Day Trippin to the Hill Towns of the Luberon

We met our driver, Anne, near the Tourist Information Office in Avignon. Dana was the only man in the group tour, well with the exception of Theo, a one year old Canadian with brave parents! And off we went to the Luberon region of France just east of Avignon.

Town #1 Fontaine de Vaucluse, birthplace of a river:

The town is named for the spring which gushes through it. Vaucluse comes from the Latin, vallis close or closed valley. More Roman stuff—quelle surprise! The village is tiny, population 600. According to Wikipedia, the area has evidence of occupation since the Neolithic period. WOW! It’s even older than the Romans . .. Apparently the spring was the object of worship since antiquity and the area was part of a trade route used by Phoenicians and later the Romans. The poet, Petrarch, lived here in the 14th century. 

The source of the spring and thus the River Sorgue, an ancient mystery until quite recently with the evolution of robotic submersibles. Cave spelunkers have used dyes to identify the sources of the river. And though scientists know a lot more than they did, my impression is they still have yet to solve the mystery of the river’s source. Even the great Jacques Cousteau could not find its source; he and another diver nearly died in the first attempt he made in 1946. He tried again later with a submersible. The source appears to be an immense network of underground rivers, snow melt from Mt. Ventoux, and rainwater. The only place they all meet above ground-Fontaine de Vaucluse. It is the largest spring in Europe, one of the largest in the world.

In the town, there is a paper mill which you can tour and from the winding pathway around the spring you can see the castle perched on the rocky cliff.

Also, in town is Notre Dame et St. Veran, a 1000 year old church. As we walked through, the only light was from a small stained glass panel at the front of the church.

Town # 2 Gordes: 993 Years Young

According to some, the most beautiful village in the world. The town is perched on a rock, the home of a castle as well as an abbey. Gordes was an integral part of the French Resistance during World War II, and once the home of artist, Marc Chagall.

Town #3 Roussillon: The Color of Ochre

Ever wonder where ochre comes from? Well, the village of Roussillon has been renowned for its production and use of ochre since ancient times. The area surrounding and throughout Roussillon has been heavily mined for its ochre, colors ranging from light pink to the color of red clay. Currently there is a reclamation project of the land from the damaging effects of ochre mining.

Our last stop was a field of poppies, because it’s our driver’s favorite flower— oh so Monet!!