Du Vin Chaud

One thing that Europeans do very well is Christmas Markets. Montpellier was no exception, however not on the level of those found in and around Berlin or some of the other locations I visited. This post is long overdue (as I speak, it's 20 degrees celsius/70 degrees fahrenheit, and the first of March), but that's what you get when you're off doing other things.

Our Christmas market was based in La  Place de la Comédie. Being the South of France, it still wasn't that cold here in Montpellier, so they simulated coldness by using white and blue coloured lighting (they needed to wait until early February for the two-week spell of Siberian temperatures!).

For several weeks, the thing to do around here was to meet up with friends, drink mulled wine (vin chaud) and wander around the market . . . snacking on all of the wonderful food options and running into other people in and about the temporary log cabins set up in the square.

Arles: more than just my painting.

So, as you've already read, I went to Arles with one thing in mind . . . to sit in my favourite painting. While there, I discovered so much more.

Arles is a city with a lot of history. It has some amazing Roman monuments, the earliest of which come from the 1st century BC. While there, I was able to visit both the gladiator's arena, and the theatre. Van Gogh painted a picture of a bullfight the arena, entitled Les Arènes. Bullfighting is still very popuular in Arles, thankfully I wasn't around for one, because that is definitely one sport that isn't my thing. These sites are listed under the UNESCO World Heritage site, and you can read more about them here.

To be honest, though, it was the medieval streets that drew me into Arles. The winding layouts, ingeniously engineered (like Montpellier's) to minimise the effects of the heavy Mistral winds and reduce problems with wind tunnels  . . . beautifully coloured shutters, and winding plants creeping up the sides of walls, giving the houses character and life.

In addition to this, perhaps because of Van Gogh's legacy, here and there throughout the city you can find evocative street art.

This is the first time I've seen JR's street art in real life (watch the Ted Talk if you don't know who JR is). Turns out, this is actually one location he was invited to . . . but regardless, it was really exciting for me to see and recognise his art (although, it's incredibly recogniseable, so that's not much of a badge of honour). Here's a link to a facebook album showing some of the work that went on behind the scenes of the Inside Out project in Arles.

And, it was really quite fun to see the other Van Gogh locations . . .

Starry Night Over the Rhone . . . although not seen at night (my train to go back to Montpellier left at 7:30pm, before nightfall in the lovely summertime).

Café Terrace at Night (again, seen not at night)

And last but not least, I found, and ate, something like a GIANT Griffins Shrewsberry. I asked the woman at the patisserie the name for this delicacy, but I can't remember what she said . . . so instead, you just have to look and salivate in ignorance. Put your hands together to make a circle, and that's the size of this beast!

Climate Lesson

Dunedin is on the East Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is classified as temperate, and might be considered similar to San Francisco. Weather is very changeable (remember this adjective if you ever visit and are considering what to pack); you can often have four seasons in one day.

Dunedin climate, historical averages.

Temperature, celsius	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	14.7	14.7	13.4	10.7	7.6	4.9	4.8	6.5	8.6	10.5	11.9	13.8	10.2

Rainfall, millimeters	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	70	41	61	54	59	48	45	50	47	57	57	70	55

Wind Run, kms	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	168	156	156	144	156	132	132	144	168	180	180	168	157

Sunshine, hours	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Average
Previous Averages	174	165	143	128	99	98	100	122	134	162	169	182

 * 1749 to 2003 (http://www.climate.co.nz/)

The hills that surround the city mean that the lowland town area is often more sheltered, whereas up here on Pine Hill, or Mt. Cargill it can get pretty windy. With our hills and valleys you can get anabatic and katabatic winds. Mt Cargill can trap the rain coming in from the Southeast, and leave the other side completely sunny in the Mt's rain shadow. This results in the roadtrip effect . . . whereby as people return from holiday in central otago or further up the coast, and come over the hill into Dunedin, inexplicably it starts to rain :)

The average yearly rainfall is 660mm, but feels like more because it tends to arrive as a mist/drizzle that persists. Of the main centers in NZ, Dunedin is the coolest, as it's found the furthest South.

Read the Dunedin City Council's Report on Dunedin and Climate Change by University of Otago Emeritus Professor of Geography Professor Blair Fitzharris. Dunedin may be one city that superficially benefits from a temperature increase--but what's going to happen to Logan Park and all that reclaimed land down by the harbour?

In the meantime, here's the view from my parents' house on a typical day :) Mist, rain, rainbows (out of my chosen window/view), cloud, sun, wind. No hail or snow as yet, but it is supposedly summer. Photos probably aren't in order.