Rhone Day 5: Arles

 Arles is a Roman town.

We had a walking tour through the narrow streets of the old town  

past picturesque homes and shops

to the first-century amphitheater. 

In Roman days it was open all around with free admission to all. Bread and circuses to keep the masses content. In the unrest following the fall of Rome in the fifth century, the citizens turned it into a fortress by closing off most of the ground level entrances and building 200 homes inside.

The old houses were cleared in the 19th century and today the amphitheater is used for bull fights. The Spanish style where the bull is killed is losing popularity, replaced by Provence's bloodless tradition of catching ornaments hung between the bull's horns. The idea reminded me of ancient Cretan bull dancing.

Around the corner is the Roman theatre, still in use today.

Vincent Van Gogh, for whom our ship was named, came to Arles in 1888. The locals thought him weird and hated his unusual painting style. One of his starry night paintings was done from precisely the curve in the river where our boat was mored. 

There and elsewhere in Arles are signs that show the painting from that spot. When he cut off his ear, he was hospitalized here.

We had some free time to explore the Saturday market--more than a mile of color and chaos. I should have taken a picture, but I got separated from Ingrid. I was coming down with a cold and ended up sitting in the sun with my thermos of tea in the plaza where we were to meet, listening to this saxophonist compete with a folk guitarist at the other end of the square.

After lunch (a soup and salad bar back on the ship with one hot entree that I never bothered with) and a nap, I took a walk along the river bank, venturing into town at interesting places.

More people coming to the salon early to reserve places for the 6 PM recital. Today we went at 5 with books and drinks, and we were none too soon.

George Bizet – Farandole from L’Arlesienne (a traditional Provençal dance celebrating a woman specifically from Arles)

 

Modeste Mussorgsky – The Marketplace in Limoges, Catacombs, and Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua from Pictures at an Exhibition (in honor of market day in Arles, and with a description from Aurélian of the Roman Alyscamps necropolis outside of his hometown of Arles)

 

*Lili Boulanger – Nocturne and Cortège for Violin and Piano (younger sister of the famed compositional pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, who connects to Gershwin and Piazzolla later)

 

Maurice Ravel – Jeux d’Eau (to provide the water missing from the fountain in Arles town square)

 

*Maurice Ravel – Pièce en forme de Habanera (one of many examples of Spanish-flavored music by French composers)

 

George Bizet – Toreador Song from Carmen (this music is played at the Arles Amphitheater during events with bulls)

 

*George Bizet – Habanera from Carmen (enhanced by a red fan we purchased in the market that morning and Aloysia’s acting skills)

 

*Claude Debussy ­­– Beau Soir (and indeed it was a beautiful evening)

After dinner a local Gypsy family came on board to present traditional music. By that time I was feeling pretty miserable with my cold, so I didn't stay long, but Ingrid stayed. The 11-year-old guitarist is also a pianist, and he and Jackie ended up improvising together.

 

Tomorrow will be more exploring Van Gogh sites.

Rhone Day 4: Chateauneuf du Pape Jean XXII and Pont du Gard

On our way back to the ship, we made a brief stop at this summer palace of Pope John XXII.  The history of the 14th-c Avignon popes is tragic and very complicated. They were far more interested in political power and opulent luxury than in the gospel. Our guides made no mention of the corruption of the era. Their job was only to show us the physical remains.

Although the castle had been damaged by the Revolution and time, the final destruction was by retreating German soldiers in August 1944 when they blew up their stores of ammunition.

No wonder the Germans used this as an observation point.

When we returned to the ship for lunch, we found these sheep grazing on the banks of the canal. Two goats tried persistently to board with us.

In the afternoon we went from medieval ruins to Roman remains. A 31-mile-long aqueduct built in the first century before Christ, carried water to the city of Nimes. (Denim refers to canvas from (de) Nimes.) Pont du Gard survived when other structures were dismantled for ready stone because it served as a bridge over the Gard River.

