Hiking, the best way to discover the Vaucluse and the Luberon/ Part 2

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Apt, auberge du Luberon, candied fruits, Christian, hiking, Roman, Saignon, Truffles

Hike from Apt to Saignon

Apt‘s history goes back to Roman times when it was a prosperous ancient city. Remnants of its days as a Christian bishopric are also visible  in its gorgeous 11th-century Saint-Anne Cathedral. Today  the town is loved for its candied fruits, jams, lavender essence and truffles and a very colorful market that teems with Provencal produce on Saturday mornings. When you arrive in Apt park your car in the cours Lauze-de-Perret car park in the east of town,and then you are ready to set out on your hike. On foot your will have to take D48 and walk along until you see the Auriane track on the left, you will then head left and cross the bridge over the Rimayon river. As the road sweeps left you will have to keep walking straight along the path that climbs the hill, then bear left and and follow a tarmac path for ( 164ft) until you eventually get to the Ginestiere crossroads. Once you get there stay to your right and follow the D174 to get to the village entrance, which leads to the pretty place de la Fontaine.

Saignon is not very well known by tourists. If you go there visit the Prieure and Farm built in the middle ages on a Gallo- Roman site and continued to expand until the 19th-century. The church contains Medieval frescoes , and the excavations of a first-century villa are seen through a grill in the floor. Exhibitions are staged in the farm while the gardens are devoted to historic and scented plants. To get to Saignon, make a turn left on Rue du Bourget and walk about ( 330 ft) until you reach a cobbled path, on your left that leads to kind of a square in the parking lot. At the bottom of the car park, you will find a path winding around the village’s ramparts. After the last house take a deep breath and climb the steps to the main castle ruins and marvel at the vistas from the lookout point. Then go back down the ramparts before going left and joining the D174. From place de la Fontaine backtrack to the Ginistere crossroads, and turn right. After the bend, keeping Tourel (a settlement) on your left, take the short cut at the next bend and continue straight for (650 ft). At the next bend turn left along a dirt track and head straight through an oak forest and then a residential area. Continue straight , and then cross the old N100, using the steps to join the cycle path. You will have to keep going over the Cavalon River and then head up a ramp on the right to follow the D22 back to Apt. Finish your hike with a hearty French meal at Auberge du Luberon http://francemarket.com/auberge-luberon, located in a century- old  building in the city’s historic center.

Luberon, Provence.

Hiking is a great way to discover the Vaucluse and the Luberon/ Part one

Tags

Gordes, hiking, hotel les Bories, Provence

Hiking is a great way to discover the Vaucluse and the Luberon/ Part one.

Hiking is a great way to discover the Vaucluse and the Luberon/ Part one

If you are looking for a new way to freshen up your stay with a good dose of country air consider this hiking route. This two-day hiking trip will take you from postcard perfect Gordes to the market town of Apt, with an overnight stay in Gordes. You will definitely need a car traveling from Gordes to Apt, and then you can proceed on these hikes on foot. Start : Gordes. Trip Length : 11 miles. Time 2 days; each day’s hike is about 3 hours ( excluding picnic time).

A hike from Gordes to L’Abbaye de Senanque

Gordes is a beautiful medieval village perched on  the hills of the Luberon.

On day 1, park your car kind of early and start your hike on the Place du Chateau in Gordes. Take the second right to the right of the Provencal Cafe ( not the D15 to Murs) , which leads past La Poste ( post office) on your right. Go right at the Y-junction, with the cemetery on your left. Continue straight until the next Y junction, where you will have turn left down the road, lined with dry-stone walls – this leads to the D15. You will have to go straight, then make a turn left uphill at the signpost marked Fontanille campsite, and look for some mailboxes, then you will turn right. By that point you will have walked 30 minutes. Bear left by the Fontanille campsite and look again and look again for some mailboxes, then turn right. When you reach another fork, take the rocky path to the right. It eventually skirts left, but you have to keep going straight along a narrow path, with the fields to your right. When you reach a T- junction with a huge pine tree, turn right ( now you should have been walking for about one hour). After 492 feet, make a turn left down an uneven path. Cross the valley, keeping a farm entrance to your right. At the next fork, walk along a stony path. Near the Senanque Hamlet, you will reach a crossroads, turn right and go downhill into a wood. At the next crossroads, head straight along the vehicle-friendly road, which comes out on the D177. Cross the road to climb the GR6/97, a path ( 30m/33yds. downhill on the left) that leads to a crossroad with red and white marks. The path turns left downhill toward the Abbey.

