Just a few of the many activities to do around our town
A visit to our neighbor, Nyons When many people think of Provence, their mind goes directly to all of the incredible wineries that dot the roads. You literally can't go more than a mile or two without seeing little markers on the side of the road indicating that there is a winery at the next turn off. Wine tasting are fun, and I will get into them here a little further down, but the tasting that most surprised us was actually an olive oil tasting. Nyons is in the heart of olive country and is known for having some of the best olive oil and olive products. When you visit the local weekly markets, many of the olive sellers will have placards that read "Nyons olives" to specify the quality. We decided to visit Moulin J Ramade, who have been making olive oil for over 100 years.
When we visited, our tour guide walked us around the facility, showing us everything from the old presses, to the old wells that still hold the oil underground before bottling. The experience really wasn't much different than going for a wine tasting and learning about the production. During the tasting, the difference between the oils were explained and how certain ones were suggested for cooking, while other ones were suggested for eating plain, like with bread or in salad dressings. I was really surprised how differently the oils tasted. From elements like mouth feel (some had a heavier feel) to spiciness (others were quite peppery!) it made me look at olive oil differently than I had before.
Vallon-Pont-D'Arc We actually used Air B and B experiences in order to see what else was out there and do things we normally wouldn't have done. This lead us to Simon, a scientist turned e-bike guide who peddles you through vineyards, lavender fields and olive groves in the southern Ardèche via e-bike. We are absolutely not experienced bikers, but really enjoyed the experience. We also really liked seeing this particular area, which we wouldn't have seen if not for this excursion.
It also didn't hurt that the tours meeting place was on a tiny family-owned winery, which did a tasting after the bike tour. The only thing I will say is that we had picked Bastille Day to do this ride, thinking it would be a fun adventure before the nights celebration in our town. What we didn't plan for was it being over 105 degrees that day! Simon was so accommodating, though. He made sure we were well hydrated and stopped a little early when the heat became too much.
Science and Sipping in Violès We stumbled across another Air B and B experience, this time in the small town of Violès. We are absolute wine novices and wanted to learn more about wine making. This brought us to Domaine de L'Odylée and our host Odile who invites you into her wine cellar and talks you through the wine making process. She then gives you three different types of grape juice and allows you to experiment with the percentages of each grape.
After you've mixed and sipped a few different blends, you mark off the one that you liked the best and bottle up *your* personal wine! It was really interesting being able to try the different blends and seeing just how different a bottle could taste with something so small as even 10% less of one grape. I would recommend this experience for anyone who wants to learn about wine and wants to expand their palette.
Brocantes, Brocantes, Brocante!!! We are luck to live about 30 minutes from what is considered one of the best brocantes (or antique flee markets) in our region. The brocante of Carpentras is held every Sunday morning at the Parking des Platanes and is home to around 200 stalls. We've been there both in the winter and summer and have always found incredible items to decorate our home with. In the winter, the market is a little smaller, but definitely worth a visit. In the summer, make sure to stop by our favorite vendor Gary's booth. He sits at the end of the row where both isles meet and usually has his van door open with stuff pouring out of it. We seem to find really interesting things there and is where we found our old school house history poster featured in the photos of our dining room.
Another brocante we visit often is the brocante located in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, a short 5 minute drive, over the Rhône river, from Avignon. It's a little further from Vaison, clocking in around a 50 minute drive, but it holds a nostalgic place in our hearts, as we discovered it on our road trip across the south. Every Saturday,1 Place Charles David fills up with around 90 stalls selling an array of items. I will say that it is known to be a bit pricier than Carpentras, so if you're looking for a deal, perhaps start at that one first.
Fête Du Vin Around the end of June we started seeing all of the roundabouts around the region dotted with posters and signs. Some were advertising Le Marché Nocturne (night markets), some displayed information for brocantes that were coming and others were advertising Fête du Vin. We didn't really know what exactly a Fête du Vin was, but knew it loosely translated to wine party. Being that we like wine and we really enjoyed local events, we decided to show up to the neighboring village of Sablet for the Soirée en Sablet! For 10 euros at the door, each patron is given a wine glass for the event. There are food trucks, live music and, of course, wine! The theme of the party (they all don't have themes) was the beach, with an area covered completely in sand. Around the sand pit were twenty or so large wine barrels arranged into a circle, each being used as a table by the different wine makers in the village. On top of their barrel tables sat bucks of ice filled with each vineyards specialty. For two people who don't know much about wine, an event like this is perfect! You work your way around the circle, sampling the wines from each Sablet producer and, by the end, you really get a sense of what you like.
We had so much fun, that we decided to go to another neighboring town to visit their fête du vin. Seguret is nestled into the hills between Vaison and Sablet and was the perfect event to take my friend to who was visiting from the North of France. Agnès, a teacher colleague who I met while doing the TAPIF program up north almost a decade ago, had also never heard of fête du vins and was just as enamored with the event as we were. While they didn't have a theme to for their fête, Seguret did have music and food trucks for party goers to peruse in-between sips. We all agreed Domaine Fontaine des fées was our favorite wine that we tried and picked up a few bottles of it the next day.
We snapped this phone as we were leaving Seguret. So, so pretty!
