The Many Faces of Provence

If only we could win the lottery and buy that crumbling chateau that I saw ‘á vendre’ today – you could all come for free holidays, we would visit charming villages each morning and then seek respite from the midday sun by the pool with a glass of wine and a plate of cheese…. Hang on, that’s what we’re doing now but alas, for one week only.

All the more reason then to not waste a minute!
In direct contrast to the hustle and bustle of Sunday’s market, we decided to vist the almost 2,000 year old Roman built Pont du Gard. Those Romans were really on top of their game – this aqueduct was designed to deliver water to the village of Nîmes from a spring in Uzès. The straight line distance is only about 20 kms but the actual aqueduct is almost 50kms long, designed to ‘go around’ some of most inhospitable terrain. It is estimated to have delivered some 200 million litres of water a day to the fountains, baths and private homes of Nîmes. This highest section was built to cross the river Gard and remains in great condition.
Today an excellent interpretative centre fronts the attraction and many people, both tourists and French alike were picnicking, swimming, canoeing and photographing this impressive monument.

From there we managed to fit in an afternoon at Les Baux, a stunningly picturesque village perched on a rocky outcrop (read LOTS of stairs here) and the place that bauxite was first discovered.

Today, it relies almost solely on the tourist trade and they were there in droves. Scattered amongst the many somewhat tacky tourist stores there were actually a couple of gems if you looked hard enough.

 

What we were looking for at the end of a hot day was the pool and a drink!

After re-watching Russell Crowe’s “A Good Year” before we left, Gordes was always on our list and a (very expensive) drink in the famous restaurant near the fountain was most refreshing and a great photo opportunity. About 30 bucks for a drink apiece!

Gordes market was in full swing and we managed to add a couple of bottles of wine to the usual purchases to accompany tonight’s pasta.

A tortuous drive (along what might pass as a bike track in Australia) proved to be totally worthwhile when the magnificent Cistercian Abbaye de Senanque came into view. Last time Russell and I had visited (slightly later in the year) it had been surrounded by the spectacular lavender that appears on every post card in the region but today we were a tad too soon for the flowers, the up side was the car park was half empty. The abbey is 850 years old, the monks support themselves by producing lavender and honey and an individual can arrange to stay at the abbey for a period of spiritual retreat. Unfortunately, there were no vacancies today:)

Next stop was the geologically unique Roussillon, unique because it sits in the middle of one of the biggest ochre deposits in the world. Bright red, yellow and brown contrast with the lush green pine forests and the blue sky and the lavender icecream isn’t bad either.

The combination of the beautiful natural light in Provence and the colors of Roussillon have acted as a mecca for artists over the years and the village houses many galleries as well as some trashy tourist traps.

The diversity of Provence has astounded us over the past few days, there truly is something for everyone. The best part is sitting on our balcony at dusk (9.30pm) watching the swallows dance in the cooling air, jet trails in the sky, sipping local wine and planning tomorrow’s activities.

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