A guidebook is useful but, as we’ve learned time and again in our travels, it takes a local to show you the gems.
Today was one of the best days of our vacation, thanks to the lovely Rachel who gave us a tour of the small towns in the area, the crème de la crème (the best of the best) of the Avignon region, all with great enthusiasm and warmth. She even found a carseat for The Adorable Son and fed us TWICE.
We saw four areas in particular, Robion, Maubec, Oppède, and Ménerbes. All very charming and well worth the trip, with meandering paths through tiny stone villages built into the mountainside. And the views! Oh the views! Rolling hills and valleys dotted with picturesque “mas” (traditional provençal homes) and crisscrossed by the lush green lines of vineyards.
These are ancient towns, some dating to the Roman era, and you have to park on the exterior of these tiny compact villages and walk in. Since we saw several in one day, and we had to work around The Adorable Son’s nap and meals, it was like speed dating, but with villages: we walked quickly and snapped a million pictures. Luckily, the south of France is so replete with beauty that it excels at quick seduction. A few minutes often suffice to leave you starstruck, with a beatific smile on your face.
Later, when we returned to her home, Rachel fed us and made a ‘fishing rod’ out of a stone, a bamboo stick and some fabric for The Adorable Son. This was pure entertainment for the Adorable Son who went straight to fishing ‘grounaille’, aka grenouilles (frogs) that lived in the pond next to her home.
The Adorable Son even got to sit in Rachel’s husband Roland’s truck, which was very, VERY exciting. Probably the best day on earth for The Adorable Son who loves all cars, trucks, trains, and planes and the most important, buses (much better for him, I’m sure, than all these views and castles and old things that have no wheels).
Today was epic. Thank you Rachel, the angel of Avignon.
No comments:
Post a Comment