Thursday, September 10, the Luberon area of Provence

      Author Peter Mayles wrote a book entitled "A Year in Provence," which really increased the number of tourists wanting to visit this part of France, particularly the area known as the Luberon (named after a mountain range), where the author lived while he wrote this book.  Well, we didn't visit the actual town where he lived, but we can attest that if you are looking for the prototypical Provence experience, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than the Luberon (although we haven't been to the eastern part of Provence yet, so don't place any bets yet!).  Today was a fantastic day -- it was the type of day that reminds you of why enduring all the jet lag is well worth it!

We headed out from Avignon not terribly early again, but today we did get breakfast at the hotel (a real free-for-all at 9am with a horde of people and a table next to us that took so much food that they were clearly planning a picnic later for a party of twenty (Note:  when a lady leaves the breakfast buffet with an entire -- yes, entire -- loaf of bread on her plate, there is probably an issue ... ). 

We drove first to the town called Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, which is known mostly as a place for great antique shopping (according to the guide book, Viscount Lindlay, son of England's Princess Anne, frequents here).  We drove through the town center which was clearly lively, and there was not a parking space in sight, but since we had no interest in antique shopping we continued on to the next town.

The next town was Fontaine de Vaucluse.  This town is known for a spring that emerges from the side of a mountain.  Our guidebook tells us that it is a bit of a tourist trap, but you might as well join in and see the spring, so we did.  Parking was a little difficult, but not really.  As a driver, you worry that you won't be able to secure a spot in the tiny parking lots that you first see, but not too worry (this is a tourist trap after all), you will be able to park (for 4 euros) and see the sights.  We walked from our car towards the spring.  The whole town is dedicated to the tourist:  restaurants and souvenir shops, but, that said, the setting is very pretty in a narrow valley with the Sorgue River running through it.  We walked the length of the walkway, admiring the ruins of a chateau up on top of a hill on the way.  Here is my photo:

Then we made our way to the spring.  I'm thinking as we walk, "Wouldn't it be funny if we got to the end and there was no water?"  Ha ha, too bad I was right.  Here is the sight at the end:

Look closely, there is water down there.  I guess in the springtime, when there is snow melt (?), there will be water flowing up and out?  We'll never know (nor care).  Do we sound disappointed?  Actually, we were not.  This little valley is really scenic with or with spring water flowing.  So much so that we bought sandwiches here and had a little picnic for lunch.  Here is a photo of Rob at our lunch spot (there is water here, just not from the famous spring):

On to the next town, which would be Gordes, which rhymes with gorgeous (kind of), which would be entirely true.  On our drive into town, we came across a remarkable view of the town and, lo-and-behold, one parking spot waitng for us.  This is the view of this breathtaking village:

Can words describe this?  Not mine, anyway.  I'm not sure I've ever seen such a scenic hilltop village.  Here it is in close-up:

Parking again seemed like it will be a problem, but these towns have it all figured out, and we ultimately have no problem.  Strolling around the town did not really yield any great sights to see in town; what you want to admire is the view from the town.  Here is a photo I took:

Note that where you see large patches of brown, I think (but I'm guessing here) that those are fields that would have been filled with lavender in the summer months.  This town is part of the lavender producing region of Provence.  I bought some lavender souvenirs in a shop here.  From here we drove a few miles north to the Abbaye de Senanque.  This abbey is situated in a lovely little valley and is surrounded by lavender fields, which are obviously devoid of color this time of year, but it is quite lovely, anyway.  We walked to the abbey, but learned that visits are by guided tour only, which last one hour and are conducted in French.  We passed but were sorry not to see the interior.  Here is a photo of the abbey:

Another town to visit:  Roussillons.  By the way, a note about the GPS:  for some reason, our GPS has been taking us from town to town using back roads that are barely two lane highways.  This we love -- we feel we are truly seeing the charm of Provence:  fruit orchards, vineyards, olive trees, simple countryside.  We did not feel this yesterday, but today, it is different -- we feel that we are experiencing the Provence that one imagines when you hear the word, "Provence."

Roussillons:  yet another hilltop town -- we think they all must be.  In the old days, all the towns were built on hilltop, otherwise they were indefensible.  A very charming town with a difference:  this town's hill is built on ochre cliffs.  There is a lovely path called the "Sentier des Ochres" that you can walk (for a price) to admire them, so we did.  Here are a few photos:

The town is also quite charming.  We took a stroll (it is now late afternoon, almost six o'clock), soaking up the ambience and some calories, too.  We saw an ice cream/sorbet place and can't resist.  I had chocolate ice cream, coffee ice cream, and chocolate sorbet.  Rob had chocolate sorbet also combined with mango and strawberry sorbet as well.  Tres delicieux!

Although it was late in the day, we still had two more villages that we wished to visit.  Since the French eat so late, and we are trying to emulate them, we had plenty ot sightseeing time before dinner.  The next village is Bonnieux, and yes it is also on a hill.

We drove into Bonnieux, and it seemes a little deserted, but we thought that was because most of the sightseers had gone away.  It is really charming with narrow streets and a real verticality.  We parked our car and climbed up to see the views.  This town is topped not with an abandoned chateau, but with an old church, so we climbed up to see the views from there.  They (like everywhere else) are very nice.  Here is one photo that I took:

This is the new church in Bonnieux at the bottom of the village.

Finally, we ended our day at the village of Menerbes, which describes itself at France's most beautiful village.  It would be hard to disagree.  We arrived and park and then walked into the town center, which featured modern paving stones on its main streets (nice for ladies in high heels).  We walk up to its abandoned chateau and admired the views from there and also from the church.  Here is a photo:

And another of an old tower:

We were really enjoying the charms of Menerbes and decided (it is about 7:30pm) to find a place to have dinner here.  We chose a restaurant called Le Galoubet, which specializes in Provencal cuisine, and it is a really good choice.  We both had Beef Provencal, which is a delicious beef stew with potatoes, carrot, and olives, and was served with a side salad.  We both also enjoyed a glass of Luberon rose.  Now this is the meal you imagine having when you think about Provence!  Perfect!  As we dined (at a sidewalk table), people began their evening strolling as the time approached 8:30pm, which would seem to be France's dinner hour.  This would be a great choice as a place to stay in Provence.

After dinner, we drove back to Avignon, really not too far, in the dark with no trouble.