Lilaki's Trip Report - 7 Days in Provence
Oct 15th, 2008, 07:47 AM
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Lilaki's Trip Report - 7 Days in Provence
Hello Fodorites,
This is Part 2 of my trip report. For Part 1 (seven nights in Paris), check out �Lilaki�s Trip Report � 7 Days in Paris�.
First, a bit about ourselves � DH and I are in our early 30�s from Toronto. We travel quite a bit for work and once or twice a year for fun. This is our second time to Europe; we went as kids � not sure if that counts! We move pretty quickly and aren�t big into lingering at cafés (I know, I know � no flaming!). We spent September 23 - 30 in Paris and then headed down to Provence for a week after that.
Second, here are some basic pieces of info �
- We rented a cottage called Mas Solige (www.mas-solige.com) just outside of Carpentras on Route de Bedoin. We took a bit of a chance with the gite seeing as there were no reviews on the Mas� website, on Fodors, or on Slowtrav. However, I had found one blogger who had posted about his travels through Provence in 2007 and had stayed at the mas. We communicated by e-mail a few times and he had provided a fairly positive review. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the gite. The hosts (Olivier and Corinne) are absolutely wonderful and charming people. They both speak very good English. The gite was well-located for all of the things we wanted to do/see. It was simple, clean, and well-equipped for our needs. The photos on the website are spot on. The gite itself was very spacious � but storage space was definitely at a premium. We used the daybed to lay out our luggage so there�s no way a third person could stay with us at the gite. However, other rooms are available within the Mas Solige if there are more people in your party. I would stay here again if I were visiting this region.
- We rented a car from Europecar via Auto Europe. We requested an automatic and a diesel. We were upgraded to a Mercedes A180.
- We purchased a cellphone from callineurope.com - would highly recommend. They were great to deal with. We never needed the phone but it was nice to have given all the driving we did during our week here.
- I speak conversational French and DH speaks so-so French � we can muddle our way through fairly well. It�s amazing how the skills come right back when you�re forced to use the language!
- For reference, we purchased the following items that helped in our trip planning: Fodors Provence 2008 (didn�t find this one very useful), Michelin Green Guide Provence (very useful), and Michelin Map # 527 (Provence-Alps-Cote D�Azur). In Paris, I also picked up Michelin Map #332 (Drome-Vacluse). We relied on this map every day during our trip.
- On most days, we had lunch out of our car. We were on the road every day and we had packed a bunch of food with us each morning � cheese, baguette, pastries, fruits, hard boiled eggs, etc. We are absolute cheese and pastry fiends so it was a treat for us to eat this every day! For dinner, we either picked something up at the supermarche or the local Picards (another treat - I�ve never had �tv dinners� like this before!) or we at the table d�hotes with our hosts.
Okay, here goes �
Day 1 - Tuesday
We left our apartment in Paris around 7:30 am. A taxi arrived to pick us up at 7:45 am and took us to Gare de Lyon. I had tried to reserve a taxi through G7 (English speaking) but they were apparently all booked. Who knew?! After calling a few other companies, I finally found a taxi company that either wasn�t booked and/or willing to pick us up at 7:45 am. We booked through Taxi Bleus. I had to rely on my French skills completely as the telephone attendant did not understand a lick of English. It was definitely a bit stressful since I did not want to miss our train and I had no way of really knowing that she understood my French!
We arrived at Gare de Lyon with TONS of time to spare (thanks to all the Fodorites who gave me very clear instructions on how to navigate my way through the station). Our TGV was not leaving until 9:16 am. DH wasn�t the happiest camper seeing as how we waited over an hour in the station (he was thinking this would have been good sleeping time) but at least we were there and I wasn�t stressed about missing our train. The TGV for Avignon was leaving from the �Blue� area so we did not have to go far at all from where the taxi dropped us off. And as everyone explained, the exact track was listed 20 minutes before departure.
We had seats on the upper deck of the train and had no problems dragging our suitcases up the eight or so stairs from track level. Our seats were very near the luggage area so we could also keep an eye on our bags throughout the trip. Although, I followed some tips from fellow Fodorites and made sure that we had loaded our luggage with the handles away from the aisle. There was no stops between Paris and Avignon so I felt fairly comfortable being separated from my bags (bad experience from traveling through Europe as a kid has left me very paranoid about theft!).
The ride to Avignon was quick and painless. We got off the train in Avignon and walked through the station and over to the rental car area. Avignon was noticeably warmer than cold/rainy Paris! Turns out that got an upgrade � we were supposed to get a VW Golf (which would have been fine with us) and instead we got a Mercedes A180. This was fun for us since we don�t have the A-Class back at home.
Into the car and out of the station we went � we drove straight to the Mas Solige on the east side of Carpentras to drop off our luggage. The owners were just cleaning up the gite and getting everything ready for us. It was about 2 pm and check in wasn�t until 4 pm. We went into the town, visited the tourist office to pick up local maps and pamphlets, and then walked around town a bit. The old town is nothing to write home about but still a nice way to kill some time if you have to. It was still early, so we made our way to a confisserie that specialized in the �famous� Carpentras berlingots � not sure I �get� the hype but it was neat nonetheless. Plus, it made for some easy souvenirs for the relatives we were going to visit in London after Provence.
We made our way over to the Intermarche to pick up groceries for our stay. We love visiting grocery stores when we�re on vacation! There is so much to see! We must have spent over an hour here. Back to the cottage, we put away our groceries and then began to unpack our bags. We had a casual dinner at the cottage and headed to bed early. We were pretty tired from our very early start in Paris.
This is Part 2 of my trip report. For Part 1 (seven nights in Paris), check out �Lilaki�s Trip Report � 7 Days in Paris�.
First, a bit about ourselves � DH and I are in our early 30�s from Toronto. We travel quite a bit for work and once or twice a year for fun. This is our second time to Europe; we went as kids � not sure if that counts! We move pretty quickly and aren�t big into lingering at cafés (I know, I know � no flaming!). We spent September 23 - 30 in Paris and then headed down to Provence for a week after that.
Second, here are some basic pieces of info �
- We rented a cottage called Mas Solige (www.mas-solige.com) just outside of Carpentras on Route de Bedoin. We took a bit of a chance with the gite seeing as there were no reviews on the Mas� website, on Fodors, or on Slowtrav. However, I had found one blogger who had posted about his travels through Provence in 2007 and had stayed at the mas. We communicated by e-mail a few times and he had provided a fairly positive review. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the gite. The hosts (Olivier and Corinne) are absolutely wonderful and charming people. They both speak very good English. The gite was well-located for all of the things we wanted to do/see. It was simple, clean, and well-equipped for our needs. The photos on the website are spot on. The gite itself was very spacious � but storage space was definitely at a premium. We used the daybed to lay out our luggage so there�s no way a third person could stay with us at the gite. However, other rooms are available within the Mas Solige if there are more people in your party. I would stay here again if I were visiting this region.
