LowCountryIslander

aussie_10,

Great report!

I enjoyed a meal at Petit Bofinger a couple years ago...at 10pm we walked in and the place was packed to the gills. We were told to wait a few minutes and they would seat us. As we stood squished in the bar area I was amazed at the food coming out of the tiny kitchen. I'm not sure if I was more amazed at the delicious food or the miniscule size of the kitchen!

glaciermeadows

Late getting in on this you have probably received plenty of advice. I was in Burgundy last April and the Dordogne three years ago. Do not miss Rocamadour. Get a list of market days especially in the Dordogne we hit a different one almost every day. We visited Font Du Game to see prehistoric cave paintings (small cave) but some of the best preserved cave paintings the public can still visit. If you are still heading South Conques east of Cahors (windy roads to get there) has the best medeval gold outside of a major museum. And also in this area is the lovely hillside town in the Lot is Saint Cirq Lapopie a great place for taking photos.
Sorry if I am repeating what others have already suggested. Have a safe trip

kerouac

I will just mention this in passing, even though it has no direct relation to anything that has gone before. I have always thought "Sunday morning -- no problem -- I can find a street market in one of the at least medium-sized cities." And I never ever find a Sunday street market in the provinces for some reason. In Paris, there are 20 or 30 of them and at least as many in the suburbs. In the provinces.... nothing that I have ever found.

cathies

Hi Aussie, we've shopped at the fruit stall at Rue Mouffetard too. An English chap served us and chatted for some time. He was gobsmacked when I told him how long the flying time was to get to Paris. We also added to the waist line with a rotisserie chicken and pommes dinner. However, we walked and
walked and walked so I don't think we did too much damage.

I'm glad you enjoyed your apartment. We stayed in one just near the Luxembourg RER stop and would catch the 27 bus from there to Rue Mouffetard to stock up on provisions. We were lucky enough to experience evening open air concerts in Jardin du Luxembourg while we were in Paris. We didn't have tickets, but we could open our balcony doors and the Tales of Hoffman would drift in. It was divine!

I'm glad you went to the Dordogne, I don't think it's experienced by too many Aussie travellers. We met up with Sydney friends in Albas, in The Lot, which is just a little north of the Dordogne. It's sooo beautiful!! I'm looking to reading your impressions of the area.

Looking forward to the next installment, Cathie (from Sydney)!!

aussie_10

We had leased 2 Renault cars back in Australia and were very happy with our cars. One a Diesel Kangoo and the other a petrol Megane. Armed with a TomTom – now I’m a map person but it was one of the other guy’s new toy –one day I could have stomped on it, but that’s another story. We made our way (on the wrong side of the road) to Buoux our home for the next 2 weeks.

Here are some quotes I like on ways to travel:

Lao Tsu says, “A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.”

And we can even use a quote by Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
A more contemporary figure is Mark Twain. He said, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

There are travel quotes on why you should travel:

St. Augustine said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

I love to travel, hey I even love reading about other people’s travels. But I’m a planner, so on this trip I tried to do lots of research first, gathered information and then tried to take a step back and go with the flow, hence the quotes. I wanted to meander, to take that other road sometimes, take a breath, listen, and savour, I’m in France.

Sidebar: When planning our trip to France we decided that we wanted to stay in an apartment in Paris, a country farmhouse in Provence and a townhouse in Sarlat, to get an all round experience. One of our prerequisites would be for each couple to have their own bedroom and bathroom. That was important for people that would be travelling together for 4 weeks, your own space. In fact we met many people who were amazed we were still happy and talking to each other after 4 weeks.

When firstly researching The Luberon I had never heard of Buoux. We loved our stay in Buoux. Our 17thC stone farmhouse was built on the side of a hill overlooking a magnificent valley reaching up to the Grand Luberon with the Buoux Fort on the other side. Our property was in an olive grove with almond trees and 2 resident horses. Very spacious and plenty of character with stone walls and a country chic feeling to it that the owner was very proud of. After navigating the narrow roads we decided to have dinner at our local restaurant. Now Buoux has a population of 110 people, no stores but has 3 very fine restaurants and we ate in all 3!

Dinner tonight at L’etape du promenade – little place, friendly owner, tasty salads, the biggest and best omelettes I have ever seen and tasted. I had the fromage omelette with lots of Roquefort cheese and apple tart for desert and of course we shared some great pichets of wine. We have good wine in Australia but the French wine is so easy to drink. Before going to bed I gazed out our windows in the pitch black, at the carpet of stars in the sky (they are so much brighter with now artificial lights) and said to my husband “did you hear that? No says he, that’s right I say, not a single sound” mmm I slept well that night.

