Les Baux and Glanum

There were two big items on today's docket and we happened on a third.  We took the autoroute north from Aix and continued on back roads towards Les Baux-en-Provence.  Six kilometers away we noticed a parade forming in the town of Eyguieres.  Rob can't pass up a parade so we stopped and watched a long line of elaborately dressed horses, wagons covered with tree branches, a women's dance group, and a choreographed group who swung whips of some sort.  Signage suggested this was a festival of Saint Eloi.

Les Baux from its castle

Finally we arrived at the very touristy but quite interesting town of Les Baux. It sits atop a rocky outcrop in the Alpilles mountains and is crowned with a ruined castle. During the middle ages it was the seat of a powerful feudal lordship and renowned for its ornateness and culture.  The castle eventually fell to the Manville family and then to the Grimaldi family of Monaco.  Exploring the extensive ruins requires some climbing skills but provide fine views of the town below and the countryside. In 1821 the aluminum ore bauxite was discovered (Les Baux gave it its name), and there was also extensive quarrying of the limestone in the area.

Our castle tickets included a multimedia show at the Carrieres de Lumieres which is the former limestone quarry.  We didn't know what to expect but the setting made the experience memorable.  To the sound of classical music, paintings by de Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo were projected onto the walls and floor.  The photos really don't convey the effect, especially without the movement and music.

Glanum

At 4:30 we departed Les Baux and rode to Glanum, a Roman town with extensive ruins. The information plaques include drawings of the buildings as they might have looked through various phases of the city's history from Celtic to Roman and later. We wandered through the ruins with a few other tourists and departed at 6:30 for the 40 minute ride to Arles, home to Van Gogh and several Roman ruins, one of which is visible from our hotel window.