Lyndell

Earlier this summer my wife and I traveled to Burgundy and Provence utilizing information and guidance provided on this website. We relied heavily on suggestions from StuDudley but others such as Underhill, Michael, and iris1745 also were very helpful.

The trip was three weeks long, starting late May 26, 2009 and ending June 17, 2009. We flew from the U.S. (Atlanta) to the Paris CDG Airport and then traveled to Burgundy and on south to Provence by rental car. At the end of our stay in Provence we returned to the CDG Airport via the TGV high speed rail line. Our lodging stops were as follows:

Troyes (2 nights)
Chevannes (4 nights)
Dijon (3 nights)
Vandenesse en Auxois (2 nights)
Buisson (4 nights)
Saint Rémy de Provence (5 nights)
Paris CDG Airport (1 night)
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Before describing our trip let me single out some of the bests, in my opinion:
- Lodging: "L'Ecole Buissonnière" in Buisson (Provence). This B&B was outstanding. The room, view, breakfast, owners ... everything was outstanding (even the 63 Euros/day price). This was a Rick Steves recommendation and I believe that it is also in the Michelin guide. Several other places we stayed were very good but this was far and away the best.
- Sight: Pont du Gard and the associated museum. Of all the sights we visited, this was the best to me. You really need to spend an hour or two at the associated museum before walking along the path to the aqueduct-bridge.
-Museum: Hotel Dieu in Beaune. It was established by Nicolas Rolin in the 14th century. Originally founded as a hospital, it has a wealth of tapestries, paintings, sculptures, pharmacy jars, beds, chests, etc.
- Chateau: Cormatin.
- Lunch: At the Les Millésimes in Noyers (Burgundy). We did not eat dinner there.
- Dinner: At the La P'tite Beursuade in Auxerre (Burgundy). We did not eat lunch there.
- Cheese: Pie d' Angloys. This is a soft, creamy cheese that is great on bread at breakfast.
- Wine at a restaurant: St. Aubin at Stéphane Derbord in Dijon.
- Favorite Market: Beaune.
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Tips/Comments
- Gas stations are strategically located on the toll roads; however, once you leave the highway the stations are somewhat sparse. Also, their self-serve pumps usually will not accept our credit cards. Be sure you maintain adequate fuel in your car's tank, especially on weekends and holidays when some stations may be closed.
- The toll roads accepted payments from some U.S. credit cards. In Burgundy payments by American Express Cards were accepted but not VISA. The reverse was true in Provence.
- Pack an empty plastic water bottle, fill it each morning at your lodging, and carry it with you.
- Pack a light sweater for early June in Burgundy and a windbreaker and tight fitting hat for rain or venturing out at the top of Mt. Ventoux.
- There seems to be far greater acreage of vineyards in Provence than in Burgundy.
- During the time we were in Provence, we were early for lavender blooms and late for poppies. We saw a few poppies in bloom and fields of lavender that were just beginning to bloom. We saw the yellow flowers of Scotch (or Spanish?) broom frequently.
- If you are going to travel on the TGV get your tickets well-ahead of time. You will likely have access to more trains and better prices.
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Trip Details

Troyes

(Wednesday, 27 May) We drove directly from CDG Airport to Troyes. After circling through the town several times we found our hotel, which was located near the train station. Suffering from jet lag, we had hoped to check in and rest for a short while but that was not to be. The door into the hotel lobby was locked and, peering through the glass door, we saw that no one was at the reception desk. A call system beside the door got no response. At a tourist office just down the street I inquired about the hotel and got walking tour information. I was told that the hotel receptionist was probably out and would return later. Although I had confirmed reservations through Michelin (booking.com), I was concerned. We next walked to the train station and purchased local and international phone cards, called to confirm our next lodging, and attempted to purchase TGV train tickets for travel back to Paris at the end of our trip. Our difficulties continued ... our next lodging said we had no reservation and we were not able to communicate well enough with the train ticket agents to get our TGV tickets. As we had only had a minimal airline breakfast and no lunch, we proceeded into Troyes looking for a place to eat. It was late afternoon and few places were open for a meal. We saw that Crêperie la Tourelle was open and, as someone on Fodors had suggested it, we gave it a try. We had gallettes and cider, which were quite good and left us feeling much better. After walking some more down the narrow medieval streets, we returned to our hotel and found that it was now open. It was old, rather worn, and dark ... nowhere as nice as our subsequent lodgings, but it was convenient, cheap, and clean. After minimal unpacking, we turned in and were quickly asleep.

