Saying goodbye to Provence... Boo Hooo...

We knew that the time was coming, but there has been some serious sadness with leaving the lovely little home we inhabited while we were here in Provence. We could easily have made this part of our trip last for months. We have decided that we need to make the commitment to come back here for another long stint in the future. Our little hamlet had it all, and we really feel like we made some good connections with some of the local people.

Oh well, it is always best to leave on a high note, and we leave with many fond memories of our time here. We also leave feeling like we have a lot more to explore here in the future!

Our last days in Provence landed up being quite busy -- we all felt like we needed to take in as much as we could before we left the region. Of course with the added trips around the Luberon valley, we were left with the feeling that we had just begun to scratch the surface in terms of what the region had to offer. Then again one needs to keep things in perspective -- three and a half weeks in Provence is not too bad by most people's standards.

On one of our our day trips we went off to some local villages just north of Loumarin, and we stumbled on this stunning Roman bridge build some 2000 years ago. It was an amazing and beautiful sight. It is so thrilling to see so many old structures, and to see how well they have managed to age through the years. Best of all is they are still in use to today -- how is it that we manage to build modern bridges and buildings that can crumble and fall down, and these ones are still standing strongly after thousands of years?!
On this particular outing, we decided it was time to treat ourselves out to a lunch at a little village called Roussillon -- it turned out to be really fun. We have not eaten out much here in Europe because our budget is not quite as flexible as it was in Asia. The good thing is -- we REALLY enjoy it when we do eat out here. The "plat du jour" is always a fun experience in France.
This was Jill's meal choice. It made her very happy!
The village of Roussillon is surrounded by red, iron rich soil, and the village has taken on a similar hue with it's walls all being painted in rich ochres, roses, mochas, etc. It was a very picturesque little village! We went a little photo crazy . . .
We found a few amazing little shops here, as well, and Pippin spent some of her hard earned allowance on a soft, new little friend named "Fluffy," and she was keen to pose with her for the camera.
Our next stop was in a village called Gordes and the photo speaks for itself.
After another great relaxation day in Lourmarin, we decided to spend our last big "outing" day on the Mediterranean. We took the a 90 minute drive down to a town called Cassis. It was great to be at the ocean. In many ways it felt a lot like Cape Town -- similar climate and geography.
The little harbour front in downtown Cassis.
The door knockers in Provence are to die for. This one from Cassis looked really old and like it needed a new home in Canada.
The view from above Cassis looking over the Meditteranean.
Finally it was time to head back to our little hamlet, "Les Lointes Bastides." It truly felt like "coming home," -- what an amazing place!
One of our favourite things to do during our time in Provence, was to follow the French tradition of the two-hour-lunch. We got really into creating a lovely table filled with local delicacies to feast on -- our lunches in France have been very tasty! One of our favourites things to create was to put chevre on bagettes and then broil them in the oven until the cheese was all melty and slightly browned. Oh so tasty! This is a little trick we will definitely bring home.
Well, this is where this blog entry will end for now. Next we will be writing from the Lot region in the Midi Pyrenees. Until then . . .
Skye, Ronato, Kai & Pippin