Built in 1448, this is one of the trio of primitive abbeys known as “the Cistercian sisters of Provence“. To allow the monks to meditate undistracted, according to the rule of St-Benedict. The only ornamentation was the natural play of light on stone. The starkness of the monks’ dormitory, the church, cloister and warming house ( the only room where the brethren can warm themselves) are both truly moving and magnificent. I will add that the abbaye de Senanque saw much death and destruction before becoming the tranquil retreat it is today.

On the D177, look out for traffic and bear right to follow the sign to Cote de Senanque. Then you will have to turn right and descend a pebbly track with an amazing view onto Gordes. Back on the D177, fork left down a street 656 ft. Once you are back into the center where you can spend the night . The hotel des Bories ( http://www.hotellesbories.com) is Gordes best accommodations, a modern hotel in rough stone and was built around the core of an old Provencal mas. After the long hike dine at the cuisine du chateau , a very nice restaurant in Gordes’s epicerie ( Food Market), originally built in 1850s.

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Saintes-Maries-de-la-mer

Small and picturesque town with its medieval fortified harbour on the Mediterranean seashore has become  a busy focal point for visitors of La Camargue.

Some great itineraries of Provence

Peter Mayle’s book ” A year in Provence” prescribes just that, but even a year might not be long enough to soak up all the beauty of this very captivating region. In three days you can see three very different towns: Arles, Avignon, and St-Remy; On a seven days drive you can add La Camargue, Le Luberon, and Aix-en-Provence, on a ten days drive you can add Vaison-La-Romaine and Marseille.

If you have three days to spend in Provence

The best getaway to the region is Avignon, where tiny, narrow streets cluster around the 14th-century Palais des Papes, the massive structure represented the supreme Christian authority of the world back in the 14th century. Then you can make an afternoon outing west to Le Pont du Gard aqueduc, a majestic relic from the ancient Romans that strikes all as more a work of art than a practical construction. On the second day make a brief stop in Nimes to see the antiquities of the Arenes and La Maison carree– quite a contrast to the busy commercial center -and then head to Arles , inspiration to Van Gogh who truly captured the very delicate features of the Arlesienne in some of his finest portraits. On the third day, drive to L’Abbaye deMontmajour whose cloisters offer the perfect view of the oleanders in bloom – and the medieval hill town of Les Baux-de-Provence, if you feel like it you can do an overnight in St-Remy-de-Provence with its Roman ruins and recognizable Van Gogh landmarks.

If you have seven days to spend in Provence

On your first day visit Orange and then head out to Le Pont- du- Gard both will take you back two millennia in time. Spend a couple of nights in Avignon and make a stop at the bridge of St-Benezet ( made very famous by the song ” Sur le pont d’Avignon”. In the early morning make a stop in Nimes on your way to the fortified town of Aigues Mortes and make a detour through the Camargue to Arles. The next day you can explore Arles’s Roman remains. If you can push it to the rocky perch of les Baux-de-Provence by lunch time and then continue to St-Remy-de-Provence where Van-Gogh did a lot of his work. Then on day five you can wend your way  through L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and then to Gordes, you can make a stop at Le village des Bories, a hamlet consisting entirely of restored bories ( dry-stone “igloos”), where inhabitants of  the Vaucluse and the Luberon lived from Ligurian times ( 6th century BC). Gordes is located in the Luberon mountains. You can spend the night in the hilltop village of Bonnieux and drive over the windswept spine of the Luberon on your way south to Aix-en-Provence, you can spend a couple of days visiting the marvelous 18th century mansions, the museums, and its court Mirabeau, which is to Aix what La Tour Eiffel is to Paris.

