On the Road Again

We're back on the road again. The exchange was far from the best, but we did manage to see what we wanted to in the area.

Up early (for us anyway), packed the car, and off and away, feeling pleased to be on the move. We were heading to Orange for the Roman ruins there, but seeing what we could on the way. The roads of Haute Provence and Vaucluse were lovely, lots of beautiful tree-lined stretches, and great views.

First stop was Roussillon, recommended by one of Lew and Jean's friends. What a good recommendation! Roussillon must be one of the most photogenic places we've been ever, with countless amazing sights. It's a little red village, sitting on a mountain of ochre of every shade from purple to white, but mostly reds and yellows. Really very sweet and well worth going out of your way for. It was also the first place we have come across Americans this year - many cyclists particularly.

Just outside the village are the old ochre mines...

After Roussillon we headed for the village perche of Gordes. Rather than red, Gordes is built on white sandstone, countless pieces of white rock as far as you can see. The entry to the town is through kilometres of tall drystone walls, then the town itself is more of the same. Just outside are some odd stone bories, beehive-shaped buildings built completely of stone. We snuck through tiny lanes to get to a village of these, but baulked at the prices and headed further on.

We knew the Abbaye de Senanque was close, but it is famous for its lavender which was out of season, so we weren't trying too hard to see it. However the route out of Gordes happened to pass directly past the Abbaye, and we really enjoyed looking down at it, and then a visit to it.

We found our way to our hotel in Orange quite early, so walked into the city for an orientation. It's a bit of a tired town. A lot of down-and-outers, a lot of very tired buildings. Perhaps it is running out of steam having been here as a Roman town since some 2000 years ago. It has two of the best preserved Roman monuments in Europe, which we'll report on later.