5 days in Provence

We arrived at our little house between Arles and Avignon in the small village of Vallabregues. It's a charming original 18th century Provencal house which has been renovated and decorated in true french country style. A slightly more unusual Air bnb experience than our previous ones as it is the lady's own home and she's been around a bit more than we are used to... but we love the house and the little village, especially the kids being able to head out each morning to chercher le pain et les croissants for breakfast.

On our first day we went to St Remy de Provence where we wandered the historic town.

We then went to see Les Antiques and the Glanum - the site of an entire village  at the foot of the stunning Alpilles mountains, first settled in the 6th and 7th century BC and later inhabited by the Romans. It was discovered after 17 centuries and is now laid out as it originally would have been - it was an absolutely stunning day and the ruins against the cliffs and mountains were almost eerie.

From there we went to the village of Les Baux de Provence (described by the guidebook as "a distinctly unreal fortified village where the ruined eleventh century citadel is hard to distinguish from the edge of the plateau whose rock is both foundation and part of the structure") We had lunch there (note that Bill has graduated from a beer or two at lunch to a beer or two and a glass or two of the local red). After lunch we walked all around the Chateau des Baux - an incredible location combining the old ramparts with troglodyte areas, perched high on the mountain outcrop, looking down over the olive groves and vineyards of Provence. We learnt all about the weapons which were used to prevent enemies encroaching....

Afterwards we went to Carrieres des Lumieres - an incredible audiovisual/ sound, light and art show using continuous moving projections on the floor, ceilings and walls of an expansive, enormous old stone quarry - the place where they got the rock to build the town. The show we saw featured the art of Marc Chagall and was called Songes d'une nuit d'été. It was so wicked but it is hard to put into words - it would have made an outrageous nightclub!

The next day we went to Arles ("Arle tell you when I get there") which is famous for its Roman structures - we saw the Arena and the Theatre - the Arena is one of the world's best examples of a Roman amphitheatre and coming upon it as we did is a bit like when you see the Colosseum for the first time - amazingly it is still used today for bullfighting and we were able to walk around the inside, including the tunnels underneath, without another soul in sight. There's a lot to be said for travelling in the low season.

Then we wandered the old town and had lunch at the Place du Forum, next to the café where Van Gogh used to hang out and which was the subject of his painting "Café de nuit"

Zoe checking out a local school

 

We've also enjoyed our time at home, number 6 Rue du chateau, with family dinners, kids enjoying the spa and mum and dad doing a bit of trip planning in the evenings.

Our house and trusty Citroen.....and the spa (mais pas assez chaud pour moi!!)

On day 3 we visited some of the villages in the Luberon area - L'ile sur la sorgue then Gordes (where Amelia nearly fell to her death while climbing a clifftop wall, leading to much gnashing of teeth and discussion of rules...

Then to Rousillon where we had lunch and walked in the amazing red cliffs, a little bit reminiscent of our own Redcliffs, where they source ochre (from the iron-rich ochre sands) which is used to make the gorgeous colour of the buildings as well as paint.

Best lunch spot view so far... only issue was the alcohol-free Stella!

Zoe found a broom to sweep the stairs..

And on the way out of town, we tested and bought some Olive oil and apricot jam (to die for)

Last stop was Ménerbes, where we admired the view as the sun was going down behind the Luberon then had a glass of the local red  

Just before bed, Zoe lost her tooth - now all she wants for Xmas is her two front teeth, plus one. Harv has also lost a tooth on the trip in Corsica - the going rate from the tooth fairy here has been well and truly established as 2 euros.

We started day 4 with a run through the Autumn "serenity" then on the way back Bill, Harv and Amelia discovered that the town was buzzing because of the Sunday morning market. After breakfast, we all went down to check it out - great to watch the locals mingling and enjoying coffee in the sun. Also the best cafe creme of the trip...

 

Harv bought a gun at the market, so Zoe had to call the cops!



At the playground on the way home, Zoe made her own lolly shop.

Later we went to see the Pont du Gard, a world heritage site and a truly astonishing feat of Roman geninus - part of an aqueduct used to transport from Uzes to Nimes, about 50km long and built in only 5 years.

 

 

 After all that history and culture, it was time for the Haribo museum - just an elaborate ruse to make you pay to go through a "museum" explaining about the Haribo company and how the sweets are made before ushering you through to the shop! Bill wasn't keen but the kids were in heaven...

Despite Bill's huffing and puffing, we bought a huge tub of coke bottle lollies, because the container they came in will be really useful. We couldn't believe the quantities of sweets people were buying from the shop - tubs and tubs and tubs of them!

On the last day, it was stormy and wet so it was a slow start -  we went to Avignon and Bill pulled out the poncho which we had got from the Big Bus Tour in London and later Amelia joined him - a new low was achieved on the style front.....

We went to the Palais de Papes which was the massive gothic palace the popes built when, in the 14th century the head of the catholic church was based in Avignon instead of Rome. An interesting fact was that it was only just after the french revolution in 1789 that the people of Avignon voted to become french rather than remain part of the Roman empire - controversial...

After lunch, we managed to lose first our car and then each other, walking around and around the walled city and the streets until we finally decided to meet back at the palace and retrace our steps....

  

Good times - lost in Avignon!

Amelia says: Provence is so cool and fun - there are lots of things to do including Haribo factory, Pont du gard, amazing light shows, chateaux and much much more. Our house was awesome but the lady who was renting the house kept coming to our house & doing gardening and checking the spa. The spa was so cool but mum didn't reckon because apparently the normal temperature is 36-37 and ours was only 32 degrees. Provence is awesome.

Zoe says: I love the house in Provence because it had a spa and I got my own bedroom of my choice. I loved the little towns that we go to - the last lunch was really nice - Dad let us get the kids menu and an icecream and we talked about the trust plant.

Harvey says:  Provence has been an amazing experience - we have so many family jokes now - ie cigarette out the door. 

There has been so much to see - Dad has told a lot of stories about Roman ruins because apparently Provence was captured very early so there are lots of ruins, blah blah....my favourite was Pont du Gard. Here are some of my photos :