Thursday 18 March 2010

An awesome sight

Les Baux de Provence, Alpilles
No, we haven't moved to Egypt and the pyramids, we are in the heart of the Alpilles mountain range, a 45 mn drive south of Avignon. The white limestone extracted here was used to build the houses and castle of nearby village of les Baux de Provence. Most of Avignon's buildings are made of that same limestone, which is typical of the region. The quarry is no longer in operation but can be visited and a light and sound show is screened inside. Isn't it a spectacular sight?
Non nous ne sommes pas partis pour l'Egypte et ses pyramides, nous sommes dans les Alpilles, à 45 minutes de route au sud d'Avignon. La pierre calcaire extraite ici a servi à construire le chateau et les maisons du village des Baux de Provence situé juste en contrebas. La plus grande partie des édifices d'Avignon sont construits en pierre calcaire similaire à celle-ci, typique de la région. Aujourd'hui ces carrières ne sont plus en activité mais elles se visitent et un spectacle son et lumière se déroule à l'intérieur. N'est-ce pas spectaculaire ?
For more information about the light and sound show, visit the Cathedrale d'Images website or see this post.

Pour toutes informations complémentaires sur le spectacle son et lumière à l'intérieur, visitez le site de la Cathédrale d'Images ou voyez ce billet.

23 comments:

Olivier said...

l'homme est petit devant la creation, belle perspective

ratatouille's archives said...

Nathalie said,
Isn't it a spectacular sight?


Bonjour! Nathalie,
Oh! yes,...the photograph(s) and the sight is..."very beautiful!"
Merci de partager!
DeeDee ;-D

Penelope Potty Snooper said...

Your eye truly sees beauty in everything.

T. Becque said...

I love the lone figure against all that white.

Amanda said...

It truly is beautiful!

lol said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Owen said...

Oh dear, looks like someone's been spamming...

This place looks fabulous ! Would love to look around. Here in the north of France, in the areas around Compiegne and Soissons, there are many stone quarries that served as shelters for troops during World War One, and in alot of them, the troops carved graffiti and sculptures into the stone, there are many wonderful examples of such artwork still visible...

Brigetoun said...

un rêve d'architecte

Jilly said...

Spectacular! Fascinating to see this old quarry and to see how the blocks were cut out of the rock face.

I stayed in Les Alpilles for a while a few years ago for a wedding that took place in a monastery. Loved it.

Les Baux itself is spectacular too with the views across the valley. And a pretty fabo restaurant there! Have you ever eaten the marrons glaces from here. To die for! I think I must becoming French, Nathalie, as I talk about food all the time!

I wish I'd known about this quarry as I'd love to have visited it.

Nathalie H.D. said...

I'm sorry I just activated the word verification which I know is a pain but this blog just fell victim to a bad bout of spamming and I had to stop it.
My apologies for this extra step you have to take when you make a comment.I'll turn it off tomorrow.

Je suis désolée, je viens d'activer la vérification des mots et je sais que c'est pénible mais mon blog vient de subir les assauts d'un spammeur virulent, il fallait que je l'arrête.
Désolée d'imposer cet effort supplémentaire à ceux qui souhaitent laisser un commentaire, je retirerai cette fonction demain.

Babzy.B said...

superbe !

jeandler said...

Un site exceptionnel... mais quand je l'ai visité, on n'avait pas accés aux carrières.
Cocteau y a tourné un de ses films, Le Testament d'Orphée, je crois.

Michel Benoit said...

Oui Jeandler.
Et c'est pour ça que dans quelques endroits de cette carrière on trouve la pierre sculptée pour les besoins du film de Cocteau.
J'ai visité ces carrières il y a bien longtemps, avant l'implantation de la "cathédrale d'images".
Des aventures quasi-spéléologiques !

Nathalie said...

Ah Michel ça devait être génial !

spacedlaw said...

I'd visited the castle/old city as a child but not the quarry. It is impressive!

chri said...

Un endroit à couper le souffle! Très imposant. Et le spectacle de cette année sur l'Australie? A voir?

Leon Sims said...

In 2007 we stayed a week in St Remy deProvence and visited the Quarries as well the other fine sights in the area. We spent some time watching gliders not far from St Remy and of course enjoyed Avignon and Arles. The area has fond memories for us on the two occasions we have been.
Enjoy your photos as they bring back so many memories. We return to France on Monday for 3 weeks.

yvelinoise said...

Grandiose !

Virginia said...

Absolutely breathtaking!! I 've loved looking back over the posts I've missed. I must keep up here. I need to savor each day and not be rushed! :)
V

Nathalie M said...

Ca serait un écrin parfait pour un musée d'art moderne. Superbe !

Catherine said...

Voir les découpes faites en profondeur et la nature qui jaillit au dessus est assez bluffant.

PeterParis said...

Baux ... bauxite!

One of my eternal regrets is that I didn't buy a piece of land in the Baux valley. My boss at the time, 1968, offered me to buy at a very, very friendly price, but I was a poor guy on a traineeship...!! :-(

Louis la Vache said...

Indeed, spectacular!

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