The Pantheon, the only building from the Roman Empire that has been completely preserved to this day, was built between 27 and 25 BC to worship the gods on Mount Olympia. The main building of the Pantheon that we see today was built by Emperor Adriano the Great between 120 and 124 AD, and all the Roman gods are still worshipped in it.
In 609 AD, the Pantheon was presented to the Pope and then converted into a Catholic church, where many holy relics are kept. The interior of the temple is well-proportioned, with a diameter and height equal to about 43 meters. The base of the dome is built from half of the total height, and the circular curve of the roof continues to extend downward, forming a complete sphere connected to the ground.
The Pantheon is the burial place of great artists, the most important of whom is Raphael; many Italian kings were also buried here after their death. The last attraction is the Mouth of Truth (Boccadellaverita), which is slightly away. The Mouth of Truth is located in the courtyard of Santamaria in Cosmedian.
In fact, it is just a manhole cover from the ancient Roman era. Thanks to the movie "Roman Holiday", it has become a "lie detector". It is said that if you put your hand in its mouth, you can't pull it out if you lie. But we are not afraid~ The focus of this honeymoon trip is not Italy. The trip to Rome hastily ended, and Yunluo and An Chuyu will fly to the south of France.
Italy has a long history and unique culture. I'll come back next time to visit and experience it slowly.
We took an Alitalia flight to the French port city of Marseille. We took a bus from Marseille Airport to the Marseille train station to store our luggage. The train station is located on a small hill, and it is very hard for passengers carrying heavy luggage to catch the train. We walked and then took a bus to the Basilica of Notre Dame de La Garde, which is located at the highest point of Marseille.
Actually, before arriving in Marseille, I didn't have much interest in Marseille. I just knew that Marseille had a harbor and the Chateau d'If. I thought the Chateau d'If was just a prison on an island, and the journey back and forth was a bit tiring, so I gave up decisively. So I just wanted to stay in Marseille for half a day, which was also a visit. But I didn't expect to overlook Marseille from the top of the mountain. The beauty of the scenery was beyond my expectation.
The Basilica of Notre Dame de la Patron was built on the site of a 13th-century chapel, and there is a 16th-century fortress on the hill. The bell tower of the basilica is 60 meters high, and on top is a huge statue of the Virgin Mary. This glittering statue of the Virgin Mary can be seen from almost any angle in Marseille and from the sea a few miles away.
The construction of the church took five years and cost 170,000 tons of materials, including 23 ships of marble and porphyry from Italy. The interior is decorated with marble, mosaics and frescoes. Many of the walls are covered with paintings, model ships, war medals, and even jerseys of players from the Marseille Football Club. Jesus blesses the harbor and all those who go out to sea.
The island on the sea is very close to the land. The wide view makes people feel refreshed. Take bus No. 60 back to the Old Port of Marseille. The Old Port is located in the center of Marseille. It is called the "Old Port" because most of its dock facilities were rebuilt on the ruins after World War II. The local people call it the "Old Port".
Perhaps it is more of a feeling for the place where this generation has lived. The route of the train runs from the Old Port to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guardian. This kind of sightseeing tool is very popular in many European cities. The grandfather looked at the cool vehicle taking the old lady for a ride, and An Chuyu was envious. He found a restaurant at the port.
Taste the famous Marseille fish soup. The poster looks like this: The reality is like this: In fact, all the ingredients listed above are there except for the mussels, but they are all blended into the soup. The taste is pretty good, but the appearance is a little worse. Yunluo ordered the seafood platter, which looks much better. The portion is very large and I feel full after eating it.
After lunch, we walked and took photos, and then strolled back to the train station. At about 6pm, we said goodbye to Marseille and took the TGV train to Avignon. Avignon Day Trip Avignon on July 16. We planned to go to the famous town of Avignon in southern France. Because it was the Avignon Art Festival, the hotel prices in the town center soared, and the cheap hotels were booked out early.
I had no choice but to stay at Kyriadavignoncourtinegaretgv near Avignon TGV station. This hotel is about 1 km away from the TGV station, and there is a direct bus to the town center. The only inconvenience is that there are no restaurants around, and the nearby Carrefour also closes early. Who makes this a suburb?
Take the bus to the town early in the morning. About half an hour later, the bus arrived at Avignon Railway Station. Opposite the railway station is the Avignon city wall. The Avignon Art Festival was founded in 1947 and is held every July and August. It is one of the longest and most influential art festivals in France. At this time, artists from all over the world perform operas in this ancient European city.
Stage plays, showing their respective artistic talents. On sunny days, drama breaks free from the shackles of the stage and becomes a real "citizen drama" on the streets and in the squares. The whole town is occupied by various colorful posters, which makes it very lively. Unfortunately, most of the posters are in French, so Yunluo and An Chuyu can only look at the pictures.
Avignon Theater, there will be many plays performed here every night during the art festival. Artists are everywhere on the streets. Because it is still early, there are not many street performers, so I went to the Palais des Papes first. The Palais des Papes is an ancient palace in the center of Avignon, which was built in 1334.