The part we are walking on with railings and all is relatively modern (19th-c?). The part they walked on was the narrow bit around the columns.

I wish we had had more time for the excellent museum. 

Or better yet, to hike the trail that traces the original aqueduct from the mountains.

It's now a park, well used by local kayakers and swimmers.

The first night Ingrid and I found random places in the lounge for the introductory talk and recital trailer and found our view blocked by pillars. The next night we came half an hour early to be sure to have a better view of the piano.

Jackie, Aloysia, and Melissa Ousley (who introduced all the pieces) are charming people. They had prepared music specifically for the trip, but also were inspired by events of the day. After two visits to wineries, this evening was dedicated to composers who enjoyed their wine among other things. (* means violin. Others were only piano.)

*Camille Saint-Saëns – The Swan (in honor of seeing swans on the Rhône the previous evening)

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Fin c’han dal vino from Don Giovanni (also known as the champagne song, Don Giovanni’s energetic call to Leporello for more wine, recalling our winemaker tour)

 

*Ludwig van Beethoven – Spring Sonata 1^st movement (to celebrate April!)

 

Franz Schubert – Impromptu in G-flat major (written by a wine lover)

 

Claude Debussy – La Puerto del Vino (the Alhambra Palace’s Gate of Wine, inspired by a postcard sent to him by Manuel de Falla)

 

*Claude Debussy – The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (celebrating “locks”…whether blonde, or in navigation)

 

Richard Wagner – Ride of the Valkyries (written by another wine lover, and celebrating our ‘winging’ it in this program)

 

Happy Birthday in the style of Mozart, Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Tchaikovsky (for the four travelers who had birthdays during the voyage. See the video here.)

 

Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel) – Bridge Over Troubled Water (in honor of the Pont du Gard) 

This last one had to be explained to Sarah, the daughter of a mother/daughter team of travelers. Most of the rest of us were old enough to get teary with memories when we heard it. BTW, Sarah's mother Sharon was born in Thatcham, the town where we lived in England. Did I mention how much we enjoyed all the people we met?

Rhone Day 4: Chateauneuf du Pape

This morning we visited another winery at Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This one was much larger and more commercial.

Again we heard about terroir and how the ground affects the taste. This garden grew vines in four types of local soils as demonstration plots: rounded pebbles, red sandstone, limestone, and sand. Wines may be made of grapes grown in one soil or in a blend. At our tasting they told us what kind of soil the grapes had been grown in

Here the barrels came in a variety of sizes.

On to the ruins of Pope Jean XXII's castle.

Rhone Day 3: The Van Gogh

The Van Gogh was a delightful small river boat from the Croisi Europe line that initiated river cruises. We were 90 passengers, less than half what is on a Viking Longboat.

There are lots of low bridges in Lyon and we were quickly instructed to duck at the call, "Low bridge!"

There were also lots of locks--a dozen each direction since we returned to Lyon at the end of our cruise. They took us past hydroelectric dams. 

We were a music crowd, and the joy of traveling with Minnesota Orchestra is the recitals on board every evening before dinner. Our musicians were Jon Kimur Parker and his wife violinist Aloysia Friedman.

Jackie, as he likes to be called, is an amazing pianist who used to be the summer artistic director for the symphony. I first remember him from the fabulous four piano concerts they have given. That's not 4-hand piano (two people playing one piano), but four artists on four grand pianos all playing together. Aloysia is the founder of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in the San Juan Islands of NW Washington State. Sounds like a place we HAVE to visit.

Jackie's ninety-year-old mother was along on this trip. She taught piano along with music history and music theory. Sounds like quite a home to grow up in. Another son is a concert pianist, and her daughter puts together portfolios for new musicians. In her retirement she is translating all the Jane Austin novels into Japanese.

This first evening was only a teaser for what was to come.

