta on Jul 15, 2017 22:52:09 GMT
The Dutch would feel right at home with those skies, but it is probably warmer down there. (Down there with respect to the Netherlands, believe it or not Montréal is considerably farther south than Paris).
Whatagain, Aix-en-Provence or Aix-les-Bains?
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 16, 2017 10:09:15 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 16, 2017 10:23:28 GMT
All that was left the next morning was the drive back to Paris, almost exclusively on the autoroute. final pee stop And the entry to the 'burbs. That's all for this trip.
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