(Thursday, 28 May) We arose the next day somewhat improved and, after leisurely showers, again made a call to our next lodging stop. They had misunderstood my name (probably my poor pronunciation), which is French, and they did have our reservation. Everything appeared brighter. After stopping at Laura's Café for very good coffee and slices of flan, we preceded with the "old town" walk suggested by the tourist office. Along the way we first stopped at the covered market (where we picked up bottled water and lunch items). Our next stop was Maison de L'Outil et de la pensee ouvriere (museum of old tools). Then we visited L'Hotel de Vauluisant (Troyes art and old knitwear) and Saint Pierre Cathedral (16th century). Before we finished our walk, we went down the Rue des Chats (opposing houses so close that a cat could jump between them). We again ate at the Crêperie la Tourelle.

Chevannes

(Friday, 29, May) Leaving Troyes, we headed toward our next lodging in Chevannes. Approaching Auxerre on N77, we found that the road was closed for repair. No signs indicating an alternate route were seen. Taking various poorly marked small roads that appeared to generally go in the correct direction, we eventually bypassed Auxerre and headed toward Chevannes. The town was small, clean, and attractive. Just outside Chevannes in the midst of grain fields (wheat I believe) we found our lodging, Chateau de Ribourdin. After visiting our room and partially unpacking, we headed back to Auxerre, which was just a few miles north. We parked in one of the many parking spaces along the river and went to the nearby tourist office on the river road where we got a map that showed their walking tour. We just needed to follow the metal triangles embedded in the streets and sidewalks. Before really starting the walk we decided to head up the hill into the center of town for lunch. At a large restaurant near a large parking area we had lunch ... an omelet and a sandwich, neither particularly good. We completed most of the walking tour, visited a church, and headed back down the hill. I found Auxerre attractive but without anything particularly impressive. We were tired and, though it was early (~ 5:30 pm), we started looking for a restaurant with a menu that appealed to us. After many disappointments we found an appealing restaurant that was recommended in our Green Michelin Guide (Burgundy Jura), La P'tite Beursuade. Aside from being a little slow at getting us coffee at the end of the meal, the service and food were very good and I would certainly recommend them. After making a few wrong turns along the way, we returned to our lodging.

(Saturday, 30 May) Our room at Chateau de Ribourdin was excellent and they provided a very good breakfast of juice, mellon, breads, homemade preserves, cake, and coffee with warm milk. It was a beautiful day and we were off, first to Avallon and then to Vezelay. We visited a church in Avallon, completed part of a prescribed walk and then had lunch there. It was nice but not nearly as impressive as Vezelay and its Basilique. We had intended to go to Chateau Bazoches but missed a turn and soon found it getting too late. Returning toward our lodging, we noticed that we were getting low on diesel and tried to find a station in Auxerre. The only place we found open was a self-serve at a grocery and it would not accept our credit cards. We observed how few gas/diesel stations there were. We gave up and headed back toward our lodging and were happily surprised to find a station with diesel at Chevannes, where a pleasant woman came out to our car and filled our tank. Tired, we dined in our room on pastries, and peanut butter sandwiches. I believe we also had some apples purchased at a market.