- We rented a car from Europecar via Auto Europe. We requested an automatic and a diesel. We were upgraded to a Mercedes A180.
- We purchased a cellphone from callineurope.com - would highly recommend. They were great to deal with. We never needed the phone but it was nice to have given all the driving we did during our week here.
- I speak conversational French and DH speaks so-so French � we can muddle our way through fairly well. It�s amazing how the skills come right back when you�re forced to use the language!
- For reference, we purchased the following items that helped in our trip planning: Fodors Provence 2008 (didn�t find this one very useful), Michelin Green Guide Provence (very useful), and Michelin Map # 527 (Provence-Alps-Cote D�Azur). In Paris, I also picked up Michelin Map #332 (Drome-Vacluse). We relied on this map every day during our trip.
- On most days, we had lunch out of our car. We were on the road every day and we had packed a bunch of food with us each morning � cheese, baguette, pastries, fruits, hard boiled eggs, etc. We are absolute cheese and pastry fiends so it was a treat for us to eat this every day! For dinner, we either picked something up at the supermarche or the local Picards (another treat - I�ve never had �tv dinners� like this before!) or we at the table d�hotes with our hosts.
Okay, here goes �
Day 1 - Tuesday
We left our apartment in Paris around 7:30 am. A taxi arrived to pick us up at 7:45 am and took us to Gare de Lyon. I had tried to reserve a taxi through G7 (English speaking) but they were apparently all booked. Who knew?! After calling a few other companies, I finally found a taxi company that either wasn�t booked and/or willing to pick us up at 7:45 am. We booked through Taxi Bleus. I had to rely on my French skills completely as the telephone attendant did not understand a lick of English. It was definitely a bit stressful since I did not want to miss our train and I had no way of really knowing that she understood my French!
We arrived at Gare de Lyon with TONS of time to spare (thanks to all the Fodorites who gave me very clear instructions on how to navigate my way through the station). Our TGV was not leaving until 9:16 am. DH wasn�t the happiest camper seeing as how we waited over an hour in the station (he was thinking this would have been good sleeping time) but at least we were there and I wasn�t stressed about missing our train. The TGV for Avignon was leaving from the �Blue� area so we did not have to go far at all from where the taxi dropped us off. And as everyone explained, the exact track was listed 20 minutes before departure.
We had seats on the upper deck of the train and had no problems dragging our suitcases up the eight or so stairs from track level. Our seats were very near the luggage area so we could also keep an eye on our bags throughout the trip. Although, I followed some tips from fellow Fodorites and made sure that we had loaded our luggage with the handles away from the aisle. There was no stops between Paris and Avignon so I felt fairly comfortable being separated from my bags (bad experience from traveling through Europe as a kid has left me very paranoid about theft!).
The ride to Avignon was quick and painless. We got off the train in Avignon and walked through the station and over to the rental car area. Avignon was noticeably warmer than cold/rainy Paris! Turns out that got an upgrade � we were supposed to get a VW Golf (which would have been fine with us) and instead we got a Mercedes A180. This was fun for us since we don�t have the A-Class back at home.
Into the car and out of the station we went � we drove straight to the Mas Solige on the east side of Carpentras to drop off our luggage. The owners were just cleaning up the gite and getting everything ready for us. It was about 2 pm and check in wasn�t until 4 pm. We went into the town, visited the tourist office to pick up local maps and pamphlets, and then walked around town a bit. The old town is nothing to write home about but still a nice way to kill some time if you have to. It was still early, so we made our way to a confisserie that specialized in the �famous� Carpentras berlingots � not sure I �get� the hype but it was neat nonetheless. Plus, it made for some easy souvenirs for the relatives we were going to visit in London after Provence.
We made our way over to the Intermarche to pick up groceries for our stay. We love visiting grocery stores when we�re on vacation! There is so much to see! We must have spent over an hour here. Back to the cottage, we put away our groceries and then began to unpack our bags. We had a casual dinner at the cottage and headed to bed early. We were pretty tired from our very early start in Paris.
Oct 15th, 2008, 10:46 AM
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Great beginning! This is exactly what we plan to do - train to Avignon and rent a car there. Were you happy with the location of your gite? It is a little east of where we were considering.
Looking forward to more!
Looking forward to more!
Oct 15th, 2008, 11:03 AM
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hi LCBoniti -- we LOVED the location of our gite ... we had a day trip planned every day and it was so well located for everything that we wanted to do. plus, the owners were so hospitable and charming ... they really made our stay so memorable.
where are you thinking about staying?
where are you thinking about staying?
Oct 15th, 2008, 11:03 AM
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Day 2 – Wednesday
We had breakfast with the hosts this morning. We met a pair of women from Holland who were on a three-week vacation throughout France and Spain. They were wonderful to chat with over breakfast. We decided to return for dinner that evening with the hosts and the other guests.
We headed out to Gorges de la Nesque from our cottage. It was STUNNING. We saw A LOT of cyclists making their way through/up the Gorges … crazy! We’re both leisure cyclists and there’s no way I could imagine doing what they were doing! From the Gorges de la Nesque, we went onto Sault and caught the end of the Wednesday market. By this point, I really needed to go to the bathroom but the public bathrooms left A LOT to be desired … so we bought coffees from the little café that overlooks the plains and Mont Ventoux. I’m not a huge coffee drinker but it was a small price to pay for a clean bathroom! At the market, we picked up some tapenades and sausages.
Afterwards, we headed up Mont Ventoux. What an amazing drive! Our car had an external thermometer and there really was a 10-11 degree Celsius drop in temperature from Sault to the summit of Mont Ventoux. More cyclists … I got some great pictures! I really admired their accomplishment … many of the cyclists were quite a bit older (possibly 60 years old) so that seemed pretty cool to me! At the top of Mont Ventoux, there is a candy vendor, a cookie vendor, and a sausage vendor! That was neat. We bought some candy and cookies and enjoyed them at the summit.
We drove down Mont Ventoux towards Malaucene. It was only 2 pm in the afternoon by the time we hit Malaucene so we decided to head on to Barroux, then to Baumes de Venise, and then to Caromb. We thought Barroux and Baumes were a bit disappointing. We had originally picked up a pamphlet about an olive mill in Baumes … but it turned out to be more of a tourist trap with very typical Provencale souvenirs at marked up prices! Caromb was very quaint and we had a wonderful conversation with the woman in the tourist information office who gave us lots of pamphlets and maps. She was kind enough to speak slow/simple French so we could understand her!