If you want to make it a ten days itinerary

To the seven- day itinerary , if you’d like you can add a day  visiting ruins in the Rhone-side-Roman market town of Vaison-La-Romaine and then drive the winding back roads of the neighboring Mont Ventoux region, whose fruited plains lead to forested heights. Or you can make a broader sweep through the Camargue region to include the seaside town of Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The church ( full of gypsy tributes to the two St – Marys and their servant  girl Sarah). Then you can take the time to experience the urban vitality of Marseille or relax and cool your heels at the gentrified seaside of Cassis.

Anne Suire

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Love the beach

Saint-Aygulf Beach near Frejus.

Love the beach?

The Beaches of Provence.

Notre Dame Beach, Ile de Porquerolles

No cars are allowed whatsoever on this island, so it is very safe to walk or ride a bicycle along the rocky , 3 km ( 2 mile) track from the port to the loveliest beach in France. Surrounded by pines, it boasts white sand, calm waters, no commerce and few people. Your very private slice of paradise.

Pampelonne Beach, St Tropez

Everyone has his or her “place” in St-Trop largest beach. The very famous beach clubs cater to the super- rich and glamorous, to nudists, to gays, as well as to everyday families. This 5- km ( 3 mile) sandy stretch across the headland from the town also has extensive public areas. There is enough space to escape the crowds and appreciate real beauty. I do not recommend Saint-Tropez in the summer time, way to crowded.

Calanque d’en -Vau, Cassis

“Calanques” are inlets formed where the chalk cliffs plunge into the sea. Many of them are found between Marseille and Cassis. En-Vau is very pretty one of the prettiest and one of the most accessible. It is about 90 -minute walk from the nearest Cassis car park. At the foot of the white, pine- clad rocks, the setting of white sand and sea is intimate, wild and quite unforgettable.

Elephant Beach , Le Lavandou

Le Lavandou has a total of 12 beaches, from the great sandy stretch of the Grande Plage to the nudist creek of Rossignol. The most attractive is L’elephant. The approach is only by sea or by climbing over rocks, a feature that ensures tranquility.

Calanque de Figuerolles, La Ciotat

Steps lead down to this  extraordinary creek. On both sides are cliffs, while further back are terraces of fig-trees and pines. Out front the blue sea laps around weird rock formations and onto the pebble shore.

La Garoupe Beach, Cap – d’Antibes

Between them, Antibes and Juan-les-Pins have 25 km ( 16 miles) of coast and 48 beaches, slotted into rocky creeks or opening into sandy beaches. One that is the prettiest goes by the name of La Garoupe, on an inlet of the peninsula. Very fashionable and very crowded in the summer time.

Agay beach, St-Raphael

As the red rocks of the Esterel hills tumble into the blue sea, they give the coast around Saint Raphael an untamed allure. The small creeks are much more accessible, bigger, sandier and equally alluring. The Bay of Agay is perfect for families with children.

Saint-Honorat beaches, Iles de Lerins

A short ferry ride leads from the crowded beaches of Cannes to this island, owned by Cistercian monks. The presence of a monastery kind of discourages the holidaymakers so the pretty rock outcrops and very small beaches remain calm and unusually for Provence, it is under populated.

St-Aygulf beach

Long, wide, sandy and safe, the beach at St-Aygulf, near Frejus has the additional advantage of being in a Nature Preservation Area. This protects the Etangs de Villepey – great, wild, freshwater lagoons on the other side of the road, where 217 bird species have been noted. A very beautiful setting.

