Saturday 16 September 2023.

We were privileged to have a visit from Sylvia’s Mum, Rosie and partner, Lardy, along with her uncle Roger, aunt Wendy and their friend Alan, who had al arrived just before I headed to London. They had spent the week while I was away exploring the local sites and relaxing by the pool.

Sylvia had read about this old quarry in the Baux en Provence region where bauxite, used in the manufacture of aluminium, was first discovered in the 1800’s. Like the submarine pens we had visited last year in Bordeaux it has been turned into a digital art gallery.  Situated only 45 minutes east of here we headed off for a morning drive.

In 1935 this was set up as a quarry to extract limestone for local construction. We headed up a rather narrow road and managed to find a park just across the road from the entrance. When we first entered before the show it almost looked like the place had been boxed up and concrete poured. The marks, it turned out, were from the saw cuts. One person used a hand saw to cut the stone, extracting about 2 square meters in blocks each day per person. This turned out apparently to be the most efficient way to do it. The place is quite impressive with large columns left in place to hold up the roof.

The art show got underway with art from an array of artists from Vermeer to Van Gogh. This is best described in the pictures.

After the show was over we moved into the Cafe for some lunch but within 30 minutes we were ushered out to make way for the people coming in for the next show.

We made our way back down the narrow road through the valley passing a number of large chateaus to the old city of Arles with its 200 year old stadium situated on the banks of the Rhone river.

There our visitors enjoyed a wander around the old city.

Lardy, Sylvia and her mum (right) on the banks of the River Rhone