How many trips to France does this make? We lost track at ten.
We're off next Tuesday for number "whatever-comes-next". It's taking us back to Vaison-la-Romaine in Provence, where we'll stay in a two story row-house we've enjoyed on 2 previous trips.
On October 3, AirFrance will fly us out of SFO to Paris, to land there around mid-day on the 4th. Then we take a shorter hop to Marseille, rent a car there, and drive 75 miles to our destination.
Vaison stands in the shadow of Mont Ventoux. At 6,273 feet this isn't the tallest mountain in Provence, but currently the most famous. That's because recent annual runnings of the Tour de France have sent world-class cyclists pedaling their way to its summit.
Much of Vaison's own fame is wrapped-up in its history. It has been a tribal village, a Roman resort town, a medieval stronghold, and a modern town powered by farming, winemaking, and trade. Remains of its earlier phases are plentiful. Our lodging sits across one narrow street from the excavated and largely restored ruins of a wealthy Roman town, called Vasio two thousand years ago. Most of the discovery and restoration happened in the past 100 years.
Modern Vaison is re-earning its reputation as a vacation location, too. The town itself has some great grub, and it sits amid a dense sprinkling of smaller villages which all seem to contain remarkable restaurants. The food is a big part of why we come here.
About the only thing that we can't count on is the weather. Like most of France, it rains a lot more often than California. But there is good news: lots of rainbows.
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| Rainbow over Roman arch, from our front door last year. |
