The South of France met us with bright sun that lasted our whole time there, and it was everything and more than I certainly anticipated. In some ways, like the SW of the US...red rocks of a town named Roussillon have it dubbed the “Colorado” of Provence. But I’d say more Utah-esque. It’s dry and breezy. Old towns with tiny roads, few - very few! - guardrails, like Eastern KY! And parking garages with spaces created of so little sq feet, it’s astonishing. Engineering marvels that Clark handled well, as we enjoyed travel by rental car all over the region, from Aix-en-Provence all the way to Geneva. The driving on major highways was fine; the tolls are crazy—$30 for one of them!! There’s a way to pay for healthcare and education. We named our very nice vehicle Remy, and it really served us well!
We traveled by TGV high speed train from Paris to Aix. That train is incredibly nice and fast. Then we got the car and explored the town of Aix. How charming!! Beautiful, old world style and feeling. Toured the Cathedral and then headed to our rental villa about 25 miles out of town in a small village. So lovely. A three bedroom cottage (house!), full kitchen, swimming pool, outside garden and porch/deck...I will take this provincial life indeed!
We spent our days soaking up the region, including going South to the Mediterranean Sea one day...Plage de la Grand Mer at Cassis. Wow! The blue-green turquoise Sea, clear as clear can be, pebbly/sand beach, formed as a bay-like area with cliffs rising up high on either side. Such fun!! We took our second day at Aix afterward, exploring the historic streets, eating, and browsing the shops.
A day North took us to the Abbaye Notre Dame de Sénanque, where the lavender fields are beyond gorgeous and happens to be a working monastery, just some 7-800 years old. The travel there was beautiful, twisty roads, through little towns and endless vineyard fields. We toured the Abbey, then stopped in Gordes, Lourmarin, toured the Chateau Lourmarin, and made our way home. Glorious day in the heart of Provence.
Our travel to Geneva was fine until entering the city. More precisely, the airport. We had to return on the French side, per the rental company directions, and so after already crossing the Swiss border —which cost 40 euros we were unaware of ($50, give or take! there’s an immigration process for ya) — you have to navigate to the rental return. Well, there are no signs. I mean, NONE. That was our most difficult traveling stuff to deal with (so far—hopefully, at all!), but we managed. We learned another guy took like an hour to figure it out. For us, it was about 15 minutes. So, not too awful. I owe much to the children for reading the GPS map more nimbly and quickly than I to tell Clark the right twist and turns!
But that begins our Geneva adventure...the South of France was truly marvelous, and we all found it a place of much natural beauty and wonder, a place to enjoy the Sea, hills, and vale! We are grateful for those days!
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