Today Ken was leading us on a walking tour he had found online. We had shortened it a bit from the original, as it looked like it would take a really long time. We drove to our starting point near the Glanum ruins and began, following a detailed description. We were at first along little outer village streets and gradually made our way into the Parc Naturel Régional des Alpilles. It was all uphill, starting on a bitumen road and then onto a stony track. We surrounded by tall pines and the sound of cicadas. We went down a short steep incline and arrived at a beautiful lake at the bottom of large gorges. It was quiet and peaceful. There were a few other people there, including a man and his young son, who were rolling a huge piece of wood to their car to take home. Maybe they needed a new chopping block. The notes suggested we lookout for a "finger post", directing us to our next point. This is an British walking tour and apparently this is a thing, though Ken is the only one who has heard of it before.
We continued on, back uphill into the park . We passed some large estates and farms. We peeked over the fence of one and saw a swimming pool big enough for a small town. The track kept going uphill, through the pines and on a rocky path. I could feel the rocks through my shoes. I don't think they were quite up to this outing, but I struggled on!
We reached a decision point on the walking notes. Up a steep, loose, rocky hill to a lookout or continue on back towards town. Jude and I took the low road and the boys took the high one.
We had finally reached the downhill part of the walk!!! Yay!!! It was a bit steep and treacherous for a short stretch but then became a beautiful stroll through trees, bushes and flowers. There were large rock face walls lining the path at some points and shaded little groves of trees at others.
We made it back to the Glanum Archeological site. We were uphill and outside the perimeter fence and could see that it was quite an extensive area. As we were making our way down to investigate we came across another ancient area, with no signs, markings or people. We climbed down through some thorny climbing plants and found ourselves in a massive structure, carved into the sandstone cliff faces. It looked like somewhere some ancient tribe might have lived. There were sheer drops to the ground below and you could see where parts of it had broken away over the years. It was very cool. We were welcomed by 2 beautiful little black and white pigeons.
We eventually heard voices and saw Ken and Mike peering down through the opening . They joined us in exploring the area. We googled this site later and had trouble finding anything, but have determined it would have been the dam to feed the aqueduct for the Glanum community, dated at about 0 B.C. There were no fences or warnings to keep the public away or safe from themselves.
The boys had enjoyed their walk to the lookout, and found that there was an easier way we could have gone to join them, but we had quite enjoyed our stroll back down the hill, stopping to admire the scenery as we went.
We were close to the St Paul's Cloisters where Van Gough had spent a year when it was an asylum and painted 150 of his very best works. We walked over and paid our entrance fee. It was really interesting, with information and posters of the works he did while there. There was a reproduction of his room, and views over the lavender gardens and fields beyond. The cloisters courtyard is beautiful, with a gorgeous hedged garden. It is amazing that he did so much spectacular work in such a short space of time but never got to see the recognition. He was a sad, troubled man.
After exercise, history and art we made our way back to the villa where we had a delicious al fresco lunch before utilising the pool and cooling off. The weather is very warm and the sun is shining.
We had planned to go out in the afternoon but we voted to lay by the pool a bit longer and we all had a little nap on the pool lounges. Life is so hard in Provence.
Awake, showered and we were off to town for dinner. The main centre of. Saint Remy is surrounded by a one way circular street. There is very little local traffic inside here, which is great for meandering along. We were hoping to find a restaurant within this as the many located on the ring road have a fair bit of traffic going by. We walked round and round, getting confused in the labyrinth of streets. There are not that many, but we kept repeating our steps. Anyway, we finally ended up at Le Marilyn, on the outer road . We sat inside, away from the traffic. It was a strange nod to Marilyn Monroe, but the food was awesome. We had a three course meal, all of an exceptional standard. I had a tart with potato and tomato, followed by a chicken and aubergine Mille-feuille and finished with a peach and yoghurt compote. So good.
Home to chat out in the fresh, fragarant air and head off to bed.



Steps 18,523
kms walked - 12.2