Montpellier to Aix-en-Provence

After the 190 km in two days ride, we made it to Montpellier and stayed for the weekend with Adam, a friend of Joel's from Queens, and his fiancée Magali. They have a lovely place in a really interesting area of town right near city hall, surrounded by new condos that all look distinctive and interesting. They are wonderful hosts and do a great tour of the town — monuments, churches, fountains, and all sorts of interesting, winding streets full of people just out and about. We also visited the hillside town of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, which still has a very old monastery that avoided getting sacked and destroyed in the various religious wars. Joel was delighted to learn that he has seen some of the stonework from this monastery and church in The Cloisters in New York, as many ornamental pieces had been pillaged/repurposed for construction in nearby villages and farther away over the years, only to be recollected later.

Adam and Magali taught us how to select wine in France (look for the medallion sticker that indicates the wine has won an award), when to buy bread (the day of, and make sure it's been baked fresh on the premises), and Magali made a delicious dinner of roast chicken and tian (gratin). A great visit with fantastic hosts, thanks again!

We also got to see our dance instructor friend Jered for coffee before we left on Monday. That afternoon we did a 30 km ride out to Aigues-Mortes, a medieval walled city in the salt marsh. We camped outside the city walls and were serenaded throughout the night by ducks in mating season, which was far quieter than if we had been a little further along and surrounded by the frogs!

The next morning we explored the walled city (and its candy shop) before continuing down towards the Camargue. En route we stopped at a winery and then at a grocery on the roadside for some tomatoes and carrots fresh off the farmer's truck.

The Camargue is a national park famous for its salt flats, white horses, black bulls, and pink flamingos. I was very excited to see the flamingos — they're such elegant, vibrant, improbable birds, and many thousands of them live in the Camargue during the summer. As we were there during their migration season we didn't see as many as we might have at other times of year, though there were enough in Montpellier a few weeks earlier to cause issues at the airport. We cycled along the south edge of the Camargue, which is for bicycles and pedestrians only, and stopped periodically to watch the flamingos display, mate, and feed, all in significant wind.

The region does bullfights, but the goal is dancing, not death: the matador has to pluck rosettes and other favours from beneath the bull's horns. We came across a herd of bulls on the other side of a fence, and I coaxed them closer to us with some mooing (thanks Greg, the lesson on moose calls seems to have come in handy!). It was fascinating to watch them run as a herd, and to see the interactions between herd members.

We spent a very windy night camped out just outside the park, and continued the next morning directly into the wind and up to Arles. The city was a major port during Roman times, and has the artifacts to show for it! We thought we had been awed by how old the church and monastery at Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert were, and how we don't have anything like that in Canada, but the Roman-era arena in Arles is twice as old as the church at Guillhem-le-Désert. It has been restored and is still used for bullfights and concerts. It was somewhat incongruous to see  seat numbers spray-painted onto Roman stone, but it makes me bizarrely happy to see it still in full use. 

After a whirlwind tour through Arles (history museum, arena, subterranean Roman forum, ancient baths, and a flamingo photography exhibit), we headed out to camp in a light rain, wind, and a field of yellow and purple wildflowers partway to Aix-en-Provence.

The morning ride into Aix was glorious: wine country, paved roads, lunch on the gorgeous Provençal countryside. We dropped off our bikes in a little Airbnb in the heart of the old quarter and soaked in the pedestrian boulevards, winding cobblestone roads, mossy fountains, and art galleries that make up the vibrant city life. The next day we visited the morning market, selling all sorts of fresh produce, meat, cheese, and lavender. There was even a separate flower market, which looked gorgeous but impractical for cyclists. We visited the Granet museum, which was my first exposure to Cézanne. I was underwhelmed by the pieces on exhibit, but I blame the curator at the time — he vowed that as long as he was in charge, the museum would never display a Cézanne. I was far more impressed by their statues room, which featured Greek and Roman statuary as well as works from the 17th and 18th centuries. 

We then cycled out of Aix-en-Provence to Bouc-Bel-Air, a small town at the top of a hill where we're taking a day for relaxing. Our next stops are Marseille, Cassis, and on through the Côte d'Azur!

Foods of note:

• duck confit and steak tartar at Chez Léon in Montpellier with Magali and Adam
• savoury and sweet crepes in Arles
• bream and steak with chimichurri accompanied by the most delicious mashed potatoes and vegetables at Le Petit Verdot in Aix-en-Provence 
• madeleines in Aix-en-Provence: lemon, orange, vanilla, almond — we didn't find a flavour we didn't love!
• lunch of mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil (plucked straight from the plant) on a fresh baguette
• lavender apricot jam
• lavender cheese so blue it looks like Play-Doh