(Sunday, 31 May) After breakfast, we headed off to Chablis, where the Sunday market was taking place. We had been warned to go early on market days in France but found ourselves always arriving late. Chablis was crowded and we continued through it without stopping, traveling on to Chateau Tanlay. As with all of the tours of Chateaus that we took, the Tanlay tour was given in French but a handout was provided to us with descriptions in English. Also, the tour guide who took our group on the tour spoke English and offered to answer any questions we had. During the tour she occasionally pointed out interesting items to us in English. After the tour we stopped for lunch just outside the gates to Tanlay, We had a salad for lunch ... okay but nothing that I would try again. I had not understood the menu and was told it was chicken salad ... it was, but the chicken was chicken livers. My wife had a chef salad which she enjoyed very much. After lunch we returned to Chablis, walked about a bit. Through the meal and for much of several days, we suffered with hay fever. It was much like occasional bouts that we had at home, with sneezing and itchy eyes. Drops that I had brought from home helped but did not completely relieve the itchy eyes. After Chablis, we proceeded to Chateau Ancy le Franc. This Chateau seemed somewhat nicer but our guide was not as helpful and I enjoyed Tanlay more. We picked up bread, croissants, etc. for our evening meal and returned to Chevannes.

(Monday, 1 June) Following breakfast this day, we were off on a route recommended by Karen Brown. We drove once more to Chablis and then went briefly north to view the vineyards as far as the pretty, small town of Maligny. Going back through Chablis we traveled along a small road (D45) through Chichee, Chemilly, Poilly sur Serein, Molay, Perrigny,and on to Noyers. The countryside was pretty but, to our surprise, there were only a few small plantings of grapes on this route. Noyers proved to be one of the prettiest, most interesting looking small towns that we saw during our entire trip. We lunched there at the restaurant Les Millésimes. The restaurant was busy and service was somewhat slow but the “Salad escotique” we had there was perhaps the best meal we had during our trip ... at least, it was the best lunch. From Noyers we went to the Abbaye de Fontenay. While I thought that it did not quite live up to expectations (Michelin ***), my wife really liked it. After Fontenay we traveled to Alise Ste Reine and up to the Mont Auxois archeological site where Ceasar is said to have defeated the Gauls in 52 BC. It was getting late and, after briefly visiting the sight, we headed back toward Chevannes, passing through the pretty town of Semur en Auxois on the way. We tried going back to La P'tite Beursuade in Auxerre for dinner, but could not get a reservation. Weary from a long day, we bought a melon and loaf of bread and returned to our room to eat. The melon (much like our cantaloupe, only smaller - perhaps a Charentais) proved delicious. I wish that I knew for certain what it was called. We never saw any growing but they were available at every market that we visited during the trip.

Dijon

(Tuesday, 2 June) This was checkout day and we thought how very nice the B&B had been. I thought it might well be our best lodging of the trip. It was another beautiful sunny day and we were off to our apartment in Dijon. We took the A6 past Dijon, exited at Beaune, and then drove north through the famous Cote de Nuits towns and vineyards to Dijon. Along the way we stopped to visit the wine museum and taste wine at Chateau Andre-Zittener in Chambolle Musigny. We enjoyed the tasting and bought two bottles, then went off to lunch. I do not recall the name of the restaurant but we had the plat de jour, which was good but too much food. We next drove to Dijon and spent at least an hour trying to reach the apartment we had rented. Arriving mid-afternoon we found the traffic moderately heavy but that was not the main problem ... it was the one-way streets. Again and again we circled trying to find a way to our apartment and eventually we did. Our hostess (Mme Pelisson) spoke excellent English and directed us into the enclosed courtyard parking that was included with and adjacent to our apartment. The apartment, "L'Appart", had been recommended by Fodorite Coco, and it proved excellent. It was clean, well-furnished (the IKEA kitchen was well equipped and nicely arranged) and located convenient to the sights we wanted to visit - our hostess was very helpful ... everything we wanted for our planned three days in Dijon. Further, a good patisserie was located just three doors down the street and a nice grocery above a department store was about a block or two away. There was even an SNFC office a couple of blocks away, where we were able to purchase our TGV tickets to return to Paris CDG from Avignon at the end of our trip. We picked up various crepes, milk, a melon, eggs, cheese, etc., at the grocery for meals, including the one that evening.

