We’re starting the day today in Carcassonne. The plan is to hit the road mid-morning, stop for lunch in Arles, then drive the rest of the way to our next home base – Antibes.
We’ve passed through Antibes a time on previous trips, en route to someplace else. Each time we mentioned how Antibes looked like a great place to spend a few days. Now we’ll get to find out.
So Far, So Good
This has been a nice trip so far. We spent four nights in St. Jean de Luz, using it as our home base from which to explore Basque country. I wanted to know more about the Basques, and visits to Bilbao and San Sebastián, plus our time in St. Jean de Luz filled the bill.
The next phase of the trip was a drive through Languedoc and southwestern France, stopping at Pau and spending the night in Carcassonne. Our stopover in Carcassonne didn’t go as expected, but it was nice anyway. A great southwestern French dinner and a bottle of wine saved the day.
Today’s route takes us through Béziers – the same Béziers where the Massacre of Béziers took place. Then we skirt the Mediterranean coast, passing through Montpellier and Nimes before reaching Arles.
Driving in France is fun. Most of the time. The French countryside is beautiful. The roads are good and the French are good drivers. It’s more fun driving out on the highways than in cities, though. Way more fun.
Arles
By the time we arrived in Arles, we were hungry and ready for a break. In my case, a bathroom break. The coffee this morning was good, but why did I have to drink so much?
We like Arles. It’s large enough to have a good selection of places to eat, drink, and hang out, and it’s small enough to have a laid back feel. It has lots of old-world charm.
The ancient Romans liked Arles, too. It was a major Roman destination. Romans being Romans, they built the place up from a village to a city. Roman ruins are everywhere in Arles. There’s even a small colosseum in the center of town.
Arles is, of course, where Vincent Van Gogh created many of his most well-known paintings. He thought the light here was something special. Me, I just want to find les toilettes and have some lunch – in that order!
Où Sont les Toilettes?
We exited the highway and went straight to the center of town. I remembered a few bistros that would be nice to revisit. But when we got into town, some kind of festival was going on.
Just about anyplace we could reach by car had been roped off. The main parking lot had been turned into a small carnival with a ferris wheel and rides for the kids.
We drove further away from festival activities, but it was as if the whole town had shut down for the celebration. My chances of finding les toilettes was better back on the highway than in town.
By the time we found our way back to the highway, my situation was fairly desperate. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before we came to a roadside diner/cafeteria. Not my idea of a place to kick back and have a leisurely lunch, but that was fine with me.
Jambon Buerre
The place was packed, so after my top priority had been taken care of, we bought a jambon buerre and ate it outside. It was delicious. Seriously delicious.
A jambon buerre is a ham-and-butter sandwich. There are only three ingredients: ham, butter, and bread. No mayo. No mustard. No lettuce. No cheese. No tomato. How do they resist the temptation to ruin these fantastic sandwiches by making them more complicated?
A word of warning: don’t try making this sandwich at home. You will be disappointed. It has to be made and consumed in France, preferably at a roadside cafeteria. Maybe that’s the fourth ingredient.
To be continued…
Aerial photo of Arles at the top of this post. Credit: istockphoto/JackF
