Oppede-le-Vieux, the Old Village

Perched on a rocky spur, the hill town of Oppede dates back to post Roman time, the 12th century. At the top of the hill are the medieval fortress ruins and the church, Notre Dame d'Alidon, which was partially rebuilt in the 16th century.

 

The old village of Oppede is the result of over a thousand years of history followed by a century of abandonment.

 

As we hiked amongst the village's buildings and network of streets, we came upon whole rooms built into the rock. It's amazing how intact some of them still are. The newer section--16th, 17th, 18th centuries--still stand with some buildings refurbished.

 

Once we made it to the church summit, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the entire valley and the Luberon mountains.




"Le Refuge" in Provence

Yesterday (day 5), we flew from Paris to Marseille, where we picked up our rental car. My, how we love our large cars, but it's rare to see anything but small cars here. The small towns have very narrow streets and the cost of fuel is very high--almost double our cost. We love our little car with its manual shift, another norm.
We drove straight to our cottage in the lovely hill town of Menerbes. It took some effort to find the place, as the owner, Marie's instructions were in pretty broken English.
Marie is from Paris, got a divorce, then moved to Provence, where she found this property in 1994. It was little more than an old stone shell in ruins, built in 1769 and over the course of 20 years, she has transformed it into her refuge, thus the name "Le Refuge".

 

 

 

This house served as a refuge for the French resistance, and even though it is only a 5 minute drive from the beautiful village of Menerbes, I feel like I am in a lost valley and the cares of the world are far away.

The house is literally built into the the rock and faces south to the sun. The extraordinary overhang of the rock is quite impressive.

We arrived at the house through an arch into a beautiful little courtyard.

 

 

Downstairs is the living area with kitchen, fireplace, internet and bath and the bedroom is upstairs.

 

 

 

When we arrived, we got to know Marie over a glass of wine. She speaks limited English but speaks better English than I speak French. But that didn't matter. She was a delight to visit with. Today she took us all around the property and showed us all the amazing thing she has done over the years.

We love this place!!

 

 

Marie's house







Pont de L'Archeveche--Bridge of Locks

There are several bridges with locks, but Pont de L'Archeveche is a beautiful bridge that crosses over from Notre-Dame Cathedral to the Latin Quarter. Both sides are completely covered with padlocks.

 

So the tradition goes that you and your love bring a lock with something written on it, find a spot to attach it, then throw the key in the river.

 

 

 

It was amazing to see all sizes, shapes, colors of locks, bike locks, railroad locks, you name it. Locks were locked to locks, forming lock chains because it was so full.







Tour Eiffel

No building better symbolizes Paris than the Tour Eiffel. Originally meant to be a temporary structure, the Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 Worlds Fair. It stands 984 feet tall and was once the worlds tallest building until overtaken by New York's Empire State Building in the 1930's.
It was a beautiful day, perfect for our picnic lunch on the lawn in front of the tower.

 

 

 

 

 

Scaffolding up the center was being used for some sort of maintenance.

 

 

On Friday evening, we headed back to see the Eiffel at night and it didn't disappoint.

 

 

These past four days in Paris have been busy and wonderful. Tomorrow is another new adventure....on to Provence for a week. See you there......



 



Crepes For Lunch

They're so French and oh, so yummy. As Mike and I were strolling down the Champs Elysees, we came across this Crepes cart, one of several we had seen. As it was lunch time...you guessed it, that's what we had for lunch. Yes, ham and cheese crepes. I could eat them all day.

 

 

 

 

 

Paris Is Always A Good Idea

Returning to Paris for the third time, we embraced the city as an old friend, one that constantly surprises, inspires and enchants us.
Today we crisscrossed the city by foot and Metro.
First thing early this morning, we headed down to the fresh food and flower market at the Bastille Plaza.

 

 

 

 

 

We carried back our culinary treasures and fixed a wonderful breakfast at our loft to start the day.

 

 

 



 

The markets are a wonderful way to see people with fresh eyes and to meet people up close. To participate or just observe is an experience that is so French. This is an authentic experience where you can be as anonymous or as social as you wish.

 



 

 

 

Claude Monet's Giverney

Well, we're here.....got here around 12:30 PM yesterday. Our loft is a small studio-type loft on the fourth floor of the building, up literally 72 stairs of a long, wooden spiral staircase. The view from the windows looks out over the rooftops in the area.

I tried to stay up as long as I could, but literally fell into bed at 4:00 PM and woke up at midnight ready to go.....So, now I'm sitting here at 2:00 AM writing this.

****Flash forward to the next day****

Our first official day out and about, we hopped the first morning train from Paris to Giverney, the home of Claude Monet.

 

 

Leaning on the balustrade of the veranda, while taking in the view and smells of the gardens, it was impossible not to smile. Beauty was everywhere I looked.

 

 

The balance of the whole flower garden rested on this central avenue and everything was designed around this main path. Wherever he stood, Monet had to be able to see the whole planted area.

 

 

 

While the garden is a masterpiece, the famous water-lily pond, weeping willows and Japanese bridge was a dream of Monets from the very start and took many years to construct. During summer, the arbor over the bridge is covered with purple whisteria.

 

 

****More of Paris tomorrow so stay tuned****