Product Placement

The new Tonka truck. Baby and disembodied hand not included.

The Triple Play

We planned out this day quite carefully. First, we'd go to Gordes, another of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France", as Menerbes is. Then, we'd go to the Abbaye de Senaque, one of the most photographed buildings in Provence. And we'd end the day at Fontaine du Vaucluse, the source of the river that runs through Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. All are tourist spots, but all are close to each other and we planned to make a day of it.
Gordes is wonderfully picturesque, and we got there quite early and parked in the lot nearest the town center. It was market day, which wasn't going to help the agoraphobics in the area. We were duly impressed with the streams of people walking the narrow streets as we drove in, as well the folks leaving the parking lot heading the direction we were.

We spent some time in the market, but after doing the rounds, it just proved to be too crowded and touristed, so we returned to the car for the next leg of the journey.
We drove through some tortuous two lane roads up over a ridge and down into the valley where the Abbaye is. It was quite beautiful, and apparently, earlier in the year, when the lavender is in bloom and runs right up to its walls, it's quite the sight.

Maceo was asleep and the one hour tour started over an hour after we got there, so we just wandered around outside for awhile, and then we piled back into the car to go to Fontaine du Vaucluse. There, we found a parking lot and had a picnic on the banks of the Sorgue, which was quite lovely, cold, and fast-flowing. Maceo enjoyed wading in a little canal off to the side, and we all enjoyed the ham, cheese, bread, and peaches we'd bought in Gordes.

We finished and walked on into the town.

There's a Petrarch museum, but we didn't want to pay to enter. Instead, we followed various paths up the side of the river until we finally reached the spring that is the source. At various times of the year, there can be lots of water flowing out. At this visit, the pool at the source was a bit stagnant and yucky looking.

As we walked up the path to the source, we passed many touristy things, including glaceries, where Mom, Kate, and Maurice got some cones. They all shared with Maceo and he preferred salted caramel. As you can see.

Dégustation (Wine tasting)

Oppede-le-vieux

 

 Salut!  The vacation continues and we started this particular day at Oppede-le-vieux, another perched village in the Luberon region of Provence that experienced a decimation of it population in the late 1800s and only relatively recently (early 1900s) was slowly repopulated with artists and has now become known as an artist's colony in this area.  

For us, the average tourists, this lovely village and day is one of many where we begin the morning with coffee, pain au chocolat, and we load up the car and set off to a picturesque village somewhere within a half hour of our base, Menerbes.  Usually, a short hike of some kind ensues after four adults and one toddler give their input on where we the sun will be located at the end of our 1/2 day excursion so that the car does not become a hot pocket in which we are the tasty, warn innards.

Oppede-le-vieux was no exception to this daily itinerary; we climbed the cobble-stoned streets to the ruins of a chateau at the top. Next to the chateau was an understatedly beautiful and simple cathedral that overlooked Mt. Ventu and the other smaller mountains of the Luberon area. 

Note to reader:  people who go backpacking with 30-50 pound packs often practice for days and weeks before starting their treks, cleansing their bodies of toxins, eating well, sleeping amply, and hydrating well in advance of their vacations.  Do not think for one second that toting a 30 pound, oversized 16 month old training only on 1.5 bottles of personal self-consumption of wine, white carbohydrates, chocolate croissants, no water, and little sleep is a doable task.  Train, I say! Train many, many days before you vacation with a gargantuan child on your back!

Field trip to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

The other day was market day in Menerbes. It's a small market, as you can see. Maceo, Kate, and I wandered up and down it while we waited for the small grocery nearby to open so we could buy our baguette, pain au chocolat, and pain a raisin. There was a cheese seller, some veggies, some nougat (at 45 euro a kilo!), a butcher, and a fish monger. We got some veggies.

After that mini adventure, we got organized to go to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. La Sorgue is a river that issues from Fountaine du Vauclouse, a spring/small town nearby which we plan to visit on Tuesday and might even canoe on, if they let Macers paddle. The town of Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is known for its antiques market, and it also has a floating market on Sundays, as it is criss-crossed by canals and is quite picturesque. This also means that the day we went, normal market day, it was quite crowded, too. It's a bit different, we are learning, travelling with a toddler. Excursions are truncated. But it's also fun, as everything is new to him, and therefore, we see it a bit anew, too. Like this chair.

Later that day, we went to dinner at the house of a friend of Lucy's. Laetitia had spent a few days in Amherst as part of a Fulbright program and ate dinner one night at the McMurrers's house as part of the program. Apparently, she and Lucy hit it off, and it turns out that her house is about 25 minutes from Menerbes, where we are staying. By the way, here's our street and the church next to our house (up on the right) here in Menerbes. The people at the door of the church are listening in on the daily practice sessions for an upcoming Mozart concert the choir is scheduled to perform.

We have dubbed the GPS in our car "Mrs. Pickles", as she has a bit of an English accent, is polite to a fault ("Follow the road, please"), and Kate has a colleague who shared that she has a Brit coming on an exchange program named Lucy Pickles. In any case, Mrs. Pickles steered us to the house in fin style, though we didn't fully believe her and ended up both consulting two tiny French women in the town of Lagnes and ending up in a field. Dinner was lovely; their house had a big yard with a pool, a small play house, a toy tractor for riding, and a Beagle, all of which enchanted Maceo. Dinner was roasted pork tenderloin, various sausages, a tomato salad, a green salad, and a dessert of cheeses and the local melons the region is famous for. We stayed till nearly 10:30, and even Maceo left happy and smiling. He wasn't so happy when he woke up at 7 the next day, but that's what happens when you stay up late, partying with a Beagle.

Hiking and Eating

We are waking up slightly earlier now, moving Maceo's bedtime back a little each night. Last night, he went to bed at 8 and awoke this morning at 7:30. Tonight, he is in bed at his normal time of 6, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Our expedition today was to a goat farm/restaurant in a village that is one of the highest in the Luberon Valley. We drove on small two lane roads through various villages until we arrived in Apt, where we were slightly lost. We found our way from there via maps and the GPS navigation in the rental car and finally arrived at the tiny village of Sivergues. From there, we could see a forest fire down in the valley below.


As we watched, and were joined by nervous villagers, we saw a number of planes come, descend quite low, and drop water to fight the flames. It was quite impressive and we were all very interested in watching. We hiked up the dirt road for about half an hour until we arrived at Le Castellas, a working farm and auberge. There was another family there, with two small children, and Maceo shyly eyed them from afar, not daring to go join them. They were both older, in any case, and French girls, so quite intimidating.

Lunch was soon brought to us. First course: sangria and ratatouille, along with roasted red peppers and baguettes. Soon, we were given slices of ham. This was followed by wine and a platter of potatoes and roasted pork, both with nice crunchy sea salt on their skins. Finally, we were given goat cheese and coffee. All the while, we were seated under trees on a hill at rough wooden tables on benches, gazing down into the valley while Maceo ran around gathering sticks and chasing a cat.

 We soon met Joseph, the little boy whose family runs the place, and he and Maceo proceeded to get into a bit of mischief at the fountain. We ended up spending about 3 hours here, eating, relaxing, and playing. Finally, we packed up and said our goodbyes and walked back to the car.

 

Back in Menerbes, pool play, Maceo's dinner, bath time, and bedtime reading. It is now 6:15, the sun is still strong in the sky, and we haven't really thought much about dinner, still feeling rather satisfied from the feast at Le Castellas.