We made a quick pit stop back at our cottage before looping back to Mormoiron to check out the winery Terra Ventoux. We had passed it in the morning on our way to Gorges de la Nesque. This was the first time we got ‘lost’ which is ironic seeing as how we went this exact way not even eight hours prior! However, we found some interesting roads and finally made it to the winery. We picked up a bottle of white and a bottle of red. The tasting was not terribly intimidating but the woman at the shop didn’t speak a word of English AND she had a very strong Provencal accent so it was a bit difficult to understand her! I guess it just added to the adventure.
Back at the cottage, we joined our hosts and our fellow Dutch guests for dinner. This was a real treat! The food was WONDERFUL and the conversation was even BETTER! Dinner started around 7:30 pm and when I next looked at my watch, it was 11:30 pm! The evening just flew by. We spoke a mix of English and French … and we learned some Dutch phrases as well. For our meal, we had pistou soup to start, paquetoune(sp?) and rice for our main course, and ile flottant for dessert! It was delicious! And all for only 19E per person. We learned that the mas owners also harvest their own olives and send them off to the local mill in Caromb to get pressed … the olive oil was phenomenal! It made me realize how our olive oil at the local grocery store in Toronto just isn’t the same! We definitely wanted to come back for another dinner or two during our stay. The conversation was so enlightening … we covered so many different topics and learned so much about Provencal life. We even learned all about olives!
We had breakfast with the hosts this morning. We met a pair of women from Holland who were on a three-week vacation throughout France and Spain. They were wonderful to chat with over breakfast. We decided to return for dinner that evening with the hosts and the other guests.
We headed out to Gorges de la Nesque from our cottage. It was STUNNING. We saw A LOT of cyclists making their way through/up the Gorges … crazy! We’re both leisure cyclists and there’s no way I could imagine doing what they were doing! From the Gorges de la Nesque, we went onto Sault and caught the end of the Wednesday market. By this point, I really needed to go to the bathroom but the public bathrooms left A LOT to be desired … so we bought coffees from the little café that overlooks the plains and Mont Ventoux. I’m not a huge coffee drinker but it was a small price to pay for a clean bathroom! At the market, we picked up some tapenades and sausages.
Afterwards, we headed up Mont Ventoux. What an amazing drive! Our car had an external thermometer and there really was a 10-11 degree Celsius drop in temperature from Sault to the summit of Mont Ventoux. More cyclists … I got some great pictures! I really admired their accomplishment … many of the cyclists were quite a bit older (possibly 60 years old) so that seemed pretty cool to me! At the top of Mont Ventoux, there is a candy vendor, a cookie vendor, and a sausage vendor! That was neat. We bought some candy and cookies and enjoyed them at the summit.
We drove down Mont Ventoux towards Malaucene. It was only 2 pm in the afternoon by the time we hit Malaucene so we decided to head on to Barroux, then to Baumes de Venise, and then to Caromb. We thought Barroux and Baumes were a bit disappointing. We had originally picked up a pamphlet about an olive mill in Baumes … but it turned out to be more of a tourist trap with very typical Provencale souvenirs at marked up prices! Caromb was very quaint and we had a wonderful conversation with the woman in the tourist information office who gave us lots of pamphlets and maps. She was kind enough to speak slow/simple French so we could understand her!
We made a quick pit stop back at our cottage before looping back to Mormoiron to check out the winery Terra Ventoux. We had passed it in the morning on our way to Gorges de la Nesque. This was the first time we got ‘lost’ which is ironic seeing as how we went this exact way not even eight hours prior! However, we found some interesting roads and finally made it to the winery. We picked up a bottle of white and a bottle of red. The tasting was not terribly intimidating but the woman at the shop didn’t speak a word of English AND she had a very strong Provencal accent so it was a bit difficult to understand her! I guess it just added to the adventure.
Back at the cottage, we joined our hosts and our fellow Dutch guests for dinner. This was a real treat! The food was WONDERFUL and the conversation was even BETTER! Dinner started around 7:30 pm and when I next looked at my watch, it was 11:30 pm! The evening just flew by. We spoke a mix of English and French … and we learned some Dutch phrases as well. For our meal, we had pistou soup to start, paquetoune(sp?) and rice for our main course, and ile flottant for dessert! It was delicious! And all for only 19E per person. We learned that the mas owners also harvest their own olives and send them off to the local mill in Caromb to get pressed … the olive oil was phenomenal! It made me realize how our olive oil at the local grocery store in Toronto just isn’t the same! We definitely wanted to come back for another dinner or two during our stay. The conversation was so enlightening … we covered so many different topics and learned so much about Provencal life. We even learned all about olives!
Oct 15th, 2008, 04:50 PM
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Hi lilaki -
We were thinking of staying more around St. Remy or Arles. Our interests are antiquities, Van Gogh, wine, and the lovely Provencal countryside. Olives, too, of course.
However, nothing is definite yet so I am very interested in what you did each day.
We were thinking of staying more around St. Remy or Arles. Our interests are antiquities, Van Gogh, wine, and the lovely Provencal countryside. Olives, too, of course.
However, nothing is definite yet so I am very interested in what you did each day.
Oct 16th, 2008, 11:59 AM
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Day 3 - Thursday
Today, we headed out to Pont du Gard in the morning. We got lost on the way there. Not totally lost but we definitely took a wrong turn in Avignon and ended up going the ¡¥long¡¦ way around! Pont du Gard was VERY cool. It was totally not crowded ¡K we got there around 10:30 am. We drove through Remoulins to the Rive Gauche ¡K I was so happy because here I was thinking that we would have the whole Pont to ourselves! And then we realized we need to go to Rive DROITE to see the museum and gift shop, etc. Luckily, Rive Droite was also fairly uncrowded. The entire trip from our gite to Pont du Gard should have taken under an hour! But it took us over an hour and a half because of all of our directional ¡¥mishaps¡¦! ƒº I think we spent about 90 minutes at Pont du Gard ¡K and that included our quick ¡¥car picnic¡¦ for lunch.
From Pont du Gard, we headed over to Avignon. We visted the Palais des Papes and the Pont St. Benezet. Avignon reminded me a lot of Paris. Neither attraction was crowded ¡K however, it was quite difficult to find parking. As per the Michelin book, we tried to find parking outside of the old city walls. It took us about 20 minutes ¡K we finally found parking in an ¡¥island¡¦ of a parking lot just south of the Pont. And then we spent about 5 minutes wandering around trying to figure out how to buy a ticket! Turns out we parked in a free lot! Woohoo!
We got the audio guide at the Palais des Papes. It was informative ¡K but a tad long. It was a bit disappointing to see just the ¡¥shell¡¦ of the palace ¡K it would have been more exciting to actually see what the interiors looked like! There was some exhibit about a snake charmer and this took up an entire room of the Palais des Papes ¡K which was unfortunate since the room itself was quite interesting! But you couldn¡¦t really see anything since all the lights were turned off and the windows were boarded up.
