Provence, France - Day 7 - Fitting it all in!

So glad that little bug I had lasted only a day as Friday, our last day in Provence, was packed with plans to fit in as much as we could.

First we re-started Thursday morning as Sarah, Vicky and I went into Goult for a morning walkabout with the kitties. We finally got to speak with Simone, a French cat lover, who we had seen all week but couldn’t talk to. So wonderful that Vicky was able to talk with her and get stories on the various cats about town.

Next, we headed to the last Market Day in Bonnieux . More treasures were found then we were off to wine tasting at Chateau Saint Esteve de Neri , the winery and vineyard of the owners of the mas, Alexandra and Allan Wilson. Allan poured us samples of their wines while engrossing us with stories of making the transition from a British banker to a Provencal vintner and the challenges of international wine sales.

The winery and vineyards were in the country village of Ansouis . Surrounded by lavender and sunflower fields and olive orchards, it was the quintessential Provencal countryside setting – so perfect for our last day in this heavenly piece of the world.

After leaving the winery in our Mercedes bus (the one with the scrape down the right side) with Sue, Sarah and myself on board with Preston driving, we attempted to follow Fran, George, Leann and Paul in the VW to another perfect little restaurant in a perfect little village. But, alas, the bus just couldn’t keep up with the VW and we lost the lead car. What was the name of the town we were going to for lunch? No idea.

We took a casual drive in the general direction of the unknown village. After a few “wrong” turns and few photo-op stops near the sunflower fields in full bloom we came to a(nother) darling village; Cucuron. This looked like a good candidate for a very Provencal lunch.
Preston started heading down a street when I saw a sign that I interpreted as “no trucks”. Preston didn’t heed my warning – we’re in a bus not a truck. OK but don’t say I didn’t tell you.
Less than a minute later our little bus was shoe-horned between ancient stone buildings with the street just in front of us narrowing even more. In centuries past the street could accommodate a horse drawn wagon. But in the 21st Century? This was definitely the sort of street those itty bitty SmartCars were designed for.

Our dilemma was that the only way out was to back out. We had already made 2 turns down this street so narrow I could wash the windows of the houses sitting comfortably in my bus seat. It wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that at any moment one of the above-mentioned SmartCars could come careening around the corner and slam right into the back of us. Please, we don’t need any more French Fender Benders! Even Preston, who is always boldly showing off his backing skills with our 30+ foot horse trailer, was a bit nervous in this situation. I knew this was so when, as we were backing out, I saw the most darling cat sitting in the most picturesque window sill just outside my bus door. I asked Preston to stop so I could snatch a few photos and he said “NO”! Darn.

We successfully backed out. Preston , once again, showcasing his backing skills. As we backed out I re-pointed out the sign with the picture of a truck with a red line through it. But what do I know?

The rest of our visit to Cucuron was incredible. We found an incredible town square with a large pond in the center surrounded by large shady trees and several restaurants with picturesque outdoor seating. We sat outside and had a lunch of the most incredible salmon.
After a leisurely lunch we meandered our way back to the mas, stopping along the way for some photo ops, to buy some wine and a quick trip to the lavender factory to get some take-home gifts.

That evening, our last in Provence, we were treated to another catered dinner by Helen. The dinner was preceded by a cocktail hour with a guest; our friend Laura from the French Fender Bender incident.

To say that Laura provided some color to our cocktail hour is an understatement. Laura is from New York City but spends 3 months every summer in Goult. Laura is married but she doesn’t live with her husbands nor does she let that fact keep her from…..exploring. She described how she lives her life by the “4-F principal;” Friends, Family, Financial and …..well, use your imagination for that 4th F-word!

After dinner we made one last trip into town to watch the sunset by the windmill. Back to the mas for packing……

Click here To enjoy photos of the day.

Provence, France - Day 6 - Cherries and Fender Benders

Thursday, June 24 – We wouldn’t appreciate all the perfect vacation days if we didn’t have at least one “not so perfect” day to give us a little jolt of the real world. Thursday was that day in a couple of ways.

