Glorious Provence

After a long day’s journey, we have made it down to the stunning little village of Lourmarin, just north of Aix-En-Provence. The day started early on Saturday morning, and with far too much luggage in tow -- with it, we first waded through Paris on the Metro and RER train to get to Orly Sud Airport. We were going there to pick up our car which we are leasing for the remainder of our time here in Europe. After a significant amount of physical exertion with our heavy luggage (thanks to all our camping gear), we made it to the car lease place and picked up our Citroen Berlingo. Both kids immediately got into the car and made themselves at home, knowing that the car would be our home of sorts for the coming two and a half months. With some trepidation, we then drove out of Paris, heading south, thinking we would need to camp in the evening to break the journey. Skye was an absolute trooper and negotiated the French roads like a star and took us out into rural France quickly and efficiently -- all the while enjoying being behind the wheel in our speedy new vehicle.
By five in the evening we realized we could easily make it to our destination by sunset, and so we decided to push on. The drive became progressively more stunning the further south we got with vast expanses of farm land, valleys, rivers, mountain ranges, and the odd castle on a hilltop all around us. Thanks to the late evening light (the sun goes down now at 9 pm) we were able to take the last part of the journey quite slow as we hit Provence proper.
We were completely bowled over by the beauty as we got closer to the Luberon region. Even though we cycled through this region 12 years ago, our memory had gotten a little foggy about the stunning rugged beauty of Provence (that said, Skye kept remembering little stops and locations we’d been through oh so long ago). Being springtime, the whole region is covered with wild flowers in every direction, and the quality of light and fragrant scents makes one feel like one has died and gone to heaven. We can honestly say that it is by far one of the most beautiful places we have ever been to. We (the adults, that is) feel like we could live here and never leave again. We wish we could share this time with all our close friends and family out there . . . well in a way that has happened, because we arrived at the village to find John, Bay, and Nancy waiting for us.
So guess who just turned forty?! That’s right, Skye turned 40 on Monday!!! She knew about John and Bay meeting us, but not about her lovely Auntie Nancy. It was a major surprise and she really was thrilled! She shrieked so loudly that she nearly broke down the walls when she first saw Nancy, never mind nearly giving all the neighbours heart attacks. It really was a fabulous surprise.

So, once in Lourmarin, we got settled into our amazing place. There are no words to describe how stunning this place is! For one, the house we are staying in for the next three weeks is part of a larger hamlet that dates back over 800 years. It is old and offers all the charm one expects of a place in rural Provence. The narrow cobbled streets, the old stone houses, the flowers everywhere, the vineyards, the birds . . . etc etc. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
After our first day of settling in and enjoying the local scenery, we woke up on Monday to Skye’s big day. We went to some other villages close by for a celebratory birthday lunch and for some time to amble around. The drive to Bonnieux from Lourmarin takes one through the local Luberon mountain range which is rugged and ancient looking. We spent the first part of our day in Bonnieux, where we walked around taking in the beautiful old character of the village, and then we had a great lunch at a small outdoor restaurant to celebrate Skye turning forty.
The very tasty meal had by some!
Then we were off to another village close by called Lacoste. As we said before, we had been to this region twelve years ago when we cycled through Southern France. It is amazing to come back years later and witness some of the changes made over that time. For one thing, all of these villages have definitely been swept up by the property boom of the last decade in that they are way less rugged and much more “Guccied up,” as Grandpa John likes to say. Many of the old run down places have been bought up and fixed up to suit retirees, or holiday makers -- everything looks very kept, as a result. In some ways it is good because the dilapidation we saw years ago has slowly be reversed and these stunning places have been made to last for years to come. There is also an urban hipness in the shops, cafes and markets that makes it all very appealing. In a nutshell it has been gentrified. On the downside, some of the previous rustic-ness and old Provencal culture is not so prevalent anymore. Oh well, the future is not the past and frankly, it is still absolutely gorgeous!
Kai and Pippin are in their element being settled for a while and having all this room to just be kids in and roam about in. It is really good for them after all that time constantly moving from place to place. They are loving being with their grandparents in this amazing place, as well. Having Auntie Nancy here just adds that much more fun to the whole experience. To make this whole experience even more complete -- our good friend Jill arrives after the weekend, and we are all really looking forward to sharing this piece of heaven with her as well.
Skye and John on her birthday night with something that fell out of the Sky!

We will leave you with a few images of all the lovely lunches we have been having here on the patio overlooking the vineyard. Life is good!

Until next time . . .

Skye, Ronato, Kai and Pippin.