We stopped for a pastry outside of Palais des Papes ¡K and continued on with our directional ineptness. We THOUGHT we understood the directions the pastry shop owner had given us but clearly we were clueless! After about 20 minutes wandering down the WRONG way, we decided to turn back and start at square one. We got ourselves re-oriented and finally made it to the Pont St. Benezet. The bridge was really neat ¡K we decided to skip the audio guides - we were both tired at this point and bit audio-guided-out.
We walked back to our car and headed out of Avignon. Miraculously, we didn¡¦t get lost! Maybe we were finally getting the hang of it! We stopped off at the Picards in Carpentras and picked up some cool items for an easy dinner. We are actually big ¡¥cooks¡¦ at home ¡K but we are so fascinated by all the ready made/easy to prepare items you can buy in France! So we had to give Picards a try¡Kand we were not disappointed. Frozen dinners at home are pretty gross. But here, they are really good!
Today, we headed out to Pont du Gard in the morning. We got lost on the way there. Not totally lost but we definitely took a wrong turn in Avignon and ended up going the ¡¥long¡¦ way around! Pont du Gard was VERY cool. It was totally not crowded ¡K we got there around 10:30 am. We drove through Remoulins to the Rive Gauche ¡K I was so happy because here I was thinking that we would have the whole Pont to ourselves! And then we realized we need to go to Rive DROITE to see the museum and gift shop, etc. Luckily, Rive Droite was also fairly uncrowded. The entire trip from our gite to Pont du Gard should have taken under an hour! But it took us over an hour and a half because of all of our directional ¡¥mishaps¡¦! ƒº I think we spent about 90 minutes at Pont du Gard ¡K and that included our quick ¡¥car picnic¡¦ for lunch.
From Pont du Gard, we headed over to Avignon. We visted the Palais des Papes and the Pont St. Benezet. Avignon reminded me a lot of Paris. Neither attraction was crowded ¡K however, it was quite difficult to find parking. As per the Michelin book, we tried to find parking outside of the old city walls. It took us about 20 minutes ¡K we finally found parking in an ¡¥island¡¦ of a parking lot just south of the Pont. And then we spent about 5 minutes wandering around trying to figure out how to buy a ticket! Turns out we parked in a free lot! Woohoo!
We got the audio guide at the Palais des Papes. It was informative ¡K but a tad long. It was a bit disappointing to see just the ¡¥shell¡¦ of the palace ¡K it would have been more exciting to actually see what the interiors looked like! There was some exhibit about a snake charmer and this took up an entire room of the Palais des Papes ¡K which was unfortunate since the room itself was quite interesting! But you couldn¡¦t really see anything since all the lights were turned off and the windows were boarded up.
We stopped for a pastry outside of Palais des Papes ¡K and continued on with our directional ineptness. We THOUGHT we understood the directions the pastry shop owner had given us but clearly we were clueless! After about 20 minutes wandering down the WRONG way, we decided to turn back and start at square one. We got ourselves re-oriented and finally made it to the Pont St. Benezet. The bridge was really neat ¡K we decided to skip the audio guides - we were both tired at this point and bit audio-guided-out.
We walked back to our car and headed out of Avignon. Miraculously, we didn¡¦t get lost! Maybe we were finally getting the hang of it! We stopped off at the Picards in Carpentras and picked up some cool items for an easy dinner. We are actually big ¡¥cooks¡¦ at home ¡K but we are so fascinated by all the ready made/easy to prepare items you can buy in France! So we had to give Picards a try¡Kand we were not disappointed. Frozen dinners at home are pretty gross. But here, they are really good!
Oct 16th, 2008, 12:00 PM
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Day 4 – Friday
Today was market day in Carpentras. We got to the market around 9 am … we parked at the Intermarche and walked up to the main street. The market was very busy. There was so much to see and so much to smell. We spent over two hours just wandering through all the vendors. We weren’t so interested in the ‘stuff’ (lots of clothes, shoes, leather goods) but we stopped at almost every food vendor! We purchased a roast chicken and some other provisions for dinner that night.
After the market, we decided to head up to Vaison and the Dentelles regoin. It was only late morning and we had lots of time left in the day. We took one of the driving tours outlined in Stu Dudley’s Provence itinerary (thanks, Stu!!!). We left Carpentras and headed north towards Malaucene/Entrechaux. We drove through Mollans and then onto Brantes and back to Entrechaux. It was a beautiful drive and only took us about an hour or so.
After this route, we went to Crestet and took a short wander around town. We also stopped off at the chocolatier and the pottery store just off the main road before Crestet. We liked the pottery better at the Carpentras market. From Crestet, we went to Vaison la Romaine to check out the ruins. To be perfectly honest, DH and I were both quite disappointed. The theatre was VERY restored … almost too restored. We didn’t stay in Vaison very long. We decided to visit some of the smaller villages … so we went to Seguret and Gigondas. From Gigondas, we had planned go onto Vacqueras but decided to take an eastward turn straight into the Dentelles. It was an amazing drive but a bit difficult in our car seeing as how the roads (if you can call them that) were all gravel and QUITE bumpy. We were lucky we didn’t bottom out! I took some spectacular pictures of the Dentelles.
Once we finally hit a paved road, it was pretty easy driving … back through Beaumes de Venise and then to Carpentras for our roast chicken dinner!
Today was market day in Carpentras. We got to the market around 9 am … we parked at the Intermarche and walked up to the main street. The market was very busy. There was so much to see and so much to smell. We spent over two hours just wandering through all the vendors. We weren’t so interested in the ‘stuff’ (lots of clothes, shoes, leather goods) but we stopped at almost every food vendor! We purchased a roast chicken and some other provisions for dinner that night.
After the market, we decided to head up to Vaison and the Dentelles regoin. It was only late morning and we had lots of time left in the day. We took one of the driving tours outlined in Stu Dudley’s Provence itinerary (thanks, Stu!!!). We left Carpentras and headed north towards Malaucene/Entrechaux. We drove through Mollans and then onto Brantes and back to Entrechaux. It was a beautiful drive and only took us about an hour or so.
After this route, we went to Crestet and took a short wander around town. We also stopped off at the chocolatier and the pottery store just off the main road before Crestet. We liked the pottery better at the Carpentras market. From Crestet, we went to Vaison la Romaine to check out the ruins. To be perfectly honest, DH and I were both quite disappointed. The theatre was VERY restored … almost too restored. We didn’t stay in Vaison very long. We decided to visit some of the smaller villages … so we went to Seguret and Gigondas. From Gigondas, we had planned go onto Vacqueras but decided to take an eastward turn straight into the Dentelles. It was an amazing drive but a bit difficult in our car seeing as how the roads (if you can call them that) were all gravel and QUITE bumpy. We were lucky we didn’t bottom out! I took some spectacular pictures of the Dentelles.