Started out pretty good except I woke up feeling a little punky – maybe too much rosé? I didn’t have the headache to go with that malady but I sure didn’t feel right.

Ignoring that not-so-great feeling, I prepared to go into the Goult to get some early morning photos of kitties coming in from their night of partying. Preston had plans to spend a part of the day with a French co-worker, Celine, visiting some Daf (the European Peterbilt truck) dealers.

Here’s where I made one good decision. Preston was to meet Celine in the center square of Goult at 8 am. He could drive up there but how was I to get the rental car back since I wasn’t a registered driver? According to Preston, it was only a ½ mile back to the mas – I could surely drive the car back. Nooo….I didn’t think that a good idea – what if something happened. Stu said he’d drive us up so off we went.

Just out of our driveway on the narrow dirt road to Goult we passed a lady on her morning walk then suddenly in front of us – directly in front of us – was a little white pickup barreling around the corner. Stu reacted quickly and went up onto the bank but it wasn’t quite enough and the little white pickup slid right down the side of our van – ba-boom! Dang! A French Fender Bender!

Fortunately, our walking neighbor, whom we found was American, spoke French as the pickup driver didn’t speak a word of English. After much talking and gesturing back and forth Laura (our American neighbor) said Bruno (the pickup driver) wanted us to follow him back to his house just on the other side of Goult.

After dropping Preston to meet with Celine, Stu and I followed Bruno to his farm – a cherry farm. After a conversation with Bruno and his wife, if you can call gesturing a conversation (she didn’t speak English either), Stu and I left with an appointment to come back that evening with Vicky as translator and a crate of cherries. Yes, cherries! Bruno is a cherry farmer and wanted to give us a bit of an apology. Fender Benders French style!

We went back to the mas to share our story with all hopes of kitty photos abandoned. Good thing, too because shortly after we got back my punky feeling turned nasty and I went down for the rest of the day – fever, chills, aches, vomiting – what fun!

Talk about being pissed off – there’s nothing worse than wasting a day of vacation being sick! I kept trying to get up and get on with the fun and headed right back to bed.

When Preston returned from his morning with Celine to be greeted by a green wife he decided it would be more fun to go to the Lavender Museum than hang with me. Can’t blame the guy! But, the Lavender Museum? Well, that’s a place that Sarah and Sue wanted to visit so Preston generously agreed to be their chauffer for the excursion. So, next time you see Preston be sure to ask him all about Lavender and Lavendine – and how wonderful it smells in the Lavender Museum.

Vicky and Stu did meet with Bruno and his wife to get all the information about filing for insurance. And, they came home with another crate of cherries!

So, there’s the story of how we modified our unscathed rental van to match the swipe down the side of the 2nd van that was there when we rented it. Now we had a matching set of side-swiped Mercedes rental vans.

Here’s a few pictures of the day (none at the Daf dealer or the Lavender Museum?!) - http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4192290#imageID=74989962

Provence, France - Day 4 - Gordes and Roussillon

Tuesday, June 22 – Preston elected to have a casual day at the mas while Sarah, Sue, Leann and I went to market Day at Gordes, a stunning Cliffside village that has become an “in” place for the rich and famous to buy houses. The architecture is incredible and the views unmatched but the crowds of people take away the charm of the village. While I was in awe as the tour bus drivers negotiated the narrow main streets and tight roundabout in the center of town, I couldn’t help but think how sad to see such a 21st century blemish mar the picture of the simple centuries-old village. With the possible exception of St. Remy (where we’ll go tomorrow) I think Gordes was the most tourist-spoiled city we visited in France. For the most part, all the villages we visited have been untouched by modernism. And, actually, to the credit of the French, even Gordes and St Remy have no lasting scars by way of fast-food restaurants, modern buildings and such. At the end of the day when the tour buses leave the village is returned to its sleepy, ancient charm with only a few discreet mentions of modern day marvels; an occasional ATM machine or a satellite dish hanging off the side of a 16th century home.

