We woke up rocking today! The mistral wind subsided, temperature and sun were perfect, life was good…so of course, time for a long bike ride into the mountains. Lynn and I planned to meet up at Fontaine de Vaucluse, which is the actual source of the Sorgue River that our little town sits in the middle of. I planned to ride 2-3 hours while she shopped around town for some food and supplies. Then, she had to navigate our little rental car out of the tight parking and streets by our apartment, and drive to Fontaine de Vaucluse, to meet up. What could possibly go wrong?
As always, the first day riding was a bit confusing. It always takes me a day or two or trying to figure out how to get out of town and onto the rural roads. Today went pretty smooth, I found yet another functioning water wheel, and I got to ask directions from a garbage man in a beautiful riverfront park. I made it to Vaucluse pretty fast, it’s close by, so looked around for other roads. I found a fantastic “Route Touristique” leading up the mountain to Gordes, the town we saw a few days ago which hangs off a cliff high above the valley. Perfect. Climbing the steep backroad was tough, but very do-able, so I’m happy with my condition and the new bike gears. Man, now I sure understand why so many wealthy people like to live in Provence…the scenes and structures are amazing.
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| They told me to look aggressive, so I tried! Gordes in the background |
On the road up to Gordes, I stopped for a photo break, and met a young couple who work for a professional bike racing team, Team Pharma-Quickstep. What a great visit we had; I took their photo, they took mine, and we kidded about me getting a contract with the Quickstep team because of my climbing ability. Hahahahaha! Best thing was, they didn’t peg me for an American til I told em where I was from. Fun rest stop. On up the climb to Gordes, with heavy traffic and people walking … turns out it was market day in Gordes! The beautiful place we saw two days ago was transformed into the weekly market madness, and crammed with people and vendors and stuff for sale. I bought a big bottle of water and cleared out of Gordes.
Lynn successfully drove out of Isle, and staked out a fantastic shady park bench by the River Sorgue at Fontaine de Vaucluse, and packed an equally fantastic picnic lunch, our favorite: baguette ham and cheese sandwich, with all fresh stuff bought fresh from our neighborhood boucherie and boulangerie this morning. After we ate and stuck my bike in the rear of our car, we hiked all over Vaucluse to find the source of the Sorgue River.
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| Hotel, shops, cafes, and homes all line the river just down the way from the fountainhead |
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| Beautiful tiny town square of Vaucluse - the Fontaine is just up the hill! |
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| Falls near the fountainhead; we stopped at this waterfront cafe for a beer and a kir! |
Turns out you can’t actually see the fountain itself, it’s inside a cave that’s blocked off, but the river just “appears” out of the rocks. This is Europe’s most powerful spring, emitting around 800,000 gallons a day, and has been pumping out water without stop for hundreds of years…some Italian poet lived here in the 1400’s because of the wonderful atmosphere. Anyhow, now we understand why the Sorgue is such a big deal in this area. The water is powerful from the volume, and coming down the mountains, so has enough flow to power the ancient waterwheels that are everywhere from the area’s old industrial age. Channels and canals have been cut over the centuries to send the water where people wanted to use it for power. We took a lot of pictures, most of which aren’t too inspiring. Lots of lush green vegetation grows along the river bottom, so even though the water is crystal clear, photos make it look green and unappetizing. Trust us, it’s really beautiful in person.
Before heading home, Lynn wanted to visit Abbey Notre Dame de Senanque, only a few kilometers away. She saw it 20+ years ago on a bus trip: an abbey run by a dozen or so monks, who farm and harvest lavender. We hoped the lavender fields would still be in bloom, but were about a month too late. They were still beautiful, just not purple. The Abbey’s in a tranquil valley setting, and is hundreds of years old. We bought some postcards showing the lavender in bloom, walked around, and hit the road for home.
Before heading home, Lynn wanted to visit Abbey Notre Dame de Senanque, only a few kilometers away. She saw it 20+ years ago on a bus trip: an abbey run by a dozen or so monks, who farm and harvest lavender. We hoped the lavender fields would still be in bloom, but were about a month too late. They were still beautiful, just not purple. The Abbey’s in a tranquil valley setting, and is hundreds of years old. We bought some postcards showing the lavender in bloom, walked around, and hit the road for home.
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| Abbey Notre Dame de Sananque - just beautiful |
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| Lynn in front of the lavender beds - we missed the purple lavender crop by a month or so LINK TO all the photos we took so far, if you'd like to see more stuff: |
Lynn made one of her best suppers: chicken Provencal, ratatouille, and some local wine. We ate like royalty, and now are ready to conk out. No special plans tomorrow, we’ll just see what happens
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