Visit to the Vaucluse

Contents

Our Home for a Week
Nearby Towns
Regional Heritage
Getting Around

The Vaucluse is one of the departments that make up the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur in southern France. After a week's bustle and excitement in Paris, we were looking forward to a relaxing time in one of the more remote parts of the Vaucluse, an area of lovely villages and towns and outstanding scenery.

We stayed in a cottage in the tiny hamlet of Fonssargoule, midway between two small towns, Venasque and Le Beaucet. The cottage offered marvelous views of the Dentelles mountain range and of the highest mountain in the region, Mont Ventoux. There were numerous trails for hiking, but if we felt lazy we could just take it easy on the patio.

The area is famous for its fields of lavender. The lavender blooms in spring, not in September, but a small field next to the cottage still provided a lovely aroma.

The family of the owners of the cottage have farmed the area for almost 300 years. The landlady, Jeanne-Marie, took us on a walk to show us some features of the area, and to explain its history. This dry stone wall, for example, built to create terraced fields, has been modified a number of times. You can see the vertical rocks that were once the top of the wall. (The top row is placed that way to prevent goats from standing on the wall and destroying it)

Nearby is an old grape press. The grapes were loaded through an opening at the top, and after stomping on the grapes, the wine emerged at the bottom. From there it could be carted across the valley to the wine "cave" .

The owners' stone house dates back to the mid 18th century. In front of it is a "borie" , a dry-stone hut of the kind used in this area for hundreds of years. Bories may originally have been shepherd's huts, but are mostly employed for storage now. Their ruins can be found throughout Provence.

The major agricultural crop in the area is, of course, the grape, and wine is an important part of the economy. Wine growers use a number of devices to advertise their wares, including this small trompe l'oeil building near Villes sur Auzon.

Much of the land is wooded, though, or is grassland that was quite dry at the time. Vegetation that appeared to be blooming was in fact covered with small snails.

We saw few other people while we were there, but we were adopted by a very friendly dog belonging to a neighbor. She was anxious to play or to join us on walks, and was often waiting to greet us when we arose in the morning.

Close to Fonssargoule was a ravine, at the head of which is a grotto containing a small spring. At the back of the grotto is an unusual shrine. The grotto is not noted on any maps, and the origin of the shrine is unknown. Gordon knew of their existence because of his recently acquired hobby of geocaching. There is a geocache nearby.

The nearest town to Fonssargoule is Venasque, about a mile away if one flies, two miles to walk. The walk itself offers views of the surrounding valleys and hills. The road is built on the side of steep cliffs that are popular in the local climbing community.

Venasque, officially one of "the 126 most beautiful villages in France", is set on top of a cliff, from where it commands the surrounding countryside. The defensive towers were constructed in the 12th century. The church, although more recent, has its origins in the 9th century.

We met a couple who own a house in Venasque. From their top floor one sees what a fine strategic position the town provided. The streets are mostly narrow and winding. Arched doorways reflect the needs of local artisans in earlier years.

Below the town is a cemetery, where a popular form of remembrance is a ceramic flower arrangement.

The other nearby town is Le Beaucet. We reached it by another 2 mile hike, mostly along a cliff top. We followed a well-marked trail that provided beautiful views of the countryside, and a good spot for a picnic. The hike provided Gordon with a chance to find another cache, hidden beneath a rocky outcrop. JoAnn enjoyed looking through the goodies contained within the cache box.

We reached Le Beaucet, another charming hill-top village. Like others in the area it is full of steep, narrow passages, and is built around a defensive tower that sits on top of the cliff.

The nearest town of any size was Isle sur la Sorgue. The Sorgue is a beautiful spring-fed river that splits into a number of channels just east of the town, giving a sense of the town being an island in the river. The river is a popular place for fishing.

Each week Isle sur la Sorgue holds a very large market, where one can find everything from china to cheeses. At the same time an antiquities market takes place on the other side of town.

We followed the Sorgue up-stream about 6 kilometers to its source at Fontaine de Vaucluse. Emerging from springs at a depth of over 300 meters, the river has cut a channel, creating high cliffs, and maintains abundant flow throughout the year.

Fontaine de Vaucluse is a beautiful town, but is very crowded on weekends. Nevertheless, we fought the crowds and walked up a pathway that climbed between cliffs on each side to the source itself. Along the pathway is a museum and exhibit featuring the paper mill that used to operate on the site.

We also spent much of a day in Pernes les Fontaines. When we arrived, it appeared that everyone was dressed in early 20th century clothes. As we stood in what had been the town moat, we saw similarly dressed farmers driving a horse and cart, or passing by on an old tractor.

In fact this was not a surprise, for we knew that this was the weekend of the Fête du Patrimoine , the Festival of Regional Heritage.

The festival is held every four years. Almost every resident of the town seems to take it seriously. They must spend those four years working on their costumes. Elegant ladies, the most distinguished citizens, and even the youngsters all play their parts.

Anyone who rode a motor cycle made sure it was of the appropriate vintage, as did those who used the new-fangled horseless carriages.

A bicycle race seemed to be in the offing. Although they would not have done well in a race, these three boys were proud of their bicycle, and enjoyed showing it off to other lads.

Other sporting events were under way. These tennis players (wooden racquets, of course) were on their way to the local tennis club.

Numerous artisans passed through town. The trapper displayed his pelts, and the cheerful knife grinder offered his services, ably supported by his assistant. In the covered market place, various craftsmen demonstrated their skills.

Occasional anachronisms were unavoidable - the town drummer may need to use his iphone to check the latest news. The overall effect, though, was astonishing, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Outside Pernes les Fontaines is a memorial to Paul de Vivie (known as Vélocio), a writer, an early apostle of "cyclotourism", and promoter of healthy life styles. It is apt, therefore, that the Vaucluse is popular with cyclists, even though the hills can make it hard work.

Driving has its own problems. Impossibly tight curves are common. This triple bend is a relatively gentle example of the curves between Fonssargoule and Isle sur la Sorgue. Most of the curves are unmarked, although in some cases one sees this kind of sign. In the U.S. this would mean "Perhaps you should slow down a little". Here it means "Take this at more than 15 kph and you'll be off the road".

We took one especially dramatic drive, after having a pleasant lunch in Villes sur Auzon. We drove to the Gorges de La Nesque along a quiet winding road. The road features a number of tunnels cut through the rock. Unfortunately, there was a steep drop off into the gorge on the passenger side of the car, so JoAnn was less enthusiastic about the drive than was Gordon.

So the best way to get around is to walk. A map devoted to hiking trails is readily available. In addition to walking to Venasque and Le Beaucet, we devoted one day to take a long hike through neighboring countryside.

The walk took us through a deep valley, mostly following well-marked trails. A network of these trails, the grandes randonnées , facilitates hiking throughout France.

After a while we left the trail and headed into the woods, ascending a "combe" or coomb that led eventually to a steep slope covered with scree - loose stones that make progress very difficult. We did this,of course, because Gordon was hunting for another cache - fortunately, we found it.

The rest of the walk was pleasant and uneventful. We passed along a ridge top looking down on small villages, and ended up at our favorite restaurant in Venasque.

Upon our return, Jeanne-Marie's mother-in-law was harvesting grapes. She insisted on giving us as many as we could carry.

Then a glass or two of wine on our porch, watching the sunset over Mont Ventoux - a perfect end to the day.

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