*Johannes Brahms – Scherzo from F-A-E Sonata (to complement hearing the Brahms’ 3^rd Symphony in Paris)

*Edward Elgar – Salut D’Amour (to complement hearing Elgar’s Sea Pictures in Paris)

The dinner table was aglitter each evening with glasses for red wine, glasses for white, and glasses for water. (Only one water glass per person although both still (silver cap) and sparkling (gold cap) were on the table.

As I recall the starter the first night was a lovely paté.

This was the pork entreé although I often took the fish. Fabulous every time. My husband is not a fan of fish so this was my chance.

And then there was desert.

 Tomorrow we will visit another winery.

Rhone Day 3: Hotel and Winery

In Paris we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Republique Hotel with its statue of Marianne, the symbol of the French Revolution.

This inner courtyard made it feel like we weren't really in the middle of all the confusion of a big city, but the metro was only a few steps away.

The Rhone River does NOT pass through Paris. It was a five hour drive to Lyon where we would meet our ship. On the way we stopped for lunch and a wine tasting in the small French town of Mercurey.

Chateau de Garnerot is a small family owned winery. The owner, Caroline Fyot, was a delight and explained her philosophy of wine-making. I can't say I understood it, but I was impressed.

We heard over and over of the importance of terroir--the nature of the land--to the flavor of the grapes.

This estate has been here for a few hundred years although Caroline is a newcomer out of the insurance industry.

It was a charming place, and lunch was delightful, especially the wonderful cheese course before the sweet and the perfect pairing of their wines with the different cheeses.

In the late afternoon we arrived in Lyon at the ship that would be our home for the next week.

Rhone Day 2: Sainte-Chapell

Sainte-Chapell is in the same 13th-c complex as the Consiergerie and modern courts. It was built on the orders of the 13th-c King Louis IX (Saint Louis) to house the relics of "the crown of thorns" and piece of "the true cross" which he brought back with him from the Crusades. It is currently undergoing renovations as you can see by the screened portion to the right and at the base.

Even with our reservation we had nearly a half-hour wait.

The undercroft was once the chapel for palace staff. Now it's a gift shop where I found some great Christmas presents. (Sorry, everyone. You'll have to wait.)

The soaring High Gothic chapel above has walls that are almost entirely of stained glass.

The refurbishing work area is covered, not with tarps and scaffolding, but mirrors, reflecting the beauty of the chapel, but doubling images and throwing off the symmetry. (You can see that most clearly in the ceiling--painted as it would have been in the 13th century.)

From the balcony at the west end you can look back into the chapel.

Bible stories like this Noah's ark are carved into the door frame,

King Louis had his own seating alcove.

Another opposite was for the queen and the queen mother.

Blue is my favorite color, and I could not get enough of this place. We listened to the audio tour describing every window.

When we arrived, I saw a sign with no words, only symbols. I thought it meant no pictures, but everyone was taking pictures, so I figured I must have misunderstood and the sign referred to flash pictures. I found out later it really did mean no pictures, but I had already taken these. I have no idea why pictures were not allowed or why the rule was not enforced. (Picture is the west end where restoration is complete. No mirrors.)

We hadn't really stopped to eat properly today. Too much to see and do. We got back to our hotel exhausted but with time for a short rest before meeting Jack and Erica for dinner at a wonderful hole-in-the-wall wine bar that Erica "the travel agent" had found. We shared several tapas and a bottle of red chosen specifically by the waiter to go with what we were eating. I felt like part of the family as we heard all about Normandy. I was Erika's Pioneer Girls leader many years ago when we lived in Indy. She and her sister helped serve at my 50th birthday dinner, prepared by my daughter who was in culinary school at the time. It was so much fun to spend time with Erica now as an adult.

I was early to bed since I was jet-lagged and we had to catch the bus to Lyon with our tour group at 7:30 the next morning to meet our ship. Ingrid and Jack took the metro to Sacre Coeur on Montmartre, climbed nearly 200 steps and arrived in time to hear the sisters sing compline. Erica? She took off for a Liverpool soccer match. She's a big fan.