After partaking in the market in Gordes – and steering very wide of the kitten and puppy displays by the Gypsies – we went on to Roussillon for lunch. While Roussillon is just as breath-takingly beautiful as Gordes is best known for the ochre from local mines that is used as a coloring agent in some many of the buildings in this area of France. The red, brown and yellow colors in they are so vivid and spectacular. Even walking around Roussillon will result in some souvenir ochre collecting on your shoes.

We had a leisurely lunch in Roussillon before heading back to the mas for some serious pool lounging (with lots of rosé), a light dinner in and our evening walkabout in Goult.

For today’s pictures go to

http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4168253#imageID=74174117

Provence, France - Day 3 - Visiting Ancient Rome

The Mistal continued to blow as we caravanned to Glanum http://www.softseattravel.com/Glanum-Roman-Ruin-in-Provence.html the site of some fascinating Roman ruins that were buried for centuries then discovered in the 1920’s.

After strolling the ruins we walked to the nearby Asylum Saint Paul de Mausole where Vincent van Gogh was hospitalized for a year and where he painted some of his most famous paintings, including Starry Night. That was quite the depressing place! Blood-letting, ice baths and other treatments of that time were described. Makes getting a root canal without novacaine seem tame in comparison!

In the afternoon, Preston, Sarah and I navigated our way back to the train station in Avignon to pick up Sue who was just arriving. Her departure for France had to be delayed 2 days as she awaited the return of her husband from a 4-month stint in Iraq. I love Sue’s attitude. “Hi Honey, welcome home from the warzone . Here’s the kids – I’m off to France for a vacation. Have fun!”

Back to that navigation thing. Finding our way to the train station was definitely an adventure especially not understanding the road signs, the roundabouts (which we sometimes went around 2 or 3 times before figuring out which road to take) and the crazy drivers. A near miss with a vespa vs our bus, some dirty looks for the “American tourists” and we finally found the station….and Sue!

On the way back to Goult we stopped at the local wine cave (pronounced “kav”, meaning the wine cellar) to fill up on rosé. “Fill-up” literally. Check out the pictures!

That evening we took the first of several evening walks into the village of Goult that always ended at one of the village restaurants for a nightcap. In the village I discovered – guess what? Cats! No surprise there I’m sure to most anyone who knows me. Cats were snoozing on the sidewalks, in the streetside gardens, on the stone walls – kitties seemed to be in every corner. And, much to my relief they were almost all healthy, friendly kitties. And, yes, I immediately checked out the most important thing – nearly all were spayed or neutered! Whew! I would not have to stay behind when everyone went home to implement a French spay/neuter program! My camera started going crazy snapping pics of the kitties. More on the Cats of Goult to follow.

For pictures of today's adventure go to http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4165236#imageID=74092656

Provence, France - Day 2 - Market Day at Isle sur la Sorgue

Sunday, June 21 – Market Day!

The markets in France are similar to our Farmers’ Markets but much more “authentic” – each town has a market day and this is where the restaurants get their fresh produce. On Sunday we went to one of the largest markets in Provence; Isle sur la Sorgue. This market is known for vendors that sell everything from fabrics to antiques.

It is here at the market where I had my first encounter with a French chat (cat). You see, there was this sweet mom cat with 2 kittens that one of the vendors was displaying in a little wooden cart along with a puppy and a miniature goat. Was this perhaps the French version of a pet store or even a rescue of some sort? Since I couldn’t read a work of the signage I had not a clue. I picked up a darling kitten (and very healthy looking) for a cuddle and a much needed kitty fix. The proprietors of the cart chatted away to me in French, thrusting boxes of candy into my face. I had not a clue what they were saying since I understand barely a word of French. After a quick snuggle I put the kitty down and strolled away with the people continuing to talk to me. I presumed they were trying to get me to buy the kitten or donate to their rescue.

