Provenceneyland

Provenceneyland™: nickname for an area in Southern France, coined by my friend Sarah, with a high level of almost unnatural cuteness, stereotypical charm, surround-sound summer cicadas, and near-constant 360' photo-ops. Frankly, the models we have for our photo shoots don't hurt.

 

About the only fly in the ointment is the heatwave, with temps in the high 90s, which sometimes makes it a bit difficult for this group of fleece-wearers from San Francisco and scarf-wearers from Paris to function in good humor.

We arrive in Provence in Avignon, where we see the papal palace (from the 1300s when Avignon was, for a brief period, the seat of the papacy). No trip here would be complete without a trip to the famous bridge, so that we can dance on top of it and sing "Sur le pont, d'Avignon..."

  

 

 We stay near Gordes, a famous little hilltop village in the Luberon region.

And we pass through Bonnieux, another famous little hilltop village in the Luberon region.

Basically, there are adorable hilltop villages throughout the Luberon. Many. Everywhere. This place is littered with them. And while there's a certain amount of blending (now, which cute hilltop town is this again?!), some of them have distinctive features.

Fort de Buoux, for example, is less a cute hilltop town and more a cute hilltop ruin. It seems like the perfect place to play at warrior princess, with swords and handcrafted, bejeweled Venetian masks.

 

Roussillon is a cute hilltop village whose distinction is that it is made on and of many shades of ochre. Don't adjust the color on your screen; that's just the landscape.

 

 

 

Oppède-le-Vieux, on the other hand, is a cute hilltop village and ruins, all rolled up into one.

 

Traveling there in summer, we are treated to the full glory of the three flowers of Provence: poppies, lavender, and sunflowers. They're iconic for a reason! These are photos taken at random spots along the roads -- not even at tourist destinations.

 

 

The Abbaye de Sénanque is probably the most famous place to see the lavender fields, since you also have the benefit of the background of the beautiful 12th century abbey.

The castle in the town of Lourmarin (the town where Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, reportedly now lives) is lovely, though it's hard to make out much of the town itself since it is so overrun with market day.

Here is just a small, partial list of markets in the Luberon section of Provence:

Monday: Cadenet, Cavaillon, Lauris

Tuesday: Gordes, Apt, Lacoste, Saint-Saturnin-les-Apt

Wednesday: St. Remy de Provence, Mérindole-en-Luberon, Pertuis

Thursday: Roussillon, Caumion, Robion

Friday: Lourmarin

Saturday: Apt, Oppede-le-Vieux, Pertuis

Sunday: Coustellet

As you can see, it seems harder to avoid the markets than to find them. Not that it's exactly torture at the markets. Here's Anthony, testing yet another rosé.

Close to Lourmarin is the Abbaye de Silvacane, which has its own reflecting pond, much like the nearby castle. It is another famous view, though both the inside and outside are decidedly less interesting that the Abbaye de Sénanque.

There's that old adage about pizza, or sex: Even when it's bad, it's good. Well, despite occasional crowded market days, difficult parking, and overly hot weather, even on its worst day, it's pretty special to be with good friends in Provenceneyland™.