(Wednesday, 3 June) While I went a few doors down for croissants, my wife prepared breakfast. We had melon, scrambled eggs, fresh croissants, cheese, and coffee with milk. It was excellent. The cheese was delicious - "Pie d' Angloys" ... wish I could find it here. After breakfast we went to the tourist office, picked up a booklet on the Dijon "Owl Walk", and made reservations for the "Mustard and Gingerbread Tour". We completed most of the walk and, of course, rubbed the owl. For lunch we enjoyed a ham and cheese sandwich. After lunch we went on the tour. It turned out to be much more than just "Mustard and Gingerbread" and was provided in both French and English. Our guide spent a good part of the tour showing us residences and other buildings dating back as far as the 15 c. in the old district near the Palace of Dukes. She discussed the original owners, history, and various features of the buildings. Near the end of the tour we visited both a mustard shop and a gingerbread shop and we saw a short film on the history of the gingerbread. We were surprised to learn that the gingerbread did not contain any ginger and that the mustard seeds for the mustard came from Canada rather than France. We enjoyed the tour and I would certainly recommend it. Although we tasted them, we did not buy any mustard or gingerbread. After the tour we walked around a bit more and, as my wife was not feeling well, went back to our apartment for an early meal and some rest.

(Thursday, 4 June) We had a breakfast similar to yesterday's. My wife was still not feeling well and was running a little fever. She decided to stay at the apartment, take an antibiotic, and rest. I went off to see some of the sights of Dijon. After walking about and window shopping, I visited the free Musee des Beaux Arts with its many nice 13 - 15 c. paintings, some sculptures and tombs. There was a separate temporary Matisse Exhibit in some of the lower rooms, which I decided to also visit (4 Euros). There were few actual Matisses and I found it disappointing. After unsuccessfully looking for Nicot Yves' wine shop (mentioned in the Michelin Green Book), I returned to the apartment to check on my wife. She was feeling better and early that evening we went to Restaurant Stéphane Derbord for dinner ... just a couple of blocks from the apartment and one of Stu's recommendations. I was a bit disappointed. The service, wine (from St. Aubin), cheeses, and desert were very good but the duck liver and lamb included in my meal were just so-so. However, my wife liked her meal very much. She found the fish and asparagus to be particularly good.

Canal at Vandenesse en Auxois

(Friday, 5 June) After breakfast we returned our key and the remote courtyard door opener and we were off first on a drive through some of Burgundy's pretty countryside south of Beaune. This included the towns of Pommard, Orches, St. Romain, and Santenay. At Santenay we had lunch and purchased another bottle of wine. We had intended to visit St. Aubin and get wine similar to that we had at Stéphane Derbord but missed it and went on to visit the Chateau at La Rochepot. There was a sign at the Chateau door ... knock three times. This was a very enjoyable Chateau visit. The Chateau was nicely landscaped and, although the tour was in French with an English handout, the young woman who took us on the tour pleasantly answered all of our questions. Next we went to Autun. We visited the Cathedral but were not able to see the famous 12 c. stone carving over its door. It was undergoing repair and was covered. To me Autun was a disappointment. From there we traveled to our next lodging, the Lady A Barge docked at the canal at Vandenesse en Auxois. Our room was small but clean ... not enough space for relaxing, but that is just what I expected. You could see the canal from our window and hear ducks quacking and the noise from of a party at the adjacent barge. Before dinner, we drove over to the nearby Chateauneuf. It looked interesting and I wish that we had gone there rather than Autun. It was starting to get dark and we returned to the Lady A for dinner with Sami, the owner of the barge. He had prepared the meal. It was very good and somehow seemed more American than French. We had wine, a salad, a pork and rice dish, strawberries and fresh cheese for desert. When we turned in for the night everything was quite except for a few rain drops and a quack.

(Saturday, 6 June) We awoke and had a breakfast of bread, butter, jelly, yogurt, cheese, and coffee. This morning we were headed for Beaune on a route suggested by Sami's wife, Catherine. As we drove, we viewed the countryside of rolling hills and occasional cliffs with limestone outcropings. There were no vineyards in sight until we were within a few miles of Beaune. We arrived at Beaune's city wall about 11 am (late for the market, as usual) and drove along it looking for a parking space ... no luck, so we went into a pay parking deck near the tourist office. We picked up a map at the tourist office and then shopped the many market stands present for the Saturday market (purchasing only apples, pastries, and cokes). Then we went to see the Hotel-Dieu, which was founded as a hospital in the 15 c. No longer used for that purpose, hospital items from the past were now on display - beds, instruments, etc. It proved to be one of the nicer places we visited and deserving of its three Michelin Green Book stars. After this we found that it was raining (one of the few times during our trip) and we decided to leave Beaune and travel south to Chateau Cormatin. It was at least an hour or two distant from any of the other places we had planned to visit but it was worth it. It was furnished with 16th to 19th c. items and we considered it the best of the Chateaus that we visited (in agreement with StuDudley). Afterward we drove back to the Lady A, where we had another very enjoyable dinner with Sami, Catherine, and a French couple. Sami is an excellent cook or perhaps I should say chef.

