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Paris in April followed by Provence in full flower was the plan for our Spring vacation. The weather turned out to be perfect for touring---warm and sunny for nearly the entire two weeks. To the places I had never been before I would say, do not miss the refurbished Orangerie in Paris, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat and the village of Gourdon. We endured the usual chaotic arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport, with multiple transatlantic flights arriving at the same time. We soon found a taxi to take us to our hotel.
   
Hotel Pont Royal
5-7 Rue de Montalembert,
Paris, Arr. 7
Tel: 14 28 47 00 00
We stayed at the Hotel Pont Royal, where we have stayed previously and have been made to feel welcome. It is a quiet, comfortable hotel on the Left Bank near the Boulevard St. Germain, patronized by the literary set since it was established in the late 19th Century. The staff is obliging, especially the Concierges who speak excellent English. The room rate includes a lavish Continental breakfast; something not to be sneezed at in this era of the strong Euro. The hotel is well located within easy walking distance of the Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, the haunts of the young in Montparnasse and even the luxury shopping on the Right Bank. For everything else there is the ubiquitous Metro for which I advise buying multi-journey tickets before leaving the U.S. There is available, also, a reduced fee entry ticket to nearly all of the Paris museums. Enquire at the French Tourist Agency; it is well worthwhile.
| Thanks be, Paris has changed very little from the first time that I visited nearly 60 years ago. It still oozes romance from every Quai and Boulevard. The most ordinary activities take on an enchantment that could not occur in any other city. Whether one is window shopping on the Rue du Faubourg St. Honore or sipping Citron Presses at sidewalk cafes while watching the ebb and flow of the natives, the City never palls. |
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A favorite walk is from the Louvre to the Orangerie through the Tuileries Gardens, stopping to watch the children sailing their boats. |
| The Louvre never disappoints. No matter how often it is visited, there is always something new that has never been seen before. On this occasion we saw the private apartments of the Emperor Napoleon III. These had been built in a disused wing to his order and no expense had been spared---lush and plush mid-19th Century décor. |
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| It is best to go to the Louvre as early as possible as the crowds, by noon, are unbelievable. |
    
The Orangerie
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A must-see is the newly refurbished Orangerie, which is not yet mentioned in the usual guide books. There is a fine display of superb Impressionist paintings from the collection of a famous art dealer. However the palm goes to the two elegant rooms designed to house Monet’s “Water Lilies.” |
Three more museums were all that we could manage, to complete our week in Paris. The Marmottan-Claude Monet Museum, an elegant house in the 16 Arr., containing the son’s gallery of some of his father’s most beautiful works. A new pleasure for us was a visit to the Music Museum in the Northeastern suburb of La Villette. The history of music and the instruments that play it are available to be both seen and heard.
| Finally, we enjoyed a repeat afternoon at the Musee d’Orsay, a treasure house of all that was best in 19th Century French arts shown to perfection in the redesigned old railroad terminus. |
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L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon
Rue Montalembert
It is not possible to leave Paris without talking about food and since we ate well it is only fair to pass on a few recommendations. L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon is next door to the Hotel Pont Royal on the Rue Montalembert. M. Robuchon, one of the greatest French chefs, has opened this unusual restaurant where he seems to be experimenting with new recipes. There are no tables; the 40 seats are at a counter-top-cum-bar with a view of the kitchen and conversation with strangers at the bar tends to flow pleasantly. The food and drink are sublime and the cost----ah well! The Dollar is low, the Euro is high and it is worth every sou.
   
Bistro de Paris
Rue de Lille, 7th Arr,
At a more reasonable cost we ate well at Bistro de Paris exactly what a good bistro should serve.
  
Le Vieux Bistro
Rue de Cloitre
Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cite
Alongside the Cathedral is this tiny 20-seat restaurant with a limited, but tasty menu, very popular among the locals.
PROVENCE
The second week of our vacation was in Provence. The TGV train whisked us from Paris to Avignon comfortably and quietly at an average speed of 175 mph. At Avignon we picked up a car and drove the 25 miles to Fontvieille, a village of stone houses dating from the 14th Century when the Counts of Provence were powerful enough that the Kings of Europe lined up to marry their daughters.
FONTVEILLE
   
Hotel La Regalido
Fontveille
www.laregalido.com.
Formerly an 18th Century olive oil mill, the Hotel La Regalido is a family venture and the owner/manager could not have been more helpful in planning touring routes and ensuring that we were comfortable. Our room was elegantly furnished with a spacious, modern bathroom and a terrace overlooking the village. Our three day stay was a delight and we recommend it very highly.
  
