Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone: Made During the Year 1819Hughes, John
History
Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone: Made During the Year 1819
Hughes, John
Provence (France) -- Description and travel; Rhône River (Switzerland and France)
without much stretch of imagination, the abode of the wizard himself.
After threading all the sharp angles of this savage pass, some of which
are chiseled out to admit the road, the eye is at length relieved by a
vista of sky, and the sight of the little town of Ollioules close at
hand, sheltered in a grove of orange trees and olives, and just filling
up the entrance of the pass. The view is completed by some singular
gothic ruins to the right, and by the town of Six Fours in the distance,
which is situated on such a commanding conical hill, that we mistook it
for the citadel of Toulon. On emerging from the pass, we turned abruptly
to the left, pursuing our route along the foot of the mountain barrier
through whose bowels we had just penetrated, and which acts on the
climate and productions of Toulon like a high south wall. Some corn was
already reaped at Ollioules; and it may be said almost without
exaggeration, that the two last miles of the road make a difference of
at least a degree in latitude, if one could be allowed to judge by one's
feelings. There is nothing remarkable in the situation of Toulon itself,
which is flat and uninteresting; but the shores of the bay possess great
beauty and variety, and the mountains which overhang the town are very
bold in their outline. The bastides of the wealthy inhabitants are
sprinkled along the foot and sides of this abrupt range, overlooking
extensive views of the bay and its vicinity, and disposed with better
taste and less encumbered with walls than those in the neighbourhood of
Marseilles. Instead of a multitude of white spots, vying in numbers with
the trees which surround them, the mansions of the Toulonais are placed
just thickly enough to agreeably enliven the woods, pleasure grounds,
and vineyards from which they peep at scattered and irregular distances.
We found ourselves well accommodated at the Croix de Malte, situated in
one of the best parts of the town, which although airy, neat, and well
watered by little streams conducted through the streets, possesses no
building or feature worth recollection, save its strong and regular
fortifications.
May 26.--A morning of very pleasant lounging, without any particular
object. We rose at five, and not obtaining admission to the platform of
the Fort du Malgue, walked about on the heights near it, which are
situated on the south-east of the town, and form one of the best
panoramic points in its vicinity. The mountain cape to the south, under
which the entrance to the harbour winds, the distant islands of Hieres,
and in a different direction, the town of Six Fours, are striking
objects from this place. There is certainly more local propriety in this
latter name, than in its more classical and ancient appellation, Sextii
Forum, from which it has probably been corrupted in the derivation by
some wag, for no one would suppose that such a situation afforded room
to heat more than six ovens, or indeed bread to fill even one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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