Buisson

(Sunday, 7 June) Having enjoyed our two nights on the Lady A barge, this morning we were on our way to Provence. There was some rain early in the day but our biggest problem on this journey was in going from the A6 to the A7. We did not have a good map and must have gone on the wrong route. It took around an hour to get past Lyon after leaving the A6. When we did get past Lyon we noticed the hills getting taller and taller and the temperature seemed to be rising as we continued south. At Bolene we exited the A7 and drove to our B&B, L'Ecole Buissonnière, just outside of Buisson and only a few miles from Vaison-la-Romaine. We met John and their large friendly dog “Ah Sein” (sp. ?) and then visited our room ... it was excellent! After dropping off our luggage we spent the remainder of the day at Vaison. We walked around viewing the Roman ruins (from outside), window shopping, crossing the Roman bridge over the Ouveze River, and going part way up the road to the Ville Haut (upper town). Before returning to our B&B we had dinner at Le Tournesol. The service there was good but I did not like the seafood meal that I had.

(Monday, 8 June) We had a great breakfast of slices of a wonderful Cherry Clafouti (fruit pie) that John's wife (Monique) had prepared and, in addition, bread and butter, croissants, preserves, cheese, and mixed fresh fruits. Then we were off to market day in Bedoin using directions and a map provided by our host. Late again, parking was difficult to find. It was a large and, at 11 am, a very crowded market. My wife bought a variety of soaps and I purchased apples and a couple of large slices of cheese. Having adequately surveyed the market, we next drove to the white top (lots of limestone) of Mt. Ventoux. We passed numerous bicyclists who made my wife's driving rather arduous. It was a mostly sunny day but hazy enough to make the view from the top of Mt. Ventoux somewhat less than perfect ... and a cool wind was blowing at least gale force at the top, so we spent only a few minutes there. Going down the mountain we took the route (D164) to Sault, as recommended by our B&B host, John. At Sault we stopped for a few minutes and looked at an old laundry area (lavoir), where, in years long past, the women of the town did their laundry. We then continued on west along a twisting road through tunnels beside the Gorges de la Nesque. This was some of the most dramatic landscape I have ever seen. Past the Gorges we continued west and then north through Mormoiron, Bedoin, and Malaucene. Perhaps a few kilometers outside Malaucene on D938, we came to D13 and turned northeast on it to begin part of a route recommended by Stu. We went through Entrechaux, then on the D5 to Pierrelongue, D72 through Eygaliers and Brantes and to Montbrun ... a very scenic route overall. We saw a couple of small fields of lavender along the way that were just beginning to bloom. We returned to our B&B where we ate some peanut butter sandwiches and some of the apples and cheese we had gotten at the Bedoin market. Before turning in for the night, we chatted some with our hosts (Monique & John) and their other guests and enjoyed a digestive that John provided.

(Tuesday, 9 June) It was a glorious sunny day when we arose and the view of the olive trees and vineyards from our back window was great. For breakfast we had a bowl of mixed fresh fruit, cheese, bread and butter, preserves, orange juice, and coffee. After breakfast I played for a few minutes with Ah Sein and then we proceeded on our morning tour ... Rick Steves' self-guided "Cotes du Rhone Wine Road Tour." We stopped along the route and walked around in most of the towns (e.g. Seguret, Le Crestet, and Suzette). Also, we stopped at the Girasols Winery where we tasted several wines and purchased three bottles. All of the hill towns along the route were pretty and I would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, though I will always remember Le Crestet. Rick Steves suggested stopping at Charley Schmitt's house at Le Crestet to purchase the self-guided walking tour pamphlet that he had prepared. Sadly, we found that Charley had died in 2008 (at about age 90). His son-in-law gave me a copy of Charley's pamphlet. The Dentelles lay in the center of our route and provided an interesting view. These rock peaks stuck high up into the sky like so many sharp teeth. Before returning to our B&B, we had an enjoyable dinner at La Lyriste in Vaison-la-Romaine ... much better than my meal at Le Tournesol.

