So we have reached a tipping point and started our journey back north, waving goodbye to the Cote d’Azur and pointing the BBT in the direction of Arles. This has been on my travel list since reading about Le Nord Pinus, a hotel frequented over time by the likes of Picasso, Hemmingway and Christian Lacroix, pursuing their passion for bullfighting. Irrespective of one’s view of bullfighting (sport or tragedy) it is still firmly entrenched in the towns bordering the Camargue like Arles and Nimes with the Feria de Arles an annual event. My interest lies not in the bullfighting, but more in the uniqueness and quirkiness of the hotel – a complete divergence from modern, vanilla hotels, where you could be anywhere in the world. From our squeaky bed, to the chandelier in the hotel bar, this place is like nowhere else I have stayed.

Based on Place du Forum in the centre of this ancient town, Le Nord Pinus was everything I hoped it would be, not in a glamourous 5-star way, but for its inward leaning staircase, that made you wonder if you perhaps shouldn’t have ordered that 2nd bottle of rosé, the eccentric air-conditioning unit (which I am sure would have been less amusing if we’d been visiting in the heat of the summer months) and the 5am wake-up call of the bins being emptied in the square below.

A scary staircase for many reasons – best tackled sober

Don’t move a muscle – the bed squeaks alarmingly

That’s how I like my chandeliers – gaudy

So I was very happy with my choice of hotel, though I fear Catering was less won over by its eccentricity.