Vence and Saint Paul de Vence

Vence

We left Aix on the direction to Nice,  and upon arriving in Marseille I lost my tickets on a trip to the toilet (maybe they were stolen), so we ran to the ticket center to re issue new ones, standing in line with 15 minutes to go before departure, it seemed like an eternity until our turn came to speak to one of the ticket service employees, no problem, we reached our train, it was a big double decker train and it was full, we sat next to a young man who immediately started talking to us, a French/American young man of 22 with Norwegian roots.  

Villa Bellebo, Vence

We arrived in Nice and we took the tram and walk in order to find the buss that for 1.5 Euro takes you on a 40 minute trip to Vence and St Paul de Vence. We were tired and from Vence to to the B&B we took a taxi 16 Euros.

We arrived in Villa Bellebo ran by a Flemish couple that simply made our experience amazing. The right place to come when you have been hanging with your kid for many days and in need of grown up conversations. You can read here my review on theirguesthouse on TripAdvisor (not published yet)

Here youcan read more about Vence the 12th century medieval city  

And also by buss from Vence, only 4 km away you find the impressive and beautiful place of St Paul de Vence, here you can read about St. Paul de Vence history

There is much to see, and it is true that the area is better explored by car, however, this should not stop other travlers like us to not venture to such beautiful places as Vence and St. Paul de Vence, both worth visitng and spending more time, which we didn't have. 









After our sightseeing trip we returned to our Villa Bellebo, we used the swiming pool, and enjoy a little bit of sun and later shared a  nice dinner with the owners and other guests. The night prolonged itself until 1 AM,  the company, the good food, the conversations, the laughs and the fresh evening atmosphere of the south of France gave me a short but serene night,  and the conviction that I had chosen well converting a simple French summer night into a magical French summer night in Vence. 


From Nice, 10.07.15

Arles

We are following the recommendations of my cousin who has sent us to Arles and Aix en Provence. She lived many years in Aix herself and is very fond of the area. We arrived in Arles to find a very nice accomodation via Airbnb in a typical Arles house, our hostess has been nothing but kind, knowledgeble and accesible. The place has a great charm and is located just in the center of Arles.

We had the chance to wander around the streets of Arles, visit a few churches, stumbling into many plaza's including Place du Forum, where the famous café where Van Gogh inspired himslef to paint Cafe Terrace at Night stands and one of my favoirte  paintings since I was a teenager,  we also visited  the Van Gogh foundation  and liked it very much, and finally were lucky to come during the Fete d' Arels and attend for free the festival of Arles celebration show. We have walked along the river, got lost in the tiny little streets and upon turning the wrong way we fell in love even more with the place,  discovering new corners, charming streets, Arles!




People are friendly, the place is safe and the history of the city interesting to learn about. Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments



Do to the heat, we had to take it easy and take several breaks indoors.  However we are leaving this place with the certainty that we will be returning once more.

From Marseille, 6.07.15

You can't do it all!

Keep it simple, walk and buss trip

Our Airbnb in Walthamstow

The one constant and overwhelming feeling is that of missing out on something. I keep telling my self "you can't do it all and is ok". We started late on Friday meeting my friend Anthea for lunch at China Town, after that she took us for a walk and left us next to Big Ben where Aleksander wanted to be, we continued on a hop on - hop off buss which gave us a needed rest after the long walk and the one thing my son was hoping to do. We concluded the day heading back to our Airbnb accomodation with enough time to socialize with the owners with an informal chat in their livingroom. We were greatful for their hospitality and kindness.

From Walthamstow to Arles

We left their place early at 5:00 AM in order to be on time to catch the Eurorail. The terminal is beautiful and the checking process very smooth, we parted towards the south of France at 07:20 AM and arrived in Avignon six hours later, we the took the 40 minute buss to Arles and found very easy our new Airbnb accomodation and settled in starting with a fresh shower, the temperature in the south of France reaches the upper 30's these days. 

New Airbnb accomodation in Arles

Our new host is a very nice lady with a typical Arles property, in fact two as she has bought two homes and put them together. The room and private bathroom are spacious and her home full of character. 

We feel safe and welcome.

From Arles 5.07.15