Once we finally hit a paved road, it was pretty easy driving … back through Beaumes de Venise and then to Carpentras for our roast chicken dinner!
Oct 16th, 2008, 12:13 PM
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>>Vaison la Romaine to check out the ruins. To be perfectly honest, DH and I were both quite disappointed. The theatre was VERY restored … almost too restored.<<
I think I mentioned that in my itinerary.
Did you get to the medieval section of Vaison, which is across the river from the area that has all the shops, the theatre, & ruins?? IMO, this area is a lot more interesting than the area around the theatre.
That drive from Carpentras to the Pont is quite difficult - we did it a couple of times & it's very easy to get lost. Did you enjoy the museum at the Pont??
Did you visit the lavoire in Mollans?
Stu Dudley
I think I mentioned that in my itinerary.
Did you get to the medieval section of Vaison, which is across the river from the area that has all the shops, the theatre, & ruins?? IMO, this area is a lot more interesting than the area around the theatre.
That drive from Carpentras to the Pont is quite difficult - we did it a couple of times & it's very easy to get lost. Did you enjoy the museum at the Pont??
Did you visit the lavoire in Mollans?
Stu Dudley
Oct 16th, 2008, 12:18 PM
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hi stu,
yep - you were right. the ruins @ vaison were disappointing. we did get to the medieval section on the other side of the river ... very nice.
the drive itself was fine but i totally forgot to go in the direction of avignon centre-ville and therefore we followed the signs for "toutes directions" which led us to the south side of avignon (pretty much passing the TGV station).
the museum @ the pont was good ... but a bit overrun with american high school kids.
and yes, we stopped at the lavoire in mollans!
thanks for all of your help!!
yep - you were right. the ruins @ vaison were disappointing. we did get to the medieval section on the other side of the river ... very nice.
the drive itself was fine but i totally forgot to go in the direction of avignon centre-ville and therefore we followed the signs for "toutes directions" which led us to the south side of avignon (pretty much passing the TGV station).
the museum @ the pont was good ... but a bit overrun with american high school kids.
and yes, we stopped at the lavoire in mollans!
thanks for all of your help!!
Oct 16th, 2008, 01:03 PM
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>>the museum @ the pont was good ... but a bit overrun with american high school kids<<
That's the downside of traveling during the off season. The museums always seem to be packed with school children - ususlly French. I'm surporised that these were Americans.
When we go to smaller museums that can be visited in 1 hr or less, we always try to go at lunch time - when any respectable French person will be having their 1 1/2 hr lunch.
You're a real trooper if you stopped at all the food stalls at the Carpentras market - there must be a couple of hundred - especially in the parking lot next to Ave Jean Jauras. Were cepe mushrooms still in season??
BTW, on many occasions while circling around Carpentras to head to Avignon, Pernes, etc - we've missed the exit & had to do another complete circle around Carpentras & try again.
Stu Dudley
That's the downside of traveling during the off season. The museums always seem to be packed with school children - ususlly French. I'm surporised that these were Americans.
When we go to smaller museums that can be visited in 1 hr or less, we always try to go at lunch time - when any respectable French person will be having their 1 1/2 hr lunch.
You're a real trooper if you stopped at all the food stalls at the Carpentras market - there must be a couple of hundred - especially in the parking lot next to Ave Jean Jauras. Were cepe mushrooms still in season??
BTW, on many occasions while circling around Carpentras to head to Avignon, Pernes, etc - we've missed the exit & had to do another complete circle around Carpentras & try again.
Stu Dudley
Oct 17th, 2008, 04:38 AM
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Day 5 – Saturday
This morning, we headed off to Arles. I had read in the Michelin guide that there was a Saturday morning market but we were primarily there to see the Arenes and the Theatre. Turns out, we spent over two hours at the market and maybe just over an hour at the Arenes and Theatre. We are such history heathens! The market was amazing. It was huge! One side of the street had only food vendors and the other side had other vendors. I can’t really say what they sold because we never crossed the street! The food vendors were very neat. They were quite different from Carpentras. We saw much more prepared foods available here. The market was absolutely jammed with people but this just added to the excitement. We loved the markets!
After about an hour in the market, we realized we should probably move on to the ruins since this is what we were ‘supposed’ to see! Plus, we wanted to come back to the market for lunch! The theatre was less ‘over-restored’ than the one in Vaison. My recommendation: if you’re going to go to Arles anyway, skip the ruins in Vaison. The Arenes was really cool … according to one of the signs outside, they are doing a ton of restoration work on the Arenes between 2008 and 2010. I’m glad we got there before things were overly ‘done’. We saw part of the exterior that had been restored and it looks like it’s brand new! I think it would be disappointing to see the Arenes all ‘done up’. We moved through the Arenes pretty quickly. There was a school group going through at the same time and it was RIDICULOUSLY windy at the top! I have never experienced wind like that before. And DH decided NOT to wear his jacket so he was feeling pretty miserable.
All the more reason to head back out to the market! But, before we could do that, we needed to find a clean bathroom. The bathrooms at the Arenes were the squatter-style toilets … sorry, not going to do it! We aren’t huge coffee drinkers but we’ll pay for coffee if it means we can use a decent bathroom. We ended up getting somewhat lost in the tangle of streets but we found a really ‘modern’ tabac and both enjoyed some café au laits and clean toilets!
Back at the market, some of the vendors were starting to close up but we still managed to snare some pizza, baguette, cheese, sausages, etc. We enjoyed our market lunch tremendously!
On the way out of Arles, we stopped off at the Monoprix. We love Monoprix! I think we went to one at least once a day while we were in Paris. I was actually looking for a Nivea product that I had purchased in the Monoprix in Paris so this was a good excuse.
After the Monoprix, we went onto Les Baux. The town was very beautiful. It wasn’t overrun by tourists which was also nice. We spent a bit of time walking through the town before heading to the Chateau. It was still very windy so we were trying to wait it out. When it became pretty clear that the wind wasn’t going anywhere, we decided to make the best of it and head up to the Chateau. It was blindingly sunny and insanely windy! It was a small miracle that neither one of us were blown off the side of the rock spur! The Chateau was very neat. It probably would have been even better if it weren’t so windy! We didn’t stay too long because there was too much dust being kicked up and we were both absolutely freezing. I had dressed in layers and was wearing a proper jacket but I don’t even think my typical Canadian winter clothes would’ve been good enough for this wind!
We were exhausted when we left Les Baux. I’m guessing it’s because we were trying to fight to stay upright! So, we drove through St. Remy … looked cute. Maybe one day we will return? We headed back to Carpentras.
