The Paint and the Pedantry
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The Paint and the Pedantry

For many years, Aix-en-Provence had cornered the market for Picturesque Market Towns In Southern France. Easy-to-reach (just over an hour by train from Marseille) and pretty-to-look-at, it ticks all the important boxes for visitors. If you came from Northern Europe or North America and wanted to see a Typical Town In Provence, old men playing…

Burgundy Borderlands – The Discreet Charms of La France Profonde
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Burgundy Borderlands – The Discreet Charms of La France Profonde

The past is a foreign country, as even people know who have not read “The Go-Between” (or seen the movie). But whereas the opening statement of L.P. Hartley’s novel refers to past habits and customs (“they do things differently there”), one can just as easily apply the phrase to the looks and the structures of…

Fontaine Gardens of Nîmes: Rococo, the Romans and the Charms of Modernity
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Fontaine Gardens of Nîmes: Rococo, the Romans and the Charms of Modernity

Here is a strange thing: some neighbouring cities, although physically very close to each other, have a totally different look and feel. Take Nîmes and Arles, two close neighbours in the south of France. They share, inevitably, some characteristics, but it is the differences that stick out. Arles is the quintessential small town in Provence:…

Oltrarno – Frumpier Sister of Florence but More Fun
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Oltrarno – Frumpier Sister of Florence but More Fun

To tell you the truth about our recent trip to Tuscany: Florence and the Easy Hikers did not quite hit it off this time. Florence, of course, will survive this, but so shall we. We had visited Florence before, many years ago, and still have pleasant memories from this trip. What has changed in the…

Florence and the Arno : Far From the Glitz and the Madding Crowds
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Florence and the Arno : Far From the Glitz and the Madding Crowds

For a country with one of the longest coastlines in Europe, Italy – it has always seemed to me – has a surprisingly large number of large landlocked cities: Milan, Turin, Florence.  Even Rome, strictly speaking, has no sea harbour (Ostia is more than 30 km away). What is the common secret of these places?…

Monaco Sculpture Trail: Public Art for the Huddled Masses
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Monaco Sculpture Trail: Public Art for the Huddled Masses

Here is one point that even the grumpiest visitor of Monaco must concede: the principality is not stingy with its wealth. It provides spotlessly clean and ultra-safe streets (with police officers at every other corner and a dense array of high-tech CCTV systems), while lifts and escalators help the tired huddled masses of visitors along…

Strolling Through Monaco From End to End
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Strolling Through Monaco From End to End

Some people find it fashionable to sneer at Monaco. There is nothing categorically wrong about sneering, I enjoy the occasional sneer as much as anybody, but for people who are travelling to see the world, it is the most counterproductive attitude you can imagine. After all, travelling is all about discoveries: about finding new things…