12 May 2009, 10:51 pm
Yes, 5:00 PM is alright. I was only making a suggestion. 
And my grand-parents are ok with it.
So, are we going to meet in front of the hotel or in a café near the train station ?
12 May 2009, 11:14 pm
DarthMaxeuis wrote:
Yes, 5:00 PM is alright. And my grand-parents are ok with it.
Aaargh ! My fault for briefly suggesting an alternative. 
Meet at 4 pm/16.00 in front of the hotel, for about 30 minutes until ManErg, me, Morgana, KenG, you, and Seashell are there, ... and English-Lulu, and Raggle if he can be there on the Friday at all. Seashell will phone us if she's late and meet us somewhere else.
17.00 was just suggested by me when wondered if 90 minutes waiting at the hotel was too long, ( see my first post replying to yours ). It was a second thought, swiftly abandoned after Seashell said she'd be ok phoning to find out where we've gone to if she's late, so we won't have to wait/stay there 90 minutes.
So we meet at 16.00 in front of hotel, and after 20-30 minutes or so, ( checking-in/getting our rooms, dropping off baggage etc, if not already done so ), we go find a nice café to sit at! Everybody ok with that 
Darth, have just pm'd you.
.
13 May 2009, 3:03 pm
13 May 2009, 3:05 pm
13 May 2009, 3:17 pm
14 May 2009, 9:49 am
A French outlet looks like this :
And a German outlet looks like this :
So they are quite the same. Except the absence of the ground male pin in the German one (but that's no big deal)
You can therefore use your appliance without electrical adapter.
14 May 2009, 4:49 pm
17 May 2009, 3:14 pm
Only 10/11 days to go. 
Still not heard from English-Lulu, but everybody else is ok for meet-up points, except Raggle who will need someone's mobile phone number so that he can tell us when he arrives by hitching. And Seashell may need to call too if she doesn't catch the first train. Could anyone who is willing to serve as "relay" please pm their number to them, if not already done so, ( I haven't got a mobile otherwise I'd offer ). Thanks!
Just thought I'd better say; if any of you are arriving at the hotel after 19.00 hours call the hotel to confirm so that they hold your room; they'll take the first night's payment from your credit card as "deposit".
Totally looking forward to it.
.
17 May 2009, 3:51 pm
I'm due to arrive in Marseille at 18:20 on 27 May.
I'll either hop on a train straight for Avignon or perhaps I might spend a night in Marseille as I quite like the look of this hotel: http://www.hotellecorbusier.com/
I'll probably end up heading straight for Avignon though, because I think I'd rather get to the destination, otherwise I might worry about missing trains or connections and arriving too late and missing everyone, or the more likely things going scenario would be a strike, because the French do like to go en greve! I love the bolshy French, so long as it doesn't inconvenience me of course! 
17 May 2009, 6:44 pm
17 May 2009, 7:18 pm
ouinon wrote:
"Eye"candy! 
A sweet shop in Avignon: ( mainly crystallised fruit and marzipan ... mmm !)
.
Ooh, remind me to take some marzipan back to the UK. If left to my own devices, I'll probably be so busy eating it myself that I will forget to take home a souvenir for a friend who also loves it.
A sweet shop in Avignon: ( mainly crystallised fruit and marzipan ... mmm !).
17 May 2009, 7:59 pm
17 May 2009, 8:13 pm
ouinon wrote:
...We hadn't got any further than imagining leisurely breakfasts on café terraces, picnicking in the grounds of the Palais du Papes, ( superb views ), and if possible meeting Daniel Tammet ( a dream ), but the weekend will probably take off on Friday evening 29th May with a meal, and will finish sometime on Monday 1st June, perhaps with lunch.
Do you have some ideas about things you would like to do? There are several/many very beautiful buildings, a couple of good galleries, and medieval/renaissance chapels, monasteries, etc, and at least two museums, aswell as lots of little old streets to wander round, the river and famous Pont d'Avignon, and people to watch! The old town is still enclosed by the medieval walls too.
