offerendum

Orange is well known for its antique monuments. First one I visited was the Arc de Triomphe. It´s located in a roundabout and at the moment as the whole area object of restorantions. On the first view it´s one of the best preserved arcs from the antique time but it was transformed many times. While the exact time of construction is unclear it was once part of the city-wall or a watch-tower.





On many pictures the arc is nearly black. As you can see they cleaned it....

offerendum

Orange also hosts one of the best preserved antique theatres. It is still in use for cultural events like operas. During the middle-ages it was a bastion, during revolution a prison.

From the street you can see the impressive front wall.


The theatre offered space for 10.000 people (today 7000).



The stage:

offerendum

Near to the theatre is also a ruin of a temple:

offerendum

The Musèe d´Art et d´History is together with the temple-ruin and the theatre part of one ticket. It shows some antique mosaics ans skulptures




as well as art from the 19th century and some furnishings of this time.

SanDiego1K

Those are exceptional pictures. Thank you for taking us with you on this trip.

1P

Great photos, Offerendum !

You went to Notre Dame de la Garde in Marseille and didn't see the bullet holes in the walls?
And you didn't see the Basilique de Saint-Victor which goes down so far underground that you amazingly end up in the first centuries of Christianity?
You visited the Palais des Papes in Avignon and didn't eat at the sublime Christian Etienne restaurant right next door (Michelin 1* with incredible 7-course menu de tomates) ?
You visited Orange and didn't..... OK, I will stop now.

Let me know the next time you try Provence. So much more to see and eat there!.....

offerendum

Thanks! I went to Marseille later, so St Victor ist still coming. No time for Christian Etienne, had to make a selection Also didn't visit many museums, I wasn't alone Brought already my company to the limit.... Some sights left

offerendum

Thanks, you were welcome

offerendum

Time for Chappi!
Our next dinner was at Alexandre Nimes. The restaurant of chef Michel Kayser holds 2 Michelin-stars and I found the menu interesting.
When we arrived and the gate opened I found one of the most special ways I ever took to a restaurant:


After I parked the car we were greeted friendly and escorted to our table. The restaurant is furnished very nicely and on our table was a beautiful floral-decoration.


We were the first guests, but it filled up quickly. Soon I had to learn that at the table next to us sat at least one moron. He was speaking to his cell-phone for a while, not the best manners.
After we got some cocktails (fruit-juices) they brought us this nice selection:


As my company wasn´t too hungry we took the menu Nature Sublimée. The bigger menu must be shared by the whole table. Price for our menu was 82,00 € per person which is fair.
First we got bread and well-presented olive-oil:



Very good Amuse Bouche:


First course was “Floating island with truffles from Provence on Cevennes'boletus soup”

This was a great and memorable dish! I would eat it again every minute, as the taste was so good. I can´t praise it enough!

More bread....


The main-course was “« Tielle » from Sète, Lobster, squid and prawn tartlet,
Marinière sauce with Muscat from Château l’Ermitage


Also a good dish!

For desert I had “Confit "Frecinette" banana in a kalamansi juice, Tonka seeds meringue, Coconut sorbet and foam”.

Creative, very good – what else could you expect?

My company had “Chocolate lovers paradise cake“.

As she already had enough I got another half desert..... It was great, even if I liked my desert even more, but this is personal taste.

Petit fours:


I really enjoyed our meal, it was great food. At the way out Michel Kayser asked how we liked our meal and had a little chat. The 2-star rating is absolutely justified, I can only recommend the restaurant.

offerendum

Abbey Silvacane is together with Senanque and Le Thoronet one of the „3 sisters of Provence“. It was secularised in 1789.
The architecture is classical for cistercian monasteries.
[/url]

Typical simplicity:



Modern art in old buildings:



Cloister:

offerendum

Gordes is one of the „must-see“, „one-of –a-kind“, „beautiful“ villages in Provence. It lays on a mountain and can be seen from the surroundings:


After you searched for a parking space, were charged an arm and a leg for it you stand in front of the chateau, which is an (not really important) museum today.


The village itself has small streets and offers (beside touristy shops) some nice views:



One last view on the castle:


OK, that was it. Overall nice, but not totally fascinating. When I drove away I had to be careful not to decorate my bonnet with one of the numerous bald eagles on the way to their busses.......

offerendum

This day we did the tourist-trail! As we were too late to visit Senanque directly (lunchtime) we decided to visit Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. First we searched for a parking-space, but it seemed it was more easy to find 50 € on the street. After a while we found one (very tight, millimetre-work). Later we learned we should have paid 5 € or so for it, but obvious the parking-attendant did lunchtime when we arrived.
First we took a look into the little church St-Véran:



The village itself is relative small, on a hill watchs a ruin over it:



To the spring leads a small path along the river. It´s lined with terrible looking restaurants and souvenir-shops. While the river itself and its surroundings are beautiful, the village and the shops are so touristy and not really appealing.








In the end we took a drink at a restaurant att the village-centre with this nice well.


Mainly it was a kind of toilet-fee, as the public toilet in the village was unusable.
The river, the spring and the surroundings are beautiful, the village itself is with few exemptions not.

Bretteee

I flew Eurowings from Bucharest to Dusseldorf. The air fare was expensive and the free sandwich was a joke. They are so tiny I was so hungry I wanted to buy one from the menu but there was a minimum using my credit card.

I stayed in a Chateau and Relais Hotel in Provence which was gorgeous. There is also a world famous hotel / restaurant there.

I want to see where they have the beautiful flowers / lilacs in Provence.

offerendum

The sandwich is a joke. There are many famous hotels and restaurants

DanielW

Looks like a great vacation, offerendum, with some great weather, cool hotels and some very tasty looking food.
I would be very interested to know what the difference is between 2 and 3 stars. Very amazing and very very amazing?