South of France II: Provence 2

 

The Luberon region (no, not LeBron) is pretty compact but dotted with numerous hill-top towns, so visiting a number of them at an enjoyable pace would take days, if not weeks. I have set aside... exactly one day. My ambitious initial list would inevitably get gradually smaller, with the potential first stop at Isle-sur-la-Sorgue on a market day becoming a first casualty before we even hit the Provencal road. We first drive to Oppede-le-Vieux, whose main charm is a little bit of life blown into a formerly dead city. The weather's great and the Mistral is nowhere to be found.

Oppede-le-Vieux: A former ghost town returning slowly to life



Oppede-le-Vieux: Main Square, if you can call it that.

From there, it is a short drive to a trio of hilltop towns: Menerbes, Lacoste, and Bonnieux.
Menerbes is where Peter Mayle, the author of the popular novel "A Year in Provence," initially settled after retirement. Since that book helped put this region on the map, of course we have to check it out. Charming houses hang precariously on a ridge and we have to negotiate narrow steep roads. Pretty but we probably wouldn't want to live here.

 

Menerbes: where Peter Mayle chose to retire

Menerbes: attractive town with tidy houses

 

Menerbes

The next stop, Lacoste, is identified with the notorious Marquis de Sade. The walk up to the ruins of his castle at the top is not bad, certainly not to the point of being a masochistic behavior. We are way behind schedule and it is already lunch time, but there are no restaurants to be found. One store is open but alas it only sells Lavande. We like the lavender smell but need food! We do run into a few cheerful American art students studying in Lacoste. I guess it is not a bad way to spend your parents' money for 8 weeks, or maybe I am harsh and the students are on their own.

Lacoste: the castle at top is the legacy of Marquis de Sade, now being restored by none other than Pierre Cardin

 

Lacoste: a village seemingly made entirely of stone

Lacoste: steep hills with Mt. Ventoux in the background

Once we reach Bonnieux, there are finally signs of life. We devour pizza with complex toppings - oh, typical French. Bonnieux seems to offer the attraction of a hill town while not losing most of the modern practicalities. I could live here.

 

A typical farmhouse with a vineyard on the way to Bonnieux. Again Mt. Ventoux is visible.

Approaching Bonnieux

 

Bonnieux: Mt. Ventoux seen in the distance on right

Bonnieux

A view of Lacoste from Bonnieux

 

 

 

Looking back at Bonnieux upon heading south

 

At this point, we turn south to reach Lourmarin which most day trippers to the Luberon may skip. Despite being horribly behind schedule, I have to go there, mainly to pay homage to, not Mr. Mayle who apparently resides there after moving from Menerbes, but Albert Camus, who existed in Lourmarin in his later years and is buried there. The town cemetery is just outside the town and thankfully there are directions to his grave.

Entering Lourmarin

 

Lourmarin

 

Lourmarin: tomb of Albert Camus, where we come as strangers

We hurry back north up to Luberon proper with our next destination being the grand daddy or redness of them all, Roussillon. Along the way, we have to forego a couple of stops with regret - Chateau de la Canorgue Winery where the film "A Good Year," featuring the great French actress Marion Cotillard, was shot, and the Julien Bridge, a well-preserved Roman bridge.

 

 

Approaching Roussillon: red rocks announce that we are in the ochre country

 By the time we arrive in Roussillon well past 4pm, all hopes of hitting the ochre trail while it's open have been dashed. But the town itself is attractive in an unusual way. The surrounding area is reminiscent of Arizona or Utah on a smaller scale, but as our guidebook stated, it could also be a Santa Fe on a hilltop. It is understandable that this is perhaps the most popular tourist destination in Luberon.

 

Roussillon

 

 

Roussillon: situated in the colorful canyon

Roussillon



Roussillon: surrounded by colors



 

Roussillon

 

Roussillon: streets are red and lined by art galleries

As we near Gordes, the sun is going down and we have time to do only a drive-by. But from there the famed Abbey Senanque is not far. The Abby is closed and we have the whole place to ourselves. It is quite different from the middle of July where tourists are walking in between rows of lavender to end up in each other's photos. 

Joucas: a view on the way to Gordes

Approaching Gordes

Senanque Abbey: total silence when we visited. Imagine the crowds when the lavender is in full bloom in July.

leaving Gorgeous Gordes over the Gorge

We return to St. Remy via Avignon, a bit of a detour, in order to have dinner at Christian Etienne which was closed while we stayed  in Avignon. Overall a hectic but satisfying day-long whirl-wind tour through the Luberon.

Dinner at Christian Etienne in Avignon is worth a detour. Nearby Carpenteras is the black truffle capital of this region.

We leave St. Remy after breakfast toward the coast and Aix-en-Provence is a logical stop. (If we had more days, I would have liked to stop at Camargue and Cassis for nature.) Aix is a popular university town, but it fails to appeal to me, perhaps partly because of a few locals who seem snappy. Getting into town and parking in the center was not difficult. But after a brief visit including lunch, getting out of Aix is an entirely different matter. The GPS fails and we are left with a simple physical map. Normally I pride myself for being a good map reader, but the combination of one way curved streets that seem to abruptly end, constantly changing street names, lack of signs for getting to the highway, and heavy traffic conspire to keep me circling the central area.

Aix-en-Provence: Cours Mirabeau, a grand boulevard like Champ-Elysees in Paris

Aix-en-Provence: Cours Mirabeau

Aix-en-Provence: Brasserie les Deux Garcons is not known for food but history, but this aioli plate tastes good enough for me. Paul Cezanne frequented here with his pal, Emile Zola. The gold interior is supposed to be original from the late 18th century.

 

Aix-en-Provence: an artistic Apple store

But even though we are running several hours late, I don't want to give up on one other attraction in the outskirts - Cezanne's last studio. Fortunately we catch a tour in English. I had planned to walk up the hill behind the studio to a site with a view of Mt. St. Victoire, which Cezanne loved to paint, but have to settle for a view from the highway. We are forced to cancel the dinner reservation at Nice. Art over dinner, some might say. But this is probably the worst driving day in my memory.

Aix-en-Provence: Atelier Cezanne. Cezannne is to Aix what van Gogh is to Arles. Cezanne's last studio preserves many of the objects that are found in his paintings.