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    Tartarin is a novel written by Alphonse Daudet in 1872.

    This book recounts the humorous adventures of comic Tartarin, head hunters capsTarascon. Colorful character, he hosted the salons of the bourgeoisie of the city by telling, with a verve all Provencal hunts lions ... imaginary. 

    Driven by the city, following a final boasting, from Africa to hunt a real lion, the hero goesthrough a bit naive adventures bleak. His list of conquests come down to an old lion, blind and tame.

    Tartarin even marry some time African jails. Cheated, mocked, bruised and could reachthe depths of his dignity, yet Tartarin reaches back to Tarascon, and a final mistake itwill be carried in triumph by his companions.

     

    source : net-provence.com

     



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    TARASCON


    King René Castle

    The "Chateau du Roi René" is the landmark of Tarascon. . He is considered one of the best preserved castles in France - cityzeum.com -

     


    I bet that only 1 from 1 000 000 Indonesian  have heard that name. Tarascon… what’s that ? it is such a bizarre word, this time I have an opportunity to feel the air of Tarascon. The area is located 3 hours from Lyon.  An amazing journey from Lyon via autoroute A7 with uncertain weather, between sunny and drizzling along the way, finally  we arrived at the Hotel du Viaduc (http://www.hotelduviaduc.com/) at 7 pm in the raining afternoon.

    To tell the story long, it was not easy to find that hidden hotel, but the soft, peaceful colour of the buildings around the area, made the rainy afternoon suddenly forgotten, the excitement of discovering the Mediterranean secret continued until the hunger distract the photo hunting session.

    The ambiance of the old city, the stone buildings… and the first things that attracts the eyes are the soft colours of the windows and doors on the old buildings at the area. The soft blue, the soft green and fresh white adore the antique middle age stone buildings. The fresh purple of the street lamp gives the unusual impression too. It makes the difference from other old cities I have visited.

    A short story about the name of Tarascon, the legend that I copied from Wikipedia

    History session for a second Wink :

    Legend reported among others by the Golden Legend[2] has it that the creature inhabited the area of Nerluc in Provence, France, and devastated the landscape far and wide. The Tarasque was a sort of dragon with six short legs like a bear's, an ox-like body covered with a turtle shell, and a scaly tail that ended in a scorpion's sting. It had a lion's head.

    The Tarasque was said to have come from Galatia which was the home of the legendary Onachus, a scaly, bison-like beast which burned everything it touched. Some speculate that the story of the Onachus may be related to either that of the Unicorn or the Phoenix. The Tarasque was the offspring of the Onachus and the Leviathan of biblical account; disputably a giant sea serpent.

    The king of Nerluc had attacked the Tarasque with knights and catapults to no avail. But Saint Martha found the beast and charmed it with hymns and prayers, and led back the tamed Tarasque to the city. The people, terrified by the monster, attacked it when it drew nigh. The monster offered no resistance and died there. Martha then preached to the people and converted many of them to Christianity. Sorry for what they had done to the tamed monster, the newly-Christianized townspeople changed the town's name to Tarascon.

     

    I found a tarasque statue besides  the Chateau Royal de Provence or Château du Roi Rene which is located just few meter from our hotel in the town. The castle looks so tidy, unfortunately I did not have time to enter to see more. 

    In front of the chateau, the beautiful big collegial stands in with the big plaza – Collegiale Royale Ste Marthe. The big soft green colour of its big door gives the different feeling, a dazling view.

    Not many places I had visited there in Tarascon, but the Terminus restaurant will be in the next story as part of the cuisine adventure.



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