March 21 Le Beaux de Provence
Right after lunch Kim and I were off to the bus to join the optional tour to Le Beaux de Provence where I thought the highlight was a visit to a medieval fortress and town on top of a prominent point located on top of a quarry. We had not left the parking area for the bus when the guide informed us we'd be stopping first at the quarry site where Romans had extracted limestone for construction. And there we'd go into a quarry for a light & sound show featuring the work of artist Mark Cheggal.
He is well known for many kinds of art, but especially for painting the ceiling of the Paris Opera. I thought that this would be ok to kill some time, though I didn't understand how we'd see a light show in the middle of the day at the quarry. Well, much to our surprise and utter delight we discovered that the quarry we were going to was UNDERGROUND and the images were reflected on the walls through out the quarry. The photos, and even the video (which will be posted soon) do not do this justice. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and what you cannot tell (though you get a hint by looking at the size of the people in the photos below) is that the quarry was about a football field long AND wide.
He is well known for many kinds of art, but especially for painting the ceiling of the Paris Opera. I thought that this would be ok to kill some time, though I didn't understand how we'd see a light show in the middle of the day at the quarry. Well, much to our surprise and utter delight we discovered that the quarry we were going to was UNDERGROUND and the images were reflected on the walls through out the quarry. The photos, and even the video (which will be posted soon) do not do this justice. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G and what you cannot tell (though you get a hint by looking at the size of the people in the photos below) is that the quarry was about a football field long AND wide.
But it wasn't completely open as you see in the pics, many columns of quarry/limestone were still there making it necessary for you to wander around. While the images were changing and moving a wide variety of music was playing - everything from Janis Joplin, to 1930s jazz, to opera music. The show, we had been told was 45 minutes in length, and I couldn't imagine staying that long but we were fascinated and watched open-mouthed for the entire length of the show.
Afterwards we were back on the bus for a very short ride and then the climb to the top of the village and to walk around amid the ancient buildings and see the panoramic view.
We were back to the ship in time to quickly change, and then head up to the lounge for drinks and celebrate the day before another fabulous dinner.
March 21 Highlight Video
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