Bon Jour Provence!

Many people have said one of the benefits of living in London is that you are just a two hour train ride from Paris, a quick flight to just about anywhere mainland Europe ... they ain't kidding.  This past weekend I had the blessing to be able to join a (almost said old here) Chicago friend to celebrate her (let's just say rhymes with "ourtieth") birthday in the Provence region of France.  Not only was it a wonderful group of people to hang out (10 in total), but the surroundings, food, wine, and weather could not have been more spectacular.

The Luberon region of Provence, just East of Avignon, consists of small, cliff-hanging ancient towns dispersed amongst rolling hills of yellow mustard plants (lavender not in bloom quite yet) and a variant scene of changing countryside (mountains, rivers, fields of grape plants, cherry trees ...).  Uhhh-mazing.

Our stone cottage in the village of Robion was picture perfect; dinner in the courtyard surrounded by candles, bottles of wine, and laughter made for a couple of those best nights in your life.  The sun-soaked afternoons under nothing but blue sky weren't too shabby either.  Oh, and how could I forget the gooey cheese, buttery croissants, and chewy local red.  Thanks Erica.

I hadn't actually had much time to research the area, so the daily outings were quite impressive.  We first went to Roussillon, which is known for the multi-faceted shades of ocher colored earth.  The colors of this soil  were out of this world and because they were used to tint their paints, result in a town where the colors of all the buildings all melted together.

From there we headed to Gordes, known to be one of the most beautiful towns in all of France - picture perfect.  The overlook of the town as you approach defines breath-taking, and walking through the pastel colored streets into shops selling baskets, soaps, art, (sneaking in an apple tart right after your delicious lunch) was an experience I will not soon forget (and I have a terrible memory).

From there the gang headed back to the cottage to rest at the pool with some wine and prep for the birthday dinner.  For, in the morning most of us had to shake off the haze of a bit too much red wine so we could head off to see the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aquaduct not far from where we were staying.  Quite an impressive little artifact.  We ended the day with a stroll through Avignon, still surrounded by its fortress wall before I had to sadly board my train to return home.

It was one of those trips where you seriously question before you leave if there just isn't any remote chance you can stay, even just one more night.  Alas, it is the Monday morning stress-athons that provide me the means to experience all these wonderful things, but I got to say, popping out the other end of the Chunnel back in bloody-old England was just a tad depressing.  At least the sunny morning today, and the prospect of more things to come, helped me get over that.