Even tho the title is in French, I think it needs no translation. After a dreary winter where we hardly ever went out, we've now been out twice in 2 weeks (remember our Jazz concert last weekend). As we approach summer, there will be even more to blog about, something which I'm looking forward to - to introduce more of this area where I live.
Camargue is a region in the south of France, just west of Marseille, that is made up of wetlands, pastures, dunes & salt flats. It provides grazing for sheep, cattle & horses (there is even a breed of horse known as Camargue) - cowboy country. When we were there 2 years ago, the regional park blew me away. It's unlike the rest of France. The land is very flat & you just drive past ranch after ranch & all you see are horses, bulls & flamingos - I've never seen so many flamingos in the wild before.
The fair in Aubenas is a yearly event & this is the first time we're attending. There are tents of booths, play area for children, many exhibits & drinking stations (very much a social event) but we were only interested in the horse show. The arena is within a big tent with a restaurant occupying half the space. I was surprised at how crowded the restaurant was, X figured most of the patrons were probably out of towners (we did notice a lot of "foreign" license plates in the parking lot). I mean why would anybody want to have a meal next to an arena with sand flying as the horses gallop past ? Well obviously not everyone thinks like me.
The children really enjoyed the show - we went with X's niece (she was particularly thrilled cos one of the performers, a feisty lass handling the horses, is her age). The Girl who loves horses was just mesmerised . I have a feeling we may be paying for riding lessons as soon as she is old enough to ride. Overall it was a competent show & I left with a new found respect for horse handlers.
Camargue is a region in the south of France, just west of Marseille, that is made up of wetlands, pastures, dunes & salt flats. It provides grazing for sheep, cattle & horses (there is even a breed of horse known as Camargue) - cowboy country. When we were there 2 years ago, the regional park blew me away. It's unlike the rest of France. The land is very flat & you just drive past ranch after ranch & all you see are horses, bulls & flamingos - I've never seen so many flamingos in the wild before.
The fair in Aubenas is a yearly event & this is the first time we're attending. There are tents of booths, play area for children, many exhibits & drinking stations (very much a social event) but we were only interested in the horse show. The arena is within a big tent with a restaurant occupying half the space. I was surprised at how crowded the restaurant was, X figured most of the patrons were probably out of towners (we did notice a lot of "foreign" license plates in the parking lot). I mean why would anybody want to have a meal next to an arena with sand flying as the horses gallop past ? Well obviously not everyone thinks like me.
The children really enjoyed the show - we went with X's niece (she was particularly thrilled cos one of the performers, a feisty lass handling the horses, is her age). The Girl who loves horses was just mesmerised . I have a feeling we may be paying for riding lessons as soon as she is old enough to ride. Overall it was a competent show & I left with a new found respect for horse handlers.
You forgot to mention the mosquitoes :-).
ReplyDeleteBut I like the region very much. Like I do everywhere else in France. Beauty of this country, every region is different and beautiful.
thought those pinkish birds only exist in the tropics!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember any mosquitoes. Maybe because we were not there in the summer.
ReplyDeleteCamargue has a wild sort of beauty.
Meng - haha just because you see them in the bird park.