(Wednesday, 10 June) After a breakfast like yesterday's, we were off to look for some lavender and see more of the countryside. I think that the route we followed mostly came from a Green Michelin Guide. It went into the Drome area above Provence. We traveled a rather zig-zag circle through Vinsobres, Valreas, Grignan, Taulignan,, Salles-Sous-Bois, Le Poet Laval, Dieulefit, and Rousse; and eventually went over to Nyons. We saw some fields of lavender along the way, but they were not in full bloom. Underhill recommended Le Poet Laval. We stopped there and walked around the Vieux Village and partly ruined chateau. It was one of the prettiest towns we had seen in our travels through Burgundy and Provence. We had hoped to visit the protestant museum and eat lunch at the nearby "La Bouquinerie" but both were closed. Below and across the highway was the newer village, where we found the Bistro de Pays and had a good salad for lunch accompanied by a glass of wine. We also stopped at Nyons, had a coke, and walked around a bit. After completing our drive in the late afternoon, we returned to Vaison and spent some time walking around town and up to the Ville-Haute. We returned to our B&B in the late afternoon and dined on a melon and some cheese we had purchased earlier. John provided us with some olives and a nice aperitif before we turned in for the evening.

(Thursday, 11 June) My breakfast this morning included an omelet that John had prepared and it started my day very well. Of course, we also had the usual bowl of fruit, bread and butter, preserves, and coffee. This was our last morning at L'Ecole Buissonnière and we were going to miss it. We were off to St. Remy-de-Provence. Arriving in the early afternoon, we had no difficulty finding the tourist office adjacent to a large parking lot. However, the lot was full and the tourist office was closed for lunch. Finding our hotel, Le Castelet des Alpilles, proved more of a problem, even though we had a directions. We slowly circled around the center of St. Remy three or four times in moderately heavy traffic before finally seeing the street sign. Happily our hotel had enclosed parking. Our room was up a couple of flights of stairs and there was no elevator. Luckily we always pack light ... one roller board and one small bag each. The room was small, clean, and it was very austere compared to our B&B in Buisson. It was in a good location to visit St. Remy. After leaving our luggage at the hotel we walked back toward the center of town looking for some place to eat. After just a few blocks we noticed a sign for the Bistro Italien, which someone on the Fodors site (I think) said was good. We stopped and split a pepperone (red pepper) pizza and salad verde. The pizza was quite good, the salad just okay. We were thirsty and had coffee and a bottle of water, which added a surprising 12.50 Euros to the bill. Following lunch, we walked to the tourist office for a map and then to see the interesting Roman ruins at Glanum. It was a longer walk than I expected and we probably should have driven, as it was a sunny, hot day. After Glanum we went over to the nearby Saint Paul de Mausole, the asylum where Vincent Van Gogh had stayed for a while. It had nice displays concerning historic asylum practices and about Van Gogh, and the gardens outside were pretty. There was even a small plot of lavender in bloom. While we were there we met an Aussie tourist who seemed to be having bad luck ... his wife had just gotten trapped in a WC and the previous day he had filled the tank of his diesel car with gasoline. From the asylum we walked first back to our hotel and then around St. Remy. We stopped to eat at a creperie that Rick Steves had mentioned. We had ham and cheese galettes and cold cider. They were fair at best and a real disappointment compared to the creparie we had eaten at in Troyes.

