A Journey Through Belle France
A Journey Through Belle France
Day 5 - Isle sur la Sorgue, Orange &
Vaison la Romaine
Today we left my rusty little town
and headed to Isle sur la Sorgue, the "Venice of Provence". So
called because it has a clear, cool, shallow river that runs around and
through the town. There are nine water wheels along the river that once
powered the towns flourishing cloth-dyeing and textile industry. 
Isle
sur la Sorgue
We arrived on market day, and Sabine wanted us to really immerse ourselves in the experience. So we were split into groups and charged with purchasing food for the picnic we were going to have later in the day. I was in charge of the fromage brigade. Mademoiselle de Fromage! Like I said, I never say no to cheese. When we arrived at the market we were overwhelmed at all the delicious food everywhere we turned. The fromage group decided it would be easier to shop together and so we headed for the first cheese stand, where an incredibly beautiful French man was working behind the counter.
Being in charge, I was the one designated to talk to this fabulous frenchy. I did my best to speak my fromagie French, but I was completely tongue tied because Judy was behind me saying all sorts of wicked things in my ear. But I managed to order most of the fromage without any trouble. Taking Sabine's advice, I ordered some fromage de la région and also asked the man what his favorite was and ordered some of that as well. Lastly, I wanted to order some fromage aux herbes, which sounds simple enough, but I could not manage to say
"herb"
correctly in French. Steve came to my rescue and said herb the correct
way, but the 
man
put his thumb and index finger up to his mouth like he was smoking something
and asked "herbes?" .
Non, non, and non! It turns out he was teasing us, but I have to say, I was a little scared for half a second. He gave us some extra cheese for free for being good sports about it.
Once we were finished
at the fromage stand, we all went our separate ways to explore the
market before we had to meet the rest of the group for lunch. Linda and
I could not get over the colors, smells, and variety of goods on every
table. Our stomachs were growling so load it sounded like I had a dog
stowed in my day bag. It wasn't just food though, there were flowers,
bolts of cloth, clothes, crafts, and every imaginable item.
"I just want some cheese, s'il vous plaît."
An original water wheel
The beautiful river
When it was time for lunch, we headed over to the public park adjacent to the river. All of the food groups did a wonderful job shopping, though the dessert group went way over budget. Merci Beaucoup! There was all
The Isle sur la Sorgue Market
A local fabric warehouse
sorts of bread, cheese (of course), tapenade, spicy salami, wine, fresh vegetables, fruit, olives, nuts, and chocolate. It would have ranked as my all time favorite picnic except for one little tiny problem, the wind. We noticed the wind picking up a little bit the evening before, but thought nothing of it. When we arrived in Isle sur la Sorgue, the wind was much stronger and Sabine told us about Le Mistral. I had never heard of Le Mistral until I came on the tour. Now I was experiencing first hand, and I still couldn't believe it. We don't have anything like
Our picnic wine, vin de la région.
that in California, that's for sure. The wind typically blows between 30 and 60 miles per hour and can blow up to 100 days a year. When its hot, you put on shorts, when its cold, you put on a jacket, but what do you do about the wind? Well Nancy, Katie, Emily, and Sandy had the right idea. There was an empty fountain in the park and they sat inside of it to eat their lunch, out of the reach of the wind.
Clockwise:
(1) Our picnic, (2) Harriet, Peter, Judy, Sy, Janet, and Rich relaxing by the river, (3) a statue in the park, and (4) Francois as Mr. Fix-it..
Regardless of the wind, we all enjoyed the Venice of Provence and left with happy stomachs and a greater confidence in our French skills for navigating so well through the market.
