Provence

One of the most interesting aspects of Provence was arriving there.  I drove the A75 highway south over the Millau Viaduct, which at 890 feet (270 meters) is the highest bridge in the world.

Much as I expected, the view is better from somewhere other than on the deck of the bridge, as you cannot see much while navigating the high speed traffic and curvature of the bridge.  I can say that it has clear plastic-looking panels along the side which initially look like suicide barriers.  But it becomes apparent that they are in fact, wind barriers which must be critically important many days a year to prevent trucks from blowing over and cars from just inconveniently exiting the bridge sideways.

In Provence, I was most interested in Van Gogh's Arles.

Many European cities have been so cleaned up and renovated that they do not relate well to my ideas of French cities and those in other countries.  But Arles in many ways is not radically changed from when Van Gogh lived there.  The grand Rhone flows through in a wide channel.  A lot of the buildings are old and the alleys narrow.

I also visited Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and several other cities along the coast.  Frankly, I was impatient with the whole area.  France is the most visited country in the world receiving 80 million foreigners per year.  How does it feel to be Mr. 69,876,231 ?    I suppose about 30% better than being Mr. 79,999,999. It is all too crowded to feel the emotional connection to history that motivated the traveller in the first place.