Blogs from Gordes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe

The GPS induced nightmare of last night is still raw, and I wake up still feeling brain dead. We decide that today we'll try to do very little. I tell Issy that I think that we should take a short drive to the village of Gordes which is about 25 kilometres to the north of Lourmarin. I'm not sure that this quite fits with her definition of doing very little. In her eyes I suspect doing very little entails not moving more than a few metres from a lounge next to the pool. The first part of the trip takes us through the forested hills immediately to the north of Lourmarin. We enter the very pretty village of Bonnieux, where the main street is only wide enough for one car, so we wait at a set ... read more

It was considerably cooler today but still sunny. At Dawn's suggestion, we had decided to get up early and travel to the village of Gordes, about 75 km from Nyons in a more southerly part of Provence. It took longer than we had anticipated due to roadwork in several places and traffic en route in a town called Carpentras. It was a beautiful drive into the Vaucluse Hills (we would call them mountains) into Gordes, one of several lovely hilltop villages in the area. There were magnificent panoramas from several vantage points. After a delicious lunch in the jardin de Cafe Illy, we opted for a trip to Roussillon, about 10km away. I had read in Trip Advisor that the No 1 attraction in the Gordes area was le Sentier des Ocres...we were not disappointed. Due ... read more

Up and off today as we had a long way to go. Longest daily distance since our day 1 drive from home. The first quarter of the drive was beautiful. First of all through the fields and rolling hills and then along the beautiful Tarn valley. We stopped at a couple of particularly spectacular spots on the river (Lincou and Brousse le Chateau). Then unexpectedly found ourselves crossing back to the north side via an old unlit, single track, railway tunnel. We stopped a third time near Broquiès when I spotted a sign ahead which said 3 ton and 1.8 metre width limits. We might have got away with the weight but even with the wing mirrors retracted and both of us breathing in we would never had made it over that narrow bridge ! Instead ... read more

Had an exceedingly good day today. Our 16th wedding anniversary. Our present is at home – a leaded, stained glass window depicting a rainbow and a kingfisher in flight – which I made in the week before we left for this trip. Quite overcast for most of the day which actually made things easier, as we didn’t have to bother about getting burned, but Bob did wear his hat to protect the top of his head as the roasting sun managed to get through to his scalp yesterday. We scootered down to Gordes and had a proper wander round this lovely medieval little town. More people around than last night as this is a very popular tourist stopping spot. There are some very nice touristy shops and was tempted several times to buy pretty things which ... read more

A favorite walk in this area begins outside my door. A few hundred yards and I am passed the "Quartier" and walking toward Perotet. Along the road the cherry trees have ripe fruit and are a quick snack, however, the real treats are ahead because, though I like the "coeur de pigeon" cherry my favorite is the plump dark red cherry in the grove next to the D900. Happily, for these I must walk another 3km toward the D900. That is the best walking because it offers the best views. For example, off in the distance and on my left is Bonnieux, a village of historic significance since during the time of the Pope's stay (late 1200's) in Avignon (45km to the west) houses were built there. The village has two churches, the church at the ... read more