Evasions: A Trip To Provence

I'm writing from the famed French region of Provence. We came with Evasions. This morning at 8:40 Elena and I went outside to wait for the Evasions people to pick us up--which was supposed to be 8:45. At 8:55, Elena went back into the apartment to go to the bathroom. And at 8:56, they arrived. What if they were on time? What would Elena have done then...?

Anyway, we arrived later that morning in Vence--as in the second half of the word "Provence". We checked into our hotel. It's funny to say, but it was, I believe, the first time in my entire life I have seen an actual bidet. I walked into the bathroom and saw what looked like 2 toilets facing each other. But in fact one was the bidet. Here is a picture. I have many questions. How do you use it? It has no seat--do you touch it? Which direction do you face while using it? Do you touch stuff you wouldn't want to touch? It's a mystery to me.



Resort hotels are always interesting. They start out with the latest fashions in furnishing and architecture. Then they sit there as a snapshot in time--year by year becoming less and less fashionable. Our Best Western is a sort of snapshot of some decade that I would have to be French to know. To me, the French seem to be a decade behind the US. People here say "super" a lot--which always sends me into a kind of 70's nostalgia spin, as if Greg Brady just came up behind me and said, "Bonjour".

After checking in, we headed out to see some of the nice places in the region. First stop--Tourettes sur Loup. It's a nice little town with a nice little old section filled with galleries and studios. The thing about Provence is that it calls out to be painted. Look at these scenes of Tourettes sur Loup! Amazing!





















We ate at a little creperie where I had a curry crepe. Then back in the car to check out the Cascade du Saut du Loup--an absolutely beautiful waterfall. There is one near Mt. Baker, I think, that is almost as nice, but this one is wonderful. There is a rainbow, lots of moss, various falls ranging from high energy loud ones to gentle soft ones. It has to be seen. We had a fun time trying to get in. There is a sort of full body turnstile (what are those things called) controlled by a machine that takes coins. You get one turn of the turnstile thing for 1 euro to get in.





After we got out, I noticed they had some little "koi" cowering in their fountain. The waterfall would impress the Japanese--it's right in their aesthetic sensibility. But the "koi" looked like fat cowardly runt koi wannabees. That's why I put koi in quotes.



Then we headed up a windy and dangerous mountain road to Gourdon--a city so high and so easy to defend, that even the French could do it. ;-) Again, it has the Provence charm. They had a church from the 9th century. We sat near the church and had a coffee. Our waitress wore a shirt with a big neck hole showing her whole shoulder and seeming to only be held up by her breasts. Provence is so charming. Here is a restaurant near the coffee shop. If I ever want to jump from a high place--this place would fit the bill.



I asked Elena what percentage of the charm of France is due to their building materials. She didn't really understand my question, but offered a 30%. I think it's 80%. If Provence was filled with American suburban style cookie cutter houses, it wouldn't be charming at all. But it is filled with all these old houses and buildings made out of stones and mortar--all of various and sundry colors. It's a gorgeous sight to behold.