We joined our hosts for dinner that night. We had a wonderful meal. We had a starter salad made with fennel, olive oil, lemon juice, and feta cheese. It was phenomenal! I’m going to try making this at home! Then we had a gateau de fois voillaile (chicken liver, herbs, onions, etc.), vegetable stew (but not ratatouille), and tagliatelle pasta. It was phenomenal! Dessert was a clafloutis … but there was pralines and bresse cheese amongst the ingredients. I totally didn’t need dessert but it was absolutely delicious!
We really enjoyed our meal with our hosts. We learned so much about French food, culture, and politics.
This morning, we headed off to Arles. I had read in the Michelin guide that there was a Saturday morning market but we were primarily there to see the Arenes and the Theatre. Turns out, we spent over two hours at the market and maybe just over an hour at the Arenes and Theatre. We are such history heathens! The market was amazing. It was huge! One side of the street had only food vendors and the other side had other vendors. I can’t really say what they sold because we never crossed the street! The food vendors were very neat. They were quite different from Carpentras. We saw much more prepared foods available here. The market was absolutely jammed with people but this just added to the excitement. We loved the markets!
After about an hour in the market, we realized we should probably move on to the ruins since this is what we were ‘supposed’ to see! Plus, we wanted to come back to the market for lunch! The theatre was less ‘over-restored’ than the one in Vaison. My recommendation: if you’re going to go to Arles anyway, skip the ruins in Vaison. The Arenes was really cool … according to one of the signs outside, they are doing a ton of restoration work on the Arenes between 2008 and 2010. I’m glad we got there before things were overly ‘done’. We saw part of the exterior that had been restored and it looks like it’s brand new! I think it would be disappointing to see the Arenes all ‘done up’. We moved through the Arenes pretty quickly. There was a school group going through at the same time and it was RIDICULOUSLY windy at the top! I have never experienced wind like that before. And DH decided NOT to wear his jacket so he was feeling pretty miserable.
All the more reason to head back out to the market! But, before we could do that, we needed to find a clean bathroom. The bathrooms at the Arenes were the squatter-style toilets … sorry, not going to do it! We aren’t huge coffee drinkers but we’ll pay for coffee if it means we can use a decent bathroom. We ended up getting somewhat lost in the tangle of streets but we found a really ‘modern’ tabac and both enjoyed some café au laits and clean toilets!
Back at the market, some of the vendors were starting to close up but we still managed to snare some pizza, baguette, cheese, sausages, etc. We enjoyed our market lunch tremendously!
On the way out of Arles, we stopped off at the Monoprix. We love Monoprix! I think we went to one at least once a day while we were in Paris. I was actually looking for a Nivea product that I had purchased in the Monoprix in Paris so this was a good excuse.
After the Monoprix, we went onto Les Baux. The town was very beautiful. It wasn’t overrun by tourists which was also nice. We spent a bit of time walking through the town before heading to the Chateau. It was still very windy so we were trying to wait it out. When it became pretty clear that the wind wasn’t going anywhere, we decided to make the best of it and head up to the Chateau. It was blindingly sunny and insanely windy! It was a small miracle that neither one of us were blown off the side of the rock spur! The Chateau was very neat. It probably would have been even better if it weren’t so windy! We didn’t stay too long because there was too much dust being kicked up and we were both absolutely freezing. I had dressed in layers and was wearing a proper jacket but I don’t even think my typical Canadian winter clothes would’ve been good enough for this wind!
We were exhausted when we left Les Baux. I’m guessing it’s because we were trying to fight to stay upright! So, we drove through St. Remy … looked cute. Maybe one day we will return? We headed back to Carpentras.
We joined our hosts for dinner that night. We had a wonderful meal. We had a starter salad made with fennel, olive oil, lemon juice, and feta cheese. It was phenomenal! I’m going to try making this at home! Then we had a gateau de fois voillaile (chicken liver, herbs, onions, etc.), vegetable stew (but not ratatouille), and tagliatelle pasta. It was phenomenal! Dessert was a clafloutis … but there was pralines and bresse cheese amongst the ingredients. I totally didn’t need dessert but it was absolutely delicious!
We really enjoyed our meal with our hosts. We learned so much about French food, culture, and politics.
Oct 17th, 2008, 04:41 AM
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Day 6 – Sunday
Today was market day at L’Isle sur la Sorgue. I had read that this market gets absolutely jammed with people so we decided to get there before 9 am. It was quite cold this morning (ice on the windshield) and maybe that kept away all of the market-goers? It was dead when we arrived! We were really disappointed! The crowds sort of give the market a sense of excitement! We also recognized a lot of the vendors from the Carpentras market. We’re not antique buffs by any means and the antiques didn’t have much interest to us so maybe this wasn’t the best market to go to? Deciding that we needed ‘defrost’, we hopped back in the car and made our way towards the Luberon.
I used a portion of Stu Dudley’s itinerary that covers the ‘north’ Luberon area. Stu’s itinerary starts in Gordes. But we decided to start in Oppede le Vieux. DH was mad at me for making him climb all the way up to this little town! But the views were great. Plus, we had a nice chocolat chaud and got to use a ‘clean’ bathroom! After Oppede le Vieux, we went onto Menerbes, then Lacoste, and then Bonnieux. Each town was very quaint and charming.
From Bonnieux, we cut up to Rousillon. We stopped off to see the ochre fields. They were spectacular! Definitely worth the entrance fee! If you’re not a big walker, you don’t have to do the two different walking tours. Just go through the entrance and admire the view from the first ‘landing’. We did the ‘short’ walking tour. It was very cool! It reminded me a bit of Sedona, Arizona. We stopped off in a very touristy café just down the street from the ochre fields. Again, I’m willing to pay a lot for clean and modern bathrooms!
After Bonnieux, we drove to Gordes. The town of Gordes is gorgeous. You get some wonderful views of this perched village from the drive up. We tried to drive into the ‘core’ area and find a parking spot. Unfortunately, there was a carnival going on in Gordes and this turned us off the town a bit. There were carousels, carnival games, and very loud rock music blaring throughout the core area. This was disappointing! So, instead of stopping, we drove back out (I can’t remember the road) and parked the car along a road that overlooks Gordes. It was beautiful! And it fit the ‘image’ that we had of Provence moreso than visiting a traveling carnival!
From Gordes, we drove towards Abbaye de Senaque. We stopped off at the side of the road a couple of times to take some shots of the Abbaye from above and then moved on. We drove through Venasque and then home for dinner.
Today was market day at L’Isle sur la Sorgue. I had read that this market gets absolutely jammed with people so we decided to get there before 9 am. It was quite cold this morning (ice on the windshield) and maybe that kept away all of the market-goers? It was dead when we arrived! We were really disappointed! The crowds sort of give the market a sense of excitement! We also recognized a lot of the vendors from the Carpentras market. We’re not antique buffs by any means and the antiques didn’t have much interest to us so maybe this wasn’t the best market to go to? Deciding that we needed ‘defrost’, we hopped back in the car and made our way towards the Luberon.
