The drive passes by now-familiar sites along the Rhone - the city walls of Avignon, the train station, then agricultural fields growing all sorts of fruits and vegetables. Individual self-contained farm complexes of buildings hidden behind high walls to protect from the Mistral of the north. Fields are divided by rows of cedars or bamboo, providing protection from soil loss due to the winds, as well as separating types of crops. Large, wide valleys edge into small mountains on the visible horizon. We skirted around the outskirts of Arles and suddenly the landscape is totally flat in all directions. Marshy with lots of small streams and open ponds, the agriculture of this area is rice growing with flooded rectangular paddies.
We stopped first at the Ornithologic Park to be sure to see the flamingos without too much effort. The flamingos didn't disappoint us. They walked, flew, slept, fought, and squawked as if on cue.
I managed to do something I've never done before - I tipped the chariot - right into a mud puddle which was deeper than expected. So Evie's muddy feet were nothing compared with my head to foot covering in black mud. Luckily the sink at the toilets allowed me to clean up a lot of it and it was warm enough to do the rest of the walk in short sleeves. There will be laundry tonight.
The rest of the walk was uneventful.
 |
| Dale and Kim walking along the path |
 |
| Kim looking out on the étang |
But we did spend some time looking at the chicks on the rookery island.
 |
| babies in the rookery |
 |
| another baby in a nest |
 |
| 3 chicks |
 |
| mama flying off to find food |
By the time we left at 1:30, it had clouded over. We headed next into Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for lunch. We could NOT find a parking space! What a contrast to the last time we were here when the town was nearly empty. All the parking lots were filled with gypsy trailers. Where one or two parking spaces might be available, there were lawn chairs holding the space for a later arrival. We don't know where they were getting their electricity and water from, but they were all powered up. Campers were set up everywhere. And lots of white panel vans were also parked everywhere in town. White panel vans seem to be the vehicle of choice for gypsies.
 |
| "real" gypsy vans - the first looks like it's horse-drawn, the other two are pulled by cars |
After driving out to the port and back,
we noticed that the parking lot behind the tourist office was no longer complet (full), so we paid 5 Euros and parked. It was now 1:40 and we needed to find a restaurant quickly.
In town, everything was buzzing. There were people everywhere -
not all restaurants were open (on a Sunday?) - but those that were, were full of happily chattering families. We were surprised because the closed restaurants had been open the last time we were here. Why would they give up income at one of the busiest times of the year?
 |
| this hotel had such beautiful flowers |
 |
| the bull statue in front of the city arena |
We found a restaurant within a couple of blocks and while we waited a long time to be served, the gardienne (bull stew) was delicious.
 |
| my plate of gardienne and fries - the bull stew is like a rich beef stew with olives |
We ordered a Costières de Nîmes rouge to go with - mostly so Dave could claim he's tasted all the wines on the shirt he bought.
 |
| waiting for our dinner |
A trio of gypsies began to play outside the restaurant and then passed a cup to collect tips. We saw this in several places. Other gypsies offered you a blessing or other trinket and asked for a contribution. (You could of course say no thanks.)
We entered the church, full of people. In the upper sanctuary there was a mass going on and we think a baptism. Gypsies have their children baptized in this church. We saw a young boy dressed in white pants and suit jacket carried out at the end of the mass. And the small part of the mass we heard was full of joyous singing to accompaniment of guitar and rhythmic clapping.
 |
| the upper sanctuary is full of people participating in a mass and, we think, the baptism of a young boy |
The crypt where Sara's statue is venerated was about 100 degrees from all the burning candles. It was crowded with people touching and kissing the statue of Sara.
 |
| there are candles everywhere in the crypt |
 |
| pilgrim veneration of Saint Sara |
Outside, the music continued in front of the church with guitars, singing and even a bit of dancing. The mood was happy and boisterous.
When we first drove in, the parking lot by the Hôtel de Ville was full of tents - a full-on market was going on. However, when we walked this direction late in the afternoon, we discovered this was a gypsy market selling, well, just about anything - clothes, shoes, bedding, mattresses, trinkets, toys, kitchen supplies - you name it. Everything but food. Even more surprising, the market was still noisy and busy at 4 pm in the afternoon when we walked through it.
We wandered back to get a lavender ice cream (for Kim - we weren't as adventurous), just as it began to sprinkle.
 |
| eating ice cream in the rain - but it was so good |
We took one last walk along the sea wall in the continuing sprinkles to see the gypsies camping in the parking lot.
 |
| a modern gypsy campground |
 |
| looking toward town along the sea wall |
 |
| While most had white campers or panel trucks, a few had traditional gypsy trailers - definitely a lifestyle |
We ran out of good weather a couple hours ago, so it's time to go home. Once again we're pretty late getting home so it's leftovers tonight.
What a crazy experience. So very sorry to hear about the chariot tip, but I'm glad you didn't allow it to "dampen" the rest of your day! Takeaway: try olives in my stew.
ReplyDeleteThey used black Greek olives (including pits). It's a lot like Beef Burgignone, but more herbs de Provence and tomato paste and plenty of wine. Delicious
ReplyDelete