As we headed east out of Avignon, we were entering the Provence that Peter Mayle wrote about in his popular book. Every hilltop had a small village on it and every valley was full of vines. And since we were there in the summer, every village was loaded with tourists. We started our day trip with a stop in Les Baux.
From the photo you can see the castle on the top and the medieval town just below. What you can't quite see are the thousands of tourists that had taken the town siege on that day. Les Baux is understandably popular with kids because they have maintained several working catapults and plenty of other medieval weaponry in the castle. If you are looking for a wooden sword or a plastic crowbow in France, then just visit one of the many touristy shops in the town below.
We walked up to the top of the castle and baked in the sun for a half hour waiting for this to launch.
Pretty cool, but maybe not worth the long wait. We strolled around the rest of the top of the castle before heading back into town for lunch. The "Provencal plate" of vegetables looked appealing to us so we decided to stop here.
Provence is known for its yearlong harvest of different fruits and vegetables. We managed to get a taste of the summer favorites here like eggplant, peppers, mushrooms and stuffed tomatoes.
We left the crowds and knights of Les Baux and continued east to the town of Gordes - as we like to say Gord-eous.
It's a beautiful hilltop town and a serious contender for the most picturesque Provencal towns we found. If you're thinking about buying a place in Gordes though, then you'll have to buy from one of the wealthly Parisians or Americans who've already staked a claim here. Over the last 15 years it's gotten so expensive that the town is now struggling to keep the locals.
We spent some time in the shops, bought a couple things for our house and then took a rest from the step alleyways for a couple expensive drinks near the town's main fountain. It was mid-afternoon and between the intense sun on the barren rocks and continuous up and down steps in both towns, Jen and I were wearing down. We left Gordes and decided to hit one more town before returning to Avignon that night. While there were so many to choose from, we picked Roussillon for its proximity and down-to-earth feel.
At every turn there was a perfect shot and tourists like us lined up to take the same pictures at many of them. There are a couple cafes, art galleries and shops in this town, but the feeling is really laid back. Roussillon was known for its red ochre (red clay) production for many years. Not only was the red clay a source of income for the town but they also built most of it out of the material that gives it a distinctive look.
On our walk out of town, we made a final stop at an art gallery. There were a couple paintings that caught our eye and we went in to take a closer look.
We seem to have an eye for expensive art because the 1000 euros and up in this shop quickly priced us out. However, we did meet the artist, Francoise Valenti, and ended up talking for a while. It turns out that she has many clients from Texas and has spent a good deal of time there. She rattled off all the places she's been and has friends: McKinney, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Tyler. We were impressed since we only really know Dallas and we live there. We may not have as much experience in Texas, but we did show our roots by cranking the AC all the way up when we got back to our car - just like real Texans do!
Certainly a day wasn't enough to explore this side of Provence. There were so many towns left untouched: Menerbes, Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Saint Remy, Bonnieux, Oppede-le-Vieux and on. With the French Riviera calling and the intense heat of the day making us seriously wish our hotel had a pool, we just couldn't stay behind one more day to explore. Francoise did give us an idea though before we left her shop - the contact information of a Texan who rents a "big ole villa" just outside of Roussillon.
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| Hilltop Provence |
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