Now that we've left Uzes we are in Vaison la Romaine. From here, we have access to many day trips - as well as enjoying the actual town of Vaison la Romaine. We only have the car this week (we turn it in next Saturday) so we are going to try to do a bunch of day trips while we still have it.
Today we drove one hour South to Isle sur la Sorgue.
It is part of the "Luberon" a region which according to our guide book "hides some of France's most captivating hill towns and sensuous landscapes."
We agree. This place is captivating. Driving makes you want to hold your breath. We wiz past vineyards as far as the eye can see, snuggled into rising hills with small towns on top. This area looks like we are driving around in a painting. Really. It is beautiful.
We picked "Isle sur la Sorge" since Sunday is their market day. Of all the market days in this region, this one is the "grand-daddy of them all" - that is to say it is huge. Beyond huge. After our 1 hour drive we found a parking spot near the train station and after just a minute of walking we joined in the market. First came fruits and vegetables. As we walked that turned into everything under the sun. Olives, linens, wooden toys, flowers, pottery - it was all there. And so were the people. It was shoulder to shoulder. Packed. We were like sardines. Walking was about taking tiny steps forward. We had Julia in the Kelty back pack and Sara walked. I had to work hard to keep an eye of her so she didn't slip through the sieve of people like a speck of sand on a beach. (I just came up with that - not sure where that came from.)
We ate our way through the market. A high point was joining a line outside of a bakery (we rarely see lines in a bakery) and when it was our turn we ordered a baguette and when Sara reached out to hold it the lady instead gave it to Dan - saying over and over in French that it was HOT. My goodness. A hot, fresh from the oven french baguette? If you look up delicious in the dictionary, it would be right there - along with a chocolate eclair (which we had later - one with gold on top - real gold!) Sara and I sat at a small red table (that belonged to a tea shop) and broke open that piping hot bread. Oh, it was so good.
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is laced with water. It is like Venice. There are canals everywhere - with flower boxes that drip flowers out on all sides. There are cafe's everywhere. All along the water - all along the streets - every where. The cafes are tiny - like 5 tables outside for some of them.
Isle-sur-la-Sorgue once used all that water to make textiles. You know those pretty ones with the french patterns? They used water wheels to power the mills. A few of the water wheels remain - they've been here since the 1200s. We saw several. They are covered in moss, still turning, and we stopped and stared at them for a while.
In the afternoon I said, "I'd love to sit at a cafe and have some coffee." It was just a comment, but Dan made it happen. He lead us to a small area with cafe after cafe - and also some open space. We picked one with a few outdoor tables and I sat at a table for two. He watched the kids - which meant he let them run around (Sara running after Julia -- then Julia running after Sara) while I ordered 2 coffees. One for me, one for Dan. I ordered large - and they were probably 6 ounces each. Hot. The coffee cup was hot, and the coffee was hot. It was made with love - our cafe was Italian and the server was an older Italian man, and he knew how to make great coffee. I drank mine - and then Dan joined me at the table. Julia sat on my lap (it was amazing that she actually sat - usually she just slides off my lap so she can play) and Sara sat on Dan's lap. I loved it. Probably the best part of the day was sitting at that little cafe - in the shade of its umbrella - sipping tasty flavorful coffee in the middle of town.
Our guide book had a self guided walking tour so we did that next. We saw the crystal clear water as we wandered up and over pedestrian bridges that looked like they came out of a Van Gogh panting. We ate ice cream (all our walks seem to include ice cream) and they offered a kid special that gave Sara 2 scoops for 2.90 euro. She had chocolate and strawberry as usual. (The chocolate has to be on the bottom, or the cone will be firmly rejected by our Sara who likes the strawberry on top.)
The cathedral was full of wood working that you could study for hours. It was intricately carved.