(Friday, 12 June) We had a cafeteria-style breakfast at the hotel, consisting of cereal, fruit, bread and butter, preserves, yogurt, and coffee. It was good but suffered by comparison to the breakfasts at L'Ecole Buissonnière. Today we were off to Arles. As recommend by someone on Fodors, we parked just outside of the city ... near the city wall and one of the gates. This was a good recommendation because of all of the congestion inside and because Arles appeared quite walkable and we did walk. We visited the Roman Arena, St. Trophime Church, and Forum Square. I found myself thinking it was poor by comparison to Rome. Of course it is not Rome and has its on charm and character. We went to the often recommended "L'atelier de Jean Luc Rabanel" for lunch. We were served small portions of many different dishes, starting with a tempura. Many of the dishes were good but some were just so-so. We both had champagne and I subsequently had a couple of glasses of wine (the champagne was better). Although I enjoyed the meal, I did not think it was worth the high price. The restaurant was not crowded ... only three tables besides ours were occupied. After the meal and more walking we departed Arles and drove to Les Baux. Bauxite, the mineral from which aluminum is produced, was reportedly named after this town, which had large deposits of the mineral. We were not interested in going up to another hill town, so we viewed it from the parking at the Caves de Sarragan. I walked back into the caves (formerly limestone quarries) where wine is stored and sold. The temperature dropped at least 30 degrees F. It was a shocking relief from the heat outside. From there, we drove up to Avignon to make sure that we would be able to easily find the TGV station and rental car return location at the end of our stay in Provence. Finally, we went back to our hotel and had sandwiches in our room.

(Saturday, 13 June) We had a breakfast at the hotel like yesterday's and were then off to Uzes. At this pretty town it was market day and very crowded. My wife visited a shop a bought several skeins of yarn that were much cheaper than in the U.S. We walked all around the market and town using a tour guide booklet provided by the tourist office. Its church had a beautiful organ. After purchasing some Madeleine’s at the market to snack on later, we were off to Pont du Gard. We arrived about noon and it was a hot, bright, sunny day. There was no fee to see the Pont (aquaduct) but parking was 5 Euros and the museum was 7 Euros each. We spent several hours in the museum before walking to the aqueduct. The museum helps you to see what a tremendous project the aqueduct was and should not be missed. To me the museum and aqueduct were the outstanding highlight of our trip. It is amazing! After visiting the museum and aqueduct we drove up to the nearby Castillon du Gard (another attractive hill town) for, reputedly, the best coffee in the region at the café near the church. We had a "gran" and it was really very good. As it was getting late and we were tired, we returned to St. Remy and had a good dinner at the restaurant Saveurs de Provence. We went back to our hotel after having a good meal.

(Sunday, 14 June) After the usual breakfast we were off to the market at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. The market was a nice, very crowded, and large. Having been to many markets already, I did not find it impressive. We purchased some soaps and Herbes de Provence. The impressive feature of the town was the gently moving, relatively clear, streams of water that seem to pop up all around the town - hence its name, "island on the Sorgue" (river). The source of the water is a large spring. Although most recommendations suggest being there on market day, I would have enjoyed it more without the crowds. After visiting the tourist office, the church (Notre-Dame des Anges), and wandering about the town; we had coffee in the outside seating at a hotel. We sat beside a large pool of the water (Le Bassin) and enjoyed a little quite. After our brief respite, we returned to the crowds. We visited the interesting nearby store "Delices de Luberon" and tasted a variety of tapenades, but did not find any to our liking. Heading back to our car, we looked at items in the antique flea market, but saw nothing of interest. Then we were off to Coustellet to visit the Lavender Museum (Musee de la Lavande), where we gained a better understanding of the varieties of lavender, the processing and history, and uses; and, of course, spent too much on the various products. I think this museum is worthwhile if you have any interest in lavender. From Coustellet we drove to and through Gordes. It was full of tourists and we could not find any parking. We had seen so many pretty towns that it did not bother me to miss Gordes. Not very far from Gordes, we stopped to tour the beehive-shaped stone huts in the abandoned "Village des Bories." This village was said to possibly date back 2000 years or more and was last occupied in the early 1800s. From Bories, we went on along a pretty mountain road to the Abbey Notre-Dame de Senanque, a still functioning Cistercian monastery. Having read Rick Steves' comments, we enjoyed the beautiful view and the lavender fields that were just starting to bloom, but we did not tour the abbey. It was early afternoon and we followed StuDudley's directions from Les Imberts to Oppede-le-Vieux (Old Oppede), which, with its flowers and views, proved to be one of the best hill towns we saw during the trip. I hiked up to the ruined chateau at the top for a particularly good view of the gorge and mountains beyond the town, while my wife remained in the town near the café. We had coffee and some good cherry crepes at the café. After enjoying several hours at Oppede-le-Vieux, we went on to briefly see some of the other hill towns in the vicinity: Menerbes (where Peter Mayle wrote "A Year in Provence") and Lacoste (home to a branch of the Savannah College of Art and Design and the Marquis de Sade). Then we returned to our hotel in St. Remy.