Do you have some ideas about things you would like to do?
There are several/many very beautiful buildings, a couple of good galleries, and medieval/renaissance chapels, monasteries, etc, and at least two museums, aswell as lots of little old streets to wander round, the river and famous Pont d'Avignon, and people to watch! The old town is still enclosed by the medieval walls too.Fred84 wrote:
...spend a couple of hours in Arles, famous for the Roman Heritage, and the paintor Van Gogh, to the Gard bridge, or go to the north to see Orange.
If you go to Isle sur Sorgue, you may reach Fontaine de Vaucluse, which is very near by, and has very nice landscapes.
There is a Paper Museum, which is free, and a small artisanal shop center, with a nice chocolate shop. Restaurants are cheap there, such as in Isle sur Sorgue.
We call it Provencal Venice, like the Italian Venice, because of the small rivers, and many waterwheels in the village. During the market days, you can taste a lot of local food like tapenade (cream of black olive, anchobi, and capres, i m sorry i don t know the name of the last one in english).
Dryed tomatoes (tomates sechees), eggplant cream (caviar d aubergines) are very enjoyable too, especially within a piece of good bread, and a glass of good sweet wine such as a muscat. The most famous one here is the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise (another provencal village).
From Fontaine, you can do some canoeing and reach Isle sur Sorgue with Canoe. It s really exciting and a nice experience to share. You will reach Le Partage des Eaux which is a nice area with 2 good restaurants, but famous because of the tradional images of Provence, noisy cicadas, petanque players, glass of pastis (famous local alcool) a especially a very nice and hot weather.
Fred84 wrote:
If I could give you an advice, try to keep a day for Isle sur Sorgue (train or bus, both stations are near). This is the best village in Provence, very good on sunday because of the antic market, it s also the most romantic place is the whole area.
Luberon is a montain near by, where you ll be able to visit many small villages such as Gordes, Roussillon, Senanque, etc... You can go there by bus but it s not that easy, or rent a bike, bring it in a train, and enjoy the area doing some excercice!...
Luberon is a montain near by, where you ll be able to visit many small villages such as Gordes, Roussillon, Senanque, etc... You can go there by bus but it s not that easy, or rent a bike, bring it in a train, and enjoy the area doing some excercice!...
If you go to Isle sur Sorgue, you may reach Fontaine de Vaucluse, which is very near by, and has very nice landscapes.
There is a Paper Museum, which is free, and a small artisanal shop center, with a nice chocolate shop. Restaurants are cheap there, such as in Isle sur Sorgue.
We call it Provencal Venice, like the Italian Venice, because of the small rivers, and many waterwheels in the village. During the market days, you can taste a lot of local food like tapenade (cream of black olive, anchobi, and capres, i m sorry i don t know the name of the last one in english).
Dryed tomatoes (tomates sechees), eggplant cream (caviar d aubergines) are very enjoyable too, especially within a piece of good bread, and a glass of good sweet wine such as a muscat. The most famous one here is the Muscat de Beaumes de Venise (another provencal village).
From Fontaine, you can do some canoeing and reach Isle sur Sorgue with Canoe. It s really exciting and a nice experience to share. You will reach Le Partage des Eaux which is a nice area with 2 good restaurants, but famous because of the tradional images of Provence, noisy cicadas, petanque players, glass of pastis (famous local alcool) a especially a very nice and hot weather.
ouinon wrote:
...I looked up travel to Arles. There are buses but no trains on the Sunday. On the Saturday there is a train at 9.49 which takes 17 minutes, and costs only 6.40 €, ( and a train coming back late, 21.44 ). there's several buses but they take a lot longer, 55 + minutes...
Morgana wrote:
I´ve been to Arles, I think I would most like to go to Isle sur Sorgue (sp.?) and Fontagne. They sound interesting. I could go back to Arles too, if people wanted. We could do the day trips on the weekend, and use Friday to hang out in Avignon; then we should have no problem all meeting up.
ouinon wrote:
Isle sur Sorgue is very small; there isn't half, or even a tenth, as much to do or look at as in Arles. It is fairly pretty, but the antique market is an important part of the package, ( if you are into antiques ); it bulks out the experience a bit.