I used a portion of Stu Dudley’s itinerary that covers the ‘north’ Luberon area. Stu’s itinerary starts in Gordes. But we decided to start in Oppede le Vieux. DH was mad at me for making him climb all the way up to this little town! But the views were great. Plus, we had a nice chocolat chaud and got to use a ‘clean’ bathroom! After Oppede le Vieux, we went onto Menerbes, then Lacoste, and then Bonnieux. Each town was very quaint and charming.
From Bonnieux, we cut up to Rousillon. We stopped off to see the ochre fields. They were spectacular! Definitely worth the entrance fee! If you’re not a big walker, you don’t have to do the two different walking tours. Just go through the entrance and admire the view from the first ‘landing’. We did the ‘short’ walking tour. It was very cool! It reminded me a bit of Sedona, Arizona. We stopped off in a very touristy café just down the street from the ochre fields. Again, I’m willing to pay a lot for clean and modern bathrooms!
After Bonnieux, we drove to Gordes. The town of Gordes is gorgeous. You get some wonderful views of this perched village from the drive up. We tried to drive into the ‘core’ area and find a parking spot. Unfortunately, there was a carnival going on in Gordes and this turned us off the town a bit. There were carousels, carnival games, and very loud rock music blaring throughout the core area. This was disappointing! So, instead of stopping, we drove back out (I can’t remember the road) and parked the car along a road that overlooks Gordes. It was beautiful! And it fit the ‘image’ that we had of Provence moreso than visiting a traveling carnival!
From Gordes, we drove towards Abbaye de Senaque. We stopped off at the side of the road a couple of times to take some shots of the Abbaye from above and then moved on. We drove through Venasque and then home for dinner.
Oct 17th, 2008, 07:20 AM
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Stu, if you read this, would you please email me a copy of your Provence itinerary? My email is my screen name at aol dot com.
lilaki, I definitely will print this out and go over it with my maps. I'm getting even more excited about our trip from reading about yours!
lilaki, I definitely will print this out and go over it with my maps. I'm getting even more excited about our trip from reading about yours!
Oct 17th, 2008, 08:05 AM
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Day 7 – Monday
This was our last full day in Provence. We decided to go to the morning market in Bedoin in search of unfiltered AOC olive oil. Our hosts had given us a whole lesson on olive oil and we had tried some with one of our dinners … we were determined to buy some and take it home with us!
It was the first time we experienced rain in our entire Provence trip. It started out as a grey and cloudy morning. We got to the market around 8:45 am and the vendors were still setting up. By about 9:15 am, the rain really started to come down. We found our olive oil and of course also bought some pastries and bread! The market became quite quiet as many vendors were busy assembling their umbrellas or covering their wares with tarps. Regardless, the main street of Bedoin is still very picturesque and we enjoyed this market.
After the market in Bedoin, we headed out to Aven D’Orgnac and the Gorges de L’Ardeche. It was quite a bit of a drive … and it felt very slow - especially through Orange. We saw Orange only briefly and went through the round-about at the famous Arc … I’m glad we didn’t go to Orange during our stay though. The part of town that we drove through wasn’t very nice. Thanks to all the Fodorites who gave me a heads up about that.
We finally reached Aven D’Orgnac about 1.5 hours after leaving Bedoin. We got there just in time for the 11:20 am tour. You can only enter the cave system with a tour and the tours are only in French. Hmmmm… this would be a real test of how much French we can understand! I don’t remember learning geological terms in French! The caves were absolutely amazing. I don’t know how else to describe it. We went to a small cave system in Mexico just south of Playa Del Carmen a few years ago. But that was nothing compared to what we saw at Aven D’Orgnac. The cave system is humungous! I was too busy taking pictures to really pay attention to the guide so it didn’t matter that he was speaking in French!
There are A LOT of stairs to walk down as you go through the tour and the cave is VERY cold (about 10 degrees Celsius). There is a quick elevator ride to come back up though. So if you don’t like walking down steps or being cold for an hour, then this may not be the excursion for you. However, we thought it was one of the neatest things we have ever seen!
After Aven D’Orgnac, we headed out on the driving tour outlined in the Micheline Green Guide from Vallon Pont D’Arc throughout Gorges De L‘Ardeche. The driving tour is about 38 km long. There are multiple look out points along the road. It is very easy to drive and the views are spectacular. We really liked Pont D’Arc. And we even saw a whole group of mountain goats by the side of the road! That was cool! And then we saw another pair waiting by a look out area. They were maybe six feet away when I snapped some quick pictures. The entire trip from Aven D’Orgnac to Pont St. Espirit took us about two hours.
On the way home, we stopped off at the Decathalon store just south of Orange. Kind of reminds me of an REI combined with Bass Pro Shops but a bit smaller. The prices were really reasonable and I picked up a pair of sneakers and a fleece jacket.
Back at our cottage, we checked in for our flight and spent some time packing our suitcases. We joined our hosts for our last dinner in Provence. Also at the table was a couple from Grenoble. They did not speak any English so the majority of our conversation was in French. Luckily, we can understand better than we can speak so at least we were able to follow along! And our hosts translated a lot for us.
As usual, the food did not disappoint. We started with a vegetable flan and a green salad. There was a balsamic sauce/dressing flavoured with a bit of tomato paste and basil. I could’ve eaten just that for dinner! For the main dish, we had blanquette de veau with potatoes. It was delicious! And for dessert, we had the French version of lemon meringue pie … which is WAY better than a traditional North American lemon meringue pie.
We were thoroughly spoiled by Corinne’s cooking during our stay at the Mas Solige. The food was delicious and a highlight of our trip. I’m definitely going to try to re-create a few recipes at home!
This was our last full day in Provence. We decided to go to the morning market in Bedoin in search of unfiltered AOC olive oil. Our hosts had given us a whole lesson on olive oil and we had tried some with one of our dinners … we were determined to buy some and take it home with us!
It was the first time we experienced rain in our entire Provence trip. It started out as a grey and cloudy morning. We got to the market around 8:45 am and the vendors were still setting up. By about 9:15 am, the rain really started to come down. We found our olive oil and of course also bought some pastries and bread! The market became quite quiet as many vendors were busy assembling their umbrellas or covering their wares with tarps. Regardless, the main street of Bedoin is still very picturesque and we enjoyed this market.
After the market in Bedoin, we headed out to Aven D’Orgnac and the Gorges de L’Ardeche. It was quite a bit of a drive … and it felt very slow - especially through Orange. We saw Orange only briefly and went through the round-about at the famous Arc … I’m glad we didn’t go to Orange during our stay though. The part of town that we drove through wasn’t very nice. Thanks to all the Fodorites who gave me a heads up about that.