Orange
From Isle sur la Sorgue, we headed to the city of Orange. From what I could see, Orange is not the most exciting town to visit, until you see the Roman Theater. Evidently Orange was created as a place for military retirees to live. Fight for your country and then go live in Provence...what a deal! Seems like a great incentive to duck if you ask me. Anyway, once we arrived, Sabine lead us into the theater and we all took a seat while she explained the history of this ancient place. This theater was so impressive inside
and out. It is
unfathomable to sit there and think that 2,000 years ago, some Roman was
sitting in the same spot, enjoying a day at the theater. This theater is
also a precious anomaly, as it is the only Roman theater in Europe that still
has its acoustical wall completely intact. Sabine said it is the best
preserved Roman Theater in the world, and we were sitting right in the middle
of it. Not only that, but the theater is still used by the city for
special events and concerts. Amazing! Once Sabine finished her
talk, she 
The outside of the main wall.
The inside of the main wall.
Sabine gives us a history lesson.
gave us some free time to look around and I felt like a kid running up and down those giant stone steps and exploring the dark hallways at the very top of the theater.
Adjacent to the theater is a large archaeological site of the Temple to the Cult of the Emperor. I always wanted to be Indiana Jones, and this came pretty close, though the
only treasure I came home with was the pictures on my memory
card.
To leave the theater, you have to exit through the gift shop, which
all sorts of postcards, books on Roman history, and toys. Steve
was nice enough to do his best Roman warrior poise for the
camera. Scary,
huh? 
Indiana "Linda" Jones explores the ruins.
Steve claims this tour in the name of Caesar.
Walking back to the bus, we were all surprised to see Francois parked next to an Arc de Triomphe built around 19 A.D. It's just sort of sitting there in the middle of the road. That is the great thing about these old cities, you never know what you will find around the next corner.
Vaison la Romaine
Upon leaving the city of Orange, we headed to Vaison la Romaine, where we would be bedding down for the next two nights. We were staying at the Hotel Burrhas and Linda and I had a wonderful room. It was so big, we
could have had half the group bunk with us. Its a good thing it was big too, because we had an
unexpected roommate. Seeing as Roussillon is in a rural area, it should have been no surprise to
find a bug in my suitcase, but I did not expect to find a little black scorpion. I think it was dead,
but I really didn't have time to check because Linda flushed it down the toilet faster than you can
say "eek! a scorpion!" I didn't say eek, I wasn't even really bothered that much. As I said before
I spent part of my childhood in Arizona, and they have bugs there the size of New York sewer
rats. But, I did take the time to remove everything from my suitcase and shake it out really well
before we left the room.
After our little adventure with Blackie the Scorpion, we had some time to explore the town a little bit before we met the group for dinner so we headed toward the river via the main shopping street.
Vaison la Romaine is actually one city splint into two by the Ouvèze River. Our hotel was in the new section and on the other side of the river was the medieval city. We didn't have time to go exploring up there just yet, so we walked around the river a bit got a feel for the town. The bridge in the photos is the only bridge that connects the two sections of the city together. The bridge, built by those wacky Romans, is 2,000 years old and now has cars drive over it on a daily basis. I can guarantee the Romans never planned for that!
When we met the group back at the hotel, we all walked over to Le Tournesol restaurant. We were seated in a moody, candle-lit room at one long table. Everyone ordered a different type of wine and then passed them around for everyone to taste. How many different bottles did I sample? Honestly, I don't remember, but we had a lot of fun consuming it all. I ordered the Vinsobres and Linda order the wine with the goat on the label. I really think it is impossible to order a bad bottle of wine in Provence. Not that we were trying, but either all the wine in this region is really good, or we have been exceptionally lucky in our choices. Overall, it was a wonderful meal, and once again, the chocolate dessert was to die for. I'm seriously considering a strict diet of cheese, tapenade, wine, and chocolate. Can you live on that?
After dinner we made our way back to the hotel. I was eager to get a good nights sleep so that I would be prepared for tomorrows adventure.
Some of our dinner wines
Once we were on the road again, we
had to make a short pit stop. It seems that Le Mistral not only
tried to reek havoc on our lovely picnic, but it tried to reek havoc on our
bus as well. Something came loose, but we need not have feared. It
was nothing that Francois could not fix without a little ingenuity and a
little duct tape. I know I always have duct tape on my packing list for
one reason, it can fix just about anything. 