Thankfully, the market disappeared at 1:30 like they all do. Usually we are sorry to see markets go. But with the markets - all the people go - so we could actually stroll down streets that just a few hours earlier were shoulder to shoulder. For food we got some sliced ham and cheese at the market - and several different breads from any bakery we went near. It is just hard to pass up a bakery. For .90 cents you can get a bread that feeds all of us for a while. We just tear off chunks and eat. Julia holds out her hand if she wants some, and Sara is usually the one holding the bread. One thing she does is hollow it out and makes bread balls - I think she finds them appetizing - though Dan and I just like the bread as it is! We call Julia the bottomless pit - since it seems like she is always holding her hand out for food!
It was a cloudy yet sunny day (I don't know how the sky managed that) and warm.
We called it quits around 3:30 and drove back here. Sara slept a bit in the car; Julia played with her shoe.
When we got back here I gave the girls a bath in the pool I bought back in Uzes. There is only a shower here - in a big open space, so the pool is really useful! They can take a double bath, splash around and get clean. Dan made dinner while I handled their bath. So once they were clean, dressed, and hungry (yet again) we had chicken, potatoes, green beans, kiwi fruit, and milk. We ate inside at the large wooden table in the kitchen.
After that we went for a walk. We put the kids in the double stroller. Ahh, peace. Dan and I could talk. We walked up past the Roman ruins (there is roman stuff every where in this part of France) and into the town's streets. Naturally we went to a bakery to see if there was something we wanted to buy for breakfast. I got us a loaf from a lady who looked like she spent her life in that bakery and when I rejoined Dan/Sara/Julia that bread was gone about 10 minutes later. I guess keeping it for breakfast wasn't meant to be.
As we walked we remembered being here before. (We liked it the last time we were here, which is why we decided to come back.) We remembered walking across the Roman bridge, which we did again tonight. It is funny doing things that we did before kids - now that we have kids. We reminisce about the good ol' days - though these are good days too!
As we walked Sara said, "Papa, can I get out of the Bob? I will stay with you and Mama, I will not bump into people, and I will be very good." ---- it was very funny - since those were all the things that we drill into her head to do -- so it was like she practiced that speech so we'd let her out of the Bob. (The Bob is the name brand of the stroller, so we just call it the Bob.) We did let Sara out - and three seconds later we were in a chocolate shop. We ended up trying some nougat which is not chocolate. It is a soft compact marshmellow type concoction that has nuts in it. Sara ordered it all by her self (making the shop keeper grin) - we got 100 grams of strawberry. It was just enough that we could all try a piece about as big as two postage stamps. That was enough. Though we do try sweets and stuff - we keep the portions small.
It started to rain soon after that. Huge drops that plunked onto your head and meant business. Sara scrambled back into the shelter of the Bob and Dan and I ran back to the "flat." (The owners call this a flat.) It took about 5 minutes to get back here - and then the sky opened up and poured rain.
Dan wrestled Julia into her PJs (she can resist them sometimes since she knows it means bedtime) and put her into her crib. Two minutes. She cried for about 2 minutes after he left the room then she fell asleep. We watched her on the monitor. It is great that her bedtime is easy. (Knock on wood.)
After that I played with Sara and her legos for an hour or so. She built a "flying pizza shop" and several villages. Everything she makes with lego has a story - "this is a look out tower - Julia can stand here, I can stand here, and you and Mom can stand here - then we can jump over here and get a good view" -- that is the type of stuff she'll say as she shows her latest creation to Dan. She doesn't just willy-nilly put blocks together - she makes things that have a purpose! It is super cute.
Then I did her bedtime routine and Sara is in bed. I won't say for sure she is sleeping, since a few minutes ago I heard her "fake snoring" which is something she does to make us think she is sleeping. It is clever - and makes us laugh.
Quote of the day: (after she designed/built a lego airplane)
Sara: "Where is Papa? I built this airplane for him. He knows all about airplanes. This is a float plane."
Another quote of the day:
Sara: "I'm going to bring Holly and Molly here when I'm 25."
Note: Holly and Molly are her future children, which she often talks about.
End of Post.
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