Cruisin’ with my buddy and 7 chicks…

Travel info meter is set to 98% Friday May 26  We are out of our place at the crack of 11:00 as per usual. Down Avenue Paul Cezanne  (the killer hill) and into old town to kick up a ruckus. Look out Provence the Crazy Canucks are comin’. Carol wearing her white cap with the hole in it because she tried to remove a  tiny NY logo that looked uncool (it’s much better now) and me wearing my matching beige one with the logo attached.

I’m workin’ my look today. With only 2 carry-ons for all of our clothes for 5 weeks including jackets and sweatshirt for the cooler evenings in Paris 3 weeks ago, that left 2 shirts, 1 pair of skinny jeans (which I’ll never fit into again), and 2 pairs of shirts, and laundry every 14 days. I know what you’re thinking “Why did he bring the extra shirt”? So to change up the combo I cut the tags off the shirts and I turn them inside out for a day or two. Unique is in. Carol flips her only skirt backwards so the zipper is in the front one day and back the next. It works with the hat.

Today we are going on a 5 hour driving tour with 6 others and a guide to the Luberon area. We meet at the Tourism Information  Centre  (7th time there) made introductions and off we go in our air-conditioned Mercedes van. We have 2 older Australian sisters who have been travelling since Feb. from Sri Lanka to Scotland and all points in between and they sit in the front with our driver.  Then there were 4 middle-aged women from San Francisco, 2 nurses, 2 occupational therapists.  They’ll be handy to have around if I get bit by a viper or snapping turtle. They were full of energy and fun to have around.

Carol and I sat beside Pat (nurse) most of the time and she was chatty like me. Whenever we stop at a restaurant,  fountain,  or public transport I’m like an info-seeking missile and sidle up to anyone who can handle my banter and give back the same.

We would be up against the Pyrenees mountains and in the valleys today.  It was an 80 minute drive to get to our first stop at Gordes and along the way when my mouth wasn’t flapping I’d see the scenery out the expansive windows. It was somewhat similar to home but with limestone mountains and much wider valleys lush with vegetation. I was almost at the point of taking it for granted when Thierry,  the driver, pulled into a little viewpoint and we got out and it was spectacular.  We were high above the valley with a an ancient town on our left and 2 villages far down below surrounded in a sea of colours.

Then we landed in Gordes and spent a half hour wandering around a small village with a castle that was now a 5 star hotel with quaint shops and stone (everything is made from stone) walkways and narrow undulating streets. As with all of the stops that we made today words cannot do these spots the justice that they deserve. There are only so many superlatives available and I feel I’ve used them all up in previous descriptions. Pictures tell a better tale and we took quite a few, but that becomes a distraction from walking and talking and taking in the art and feel of the place.

We regrouped and headed for a 20 minute drive to Roussillon,  down in the valley. The structures on this road trip range from 8 to 12 centuries old and inside the shops that sell artwork of all types and tourist knick knacks the ceilings are low and felt like they were carved out of the rock itself, smoothed by the hands of time. It was fascinating to take it in. Roussillon is famous for its ochre cliffs which has been used as a pigment for centuries to colour paint and mix in plaster and cement. Carol tells me it’s a unique colour and even with my limited vision palette it’s a treat to the eyes.

Next stop was Lourmarin. The area and village are stunning. Narrow winding streets light-hued colours on the shutters and signs. Wooden shutters are everywhere in every town and village and date back centuries in some cases also. Whereas back home they are decorative, they serve a purpose here to keep out the elements and also act as a sound barrier for the daily life just meters away. No large front yards to insulate noise and dust with houses built right up to narrow walks that lay alongside the road.

Another stop beside a stone bridge built in 3 BC that was still used until the year 2000 for vehicle traffic. Bustling stream amidst  smoothed boulders underneath it. A final stop had us surrounded by fields of poppies in all directions.  It was a popular photo opportunity and the American gals were having a great time posing and walking through the field.

Back home to Aix,  we said our goodbyes, and were off to our separate worlds.  Thierry, our driver and historian , did a masterful job explaining what we were about to see and why particular locations were chosen for villages and what their claims to fame were. I joked to him about his name and asked if he had been named after Thierry Henri the French futbol icon and he said that he was not but that they had played together on a local team when he was younger. He was fully 20 years older than he appeared and he told me a bit of his sporting accomplishments in a very humble way. It was fascinating.

Tomorrow  brings another tour, this one regarding the wine country.