<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Our week in Provence was in three parts - Avignon, Aix en Provence and Arles.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We flew out of Stansted. Ryanair took off 45 mins late which meant our arrival in Marseille gave us 15 minutes to get from airport to station. For the first time ever I used Uber and the driver managed to save the day, delivering us to the station with 2 minutes to share.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Avignon</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Two nights but only one full day here so we had to make the most of the town. Our hotel was close to the station and just outside the town wall.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:gallery {"linkTo":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped"><!-- wp:image {"id":8709,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Provence-Avignon1Oct24-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8709"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":8708,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Avignon-papal-palaceOct24-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8708"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":8710,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Avignon-surlepontOct24-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8710"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image --></figure>
<!-- /wp:gallery -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>A walled town is great to explore because you can never get lost once you are inside the walls. We visited many of points of interest including the Papal Palace and of course the bridge (sur le pont D'Avignon). The area was under a flood threat and it wasn't possible to walk on the bridge but I don't think we missed much.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Aix en Provence</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaId":8711,"mediaLink":"https://pigyard.com/wordpress/?attachment_id=8711","mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":34} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:34% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Aix-CezannewalkOct24-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8711 size-full"/></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Content…"} -->
<p>We caught an early morning train via Marseille to Aix en Provence. It was straightforward to call an Uber to take us to our hotel on the edge of the city. I'd never used Uber before and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaPosition":"right","mediaId":8713,"mediaLink":"https://pigyard.com/wordpress/?attachment_id=8713","mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":40} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:auto 40%"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Content…"} -->
<p>After checking in to our hotel we met up with Clive and Tricia. We walked through the Saturday market before heading up to a location used by Cezanne. I managed to capture a similar view over 100 years on.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Cezanne-original.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8713 size-full"/></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaId":8715,"mediaLink":"https://pigyard.com/wordpress/?attachment_id=8715","mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":23} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:23% auto"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/CliveTricia-AixOct24-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8715 size-full"/></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Content…"} -->
<p>On our first night in Aix, Clive and Tricia took Helène and I out for dinner for my birthday (75th in case you were wondering)</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>It was a great meal with an excellent host.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:media-text {"mediaPosition":"right","mediaId":8714,"mediaLink":"https://pigyard.com/wordpress/?attachment_id=8714","mediaType":"image","mediaWidth":35} -->
<div class="wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile" style="grid-template-columns:auto 35%"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"><!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Content…"} -->
<p>We arranged a rental car through our travel agent on the understanding we could collect it in the afternoon. When we arrived we were told the car had been hired out because we didn't collect it by midday. We were given no alternative but a much bigger car at a cost of 100 euros more. We weren't given a handover and simply told the car was two streets away. Appalling service from Europcar and my review reflected it.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>We did park the car in an underground car park in the city centre one night only to find we couldn't get  it out because of it's size and poor turning circle. I had to reverse it into a space at the bottom of the ramp and then get out. It was very, very close.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Provence-Hire-carOct24-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8714 size-full"/></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:media-text -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>On day two in Aix we collected Clive &amp; Tricia from their hotel and headed up to the <a href="https://www.theluberon.com/villages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Luberon Valley</a>. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:gallery {"linkTo":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped"><!-- wp:image {"id":8716,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luberon-valley1Oct24-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8716"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":8717,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luberon-valley2Oct24-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8717"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->

<!-- wp:image {"id":8718,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://pigyard.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Luberon-valley3Oct24-768x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-8718"/></figure>
<!-- /wp:image --></figure>
<!-- /wp:gallery -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Cute village after cute village and the views kept coming. Sometimes it's worthwhile to stop taking photos and just appreciate the sunshine and atmosphere.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Arles</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Onwards to Arles. The hotel wasn't in the best of locations and unfortunately didn't meet our expectations. The room was hot and infested with mosquitoes. In the first 5 minutes I'd used a hand towel to kill 20 and the towel was blood stained. It seems the air conditioning had been turned off because </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->