Sheila made it to Arles from Gainesville. Sooz and I picked her up at the Montpellier airport Tuesday and have been busy checking out historic sites, markets and shops in Arles. It's been fun to see France through her eyes. On our way back from the airport in Montpellier we stopped in Nimes for touristy stuff and food.
Antique walking path markers in Arles
Time to do some catching up. In Heidelberg we turned in the GS for shipping to Florida and picked up a rental car. After leaving Heidelberg in the rental car we drove to Dijon, France, where the mustard comes from. We stayed there 2 nights. Our son Sam and his girlfriend Miranda stayed there a couple of days when they came to visit us in Switzerland and they loved Dijon so we decided to check it out. It was a long drive.
You have heard the saying that your attitude affects your perception. Well, our attitude when we pulled into Dijon was tired, grumpy, hungry and looking for a place to stay (we had not made reservations ahead of time because we weren't sure how far we would drive). We drove into the Dijon old town, which reminded me of what I have read about Hemingway living in the Left Bank in Paris - run down, a little dirty and a Bohemian lifestyle - not bad, in fact it was kind of fun and interesting, just not what we were expecting. After finding a hotel the dinner we had was not very good and our room was very small. It was not a favorable first impression.
After a fairly decent night's sleep, breakfast and coffee, we headed downtown. We trusted Sam and Miranda's positive impression of Dijon so I did a little investigation finding where the historic town square was and drove there from our hotel. It was like an entirely new town and experience presented itself. The town square and area around it is beautiful. There are historic public buildings, museums, restaurants and shops. We were blown away and really enjoyed ourselves. It just goes to show how our attitudes and fatigue influenced our perceptions. After resting up and investigating a little, we saw a whole new city and had a great time.
The next day we drove to Valence, stayed one night and then drove to Arles, France where we will be staying in a Vrbo for 10 nights. We pick up our friend Sheila tomorrow at the Montpellier airport and she stays in the 2nd bedroom at our Vrbo for a week.
Arles
Me, contemplating my navel, on our rooftop in Arles
