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| 10 Days in Provence...Pichets, Pastis and Picturesque Villages and Landscapes | |||
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09/21/06 - Saumane-de-Vaucluse, Provence, France (Provence photo album) Eating, walking through villages, eating, hiking, and eating in Provence |
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It's
Provence...need we say more? The villages are as quaint
and the winding country roads are as beautiful as you would
imagine...only better! It's a wonderful time of year to be
here; many of the tourists have gone home and the weather
consists largely of the warm, sunny days and cool evenings that
the end of summer typically brings. The grapes are plump
on the vines and harvesting has begun. Although there is
still occasionally a hint of lavender in the air, the summer
lavender harvest is over and the scent is more typically the
delicious one of fermenting grapes. The farmers are out in
the fields and the harvesting trucks we encounter on the roads
are full to the brim with grapes. We see fields full of
pumpkins...life is good. Tuesday, Sept. 12 - Uneventful (easy) ferry ride from Corsica to Nice, walked a mile with luggage to pick up Fiat Panda from Hertz. Coastal French Riviera road too busy to drive (heavy traffic!), took an even more scenic ride in the beautiful, soft evening light down the interior toll road to Aix-in-Provence - convention in town - no rooms! Finally arrived at our (expensive - ouch!) Marseille Airport Sofitel hotel at 10pm. Wednesday, Sept. 13 - Enjoyable drive from Marseille to our chambre d'hote (semi-self-catering B&B/inn) down beautiful roads through southern Luberon Valley, and quaint, Provencal villages. Had one of our favorite lunch stop-offs of the week at a sunny table in Bonnieux. Checked in at the charming but rustic Mas Des Baussiers. Dinner in Apt at La Platane, where Scott had a very positive run in with a goat cheese and eggplant appetizer. Thursday, Sept. 14 - Weather turns rainy/windy, but sun comes out for lunch in southern Provencal town of Lourmarin, where we see more Americans since leaving U.S., many of them on cycling tours, making Scott (and even Caroline) jealous. Craving some Americana, went to movies in Apt (The Squid and the Whale) and had Chinese food for dinner. Friday, Sept. 15 - Looking windy & rainy again today, drove an hour and a half west to St. Remy. Rain stopped for a walk about town and a pichet (small pitcher) of wine at a cafe. All the cafes and restaurants offer pichets of their house wine for cheaper than the same amount of Coke (what a fabulous idea!). Dined in tiny town of Saignon near our chambre d'hote at the Aberge du Presbytere, amazing foie gras that we won't soon forget. Saturday, Sept. 16 - Weather is clearing! Hiked around beautiful regional park Colorado Provencal, named for the red, sandy cliffs and rock formations. Caroline controls herself and only takes about 30 photos. Makeshift dinner of bread, cheese, olives, wine, before heading back to the movies (Thank You for Smoking) in Apt. Sunday, Sept. 17 - Drove to the west side of Luberon valley to our new chambre d'hote, Sous Les Canniers, just outside tiny Saumane-de-Vaucluse. Our accommodations are much nicer here (and twice the price! Go figure.) but Caroline prefers the landscape toward Apt. Sunday, everything's closed, so we sit by the pool until driving to dinner in Gordes, where we chatted with a couple from Connecticut while Caroline eats more memorable foie gras. Monday, Sept. 18 - A long, leisurely breakfast at the chambre d'hote where we chat with an interesting Swiss couple from Zurich about European travel. They give us some good tips for Italy. We decide to take it easy today (again), taking a walk around the much-photographed Abbey Semanque, then stopping spontaneously in non-touristy St. Didier for a stroll and a cool, refreshing pastis (a locally popular alcoholic beverage that tastes like anise/licorice) at a quiet sidewalk cafe. We stock up on some provisions to take back to the communal outdoor kitchen at the inn before heading back for dinner 'at home'. Tuesday, Sept. 19 - We begin our tour of the popular wine towns of the region in Vaison La Romaine, where we are just in time to peruse the wonderful weekly market. They are selling everything you can imagine from gorgeous produce, cheese, foie gras and every variety of olive imaginable to clothing and tasteful gifts and souvenirs. It turns out to be the highlight of the day. Wednesday, Sept. 20 - Our last excursion on our trip to Provence: Arles. It's a nice and quaint town, although not particularly photogenic. Not too many tourists now that he summer season is over. We spend the day simply wandering, looking in the shops and at some of the best Roman ruins outside of Rome. We stop at a lovely sidewalk restaurant, complete with vine-covered arbor, for a beautiful 3-course lunch (and of course a pichet!) before heading back to the inn for a light dinner and quiet evening in. Thursday, Sept. 21 - Winding down before our drive to Italy tomorrow, we take a short hike to the nearest town of Saumane and then after some pool time, for a final drive through the vineyards. We stop for deux cafes (two espressos) and a stroll in Caroline's new favorite town (and home of Pierre Cardin!), Lacoste, before buying our daily baguette and heading back to enjoy the late afternoon sun (and to pack for tomorrow's journey).
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