It’s Sunday in Provence so it must be market day! We gathered our pretty French baskets and headed off to Coustellet via Bonnieux, down through the pretty hills and fertile patchwork of fields. Coustellet market was busy; we purchased vegies, pears and lasagne for dinner. Bought Paella made in the biggest wok I had ever seen, supplemented with scrummy baguettes. Back home through the winding roads to Maison de Marrenon and then out for a walk enjoying our beautiful aspect finishing with Rose and cheese on our deck.

aussie_10

Hi Cathie from Sydney Happy Austalia Day! I have enjoyed reading your reports.

Sorry I missed your post must have been posting my next trip instalment at the same time.

We were literally 2 minutes from Rue Mouffetard and I loved shopping amongst the fresh food vendors. Our apartment was on the 6th floor negotiated by the tinniest of elevators and in the afternoons sometimes we could here a pianist practicing nearby it was lovely to hear the melodious sounds wafting up.

Loved Jardin du Luxembourg.

Yes most Aussies had never heard of The Dordogne, it was only through Fodors that we decided to go there with the help of other peoples trip reports and postings. We did use St Dudley's Provence & Dordogne suggestions and many more Fodorites.

StCirq

<<And I never ever find a Sunday street market in the provinces for some reason. In Paris, there are 20 or 30 of them and at least as many in the suburbs. In the provinces.... nothing that I have ever found.>>

Must be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Off the top of my head, here are Sunday markets I can think of in just three areas:

Dordogne:
St-Cyprien
Issigeac
Rouffignac
St-Geniès

Provence:
Ile-sur-la-Sorgue
Avignon
Coustellet
Sarrians
Mormoiron

Lot:
Labastide-Murat
Montcuq

Oh, and Libourne and Biarritz and St-Saturnin and Bouscat.....

crefloors

NEVER=neuf heur I speak a little french, but can't understand much of anything they say to me. That just tickled me. Loving your report.

wiselindag

I just returned from South America and am finishing up my trip report. What a joy to read yours! I have traveled in France many times including multiple weeks in Paris and Nice and port visits to Marseilles (Aix on one visit and LeBeaux and Arles on another), Villefranche(I love Nice!), and Le Havre, travels in Brittany, a memorable visit to La Rochelle and time in the Dordogne. I have a friend who does tours in Provence (met on our second port visit to Marseilles). If you'd like to be in contact with her and perhaps spend a day in her company,let me know. She's a delightful person, speaks fluent English and has a wealth of historical knowledge.

Right now I'm helping some friends plan a trip to France and am finding your report to be very helpful, so thanks again for the hard work you are putting into such detailed and delightful entries.

aussie_10

Hi wiselindag, thanks for your encouragement. It sounds like you have visited many great places in France. We are back home now but I would love to explore the country so much more. Our wonderful holiday just wetted my appetite.

Our trip was over 12 months in planning and as I did all the bookings for everyone I felt a huge sense of responsibility that everything go well.

We often comment that we were blessed as everything went to plan and even the unplanned things went well. We had an absolutely fabulous time and many fine memories.

I too now find myself being a consultant for friends but I love all aspects of travel so love to share in evryones travels and experiences.

I am now working on my next trip report segment so hopefully more to come soon

susanna

Great report on three of my favorite areas.

NEVER=neuf heure.....moi aussi....

aussie_10

Next day we headed down a narrow winding road to Lourmarin our 4 friends were in the lead car and almost came a croppa (aussie slang for mishap) rounding a corner to be greeted by a huge tourist bus. All the bells and sirens sounded in the car as the bus came within millimetres of squashing the car – did I mention these roads are narrow, with vast drop offs, we were thanking our lucky stars we did not hire a large van.

Another snippet of info that I gleaned from Fodors was to purchase the book 'Provence Byways' which is an excellent guide to Provence especially the Luberon, it has great driving tours and today we were doing ‘The Pays d’Aigues Loop – Lourmarin, Vaugines, Curcuron, Ansouis.

Lourmarin is a glamorous village, lots of galleries and boutiques. Had a morning coffee at cafe Gaby and watched the visitors ambling by. We wandered the lovely laneways with homes with blue and mauve shutters, decorative wooden doors and colourful window boxes with cascades of flowers and vines finishing off a perfect picture. We decided that Lourmarin was a ‘cat’ village, lots of them lounging lazily on windowsills.
Next stop was the small village of Vaugines tucked up tight against the flanks of the Grand Luberon. We parked under the giant plane trees beside a little running stream and wandered through the Romanesque church and graveyard. We wandered up to the deserted town centre and were impressed by the moss covered fountain which drips water through the moss. I’m sure the residents were enjoying their midday dinner as our sense of smell was tantalised by delicious aromas wafting from open cute curtained windows.