Piemancon beach, La Camargue

A very beautiful beach, beyond civilization. You must walk around salt -flats and lagoons before arriving at the flat exposed sands. Life is a little rugged , but totally ideal for wilder beach elements.

Anne Suire

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Painters and Writers of Provence

Cezanne ‘s work. Watercolour scenes from his hometown.

The painters and writers of Provence

Like moths to a flame, artists have gravitated toward Provence’s vivid sunlight and vibrant landscape for centuries.

The painters are:

Paul Cezanne born in Aix, where he lived most of his life ( 1839 -1906). He painted hundreds of oil and watercolour scenes of his home town and the nearby Mont Sainte -Victoire in his own post impressionist style. He really captured the soul of Provence. His great grand daughter Aline Cezanne lives in Saint Francisco and is a friend of mine.

Vincent van Gogh the Dutch  master ( 1854 – 1890) created hundreds of his vivid powerful landscapes and self portraits during his years in St- Remy and Arles. The sunshine of Provence really changed the way the painter saw light and colour.

Pablo Piccasso was the driving force behind the Cubist movement, ( 1881-1973) Picasso was influenced by the sights and colours of Provence, where he lived in exile from his native Spain most of his life. He learned to make ceramics from the potters of Vallauris and helped to revive the craft.

Henry Matisse ( 1859 – 1954), lived in Nice from 1917 until his death. his paintings were inspired by the vivid light and the colours of the Riviera. During world war two he retreated to Vence, where he designed the Chapelle du Rosaire, including its beautiful vestments and furnishings.

Marc Chagall the Russian-born painter ( 1887-1985), moved to St-Paul-de-Vence in 1949. His light-filled work included biblical messages and the paintings are in the Musee National Message Biblique Marc Chagall in Nice.

Fernand Leger ( 1881-1955) is well known for his strong cubic paintings and his love for bold lines and pure and primary colours.

Raoul Dufy ( 1877-1955) embodies the values of the fauvist school wits its intense use of bright, intense colour. Nice was his favorite background for his vivid work.

Paul Gigniou. ( 1834 -71) painted sunny landscapes of his native Vaucluse, capturing the pure light of Provence‘s rugged hillsides. Les deux lavandieres devant la Sainte-Victoire , one of his best  known works, is on display in the Musee Grobet-Labadie in Marseilles.

The writers:

Frederic Mistral, This Nobel prize -winner ( 1830 -1941) wrote epic poems based on local lore.

Alexandre Dumas ( 1802 – 1870) used the Chateau d’If as the grim backdrop of his well-known book, The count of Monte Cristo.

Victor Hugo ( 1802 – 1885) set the early chapters of his epic novel  Les Miserables (1862) in Dignes-les-Bains

Albert Camus, the French author and existentialist ( 1913 – 1960) wrote his autobiography in Lourmarin, Luberon.

Alphonse Daudet  ( 1849 -1897) is remembered for Tartarin de Tarascon, the tale of a Provencal bumpkin.

Graham Greene, the English novelist ( 1914 – 1991) retired to Nice where he wrote ” J’Accuse”, the dark side of Nice.

Ernest Hemingway, Another visitor from the US to Provence, Hemingway ( 1898 -1961) set the Garden of Eden in Napoule.

Marcel Pagnol, one of my favorite  was an author and film director ( 1895 -1974) wrote L’eau des Collines ( 1963) and later filmed Jean des Florettes and Manon des Sources.

Colette ( 1873 – 1954) wrote about Saint-Tropez in La Naissance du jour ( 1928).

F Scott Fitzgerald. The US writer ( 1896 – 1940) stayed at Juan -Les -Pins in 1926 to write his novel, Tender is the Night.

Anne Suire

http://www.luxurytravelconsultant2.com

 

Provencal Traditions.

When the lavender flowers in July and August, the valley below the little town presents one of the loveliest landscapes in France. A true tapestry of blue and purple, together with yellow broom, golden cereals and white rocks. The town has an excellent lavender garden.