Arles, Aix en Provence, Hte Alps de Provence

Hey all, have a bit of time spare now so will add some text....

Well we went through Arles on our way to Aix, and found it in a state of easter induced chaos, much resembling a huge street carnival, with central roads closed to traffic and stalls lining the streets. We found a dodgy park eventually and joined the craziness; wandered through the park in the centre of town and it's surrounding streets. We encountered many colourful bands along the way (including the brass band playing some random tunes) and many horses (?) for some reason - there must have been a show or something as there where a hundred or so along the main street. The celebrations, although lively, weren't quite what we were looking for, so we got on our way to Aix-en-Provence.

Now somewhere it must be mentioned that the charger for both cameras was lost en route somewhere back a few days, so we were limited in our photos and battery life, hence the lack of photos for this post. Anyway, that's been resolved now and Gavin's digital SLR is now back in action at least.

So, Aix.... Aix was much more reserved than Arles, and we spent our time there looking around the old town and it's main pedestrian street, as well as taking in a little down time relaxing in Cezanne's park (photo above). It seemed the whole town was here too, celebrating easter with their families and enjoying the sun. Aix was definately a cool place to visit if you are ever in provence.

After spending the night in Aix, we decided to take a little detour and check out the Hte. Alps of Provence, keen for a change of scenery. We were really happy we did this as there are some spectacular sights to be seen. We drove through Sisteron and Gap, before heading east through the alps. Such steep terrain and snow capped mountains reminded Gav of Austria, and was quite the contrast to provence. On our way back down to the coast for the night, we had to duck in to Italy briefly near Cuenco, then back out to France again, due to some closed roads through the passes of the Alps. The photo conditions weren't the greatest and don't do the Alps justice - again, we would highly recommend visiting this area if anyones in the region.

Next it was time for some sun on the coast.... :)