We finally reached Aven D’Orgnac about 1.5 hours after leaving Bedoin. We got there just in time for the 11:20 am tour. You can only enter the cave system with a tour and the tours are only in French. Hmmmm… this would be a real test of how much French we can understand! I don’t remember learning geological terms in French! The caves were absolutely amazing. I don’t know how else to describe it. We went to a small cave system in Mexico just south of Playa Del Carmen a few years ago. But that was nothing compared to what we saw at Aven D’Orgnac. The cave system is humungous! I was too busy taking pictures to really pay attention to the guide so it didn’t matter that he was speaking in French!
There are A LOT of stairs to walk down as you go through the tour and the cave is VERY cold (about 10 degrees Celsius). There is a quick elevator ride to come back up though. So if you don’t like walking down steps or being cold for an hour, then this may not be the excursion for you. However, we thought it was one of the neatest things we have ever seen!
After Aven D’Orgnac, we headed out on the driving tour outlined in the Micheline Green Guide from Vallon Pont D’Arc throughout Gorges De L‘Ardeche. The driving tour is about 38 km long. There are multiple look out points along the road. It is very easy to drive and the views are spectacular. We really liked Pont D’Arc. And we even saw a whole group of mountain goats by the side of the road! That was cool! And then we saw another pair waiting by a look out area. They were maybe six feet away when I snapped some quick pictures. The entire trip from Aven D’Orgnac to Pont St. Espirit took us about two hours.
On the way home, we stopped off at the Decathalon store just south of Orange. Kind of reminds me of an REI combined with Bass Pro Shops but a bit smaller. The prices were really reasonable and I picked up a pair of sneakers and a fleece jacket.
Back at our cottage, we checked in for our flight and spent some time packing our suitcases. We joined our hosts for our last dinner in Provence. Also at the table was a couple from Grenoble. They did not speak any English so the majority of our conversation was in French. Luckily, we can understand better than we can speak so at least we were able to follow along! And our hosts translated a lot for us.
As usual, the food did not disappoint. We started with a vegetable flan and a green salad. There was a balsamic sauce/dressing flavoured with a bit of tomato paste and basil. I could’ve eaten just that for dinner! For the main dish, we had blanquette de veau with potatoes. It was delicious! And for dessert, we had the French version of lemon meringue pie … which is WAY better than a traditional North American lemon meringue pie.
We were thoroughly spoiled by Corinne’s cooking during our stay at the Mas Solige. The food was delicious and a highlight of our trip. I’m definitely going to try to re-create a few recipes at home!
Oct 17th, 2008, 08:06 AM
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Day 8 – Tuesday (this day doesn’t count for anything ‘touristy’)
We got a VERY early start today. We left the Mas Solige at 6:30 am and headed up to the Lyon Saint Exupery airport. Thank you to all the Fodorites who helped me plan out that road trip! I was well-armed with a good Michelin map of the region and directions from viamichelin.com. It took us a while to reach the Autoroute A7 but once we got on, we were flying up to Lyon.
We arrived at the airport before 9 am (even though we hit a little bit of traffic along the A46) and dropped off the car. Because we had rented the car through AutoEurope, the EuropeCar representative in Avignon told us that we had to take the pre-paid gas option; not sure if that is normal/standard practice? Regardless, we didn’t need to stop before the airport to fill up the car before returning it.
For anyone returning a car to Lyon’s airport, there is a huge rest stop with a Shell gas station just at the entrance to the E70 from the A46 and there is a large gas station right after the turn off for the rental car drop off … which is actually in a bit of a round-about so you could just fill up the car, continue back around the round-about and then head to the car rental area.
We had a noon-hour flight from Lyon to London (Heathrow) and spent a few days in London with family before heading back home to Toronto.
We got a VERY early start today. We left the Mas Solige at 6:30 am and headed up to the Lyon Saint Exupery airport. Thank you to all the Fodorites who helped me plan out that road trip! I was well-armed with a good Michelin map of the region and directions from viamichelin.com. It took us a while to reach the Autoroute A7 but once we got on, we were flying up to Lyon.
We arrived at the airport before 9 am (even though we hit a little bit of traffic along the A46) and dropped off the car. Because we had rented the car through AutoEurope, the EuropeCar representative in Avignon told us that we had to take the pre-paid gas option; not sure if that is normal/standard practice? Regardless, we didn’t need to stop before the airport to fill up the car before returning it.
For anyone returning a car to Lyon’s airport, there is a huge rest stop with a Shell gas station just at the entrance to the E70 from the A46 and there is a large gas station right after the turn off for the rental car drop off … which is actually in a bit of a round-about so you could just fill up the car, continue back around the round-about and then head to the car rental area.
We had a noon-hour flight from Lyon to London (Heathrow) and spent a few days in London with family before heading back home to Toronto.
Oct 18th, 2008, 08:24 AM
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hi lcboniti,
i'm glad you found the report helpful.
good luck planning your trip! that's almost the best part!
i'll be posting the review of our cottage soon (whenever it gets posted on slowtrav) ... and i still have to write up some closing thoughts/comments...
i'm glad you found the report helpful.
good luck planning your trip! that's almost the best part!
i'll be posting the review of our cottage soon (whenever it gets posted on slowtrav) ... and i still have to write up some closing thoughts/comments...
Oct 18th, 2008, 12:48 PM
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Likaki,
I know basically nothing about the South of France, but I loved your trip report! Very informative, and I really enjoyed your descriptions of all the markets.
I've never had a yearning to go to the South of France, but for some reason, I'm really starting to think that I would enjoy visiting that region the next time we get to Europe.
Some questions:
1. A gite - is this the french version of a B&B? All the dinners seemed fab...do all owners offer this?
2. Driving in France - I have to say, that's one reason I'm hesitant about heading out of Paris. We just drove around in England, and although you're on the other side of the road, at least the signs were in English. Was this your first time driving in France? Was it easier/harder than you imagined?
I almost forgot...do you mind putting up a link for the cottage you rented?
I know basically nothing about the South of France, but I loved your trip report! Very informative, and I really enjoyed your descriptions of all the markets.
I've never had a yearning to go to the South of France, but for some reason, I'm really starting to think that I would enjoy visiting that region the next time we get to Europe.
Some questions:
1. A gite - is this the french version of a B&B? All the dinners seemed fab...do all owners offer this?
2. Driving in France - I have to say, that's one reason I'm hesitant about heading out of Paris. We just drove around in England, and although you're on the other side of the road, at least the signs were in English. Was this your first time driving in France? Was it easier/harder than you imagined?
I almost forgot...do you mind putting up a link for the cottage you rented?
