Geneva via Orange
So after our 'camp' breakfast we set off for Orange, this had been another stop for Rachel and James during their OE.
The town is renowned for its Roman architecture and its Roman theatre, the Théâtre antique d'Orange, and is described as the most impressive still existing in Europe. The fine Triumphal Arch of Orange, theatre and surroundings were listed in 1981 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The Musée (Museum) across the road from the amphitheatre displays many of the roman antiquities discovered in and under the theatre when it was excavated and restored.
This is a part of a mosaic floor
We spent some time learning about the history of this amazing place, all donned our headphones and sat in various parts of the theatre imagining what it was like in roman times, medieval times, and of course the current day as it is used still for staging operas and theatre performances. It's history is quite fascinating, so I have copied the following extracts from Wikipedia:
"When William the Silent, count of Nassau, with estates in the Netherlands, inherited the title Prince of Orange in 1544, the Principality was incorporated into the holdings of what became the House of Orange-Nassau. This pitched it into the Protestant side in the Wars of Religion, during which the town was badly damaged. In 1568 the Eighty Years' War began with William as stadtholder leading the bid for independence from Spain. William the Silent was assassinated in Delft in 1584. It was his son, Maurice of Nassau (Prince of Orange after his elder brother died in 1618), with the help of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, who solidified the independence of the Dutch republic. The United Provinces survived to become the Netherlands, which is still ruled by the House of Orange-Nassau. William, Prince of Orange, ruled England as William III of England. Orange gave its name to other Dutch-influenced parts of the world, such as the Oranges (West Orange, South Orange, East Orange, Orange) in New Jersey, USA, and the Orange Free State in South Africa."
Between this time and its restoration townsfolk built their houses inside the theatre, I think there were about 68 houses and businesses, it was apparently like a little city in itself, and
thanks to one forward looking city father who recognised the historical and archeological value of the theatre, the houses were demolished and the theatre became an archeological site with many more valuable items coming to light.
"In 1869, the Roman theatre was restored and has been the site of a music festival. The festival, given the name Chorégies d'Orange in 1902 has existed annually ever since, and is now famous as an international opera festival. In 1971, the "New Chorégies" were started and became an overnight, international success. Many top international opera singers have performed in the theatre, such as Barbara Hendricks, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Roberto Alagna, René Pape and Inva Mula. Operas such as Tosca, Aida, Faust and Carmen have been staged here, many with a sumptuous staging and also receiving outstanding acclaim.
The Roman theatre is one of three heritage sites at which the Roman wall remains."
Well that took over three hours, so we were ready for lunch and found a cafe right across the street, I had carpaccio de boeuf which is very thinly sliced raw beef on a plate with sliced lemon. Yum, it tasted just like the tenderest fillet steak. I had a lovely salad (the French do salads well too, especially the dressings) and of course French bread to break up and finish off the juices.
So, feeling refreshed we set off on our journey again heading for our hotel in Geneva. We were making good time and admiring the changing countryside heading towards the Swiss border. In order to get to our hotel we had to pass through the border, and then come back into France. Strange but true. We were armed with our passports , driving licences, and of course 40Swiss Francs (about NZ$70), but following our tour guide's sage advice to get into the right queue we had no problem at all. Both James and Rachel have only just had to exchange their NZ driving licence for a French one, and unfortunately James had left his at work, so we had a contingency plan organised with a quick 'unobtrusive' driver change should this become an issue, however we got through without a hitch and away we went and stuck our 'Autobahn Vignette' on the window. Five minutes later we entered back into France and thanks to Ken, arrived at our hotel ready for some R and R.
It was a lovely hotel, and in its hey day would have been very swish, such clean lines, big rooms, renovated bathrooms, and we were all very comfortable there. Perhaps a little frayed around the edges, the hotel could do with some maintenance now, but much better reception than the previous night. We also ordered breakfasts as our store of food had dwindled and was a little the worse for the heat!! However at €8 per adult and €4 per child it was a bargain, croissants, cold cuts of meat, a variety of cheeses, and of course the usual cereals, toast and spreads, it reminded me of the lovely breakfasts we had on our tour of Europe in 2011.
We wandered around the town to see if there was anything open for dinner (it was Sunday after all) but began to feel a little doubtful as all we could see open were a couple of pubs selling alcohol, but no food and they seemed a bit rowdy for the kids. So we wound our way back to the hotel (they only did breakfasts) and asked the hansome Italian guy at reception if there was anything open, "Ofa course, the Pizza place, I worka there lasta year, they alwaysa open!" And so off we went and sure enough the Pizza place was open but with gluten free diets that wasn't a good option. But what was a good option was the Moroccan restaurant next door. We had a great meal, lots of salads, and meats on skewers, couscous, and Harisa soup, delicious but HOT, and I had my first Kofta Tagine, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a little cooler that night so we slept better, and were looking forward to arriving in Switzerland the next day.
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