Next village on route was Curcuron; we parked in the shade of the 200 year old plane trees that ring a large spring fed pond. We made our way to the six headed fountain and picturesque clock tower walking past intricate doorways and windows. The church here had a beautiful violet marble pulpit. We had a late lunch at a little bar & restaurant with a very friendly owner who on realising we were Aussies told us tales of an Aussie rocker (Jimmie Barnes for those aussies reading this) who set up residence locally and frequented his bar often. We and the other diners were serenaded or should I say blasted by aussie rock music throughout our delicious meal accompanied by the standard pichet or two of wine.

Drove on to our last village of the day, Ansouis classified as ‘one of the most beautiful villages of France’. It is a small, pretty village spiralling up a hill, on top of that hill is an imposing chateau with 360 views. Ansouis is a serene village, well preserved as it is a Catholic town and remained unscathed during the wars of religion.

Next day our destination was Cassis. After rounding a couple of roundabouts several times to get the correct exit we hit the Auto route with assistance from TomTom and before too long we were looking down at the spectacular view of Cassis with the Mediterranean shimmering in the distance. It was a bustling town with a picturesque harbour with coloured residences lining the harbourside; it was nice to inhale the sea air. Purchased tickets for the Calanques tour, sea was a little rough. DH & I and a lovely young Russian couple were the only ones to brave the front of the boat, we got absolutely soaked but it was a beautiful day, the Mediterranean water was warm and we had lots of good laughs and interesting conversation with the young couple – she was a famous television presenter in Moscow. It’s always interesting meeting fellow travellers. A final swim in the warm sea and home to a home cooked meal of ratatouie, potatoes and spicy sausage, raspberry tart and of course French wine. (Whilst shopping in a large supermarket in Apt we were amazed by the size of the huge wine barn attached to the store with a walls and walls of every flavour and variety of wine one could imagine and soo cheap, we purchased many and were not disappointed – all good).

Next day was a visit to our closest village, 8 km away, and a pretty drive past lavender fields to the perched village of Saignon. Saignon was a fortress built to protect the larger town of Apt in years gone by. Was disappointed the famous boulangerie owned by Christine Thomas was closed but we climbed to the top of the old towers and was rewarded with a dazzling view of the valley below and the white top of Mt Ventoux in the distance. Next stop the town of Apt, wandered the streets sampled tasty patisseries and glace fruit – Apt is famous for glace fruit.

An afternoon of swimming in our pool, gathering almonds to crack open and relaxing. We love coming home from our days outing and relaxing on our outdoor area and soaking up the quite Luberon mountains. At night it is pitch black and sooo quite, it is really quite beautiful.

When we first arrived at our 17thC farmhouse the owner and his wife we away, they also live on the property. They arrived back a few days later. Our first glimpse of him was when he rode along the laneway to our house on a bicycle to greet us. He was a very dapper Frenchman around 60ish astride his bike in a blue lacoste chambray collared shirt, canvas coloured trousers and comfortable leather loafers. He had a wonderful French accent, wide friendly smile and became a very friendly host. He was accompanied by his dog whom we discovered later was a very valuable truffle dog. We originally knew her as Caramel who liked to sneak into our kitchen and steal chocolate.

aussie_10

Croissants for breakfast and off to Roussillon via Bonnieux. Ist stop Le Pont Julien a 2000 year old Roman bridge. The pont is the only bridge that survives from the Via Domitia, a major Roman road that linked Roman Italy with its provinces in France. We walked below it to admire its incredible Roman architecture.

We crossed the busy N 900 climbed the other side of the valley to Roussillon and was immediately taken with the beautiful russet tones of the buildings perched atop of cliffs of red, yellow and orange. The town is unique in its colours and we loved the area around the Marie and the great views over the surrounding countryside.

Next we headed in the direction of Gordes, our TomTom took us into Gordes via the backstreets and straight to the centre of the village. We had read of the beautiful views of Gordes leading up to the village so we drove straight out and approached the village from the opposite direstion and was well rewarded with a spectacular view of the perched village from the best vantage point. Gordes is a big rich village with lovely homes and some nice shops, it was quite popular and one of the more busy villages we had been to.

Returned home and had some nice Rose sparkly on our terrace before dinner at home, Coq au Vin by candlelight. A few days earlier we had called at Cotes de Luberon winery co-op for some wine tasting and purchases. There we met 4 French ladies push biking around and sampling the local wines. They must had been to quite a few that day as they were very merry and friendly and we were amazed that they could mount their bikes and peddle off with their purchases stashed in their saddle bags. Wished we had purchased more wines that day as they were delicious.

LowCountryIslander

aussie...

You are bringing back great memories for me. I was in Roussillon in 2008 and while there I saw the most spectacular sunset I have ever seen!

aussie_10

LowCountryIslander

Yes we loved Roussillon we almost stayed there but the gite only had 1 bathroom and we thought that would be too hard for 6 people and two weeks. Loved the building's colours and beautifully decorated windows, curtains and window boxes.