It was later that I learned that I had just fallen for one of the biggest tourist traps in the French Markets. Vicky, who speaks fluent French, apparently got an earful from them and they were not happy that I hadn’t paid to pet the kitty! Now there’s a new angle for fund-raising – charge to pet the kitty. We ought to try that at FieldHaven! These people are gypsies who live in RVs traveling around to the markets with their cute and cuddly animals, convincing tourists to give them money. And, from what I learned, they also use the animals as a diversion for distracting tourists while they pick their pockets. At least I didn’t get caught in that scam but leave it to me to get in “trouble” over a kitty my first day in France!

After the market we retired back to the mas for a lunch of some tasty paella from the market, some lazy time by the pool and more rosé – lots more rosé.

That evening we had a fabulous catered dinner by Helen, a local woman originally from England. Helen can create a fabulous meal!

For pictures of Day 2 go to: http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4158044#imageID=73850442.

Provence, France - Day 1

Following is a journal from a 12 day trip to France Preston and I took to celebrate the 50th birthday of my oldest (length of friendship, not age) friend, Sarah Boudreau (aka “Jones”). There were 10 of us in our group. The trip was organized by Sarah’s sister, Fran, and her step-mom, Vicky. Also accompanying us was Stu, Sarah and Fran’s dad, Fran’s husband, George, Leann and Paul , friends of the family and Sue, a friend of Sarah’s from Norfolk.

Because I was “forbidden” to bring along a computer (insider joke) I couldn’t write up my journal until our return to the states. Of course, I could’ve done it the “old-fashioned” way of Vicky and Fran by hand-writing it everyday. But since I often can't even read my own hand-writing that may have been a fruitless effort. So here I am post-vacation recreating each day in my mind. Now, there’s a challenge for this almost-49 year old, menopausal brain!!

I’ll do a blog entry for each day – may take me a couple of weeks to get the whole trip done.

Day 1 - Saturday, June 20 – After flying all day Friday and overnight then losing 9 hours of time (6 for Sarah) Preston, Sarah and I arrived at Charles De Gaulle in Paris early Saturday morning. Somewhat – no – a LOT tired as we met up with the rest of the crew at the high speed train station. A 3 hour, super fast trip through the French countryside brought us to Avignon in Provence.

Here is where we learned what the “Mistral” is in France. Here in Sacramento we’d call it a Delta Breeze on steroids. Bright sunny skies with a wind forceful enough to knock you off your feet if you weigh less than 100 lbs (not me).

The rental car process was a lengthy one but the monotony of waiting was broken up by the eye-candy at the rental counter in the form of some very darling Frenchmen – all in their 20’s. Nicholas’ transparent blue eyes – oh, we talked about them all week.

Our rental cars were 2 Mercedes “buses” and a VW. One of the buses had a lengthy scrape down one side and was missing some molding. We’ll revisit that fact later in the week.

A 45-minute drive to the village of Goult and we found our mas (farmhouse) down a quiet dirt road near some vineyards. The mas was everything described to us and more! Just an absolutely quintesstial 1700’s stone house with all the period charm but with every modern amenity. Even a (very slow) wireless internet connection.

Preston’s and my accommodations were a remodeled pigeonnier (yes, a pigeon house) that opened right to the pool. Cute, cute, cute!

Fran and Vicki bought out the local market of some wonderful fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese and rosé wine. Yes, rosé. One of the first things we learned about France is that rosé wine in a staple in France. No, we’re not talking about the socially-unacceptable White Zinfandel that all of us Californians cringe at when our out-of-town relatives order at a restaurant embarrassing us to no end. Yes, we are wine snobs. But in France It’s cool to drink rosé. And, just wait til you hear how it’s dispensed!

Enjoy the pictures of our first day at http://fieldhaven.phanfare.com/4157904#imageID=73845913