We ended our fête du vins tour in another local town, the town of Roaix. Roaix is another one of those small villages in our area that has connections of the Knights Templar. The history is very interesting, especially for two American's who's country didn't exist when half of these towns were thriving! The Fête du Vins in Roaix was really different than the others we had experienced. At this one, it wasn't unlimited tastings. You were given 3 tokens at the door and so you really had to choose your vineyard sample wisely. It also had a smaller feel than the other fêtes, with less wineries present to give tastings. They did have music and food trucks, but for some reason this one felt like less of a party than Sablet, and so we used our three tokens and didn't stay much past that. I would recommend anyone who is around for a fête du vin to stop by and try it out. As a foreigner it is a little intimidating. No one speaks English, but as long as you have the "rouge, s'il vous plaît or "blanc, s'il vous plaît" down you are good to go! It was a really unique way to not only try wines that are incredible, but don't get that much attention because they are so close to bigger names like Chateauneuf du Pape, but also immerse ourselves in local events.
Hiking the Ochre Trail in Roussillon Roussillon is a sweet little town in the Luberon region of Provence perched up high among the old, now abandoned, ochre mines. It's usually high up on people's lists to visit when coming to the area not only because of it's charm and beauty (it is listed as one of France's Most Beautiful Villages) but also because of the dramatic colors that adorn the landscape and buildings. Nestled into the cliffs of the former ochre mine, this hike is a unique experience that can't be missed when visiting the area. It's a little over an hour from the house (a hour and ten minutes to be exact), but the landscape and colors are so different from the normal shades found around Provence that it literally stops you in your tracks when you enter. The hike itself is pretty easy to do, giving you two different route options depending on the length you are looking to hike. The shorter walk is only thirty minutes where the longer walk is sixty. We chose the thirty minute hike, since it was after a long day of exploring. It's 3 euros a person or only 2 if you are in a group of 15 or more. Disabled peoples and children under 10 get in for free. A little tip: The dusty ochre gets all over your shoes. Make sure to wear a pair that you don't mind getting a little dusty or that can easily be cleaned.
The Hunt for Lavender When here, we try to do a healthy mix of touristy activities and things only locals would do. When living in what is essentially considered the lavender capitol of the world, however, everyone must at some point go and see the stunning bulbs of purple that dot the landscape throughout the region. It almost seems like a right of passage! So, when Andy proclaimed that the last two weeks of June were considered prime lavender viewing times, we jumped in our car and headed to one of the most iconic spots around, the Abbey of Sénanque. This is located a very short drive from Gordes and can easily be paired together and made into a whole day trip. As stated in my blog, though, we visited Gordes on the way to a house tour two years back and weren't really as enraptured with the town as many are, so we kept it to just the Abby this trip. I think we were about a week shy of peak season, as seen in the photos included. The bushes were lightly dappled in purple, but it wasn't as vibrant as we had expected.
Admission around the Abby's beautiful gardens (there are several fields of lavender around the estate, all beautiful for photographing) is free. There are also tours of the abby with varying costs depending on if you'd like a guided or self guided tour.
Kayaking the Sorgue River We had briefly stopped in Fountain de Vaucluse before going on our hunt for lavender. On our way out of town, we noticed a lot of signs for kayaking the Sorgue and decided to look it up later and set a date to come check it out. As two people how have kayaked under many different circumstances (internationally/nationally, ocean/lake/river ect), I will say that this particular kayaking trip was absolutely perfect! We used the tour group Canoë Evasion and for 26 euros a person we went on about a 2 1/2- 3 hour excursion.
What I liked about it:
In July and August they consistently send a tour every 40 minutes, so you don't have long wait periods between trips.
They give you a little tub to put any items in you may or may not want to get wet. In the States, this isn't always a guaranteed included item from a company.
They had an English speaking guide on the tour so that no safety warnings got lost in translation.
The river at times has a soft current pushing you along, so all you essentially had to do was steer and relax.
The scenery was so beautiful and the water was so incredibly clear. There was rarely a time when I couldn't see the bottom.
The boats were huge! This mean that some people went as groups of 3 and had room for their dogs and picnics.
We were in a huge group of people with one guide at the front and one at the end, but weren't kept together. You went at your own speed and weren't herded with the group.
We got to pull off as a group half way through to swim, have a snack or go with one of the guides and swim in the "rapids." I put this in quotes because they called them rapids and they definitely were taking people down the river, but I don't believe there wasn't a time where anyone couldn't just stand up and let the water rushed past them unharmed. You got into the river at a really calm part and then walked over to where it picked up a little, picked your legs up and, with the support of your life vest, glided down the river and back around to where our boats were docked.
A little tip: There are small waterfalls that pop up on the Sorgue. In order to get around them, the kayak companies use little ramps to shoot you down to the next section. The picture below is to give you an idea of what I mean and was provided by Canoe-France.com. Our guide said that the person in the front (i.e. me the day we did it) would get "a little splashed." The whole nose of the boat goes into the water and our whole front end was submerged. We had to get out and flip our kayak over in the water just to try to drain it. So, pro tip, use your small tub and despite them saying to wear closed toed shoes (on a kayak?) wear watershoes or sandals (we wore our Tevas and were so happy we did! We saw so many people wearing tennis shoes.)