The first thing Avignon rendered us was wind, lots of it. It reminded me of home, well home in France. The wind can be brutal in Cavalaire. The four us found the line of taxis, that had napping drivers at the wheel, and woke one of them up to take us to our hotel. The first thing I noticed about Avignon was the size of the streets. They were miniscule! And this is coming from someone who has lived in Europe for eight months and is used to the particularly small size of things: roads, cars, houses, people. The streets of Avignon were something else though. We winded down the cobblestones to our hotel. The hotel was actually more like a bed and breakfast sans the breakfast. We met the owners-a husband and wife- who were extremely nice and helpful. They showed us up to our two little apartments and gave us maps of Avignon along with some helpful hints. We got settled in a bit and then headed over to the pedestrian streets in the center of town to find a restaurant. We sat down at a nice local place, and this is when my use of French kicked in. In Paris one can easily get by speaking English (although it's definitely preferred to at least attempt French); however, in Avignon we found this to be quite the contrary. Our meal was again delicious, and we left to walk around the streets a bit more.
The next morning we woke up and got ready to head to the Office of Tourism to meet our tour guide. His name was Alain, and he would be taking us all around Provence. Each day we went to several little towns, saw the sights, and then came and spent the nights back in Avignon. This first day, we loaded up in the van, after Lucie had a molten chocolate cake for breakfast, and headed out to Gordes. Gordes was a ridiculously beautiful town all made of white and gray stone buildings that spiraled up the huge hill upon which it was set. My first thought was that it looked like Minas Tirith from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Apparently many celebrities and artists have homes there-it's too expensive for us normal people. We went for the Tuesday morning market where many Provencal items are sold by the vendors. It was very similar to the markets around my town but still very interesting. We walked through the town, going down little streets and passageways, and our tour guide pointed out some of the interesting historical points of Gordes. For instance, there are still several little stone huts called bories dispersed throughout the countryside, and also there are stones placed vertically on walls to hold the other stones in place because cement was not used in those times. We went into the cathedral that sits on the very top of the hill and afterwards found a spot with the best view of the valleys below. Provence is breathtaking.
Following Gordes was Roussillon, but before stopping in this red and orange town (explanation to come!) we passed by the Abbey of Senanque. This abbey is still in use today and is in the absolute best location. It is down in a valley surrounded by lavender fields (sadly we didn't get to see them in bloom) that the monks tend. The abbey is the most tranquil looking place I've ever seen; it's in complete peace and quiet which makes for a perfect area for monks. We continued on to Roussillon, a village which used to be an ochre quarry; thus, all of the buildings are shades of red, pink, orange, and yellow. Our guide dropped us off at the start of the ochre walk where we passed through the rolling hills and woods colored in these sun tones. Again, exquisitely beautiful. Lunch was after the ochre walk on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking the town and the fields of Provence below.
Our next stop was the town of Ménerbes, but on the way we stopped to see Le Pont Julien, a Roman bridge built around 3 B.C. that crosses the river Calavon. As we were walking across the bridge, we were mesmerized by the fact that we actually could walk across a bridge built in 3 B.C. The Romans never cease to impress me with their architectural feats. We arrived in Ménerbes and passed Dora Maar's house while heading up to the Maison de la Truffe et du Vin du Luberon (House of Truffles and Wine of Luberon). We got to the little truffle museum and discovered the wonders of a black truffle. We even got to smell some of these mushroom delicacies while reading about the history of finding and selling truffles. Downstairs of the House of Truffles was a wine cellar filled with wines from the Luberon region in Provence. Wine and truffles all in the same building; who could ask for more! The day of exploring Provence came to an end after taking a stroll through Ménerbes. We were dropped back off in Avignon and had dinner in the town that night.
The following morning was spent in the city of Arles. I never realized how much Roman influence was left in France, especially in the Provence area. The first thing we saw when getting to Arles were the columns left from an ancient Roman bridge. Arles was a major port for the Romans seeing as it sits on the Rhone river. We walked along the river a bit before having breakfast at a café in the Place du Forum. The Place du Forum is where two columns of the old Roman forum rest. From here we walked over to the Place de la République and saw two well-known monuments of Arles: the Obelisk and the Church of St. Trophime. The obelisk is from the 4th century, erected under the Roman rule of Constantine II, and the church dates back to the 12th and 15th centuries. Next was a walk around the amphitheater and past the Roman theater, both of which were sadly under renovation. We did get to see some aspects of the incredible architecture. Arles is also very famous for its more modern history. Vincent van Gogh moved to Arles in 1888 and spent that year painting many landscapes and buildings in the area before being hospitalized months later. Many of his most famous paintings came from Arles. Gauguin also spent some time in Arles with van Gogh and created several paintings there as well. Throughout the city there are several markers indicating places that van Gogh painted. It was interesting, for me, to know that such an influential artist stood where I was standing and saw what I was seeing. We exited the great Roman walls surrounding the city to drive to Les Baux-de-Provence.
