CF de Provence

At the moment we are busy rooting around on the internet for possible gites (cottages) to stay in during an upcoming trip to France. The plan is that we'll spend a few days in Paris in October and then meet up with some friends in Provence.

I've visited France often but never stayed in Provence before. We're looking for something east of Avignon

Maybe this trip I'll get a chance to ride on the Chemins de Fer de Provence - the little metre gauge line that trundles down from Digne to Nice in three hours. They even have occasional steam services in summer but in October I guess the best I can hope for is one of the venerable railcars they have, like this very Gallic looking Reneault.

Amazing that this fragment of French narrow-gauge has hung on like this. Sadly the old terminus at Nice - which I visited about 15 years ago - is no longer in use. The Gard du Sud was an amazing building which hopefully will get restored soon as an art gallery, but now the line stops a few hundred metres away avoiding the city streets. When I was there olive sellers used to bring their produce down from the hills on the morning train