Yesterday and today, we relaxed in Avignon, acting like “regular” tourists. We arrived yesterday, riding from Gordes, 50 or so kilometres, getting a little lost coming into town. Avignon is the biggest city that we rode into and finding the old town was a little complicated. (Bordeaux, which we visited a few weeks ago, is larger, but we arrived there by train.)
We toured the key sites in Avignon: the Papal Palace and the Pont d’Avignon.
When Peter Mayle wrote the 1989 best seller A Year In Provence, it was set in the area we were riding today. Called The Luberon, it consists of three mountain ranges – Le Petit Luberon, Le Grand Luberon, Le Luberon Oriental, (I’ll let you translate those!) and the valley surrounding them. A Year in Provence tells the story of Mayle and his wife renovating a two-hundred-year-old farm house outside Ménerbes, which is one of the Luberon towns we visited today. It opened the eyes of many English-speaking people to the joys of life in Provence.
Serendipity: The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
Amid all the beauty of France, it is hard to be taken by surprise. L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is such a place. A small town 25 kilometres east of Avignon, it’s special beauty is the Sorgue River that runs through and around it.
The primary reason we went to Vaison-La-Romaine was to visit with friends of ours from Winnipeg, Judy and Bill, and Delores and Dave who have rented a beautiful villa here for two weeks, with two other couples.
We arrived in Vaison-la-Romaine late yesterday after riding from Avignon. It was a long day on the bikes, close to 75 kilometres. We were keen to arrive here to visit with some Winnipeg friends, so we happily road a few extra kilometres. (Perhaps, I wasn’t entirely happy! It was a long, sometimes hilly slog.)
We have found throughout our trip that it is difficult to find an open restaurant on a Sunday or Monday night. We see this is small and larger towns or cities. It is quite a contrast from North American, were a meal can be found at all times of day or night. (In France, it is next to impossible to find a restaurant to eat in mid-afternoon. The kitchens are fully closed after lunch until dinner service, which usually starts at 7:30.)
We are always concerned about where our bikes will be stored at night. It would be devastating to have them stolen. Last night, after dinner, as is our habit, we went to check our bikes. We found them corralled by six big beasts.
A group of six mammoth-sized BMW motorcycles watched over our bikes. We knew they were safe.
I think I might upgrade my ride!
Up until today, we have been riding mostly flat lands or slightly rolling hills. Today, we entered the Alpilles. Sounds a lot like “Alps”, don’t you think? They aren’t as high as the Alps, but for a prairie girl packing a 25 pounds in panniers, it was an unnerving prospect to ride some serious hills.
After of day of city sightseeing yesterday, we decided to head out on our bikes and experience some nature.
The Rhone River flows through Arles and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. The Camargue is a national park at the river delta. It is pronounced “Caw Marg” but the pronunciation “Caw Mar Goo” is stuck in my head. Whenever I say that to a local, they look at me with a most perplexed look.
After our unexpected delay in Toulouse, we finally make our way to Arles.
Arles is located in south central France about 35 kilometres from the Mediterranean Sea. An important port city since Roman times, Arles is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Well Spoke'n 