Day 14

The Carmargue wetlands are a natural reserve in the southeast part of France, not far from Arles (largest river delta in all Western Europe). Wild horses and bulls run free there and so jumped at the chance to ride horses in this preserve.

From there headed to Marseilles and stared at the Vieux Port and the rest of the city on the terrace enjoying a Pastis! Great views of the two Forts at the entrance to the harbour, Fort Saint-Jean and and Saint-Nikolaas (buit in 1660) and the Marseilles Cathedral built in 1896).

Day 13

After spending some time at Musee Granet in Aix , droppped by Les Deux Garcons (where Cezanne hung out) on Le Cours Mirabeau for a last cappucino before heading northwest to Arles.

First a stop in Les Baux-de-Provence, remains of an ancient castle, Chateau des Baux, built in the 10th century and one of the most visited sites in all of France.

In Arles, the Ampitheatre with a capacity 20,000 is the 2nd oldest Roman amphitheatre in the world (oldest is in Pompeii) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Then it was used for chariot racing and bloody hand-to-hand batttles, now bull fighting, plays and concerts.

Ended up at Le Cafe La Nuit where Van Gogh painted his second most famous painting, Cafe Terrace at Night (1888) on the Place du Forum (his most famous is Starry Night).

Day 12

Spent the day bumbering around Aix-en-Provence looking in shops, markets, bookshops and cafes. From Cours Mirabeau (beautiful tree-lined street with shops) to Hotel de Ville to Cathedral Saint-Sauveur in the medieval part of Aix and the many plazas and fountains in between.

Aix is often referred to as the city of a thousand fountains. Ended up at a restaurant at Aix's most famous fountain, La Fonatine de La Rotonde, for dinner.

Day 11

Heading to Aix-en-Provence in the South of France today by TGV. Amazing scenery.

The TGV now runs fast trains from Brussels to Paris in 1 hour 20 min and a 3 hour train from Paris to Aix-en-Provence, home of Paul Cezanne, the famous French impressionist painter.

These trains operate at 300km per hour, similar to the bullet trains in Japan. California will be soon be undertaking its most expensive public works ever by linking San Francisco with Los Angeles by fast train, travel time will be 2 hours. Estimated cost, $45Billion.

Day 10

Spent a relaxing Sunday in and around Sint-Martens-Latem, a rather exclusive suburb of Gent, Belgium famous for its painters (Gustave de Smet and others), beautiful walking trails and magnificent homes. The area is unique, as it has forested sanded dunes formed in the last Ice Age.

Down a cobblestone path or 'weg' from where we stayed is the village of Deurle where we enjoyed beers and waffles and watched roosters, geese and horses go by. The area has changed very little since 1774 as shown on a map of that time.

Day 9

En route to Gent, in the Flemish speaking area of Belgium. We're here to sample Belgium beer.

From the 11th to 13th centuries, there was only one other city in Europe larger than Gent, Paris. Much of the Gent's medieval's archicture has remained intact, the top sites being the Three Towers of Ghent (Sint Niklaas church, Sint Baafs cathedral, and Belfort belfry tower). Also in town is an amazing castle (Gravensteen, castle of the counts) built in the 1100s and a super modern restaurant called Belga Queen.

Day 8

In Den Haag today, site of the Dutch government and royalty. Drove by the Dutch royal residence (Huis ten Bosch or House in the Woods) and then stopped into the Gemeente Musuem built in Art Deco style in the 1930s where we saw a Jeff Wall photo of Concord Pacific Place!

Then to one of Den Haag's suburbs, Wateringen, an area of Holland known for its tomatoes, cucumbers and 'kassen' or glass houses, greenhouses.