Provence & Côte d’Azur, southern France 4 - Gordes, Roussillon & Avignon
On Day 4 we visited Gordes, a beautiful medieval hilltop village, about an hour drive east of Avignon. We left Avignon very early to secure a parking spot in the village. We got there around 7am and the public parking was almost empty. Our strategy worked well. The center of the village was dominated by Château de Gordes, the medieval fortified castle that was first mentioned in 1031, redesigned and extended in the 14th century, and further remodeled during the Renaissance. Today the castle is a cultural center and also houses the Pol Mara museum, contemporary Flemish painter and inhabitant of Gordes.
At 7am, not only the castle but also almost all shops were still closed. However, Le Fournil de Mamie Jeanne, a local bakery near the castle was open! That was just what we needed.
The bakery didn't have an eat-in space. We picked a couple of pastries up and found a bench in a park for breakfast. My 'pain aux raisins' was still slightly warm and so tasty! I could eat one more immediately. I think J had a 'chaussons aux Pommes' or a French apple turnover. Although he is not a sweet breakfast person, he told me he liked his fresh pastry.
The park also provided us with a nice viewpoint.
A balloon over there!
We started exploring the village, walking on the street in front of us.
Shortly we arrived at a nice viewpoint to see the opposite hill that we drove through to get to Gordes. We drove around a deep valley between both the hills.
The village of Gordes with the narrow cobblestone streets and stone houses was charming. It was like a maze. I didn't really know where we were in the village. At least I knew, when we were walking downhill, we would have to climb uphill eventually. Fortunately it wasn't so hot yet and most streets were in the shade.
We found another nice viewpoint. The massif over there is the Luberon, which stretches 35 miles from east to west in the central Provence. The same balloon was still floating!
We came back to the Castle and took a break at Le Cercle Republicain, a cafe with a balcony behind the building. I had orange juice and J had cappuccino. It was a lovely spot with a nice view of the opposite hill and a flock of sparrows flying all over the sky. Later I learned the cafe was founded in 1912 and became a vital hub of the Resistance during WWII. We were there not because of the history but simply because they were open as early as at 8am.
We strolled the village a little more and discovered another bakery, where J bought his second breakfast.
He got a 'croque monsieur' with something round. We still haven't figured it out what the round thing was. An extra sliced cheese??
I almost got 'tarte tropézienne' for my second breakfast, but I didn't because I was still full with the raisin pastry and the orange juice. Tarte tropézienne is a French pastry from Saint-Tropez, consisting of a brioche, usually orange flavored, which is filled with a creamy filling. We were not going to Saint-Tropez in this trip but the dessert seems popular in Provance and Côte d’Azur regions and I hoped to try one if I had a chance. Well, I missed the chance in Gordes.
In front of the bakery was Eglise Saint-Firmin, the village's main church dedicated to Saint Firmin, patron saint of the village. The church was built in the 18th century, when the population of Gordes increased and the only medieval church in the village was too small to serve all the people. The current church stood on the site of the medieval church and 20 houses that were demolished for the larger church.
J completed his second breakfast at the fountain in front of the Castle peacefully.
We walked the village enough and weren't particularly interested in visiting the Castle. It was time to go to the next stop!
We briefly stopped by the popular viewpoint of Gordes on our way to get out of the village. We recognized some houses that we passed by while we were wandering around the hillside.
The next stop was Roussillon, about 15 minute drive further east from Gordes. Roussillon is another hilltop village of Provence but unique. The entire village is tinted in sunset color!
The village is the center of one of the largest known ochre deposits in the world, where 17 shades of ocher, violet, red, orange, yellow, and somewhere in between was mined over two centuries ago. The impressive ochre cliffs were easily found once we arrived at the village.
Every street and corner looked enchanted, as if I fell into a water-color painting...
It was a hilltop village. Steps and slopes challenged us, of course.
The village developed from a 10th century castle, which no longer exists. We were heading to the top of the hilly village, passing through the portals, built into a belfry that was renovated in the 19th century.
The bell tower overlooks the pretty pinky town hall building on the main square, Place De La Mairie.
Eglise Saint-Michel was located almost on top of the village, adjoining the bell tower. Dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel, the church was built in the 11th and 12th centuries in Romanesque-style.
We reached the top of the village. There was an observatory, overlooking the Vaucluse Mountains. The green fields and mountains looked fresh after my eyes were soaked in the red ocher hue.
We walked back into the village. Going down is always easy!
We explored the village a little more, stopping by a few stores such as specialty food and local pottery. The village was small and we have already been over the place. We decided to drive to the next stop - Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque. Originally founded in the 12th century, the abbey is a Cistercian monastery, situated in a narrow deep valley near the village of Gordes. The reason we (mainly I) wanted to visit there was to see the lavender fields in front of the abbey. The Romanesque style abbey building surrounded by purple flowers is one of the most famous summer sceneries in Provence. When we were getting close to the abbey, I instantly found the lavender fields along with many cars and visitors.
The lavenders looked before their peak time but still beautiful!
My photos don't tell that the path to the abbey around lavender fields was crowded like a zoo. A community of monks living at the abbey support themselves through lavender cultivation, the olive grove, the beehive, visits to the Abbey, the hotel and the monastic shop. So, I guess they are happy in such a tourist rush.
It was getting hot and more people were coming to the abbey. We left there without visiting the abbey building, escaping the heat and crowds. Our prime mission, to watch the lavender fields was accomplished anyway. We tried to find a restaurant for lunch around the abbey with our smartphones but the mobile signal didn't reach the bottom of the narrow valley. We came back to Avignon in the early afternoon.
While we were looking for a place for lunch, we happened to pass by a small restaurant called Le Citron Pressé. There were some tables inside and outside and several people were dining. We had a look at their menu board and an outdoor table for two was available conveniently. We didn't know anything about the restaurant but took a chance.
We ordered two dishes out of Today's lunch menu to share. One was Moussaka. The other was sautéed pork with Tagliatelle. Both were no frills but simply tasty.
We also shared two of Today's desserts, chocolate Fondant and lemon tart. They were pretty good, just like what French grandmas make.
We happened to come to the bakery that we were supposed to try for breakfast the day before. The bakery was open and we looked into what they have. I tried a 'madeleine' and J had a 'donus au chocolat.' To be honest my madeleine was kinda dry. I don't know how J's was.
We have covered the walled city of Avignon very much. It became pretty hot in the mid afternoon. We ended our walk and retreated to Airbnb.
To be continued...