I have been to both places and Arles is far more interesting, but I don't mind going to Isle sur Sorgue on the Sunday when the market is on, if only because there will be more people to watch then!
I don't know Fontagne though...
I have been to both places and Arles is far more interesting, but I don't mind going to Isle sur Sorgue on the Sunday when the market is on, if only because there will be more people to watch then!
I don't know Fontagne though...
Feria de Pentecote, Nimes: 27th May - 1st June
World-famous bullfighting event and street fiestas at the Arenes de Nimes in celebration of Pentecost.
http://www.frenchentree.com/languedoc-e ... p?ID=26112
http://www.frenchentree.com/languedoc-e ... p?ID=24967
What day/time is your flight home from Nimes, Seashell? Maybe you might want to check this out if you're going to be in Nimes on Monday, June 1?
And some other random comments from elsewhere on another random forum about Avignon and its environs:
"Highlights were:
The market in Coustellet - a small agro-industrial town with little to interest tourists, so it was the real deal,
Oppede le Vieux - relatively quiet village populated by wannabe artists but cute and atmospheric nonetheless."
"Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, an old village on the west bank of the River Rhône is much less crowded than Avignon. The streets are lined with former cardinals' palaces.
The Chartreuse du Val-de-Bénédiction (Charteuese=Charterhouse - Carthusian Monastery) is enormous. I found it fascinating, and spent hours there - even if you aren't an architecture/history buff, still worth a visit.
Official website in French - there are often contemporary art shows during the summer.
http://www.chartreuse.org/
There are spectacular views up and down the Rhone valley from the Saint André fort above the town.
In late May, early June, walking further afield in the hills around Villeneuve should still be great as the landscape is still green rather than the bleached out appearance of high summer."
"villeneuve, very short bus ride to the other side of the river, lovely place and that monastery is wonderful!"
And someone recommended this restaurant, which apparently has a Provencal style menu:
http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/f ... ignon.html
There are also some things in the tourism office brochure for May:
(page 6) Allees de l'Oulle - Avignon
Antiques fair/fleamarket - Antiquites et brocante de Pentecote
May 29, 30, 31 & June 1 / 09:00-19:00
(page 6) Le grenier a sel
Work of artists and artisans, sculpture, photography, fashion etc
May 30, 31 & June 1 / 10:00-19:00 (18:00 lundi)
And there are also general exhibitions at the museums and galleries on display throughout the month, I haven't listed them all,
(page 11)
Palais Secret
Every Saturday at 12:30 and Sunday at 10:30
Palace visit, plus brunch plus wine tasting of Cote du Rhone wines at the bottling plant.
Visit to the private apartments and studies and (robing rooms?) and chapels and gardens, hidden stairs and corridors that take you through the cellars under the terraces.
http://www.palais-des-papes.com/mailtou ... df/RDV.pdf
The only snag is that it doesn't mention the cost. And I think it needs to be booked in advance, places need to be reserved.
18 May 2009, 5:59 am
18 May 2009, 6:11 am
Is someone bringing a camera? I'd love to see some happy snaps
18 May 2009, 7:18 am
Seashell wrote:
A question for ouinon (or anyone who knows about French trains): Should I book a ticket for the Nimes-Avignon train in advance, or will I be able to buy one at the station? I'm worried about finding there are no places left on the train.
Both the train at 15.16 and at 16.39 are TERs ( not TGVs ) which means you will be able to buy a ticket at the station at the last minute, in a machine or at the desk, no problem.
There may be a lot of people on them, but no seats are reserved, so if it's too full people will simply stand.
Make sure you have euros for the shuttle and the train though so aren't held up changing or taking out money. It's 5€, ( last I looked ), for the shuttle and 8.30€/11.10€ for the train.
.
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