Part 2 of our travel (Day 2):

After an evening spent in Sete we drove to Arles followed by Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.

Sète a small town situated in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Sète also known as the "Venice" of Languedoc is a small port and a seaside resort on the Mediterranean. It has its own strong cultural identity, tradition and cuisine. The town has multiple interconnected canals linked between the Étang de Thau and the Mediterranean Sea.

Sète hosts the major and famous water jousting tournament during the town festival during last weeks of August every year. Water jousting is a kind of water sport which involves two competing teams with boats. Each team consists of a knight standing on a platform one end of the boat, while the remaining part of the team involves rowers. As the competing boats try to cross each other, the knights with their long barges try to push the opponent off the boat into the water.

Arles being one of the UNESCO's world heritage city - also has an Arena which comes alive during the month of June with activities similar to Roman days. Walking through the narrow streets and in between the ancient buildings one can feel the medival touch. A walk through the main square "Place de la République", one can see the Town hall (hôtel de ville). On to the side of the town hall there is Romanesque Cathédrale Saint-Trophime d'Arles with richly decorated architectural entrance/door. "Place du Forum" is a square with many restaurants and open terrace cafes.

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer is a town in the Bouches-du-Rhône department by the Mediterranean Sea and the capital of Camargue in south of France. The town is situated on the delta of river of Rhone.  There are huge natural reserves and wet lands.  During spring one can see lots of flemingos in this region. There are many horse ranches which also provide guided tours on horseback.  One can also enjoy the sandy beaches and witness cowboys riding the horses through the pastures of bulls. You will get to see huge marshlands with herds of black bulls and white horses - a kind of contrastful view.

Our journey started on an early Sunday morning followed by a Monday (being public holiday) towards South-Eastern part of France towards Languedoc-Roussillon region to the cities of Nimes and Arles.

Part 1 of our travel (Day 1):
Nimes testify to its importance with small and large Roman architectural remains sprinkled across the city.

Arena of Nimes; it reminds you to the similar majestic arena in Rome. Today the amphitheater of Nimes is the best preserved Roman Amphitheater in the world. In 12th century the amphitheater was called Arena (from Latin; Arena = Sand). The arena is made of two levels of arcade and divided into 60 spans.  A capacity 24,000 Gallo-Romans could enjoy the show of Gladiators or animal fighting. It is among the 20 largest Roman amphitheaters of the 400 in existence.

Walking through the Arena you can see different sights of the city and also can learn about the evolution of different weapons and costumes used by Gladiators. There are two expositions inside the Arena; where one of them gladiator's quarters  which display's the evolution of various armours and costumes. The other one being the “Colours of the corrida” section; where one can see the colorful costumes of toreros and matador. Corrida means - a bullfight, especially a program in which six bulls aged at least four years old are engaged. Corrida involves professional toreros (of which the most senior is called a matador) who execute various formal moves according to the bullfighter's style or school.

The Maison Carrée was a temple of the Gallo-Roman city in Nimes. The only ancient temple to be completely preserved till todate. Inside this building you can watch a 3D film lasting 22 minutes long, immersing you in the heart of a thousand-year-old town. The film shows the “Heroes of Nîmes”, takes you back to the heroic past of the city. The 3D technology of the film takes you through the journey of the daily life of an inhabitant of Nîmes during the contemporary festivals. The film is centered around an augur, a major ceremony held in the ancient Roman temples. The gladiators of that era are replaced by the sporting excitement of the tournaments, the discovery of the Pont du Gard, and the visual beauty of a torero’s gestures.

You will get beautiful view of the city from the tip of Tour Magne. You will need to climb up the stairs to reach the top of the tower (do not plan this after a good lunch ;-)).

All the monuments in the city of Nimes are reachable by foot. You can get the city guide map from the Tourism office situated across the street infront of the Maison Carrée. You can also buy combo-ticket (economical) from Maison Carrée which enables you with entry pass to multiple monuments in the city (Masion Carree, Arena and Tour Magne).

Visit our next blog - for more details of our Day 2 travel to Arles - Sete - Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (in Camargue).
Visit our photo gallery for more photos.

Some of the must see places are: "Eiffel Tower" which is one of the most visited monument in the world, is a romantic place to be in the evening when the tower is illuminated with glittering lights every 30 minutes - an amazing moment to cherish.  People have different perspectives to view Eiffel Tower, so there are many locations surrounding Eiffel Tower you can choose. One of the best view of Eiffel Tower can be experienced from Palais de Chaillo.

Paris also being known for its architectural monuments and many museums, one of them being "Musée du Louvre" which is one of world's largest museum and a historical monument which contains the famous painting of "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci.  There is a glass pyramid surrounded by fountains in front of the museum which is very beautiful to see during the evening when illuminated with lights.

	Château de Vincennes

The other museum being "Les Invalides" officially known as L'Hôtel national des Invalides is a huge complex building containing museums and monuments, all related to military history of France. Les Invalides has a dome on the front facade which is rich in architecture.

Paris also has most famous cathedrals like "Notre Dame de Paris" and "Basilique du Sacré Coeur".

One of the interesting castle (château/châteaux) in Paris like the French royal castle "Château de Vincennes" is located to the east of Paris reachable by local metro (RER). There is huge grass meadow on the outer side of the castle where people in the evening like to relax having snacks and drinks. One can find mostly young people dating or in love meeting there in the meadows in afternoon/evening having pizza and some wine.

The amazing "Château de Versailles" is a must see for its architectural  palaces which contains well known "The hall of mirrors" and grand apartments of the Kings and Queens.  The Versailles estate in all its glory contains many large gardens equipped with huge musical fountains. This interesting place is reachable by local metro (train RER-C) buying a "Paris-Versailles Rive Gauche" ticket.

One can be rest assured that all the places of interest in Paris are easily accessible using local metro service (RER, trams, trains...).

Paris is a must visit place once in life time for people who love to taste various kinds of cheese and wine, one who loves history and architecture. And not to miss the shopping lovers who should make sure to visit the street of Champs-Élysées.Disney Land - the magical and dreamland for kids is close to Paris which cannot be missed.

As an ending note, I hope you start planning your holidays to Paris.
Visit our Paris gallery to see more photos.

Please leave your comments, would like to know how you felt.

Recently, I had a request to shoot a real estate in Le Cannet . It is a typical French holiday apartment located in the centre of the old village.

After the photo shoot, we walked down to the old village from the apartment we came across an open area over looking the bay of Cannes offering a beautiful panoramic view.  The heart of old Cannet is just a few minutes of walk from the apartment, one can experience typical French facades, alleys and its architectural heritage.  Walking down the old lanes one can experience the local products like pines, eucalyptus, orange, olives on the hill side slopping.  One can enjoy the look and feel of local restaurants, bistro, cafe bars, epiciers (small shops with local products).

I was so excited meeting a beautiful family living in Valbonne, France. I had a great time chatting, playing with them during their portrait session. So, here's a sneak peek to Chouillou's family with 3 lovely kids; Thao, Malou, Calie full of energy, naughtiness and very cheerful.

Thao, the elder is very calm by nature and likes to play a lot with LEGO set.  He was so passionate and proud talking about his collections. He loves playing football and roller skates too.

Malou, the second of the three is too naughty while very artistic and loves to draw pictures. She also loves roller skates....

Calie, the youngest one, very cute, mix of the above two siblings, loves to play with her LEGO farm house. She loves snails and collects them from their garden.  She loves collecting flowers for her mom.