A sunset would be spectacular

Thanks for reading my trip report it is nice to recount our wonderful holiday, its just fitting it in with work etc. and I thought I owed it to the many people who helped with our planning. I wasn't sure whether people had got bored with it by now and had stopped reading.

regards aussie

uklisa

Don't stop Aussie. It's a great read and those of us who are still in the planning phase really appreciate the information and insights. Thank you. Lisa

cathies

LOL 1 bathroom for 6 people for 2 weeks - no thank you!! I think you made a god decision to stay elsewhere.

Still loving your report......

aussie_10

We each had a great bathroom, ours had a toilet that was inside a stone wall enclave type cave. Our shower was over the bath and because we were downstairs the roof was in a curved like cave look. I am tall so everytime I washed my hair I scraped my knuckles on the stone roof. But we loved our accommodation it was clean spacious and well presented.

Still working on my trip report... just waylaid by inconveniences such as work, ugh.

aussie_10

My apologies I will try hard to finish this report over the next few days...............and put some photos in

Every day we have been out exploring the villages and countryside. It’s Friday so DH, GF & I visited the Lourmain village market and had a great morning sampling the many cheese, tapenades, salamis and breads, not to mention the good shopping. My GF is always a good shopper and DH was happy because once the vendors knew he was an Aussie they were very friendly he was given lots of free samples. We met some great characters especially the sausage man who had vast varieties of every imaginable type of sausage, mmm... tasty too. My GF was keen to sample the nutella crepes from the skilful lady who could whip them up in no time; we were then stalked by a friendly dog who drooled until we gave him a sample. The market in Lourmain had many stalls that we did not see anywhere else and the quality of the merchandise was excellent. I purchased a beautiful tablecloth, some great jewellery and some good ceramics, not to mention tasty food items. We sat down and had a cool beer and wine in the main square and watched the busy market trade before heading back home to nibbles by the pool. Weather still purrfect!!

Dinner tonight was at another local Buoux restaurant ‘Auberge des Sequins’. We drove down past the road to the Buoux Fort and headed along a dark gravel road seemingly to nowhere, and voila! A restaurant appears. The clientele were mainly European we were the only English speakers. Entree was a plate of various dips, vegies and interesting tempters. Mains consisted of 4 choices, duck, beef, lamb and fish. Deserts crème caramel, citron tart, chocolate ganache or banana crumble. Food was tasty and local ambience the restaurant was run by a friendly young couple and had a large clientele of rock climbers who stayed at the nearby hotel.

We awoke to a rolling mist in the valley; we couldn’t see 10 feet in front of us, very eerie. Today we went to L'isle de la Sorgue which is the biggest local market and it is huge! Everything from fruit, vegies, cheese, bread, trinkets, pottery, clothes, shoes, materials, antiques, and the list goes on. Foods and produce were displayed beautifully in colourful displays that tempted the most hardened shopper. The crowds were large but the setting by the river on a picturesque sunny day, created a happy festive day. We all had a prosperous morning.

Next stop Fountains-de-Vaucluse which is the largest underground spring in the world it’s a spectacular setting for a lovely village beside a roaring river of crystal clear water and lush vegetation and sheer limestone cliffs. The sun shimmering through the trees exuded a colourful glow of yellows and greens in the trees matched by glistening water that we could see through all the way to the bottom. As it is Sunday there were lots of French people out and about for a stroll with families and friends. I love watching and listening to them. Their voices are quite melodious and they are very fashionable, a little scarf here, a nice belt there and lovely shoes, even if you have to walk over cobblestones.

We then moved on to yet another little old village and wondered where everyone was until we came across lots of locals playing in a very big Boules (Bocce) tournament. It was fun watching the locals interacting with each other. We were just itching to play but of course tourists are not invited it is serious business! What we noticed in these villages were the beautiful curtains that always have flowers or scenes embroidered or woven into the design, but with a see through effect. I shall try and post some more pictures.

Next day early start and set TomTom for Pont du Gard, travelled via Avignon and the magnificent Rhone River. The Pont du Gard built by the Romans in 38 BC, is a 3 story bridge, the top tier was an aqueduct that supplied water to Nimes for 500 years. It is so well preserved and a magnificent feat of engineering, it’s hard to imagine its age. We were very impressed with how grand it stands and how solid it still seems, we viewed it from many angles and were over awed. They were clever people the ancient Romans.

We drove through the fertile Rhone valley (what a huge river!) on to Arles which resembled a mini Rome. Scattered around the narrow streets are relics of a lost empire and a huge colosseum, Les Arenes, dominating the town. We enjoy a few hours of sightseeing in the Romanesque town.

schnauzer

Can't believe I missed this great report in January. Keep it coming Aussie - loving it - agree my three favourite areas. Thanks for all the info, Schnauzer