Les Baux is a village on a hill surrounded on every side by a white, grayish stone similar to that of Gordes. All of the buildings are built out of this stone making the whole town an off-white color. We stopped to have lunch outside and ate a delicious meal under the sun topped off with big ice cream desserts and crème brûlée for Lucie. We continued on through the village passing by the picturesque shops and restaurants and got to the Musée des Santons. Santons are little figurines made for the Nativity scene at Christmas. These are very popular in Provence, and many of the French have vast collections of santons. The santons are various people of Provencal life: bakers, painters, shepherds, and even a village dunce. The handcrafted works of art were displayed in the little museum and showed how the figurines changed throughout the years. After seeing the santons we walked up to the Château des Baux, taking us into the medieval period. Today, mock catapults and weapons are dispersed throughout the fortress allowing visitors to see what defending this town was really like. We got great views of the area as we climbed to the tops of some of the intact towers. Lucie and I were put in the stocks before finishing our day at Les Baux.
The next day we were off to Nîmes, a large city laden with Roman history. Nîmes is home to the best-preserved Roman arena in France. We went inside this amphitheater, which is still used today for bull-fights and other events, and learned about the history of what took place there. We saw a bit more of Nîmes before driving over to the Pont du Gard. The Pont du Gard is a giant bridge and aqueduct built by the Romans to carry water the town of Uzès to Nîmes. The size of this bridge is absolutely phenomenal, seeing as there was no conventional equipment. To make things more impressive, no mortar was used on the Pont du Gard. Every stone was cut to fit the other perfectly. As we walked across the bridge we saw the how the gigantic stones fit together like puzzle pieces. Dad, Lucie, and I walked up to where the aqueduct sits on top of the enormous bridge. Sadly, it isn't open for viewing until May when the tourist season kicks in. That afternoon we had lunch at an eclectic little restaurant in Uzès. The restaurant was famous for selling all types of olive oils. The place was covered in various bottles holding delicious oils that varied in all types of flavors. As late afternoon approached we headed over to the famous Châteauneuf du Pape. This huge wine region in Provence was home to the Popes of Avignon who were apparently avid lovers of wine. The vast vineyards stretched as far as the eye could see, and the small grape plants sprouted out of the rocky terrain. We stopped at one of the vineyards, Château Mont Redon for a wine tasting which consisted of red wines of various ages and eau de vie, a type of brandy. Châteauneuf du Pape ended our outings for the day, and we went back to Avignon for our last night there. We had our last dinner at a restaurant called La Fourchette, which had wonderful Provencal food and was definitely a good meal to end on.
Our last morning in Avignon consisted of us dragging our multiple suitcases through the tiny streets to meet our guide. We packed up to car to head to Cavalaire! I was so excited to have my parents and Lucie come see my semi-permanent home and meet Cara, Paul, and my host parents. We stopped about halfway between Avignon and Cavalaire in a town called Cassis. Cassis is a gorgeous town situated on the Mediterranean among mountains. As we were walking over to a café on the seaside we passed by the port which is down in a calanque. A calanque is a little valley or inlet submerged in water. After our coffee and breakfast we got back on the road and headed towards "home."
We were greeted in Cavalaire by Paul and Cara at my second host parents' pizzeria. After the introductions (which weren't really needed seeing as my parents have already spoken to Cara and Paul multiple times over skype) we went into the pizzeria were more introductions were made. I was so happy that Christine and Michel got to meet my parents and Lucie, especially after spending time with Lauren when she was with me before Paris. My family and me, along with Paul and Cara, went to have lunch in a restaurant on the seaside in Cavalaire. I was radiant with everyone at the table together. My first host mom, Laurence, invited us all to the house after lunch for dessert and coffee. It was so wonderful to have Mom, Dad, and Lucie meet Laurence and Christophe. A strong connection was already in place between my parents and my first host parents because their daughter Deborah is doing an exchange in Tupelo. We literally swapped places. My parents got to talk with Laurence over tarte tropézienne and tarte aux mirabelles (merci Laurence et Christophe!). Christophe came a little later before my parents and Lucie had to leave. That night they were staying in Marseille so they could catch their plane the next morning. I was so ecstatic to have them all finally meet. I really couldn't have asked for more. I told my parents and Lucie goodbye before they got back in the car with our guide to leave. It was hard to see them go, but I know I will see them again soon-plus the internet, especially skype, does wonders.
(Don't forget to read the Paris post right below; it's new too!)
