This red squirrel (look at his tufted ears!) was in our cypress trees this morning. I love his ears. I’ve also heard what I think is a Eurasian Eagle Owl several nights around 9 while I am reading. There are 50 breeding pair of these birds in the St. Remy area–the most anywhere in France.
A bit more than an hour southeast of St. Remy, Marseilles was our destination today. Christophe drove us there and gave us an overview of the sites in his 8 passenger van. On our way we drove through allées of plane trees that are more filled out every day. Near Orgon we saw small fields and orchards separated by tall cypress hedges. The cypress trees are planted in thick hedges to protect them from the mistral winds. Salon de Provence has a military training base and we saw the seven jet team, Patrouille de France, practicing. They are a team like the Blue Angels based in Pensacola. Nostradamus was born in St. Remy but he lived most of his life here. The Marseilles airport is across some small mountains about 25 miles north of Marseilles and its runway juts into a big salt marsh. We watched yellow amphibious water bomber planes practice landing and taking off. The port of Marseilles is the second largest in Europe and could be the largest except that the unions striking (often) discourage ships from stopping here.
In 1660 Louis XIV had Fort Saint-Jean and across the entrance to the harbor Fort Saint-Nicholas built to protect the old port of Marseilles. The tower is part of Fort Saint-Jean and you can see a bit of Fort Saint-Nicholas in the background.
Christophe described Le Panier as the Montmartre of Marseilles–the oldest part of the city but we didn’t venture to that part of Marseilles.
We saw the Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille and a small lighthouse and residences across from the contemporary art museum.
On a big hill overlooking the old port of Marseilles is the Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde. Inside along with the beautiful altar and walls were mobiles of ships. The gold madonna on top of the basilica is thought to watch over both Marseilles and in particular the men of the city while they are at sea.
The Château d’If is a fortress (and a prison at one time) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul archipelago and less than a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille. It is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas’ adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo, one of my favorite novels. We were disappointed that the season for tours of the prison begins tomorrow.
After our 360 view of Marseilles from the basilica, we had lunch at La Nautique–a restaurant for one the yacht clubs in the harbor and enjoyed the beautiful boats.
Christophe drove along the water on our way out of Marseilles and headed northwest toward St. Remy. He wanted us to see another beautiful 360 view from the top of a mountain near Orgon. The church on top of the mountain (aren’t they all!), Notre Dame de Beauregard, has been through a lot over many years. We entered the church to peaceful (recorded) organ music and enjoyed its relatively simple beauty.
Isabel de Gea , potter in residence, is the guardian and gardener of this lovely historical place. She is assisted by an organization from Orgon who helps maintain the church and grounds
We could smell the wisteria before we could see it.
And, the views of the valley from here were breathtaking. The Luberon Mountains are in the distance with the village of Orgon in the valley; the cypress hedges block the Mistral winds; a high speed train whirs along and the Durance River flows in the foreground.
And, it was a 360 degree view as described by this piece of art.
It was another beautiful and enjoyable day in Paradise!
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