Day 17 Nice to Home

It was a long ride home but we made it with no real problems. It was a really nice 17 days and I would not have changed much except to have spent 3 or 4 more days in Nice and taken day trips by train to Monaco and several of the towns on the French Riveria. After driving more than 1500 miles in Provence, I did not see any other town that I would rather have stayed. Lourmarin was the near perfect place and for that we thank Larry and Roxanne for the suggestion. If anyone's planning a trip to Provence I would suggest that they bone up on their French.

Day 16 Lourmarin to Nice

Got up early to get a good start for the drive to Nice. It was kind of sad to leave the apartment. After 12 days in Lourmarin it was easy to become somewhat attached to the area and the people. They were so nice; and we couldn't even speak the same language. We were packed up and ready to go at 9, but it was friday, which is market day and we did quick walk around and picked up a few things before leaving. The drive over to Nice turned out to be a both great and awful. It was supposed to be a two and a half hour drive that turned into a six hour mess. It started when we decided to drive through the French Riveria on the 50 mile stretch of coastal road from St. Tropez through St. Raphel and Cannes to Nice. It was a beautiful ride over very scenic roads, but the traffic is slow and tedious. I could not imagine what it would be like in the summer - I would not even think about doing it. Once in Nice, we returned the rental car at the airport and walked to the Novatel Hotel where we spent the night. They gave us a great room with a fantastic view of the Med. There was an 8am flight to catch so we ate some junky food before crashing early.

Day 15 Lourmarin



The Sheriff

As today was to be the last full day in Lourmarin, it was spent mostly walking around the town and taking in the atmosphere. The whole town, including every street and alley, could be walked in 20 minutes so several walks were taken. We have spent 12 days in Lourmarin and the one local we could count on seeing everyday was "The Sheriff " (picture). He kept watch over one particuliar corner and would be on one side of the street or the other, although we never actually saw him move. He was never bothered by any of the other cats and dogs that inhabit the neighborhood, of which there were plenty. Anyhow, several walks throughout the day were pleasant, including one up to and around the Chateau and through some vineyards and  olive groves. Lunch was on the terrace at L'Insolite where Sylvia had a pizza and I tried les andouillettes. It is a tripe sausage that I managed to eat about three quarters of when it fell apart and I could actually see what was inside. Sylvia, thinking it couldn't be that bad, tried a little piece and almost had to leave the table. I suppose it was worth a try, but I doubt I'll do it again and I can eat anything. In the evening we met up with Barry and Willa who are tending to some properties (including ours) for some friends of theirs who are away for a couple of months. We went up to the house where they're staying and had wine, cheese, pate, and good conversation. This was really nice since they are Canadians and I didn't have to make of fool of myself slaughtering French. There was also another couple there from Norway and I'm pretty sure among the six of us we solved the immigration problems of the world. Later in the evening Barry, Willa, Sylvia, and I went to La Louche de Buerre for dinner. It was just up the street and we hadn't even known it was there. Even though the place was fairly large by Provence standards it was very cozy and intimate. Their speciality was crepes and that's what we all ordered.  For dessert Sylvia and I each got our own chocolate crepe due to a mixup in communication with the server (yes, my fault). It was a very nice ending to our stay in Lourmarin and we hope to get together with Barry and Willa in the future. Tomorrow morning we leave Lourmarin for Nice and will spend the night near the airport.

