Provence Magic

Roussillon color magic - burnt umber from the surrounding hillsides

Vaison La Romaine museum - tile floor from Roman home in town

Roman statuary - Vaison La Romaine

The Roman stadium was renovated and is used today for concerts - 2500 years and counting!

Ancient protected portal to Vaison la Romain medieval town

French humor - carnivorous lavender and vampire roses - "ne pas touche" or Don't touch!

The magic of the first week we spent in Provence continued into the next week as we explored more beautiful historical towns in the Vaucluse and Luberon areas including Vaison la Romaine, Roussillon, Sault, Pont du Gard, Boudin, Gigondas, Seguret, and Avignon. We were able to share many of these adventures with Val, who arrived in Avignon by TGV train on Sunday May 31st . Following are additional glimpses at what we saw during those two weeks.

We drove up to the town of Vaison la Romain - known both for its Roman remains and for its medieval city and artists who now live there.  It provided a nice contrast for a day's exploration. 

Earthen jug - Roman remains

Part of the ancient Roman city

Art totems of today - surprising to see these in France

Hello! - Museum of Antiquities - Vaison la Romaine

Beautiful inlaid tile floors featured shore birds and crabs

The Roman stadium

Touch of color on a medieval fortification

Homes squeezed in over bridges

Beauty in the simplest places

We spent a day driving over to explore the towns of Roussillon and Sault over limestone encrusted hilltops and beautiful valleys. The town of Gordes was packed with tour buses and tourists, so we drove quickly by without stopping.  The following week, we again visited Roussillon with Val since we were so impressed by its beauty and art.

Ancient Roussillon bell tower and portal

Artistic touches were everywhere

Roussillon red umber

The Roussillon hills reminded us of Dutch Flat - the pigments are used to color the buildings

Color everywhere - in Roussillon

In Sault, even the dogs prefer fresh baguettes

Roussillon color

In Avignon, while waiting to pick up Val from the TGV station, we visited the Palace of the Popes which was established as the Papal state during the years when Italy and Rome were in turmoil. It was enormous, but without any furnishings (which currently remain in Rome).  A substantial percentage of the cost of running it at that time went toward managing the daily life of the pope - an interesting value statement. 

The palace

Beautiful paintings remain on the ceilings

The chapel - in the Gothic tradition

"Fake tombs of the popes"

The doorway entrance carvings were defaced and statues were  decapitated during the French Revolution

Palace exterior

A place (plaza) restaurant where we enjoyed a light lunch

Dramatic vaulted ceilings - nothing subtle here

A stroll on the rooftop of the palace

Turrets attempting to snag a cloud

View from the top

Avignon was not our favorite city to drive to/through/around since the highways evaporated there and our GPS routed us right through the Avignon "centre" - a nightmare through which to maneuver. Fortunately there were no Gendarmes nearby to observe our antics and tricky meanderings, or they forgave us our stupidity when they saw our red license plate (which announces "tourist"). Somehow, magically, we located a place to park and somehow we found our car when we had to leave.

After giving Val a day of relaxation, we drove from Caromb north to Gigondas (known for its wine) and Siguerac (a beaux Village) - both hilltop medieval towns within a short distance from Caromb. We spent the day climbing all over these two towns.

Gigondas village vista

 

In Gigondas, we had lunch on the terrace overlooking the valley under the shade of the plane trees - wine tasting in style

Happy days!

Medieval Gigondas fortress wall - flowers surrounded us everywhere as we climbed to the top of the hill - someone had been busy!

Looking out over the valley from the ruined fortress site

Note the artwork in white

Gigondas area vineyards - the rocky soil helps retain the heat

Sigueret - Hidden passage ways

Fountain expressions

 

Siguerac Eglise

Walking through Siguerac

Moyen age advertising

At the end of the week, we decided to take some longer drives to see the Calanques in Cassis and to view the Pont du Gard.  We'll show you those on our next blog.