(Monday, 15 June) Another bright, pretty day and, after breakfast, we were off to Roussillon. We found this to be another pretty hill town with lots of tourists. Its distinguishing feature was the ocre color of the soil, making everything a bit reddish. From there we went to the less-touristy Gault and walked around looking for a place to have lunch, eventually stopping for the nice view by a windmill. I had hoped that we might dine at La Bartavelle, which was recommended both by Stu and by Rick Steves. As we came down the street from the windmill I turned onto a side street and found La Bartavelle but was told that it was only open for dinner. We left Goult and went back to St. Remy. We purchased (and soon devoured) eight pieces (6.50 Euros) of chocolate at Joel Durand's and then sampled olive oil at Olive-Huiles-du Monde. I was a bit disappointed with both. (If you ever have the opportunity, sample the chocolates at the Sprungli shop in Zurich.) After mailing some postcards to our grandchildren we returned to our hotel room for some rest before dinner. We had previously eaten at "Saveurs de Provence" and went early (~7 pm) expecting we would not need reservations. It was closed and we wandered about St. Remy looking at the menus of other restaurants. We eventually selected a restaurant on the street that circles the center of town. The meal was disappointing and I did not bother to note its name. We returned to the hotel and completed packing for our return to Paris the next day.

(Tuesday, 16 June) After a rather restless night we arose, checked out of our hotel, and headed off for the Avignon TGV Station. As we neared Avignon, we missed a turn but quickly recognized it and reached the station with a little time to spare. We turned in our rental car as soon as the agency opened (8 am) and went to wait on our train. Shortly before our train was to arrive, I asked my wife for our camera ... it was gone, lost either at the hotel or TGV station. I later phoned the hotel and my wife contacted the car agency but it was to no avail. Our digital camera and hundreds of photos were gone, never to be recovered. We had a relatively uneventful trip back to Paris CDG on the train. I never felt as though the train was traveling at a high speed. We checked in to our hotel (Ibis Charles de Gaulle Aéroport / Terminal - 59i) and then went back into the airport hoping that we could check-in early for our flight the next morning (Air France, 7:40am). We were told we could check-in online but were unable to do so using a pay computer. We got a general idea of where we were to go for check-in the next morning, then retired to our room for sandwiches and an early bedtime after watching CSI Miami in French and BBC World News.

(Wednesday, 17 June) We arose at 4:30 am. The shuttle to the airport was running but the airport did not open until 6 am. We had plenty of time for our 7:40 am flight to Frankfurt. At Frankfurt, an Air France representative met us with directions to our flight back to Atlanta. We had just enough time. Our flight to the U.S. was uneventful but just a little late.

schnauzer

Lyndell, that is a great report. I can't believe you lost your camera and all the photos. That would have really hurt. It sounds like you had a great time even though some of the meals you had weren't to your liking. I really liked Goult myself and would like to stay there some time.

Glad you got home safe and sound.
Schnauzer

blh

Enjoyed reading your trip report - brought back some nice memories! So sorry about your camera - I have often worried about losing mine. Had friends that left theirs in a cafe once, but were fortunate and got it back. It's losing the photos that so sad as cameras can be replaced!

Glad you had such a nice trip. And thanks again for sharing it.

dina4

What a great trip report!
Thanks for sharing.
I really like you highlighted your favorites in the beginning.

dina

artstuff

Thanks for posting your trip report, Lyndell. We're travelling to the south of France in October, so I particularly enjoyed reading the Provence section.

Robyn