Le Patio
117 Route du Nord
Fontvieille
Tel. 04 90 54 73 10
Another former olive oil mill, this is an excellent restaurant in Fontvieille, which serves local foods, well prepared.
Fontvieille is a good base for exploring Western Provence. In a short stay we were able to visit Arles and Nimes in one direction and Avignon and Les Baux to the North and East respectively.
ARLES
Arles, a Roman stronghold at the time of Julius Caesar, is famous for its amphitheater and for Van Gogh’s period residence when, in and out of madness, he painted some of his most notable works.
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It is a sleepy town of winding lanes. |
NIMES
Further west, the city of Nimes is a bustling regional center. Its amphitheater and the Maison Carre, a tiny temple built in 19 BC, are the best preserved Roman remains in France. Parts of the medieval ramparts remain in good repair.
The city is notable for having given its name to Denim—“Serge de Nimes.”
AVIGNON
| Avignon has two claims to fame. For most of the 14th Century it was the residence of seven Popes and two bogus Popes. They had arrived in the city as refugees from the disorderly, threatening mobs of Rome. However, even under the protection of the King of France they did not feel safe, so they built the Papal Palace which, with its 18 foot thick walls is really a fortress. |
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| Today it is a museum and is well worth a visit. The city is still encircled by its ramparts, one of the finest medieval fortifications in existence. |
The other notable piece of the city’s history is the old song Sur le Pont d’Avignon.
Unfortunately, the bridge in question was too narrow for the old round dances, so they were performed on an island under (“sous” not “sur”) the bridge.
Les Baux
Our last visit in Western Provence was to Les Baux en Provence, a village on a hill dominated by the sinister ruins of a 10th Century castle, looking down into the Valley of Hell. Les Baux gave its name to Bauxite, the Aluminum ore.
St. Paul de Vence
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Our next stop is eastward to St. Paul de Vence, another hilltop medieval village. Until 1860 it was a frontier post, looking across the valley at the Duchy of Savoy and acting as an early warning system to alert Provence to raids from across the border. From the time that the area was traded to France, the |
| village has become a center for young artists attracting crowds of tourists, especially since it was favored by Marc Chagall. |
    
Le Saint Paul Hotel
86 Rue Grande, ST.-Paul-de-Vence, 06570.
Tel: 04 93-32-65-25.
www.lesaintpaul.com
This Relais et Chateau hotel is thoroughly modernized and is managed with supreme efficiency by M. Gilles Fouilleroux. The service throughout is impeccable, even to such thoughtful touches as cold drinks and pastries set out in the lounge for returning weary travelers.
| St. Paul is a beautiful village, its winding narrow lanes full of interest. At the bottom of the hill is an open flat space reserved for games of petanque (bowls). |
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Just outside is the Fondation Maeght, an estate owned by the art gallery which is devoted to displaying some of the best works by Miro, Calder, Kandinsky, Bonnard, Braque and Chagall.
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Hotel Colombe d’Or
St.Paul has many good restaurants and one outstanding place to eat and that is the restaurant of the Hotel Colombe d’Or. We dined outside on a balmy spring evening. The menu was huge and so was the wine list; decisions were difficult but no matter what we chose it was delicious. From appetizer to cheeseboard it was faultless.
Gorges du Loup
Our explorations took us to the Gorges du Loup, wild country carved out of the Maritime Alps by water and time, with rushing torrents in the depths, and fortified villages on the heights.
    
GOURDON
This most beautiful of the villages is busy with its perfume distilleries.
THE RIVIERA
In the other direction from St. Paul lie the fabled resorts of the Riviera. Beautiful people, grand hotels, great estates and huge yachts.
    
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
St. Jean Cap Ferrat
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Probably the most exclusive area is the promontory of St. Jean Cap Ferrat and its crown jewel is the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. This perfect replica of a Renaissance Florentine palazzo sits on the highest point of the Cap surrounded by its seven different gardens with a peerless view from Nice to Monte Carlo. If there is one place to see, it is this. Or hear, since it is the site of a summer opera festival.
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Two weeks flew by, time had run out and we had to fly away. We hope that we will be back to savor more of France’s many treasures.
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