On Saturday, Stacy and I took a van tour of the Luberon. Branaugh, John and I did the same trip two years ago. It is about a 45 minute drive from Aix to the Luberon and we visited the hilltop villages of Lourmarin, Gourdes, Bonnieux, and Roussillon. We drove through Vaucluse which is referred to as the "Little Colorado of France" because of the deep canyon and sandstone formations.
In Lourmarin we walked up to the castle with it's olive groves and beautiful courtyard with panoramic views of the valley below. In the Summer, concerts are performed in the courtyard almost every night. We stopped in the wine shop to browse and picked up a jar of tapenade for John.
A roman bridge near the Abbaye Senanque that was open to automobile traffic until a couple of years ago. Now - just foot traffic and bicycles. No lavender or sunflowers but lovely still!
In Roussillon, the ochre colored cliffs are a beautiful sight in the late afternoon sun. We wandered around and had a nice lunch at an outdoor cafe. In my limited French I ordered a sandwich for Stacy which was somehow translated into a hot dog. I forget how much I rely on John's French!
The village of Gordes is a sight to see. This shot was taken on the road up to the center. We were so lucky to be here "off season". No traffic and plenty of places to park.
We lit candles at the altar of the Blessed Mother in the little church - St. Firmin's:
Beautiful olive tree in the hospital garden.
On Sunday, Stacy and I took the train to Paris to spend the night and see the sights!
We arrived at 10:15 am, dropped off our bags at the Hotel visited the Musee D'Orsay (great lunch behind the clock face) and then off to the Eiffel Tower. Luckily we made reservations in advance and our wait was really nothing. Getting there - another story. We decided to take the Metro from the museum to the tower and were surprised to discover that the two nearest stations have been closed down due to the recent terrorist attacks. A LONG walk which resulted in our being about an hour late for our reserved time. No problem though. They were very nice and let us slip into line with the next group.
The trip to the top was fun and Stacy was thrilled. I am embarrassed at how few pictures I took, but Stacy had her camera with her and was the official photographer. Once she emails me the shots she took, I'll post them.
Security at the tower was tight. As I mentioned, you can no longer take the Metro or RER close, and there is no nearby bus service. Taxis are lined up a few blocks away and we ended up taking one back to the hotel - not a long ride. Cement barricades are set up around the perimeter as well as metal fences. You used to be able to walk right up to the tower, but now there is a security check at the barriers. Bags are checked VERY thoroughly and you have to pass your phone and cameras through a special detector as well as pass through a metal detector yourself. Inconvenient and tedious - yes! Necessary- yes, yes, yes! I am not one to complain about tight security. The police and military are working very hard to keep everyone safe.
We had a very comfortable room at Hotel Citadines Saint-Germaine-des-Pres, right on the Seine, two blocks from the Latin Quarter. After the tower, we unpacked, rested our poor tired feet, and went out for dinner. The hotel was only three blocks from Rue de Buci so headed over to the Cafe de Paris - a favorite of John and I. Had escargot and an omelet and a wonderful time.
The next morning we were up at 7:30 am, had coffee and walked to the Louvre (about a 15 or 20 minute walk across the Seine from the hotel). Once again, I relied on Stacy for photos but managed to take a few in the Egyptian antiquities section.
Angel figurines:
After the Louvre, we walked through the Tuilerie Gardens and visited the L'Orangerie. Then a short bus ride to Notre Dame. It is always inspiring to visit the cathedra and we were fortunate to be able to spend some time wandering through. Next - lunch in the Latin Quarter, back to the hotel, and a taxi to the train station for our 6:15 pm departure to Aix. It is impossible to see everything in Paris in two days let alone two months, but I think Stacy got a good feel for the city.
No comments:
Post a Comment