It is built on a huge rock in the north of Avignon and is the largest and most important medieval Gothic building in Europe. The Papal Palace is not only the palace of the Pope, but also serves as a military fortress. Avignon is deeply favored by the Pope for its peaceful and quiet environment. It once became a papal territory. Six papal elections in history were held in the Avignon Papal Palace.
During the iron-blooded Napoleon era, the Pope's Palace was requisitioned by the French army and became a barracks and prison. After several regime changes and the baptism of war, the Pope's Palace was fortunately preserved. In 1906, the palace was transformed into a national museum. Today, there are more than 20 rooms in it for visitors.
After leaving the Palais des Papes, walk along the street to the Pont Saint-Benezet. The Pont Saint-Benezet is a famous bridge in the Middle Ages, spanning the Rhône River and connecting Avignon and Villeneuve-les-Avignon on the left bank. Legend has it that a young shepherd named Benezet built the bridge over eight years after hearing instructions from a holy voice and being guided by an angel.
The original length of the bridge was about 900 meters. After the great flood in 1668, most of the bridge was destroyed. Only 4 of the original 22 arches are now preserved, becoming the "Broken Bridge" today. Next, please enjoy the performance of street performers. Street acrobatics are of average difficulty, but the performers have rich expressions. They are very dedicated.
Street sketch, seems to be about watching sports games, I don't understand French. There is a mystery here, the person below holds up the bamboo tube with one hand, and the person above supports it with one hand. There must be something hidden to help support it, otherwise it is impossible to support it for dozens of minutes without moving, that is really a martial arts master.
Never mind, just have an ice cream and wait and see... In the end, I still don't understand~ The dance and the song are simple and clear~ Bubbles are always the favorite of children~ Appealing power and sense of humor are necessary to win the audience~ Of course, luxury cars are also full of temptation~ But, it is the food that attracts An Chuyu the most~ because he has to rush back to the hotel in the suburbs.
In order to avoid missing the bus, we retreated from the town before nightfall. Although there were no amazing performances, national art may be the true meaning of the art festival. Having fun and laughter is enough!
This is the most anticipated day of the trip to the south of France, because today we will charter a car to visit lavender and sunflowers, which is the main reason that attracted Yunluo and An Chuyu to come to the south of France. After breakfast, the chartered car driver was already waiting at the hotel, and there was another couple sharing the car. Along the way, the driver introduced Yunluo and An Chuyu to the general itinerary of today and the scenery they were about to see.
It turned out that he was a Chinese student who lived in Paris and Lyon. Every summer, many Chinese tourists chartered a car for tours, so he would pick up tourists in the south of France in July and August to earn some extra money. The price of a 7-seater car was 400 euros per day. He drove around the beautiful scenery every day and earned a lot of money. This was a job Yunluo liked.
There is no point in saying more, let the beautiful pictures speak for themselves. This is the first sunflower field I saw that day. I have never seen such a large field of densely packed sunflowers before. The golden color makes people very excited. However, when I got off the car and went deep into the field, I found that the sunflower disks were smaller than before, and they all drooped under the sun.
It seems that sunflowers don't like the scorching sun. They will wilt if exposed to the sun for too long. The driver said there was a better field ahead. So we drove away. Soon we entered the lavender field area. There were large fields of lavender on both sides of the road. But the driver said that it was a bit late for Valenso at this time, and many lavenders had been harvested.
Only the stumps after harvest were left; some were over-bloomed, and the lavender was purple-black, not the attractive purple color that we longed for. After driving for a long time, we finally chose a grass field that looked good. As soon as the car stopped, Yunluo and An Chuyu jumped into the grass field like caged birds being released and started "clicking".
We got on the bus and moved on to another flower field. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the vast purple lavender field was so beautiful! After playing and taking enough photos, we set off for the sunflower field in front. The flower disk here is indeed fuller than the previous one, and the "waist" is also straighter. As planned, we arrived at the ceramic town at noon.
The town is built on a cliff. It is small but very exquisite. A small market at the entrance of the village. Tasteful cottages. Beautiful flowers everywhere. A dog sleeping soundly with his toy in his mouth... Find a restaurant in the town to have lunch, the food is pretty good~ After lunch, go to another beautiful view - Lake Sainte-Croix.
When I first saw the Sainte-Croix Lake on the mountain road, I was attracted by its clear water. It is located at the entrance of the Verdun Grand Canyon. The Sainte-Croix Dam built in 1974 blocked the river water in the valley, forming the second largest reservoir in France. Every summer, many people come here to climb rocks, swim and row boats.
The surrounding beaches have also been developed into natural bathing areas. We rented a pedal boat and paddled deep into the Verdun Canyon. Below were the mounts of Yunluo and An Chuyu. The narrow canyon was full of kayaks, pedal boats, and electric boats. Some people jumped directly into the lake to swim, and some even climbed up the cliff to perform high cliff diving.
This person jumped into the lake to swim, but couldn't climb onto the boat, so he could only be dragged along at the stern, which was a bit embarrassing. The canyon, the lake, and the occasional wind made it very pleasant to take pictures of An Chuyu. The photographer waved to everyone~ After the lake cruise, we went to the lakeside town of Lessalles-sur-Verdon to stay at the hotel Aubergedessalles.