Day 14 Avignon

Pont St.Benezet (sous le pont),

Today we decided to go to the big city of Avignon. It only took an hour to get to the outskirts of the city, but forever to get inside the wall and get a parking place. We managed to find a spot at Les Halles which is an indoor market that is one of the must-see places in Avignon. Like most markets in France, it's only open until one o'clock. We took a walk on Rocher des Doms, a well-laid out garden on a bluff overlooking the Rhone, Pont St.Benezet (sous le pont), Mount Ventoux, the Luberon hills, and the Alpilles - an exceptional view and well worth the climb to get there. It was a short walk from there to the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) where the Popes resided in the 14th century. Although it was interesting, it was a tedious hour and a half audio tour through the galleries, chambers, chapels, and passages. It also required climbing a million stairs. Exhausted, mostly mentally, we looked for a place to have lunch. Now I'm a big fan of the Rick Steves tour guides, but Sylvia uses it as her bible. So when looking for a place to eat, she started to say "Rick Steves says:" and grumpy ole me says "$#@!, Rick Steves, lets just find someplace ourselves". Great, so I spot this little place called Le Caveau du Theatre (pictured). In we go and have a pleasant meal, and just before dessert, Sylvia pulls out the Rick Steves book and damn if it doesn't have this joint listed - she just smiled - I didn't. After that, we walked over to the Musee Angladon which claimed to have Cezanne, Sisley, Manet, Picasso, and Van Gogh, which it did - one of each and none of which would be considered their better works. Anyhow, it didn't take long to get through the museum before starting back to Lourmarin where we performed the almost daily ritual of wine and Pastis at an outside table at Cafe L'Ormeau. This place must have been a favorite since I later went there for dinner by myself (Sylvia wasn't hungry) and watched the soccer match while chatting with the locals. We of course, couldn't understand a word each of us were saying (Pastis will do that to you).

Avignon Lunch Spot

Day 13 Lacoste, Bonnieux

Today was an easy drive around some of the smaller villages that we had passed through on our way to someplace else and had somewhat ignored. The day was pleasant and the scenery beautiful. One of the more interesting villages was Lacoste, a very small town on a hillside where the Marquis de Sade built a castle in which he lived for 30 years and wrote about many of his escapades  Pierre Cardin has bought the old castle and is in the process of renovating it. He also bought several other buildings that he's upgrading, and seems to be making Lacoste a destination. For lunch we drove up to Bonnieux and ate at La Flambee. They had a great old wood burning pizza oven so I ordered one and it was the thinnest crusted pizza I've ever seen; Sylvia had another omlette.  That was pretty much it for the day as we skipped dinner and just had a little wine and Pastis at Cafe L'Ormeau.

Day 12 Uzes and Pont du Gard



Pont du Gard

The weather today looked a little better, still marginal, but OK. We started early for the two hour drive over to Uzes in the Languedoc region. It was number two on Rick Steves' list of places in Provence to see. After walking around Uzes for an hour or so, it was difficult to see what was so special. Maybe because it was a holiday and most things were closed that made it seem rather drab. There appeared to be no special sights to see either. It was definitely not worth a two hour drive, except maybe to have a Pastis (which I did) and a glass of wine (which that woman with me did). Like I said it was a two hour drive. Trying to salvage the day, we drove over to Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct built in 19 B.C. A very impressive 30 mile structure that delivered water (100 gallons per second) to Nimes by a slight decline that drops one inch for every 350 feet. Pretty great stuff for 2000 years ago. Actually pretty great stuff today. It was a long walk to the top of a hill to get a good picture and we ran into the first people we've met from the U.S. They had been traveling for 4 months and were thrilled to talk to someone from back home. The only other English speaking people we've met were a couple from London and one from Canada. I guess we're somewhat immersed in the French culture. On the way back to Lourmarin from  Pont du Gard we drove back to St. Remy to see if any shops were open - they were closed for All Saints Day. Back in Lourmarin we hung out until 7:30 when we went to dinner at Bistrot Lourmarin. It was a cozy little 20 seat bistro that I thoroughly enjoyed. I started with a delicious Roasted Bone Marrow, followed by some very, very good Veal Kidneys - I was a happy guy. Sylvia had Poached Fish with vegetables over a sticky rice. She said she liked it and I didn't pay much attention - I was too busy with the kidneys. We finished with an ice cream, chocolate, apple, and nut dessert that was OK. Stuffed, I went to bed almost as soon as we got back to the apartment.