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Published: August 15th 2007
So my last couple of days in France were jam packed. There is so much to see and do in and around provence and I have to prioritise where I wanted to go. My friend Nina had recommended the villages of the Luberon Valley and as they are difficult to get to via public transport I took a half day bus tour.
The tour was a great idea as it helped me get out into the countryside and see the Provence I wanted to see. I had been in this area for a while but still hadnt seen countryside that moved me. The Luberon certainly did! I really want to return to provence in the spring qas in August everything is pretty dry and the flowers (in particularly the lavendar) have pretty much all been picked. Nevertheless the scenery was still spectacular and the villages of Gordes & Rousillon are two spectacular villages, each sitting on top of their own hill and looking out onto the valley.
Before we went to Gordes & Rousillon we took a detour to Senanque Abbey. it is a monastery quite close to Gordes that is nestled in a valley at the bottom of
ome steep ravines!! 6 monks live there now and make their living from tourism and from the lavendar they grow: Again, the lavendar had already been cut so wasnt in bloom but it would be spectacular in the spring. We stayed long enough just to take some photos ahnd jump back on the bus for the highlight of the tour - Gordes & Rousillon.
The villages are quite different, even though they are only 10 km apart. Gordes is spectacular as it sits high on a hill and all the houses are made of white stone. In fact the local government is so intent on preserving the look and feel of the village that every person who builds a house must use the white stone, even if it means building a brick home & paving over the top with the white stone. The village was gorgeous with houses with the typical provencale blue doors & shutters and beautiful little lanes to explore. The scenery was also pretty spectacular too! You can see all across the Luberon Valley and it would be great vantage point in spring when all the flowers are in bloom. I just enjoyed pottering about in
the little backstreets - I'm not even going into shops as I cant buy anything, and everywhere has pretty much the same stuff anyway - lavendar, tea towels etc. The place was pretty packed with tourists though, as I guess it is high season!!
We then went to Rousillon which looks completely different. There is a lot odf ochre in the area and indeed the biggest ochre mine in Europe is situated there. All the ground is red in colour and all of the houses have that lovely ochre colour. Again, we had time to potter around and soak up the atmosphere, of course joined by the hoardes of tourists again!!
My last night in Avignon was quite quiet - as I am still getting over this cold I wanted to take it easy for a few days: My last day in Avignon was hell, my bus coming from Marseille broke down and as it was a religious holiday they had vtrouble finding someone to fix it: The bus was 4 hours late and I missed my connection in Girona, but thankfully there is a last bus at 9pm tonight!! I have also found an American guy going
View from Gordes
How would you be having this view to wake up to each morning??the same way as me so we have been chatting.
So think of me - stuck in a stinky bus station for hours on end - the bad side of travelling!! I am also nervous about being in Spain as I only know a few simple words, which is quite different to knowing how to say almost anything!! Habla ingles is going to come in handy the next feqw days!!
So am off to Costa Brava now to dive for a few days and then barthelona - woo hoo!!
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