The town is close to the lake and very quiet. There are flowers everywhere. Before it gets dark, go swimming in the lake and feel the coolness of the water. Soak in the lake, the sun shines on your face, and you can enjoy the physical and mental pleasure brought by nature. I hope that one day, I can take my family on vacation in this town, rent a boat, and float on the lake.
If it's hot, jump in the water and swim. If you're hungry, have a picnic by the lake. It must be a wonderful experience. Wow! There are beauties on the shore! Go back to the room, eat something on the balcony and watch the sunset. There are so many beautiful views on this day that it's a bit overwhelming. Provence, a place that people can't forget.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
After breakfast. The car hasn't arrived yet, so I wandered around Lessalles-sur-Verdon. This is the hotel where Yunluo and An Chuyu stayed. The lounge chairs in the open space behind the hotel. The calm lake in the early morning. At around ten o'clock, the car finally arrived. The driver was replaced by a local Frenchman, who was said to know simple Chinese, but Yunluo felt that he only knew "Hello, it's Xiaobai!"
Why is a French man named "Little White"... Today's main itinerary is three French towns. The first one we arrived at was Aiguines, a town located halfway up the mountain, so it is also called a half-mountain town. Because it was Saturday that day, many shops in the town were closed, and this place is not a popular place for tourists. Therefore, there were almost no people on the street.
The town is very quiet. The scenery on the mountain is very nice, overlooking the entire Sainte-Croix Lake. There is a circus in the open space in the town, with many small animals~ The second stop is Bauduen. This is a Provence town with a population of less than 400 people. There are no crowds of tourists, but the scenery is beautiful. At noon, we had lunch at a restaurant by the lake.
While savoring the food, you can appreciate the beauty of the lakeside town. There are many trees like this in the town. Yunluo thinks it is a chestnut tree, but the locals say it is not. Who can tell Yunluo what this is? Anyway, I learned a word called chestnut. At noon, the people in the town also came under the tree to have lunch.
Having lunch with friends and chatting. Maybe that's how the townspeople spend their weekends. After lunch, we drove for an hour to the small town of St. Paul-de-Vence, which is known as the most famous art town in the world. There are more than 70 studios and art galleries in this town with a population of less than 1,000.
Studio. Picasso once visited here frequently and Matisse lived here for five years. Saint-Paul-de-Vence was invaded twice during the war with Italy in the 16th century. In order to improve its defense capabilities, walls and strong gates were built from 1543 to 1547. Today, the town still retains its medieval walls.
There is a beautiful cemetery deep in the town of Vatican, where you can see the beautiful mountain scenery. No wonder many famous painters and music composers finally chose this place as their final resting place. Walking through the small roads in the town of Vatican, you can see the exquisiteness of the town everywhere, from color matching to pattern embellishment, from furnishings to design.
After the trip to Monaco, it was time to visit another highlight in southern France, the Cote d'Azur. The place I chose to stay in Nice was Room With Avue. I was attracted by its location, close to the old town and the beautiful Bay of Angels. But after arriving, I found out that it was actually the house of a bakery owner.
The service and facilities are a little insufficient, which is a little disappointing. At 6 pm, the sky was still bright, so I decided to go out for a walk. Monaco Monaco Monaco This is the Angel Bay, named because its shape resembles an angel's wing. The sea is blue, and the sea and sky meet, which is refreshing. Climb up the Castle Hill and you can see the panoramic view of the bay from a high place.
Monaco was a little tired today, so I didn't plan to go swimming in the sea. Instead, I came to the old town and felt the charm of the old town with the lively crowd. The Vatican's beautiful and delicious ice cream is not to be missed. I didn't pay attention when I bought it, but later I found out that this is Glacierfenocchio, the number one ice cream shop in Nice.
This is an old brand founded in 1966, with at least 70 or 80 flavors. Monaco originally planned to stay in Nice for a day and take a bath in the sea, but considering that there was no need to waste a day in Nice, after several discussions in the evening, we finally decided to go to Monaco and Eze the next day. I took advantage of the weak wifi signal of the bakery downstairs to browse the guide.
I fell asleep in the bustling night market outside the window. The journey is always full of unexpected beauty. Even if the arrangements are made carefully in advance, there will always be some unexpected surprises inserted into your itinerary, and this time is no exception.
We left the hotel and headed to the pier, planning to take bus No.100 to Monaco. Under the morning sun, the square in the old town was transformed from the hustle and bustle of the night into a fruit and flower market. There were few people on the English Boulevard, except for a few people doing morning exercises. The Bay of Angels was also much quieter, with only the sound of the sea hitting the beach.
We walked along the trail around the Castle Hill and arrived at the harbor. We found the bus and headed to Monaco. From Nice to Monaco, we had to go through Villefranche-sur-Mer and Eze. The sea view along the way was indescribably beautiful. No wonder some people say that this section of the road is the most beautiful coastline in the Mediterranean. The photo effect was not good during the drive, so I regret not being able to take any photos. (To be continued...)