Vaison-la-Romaine Highlights




  1. Bullet Strolling through the grand Tuesday market and admiring/pondering purchase of the fresh meats, veggies, poissons, Provencal tablecloths, dried lavender sachets, old books, and other items.

  2. Bullet Enjoying pastis (poured over ice, then cut with water) and learning how to play boule from our multi-talented tour guide Kristen.

  3. Bullet Wishing for the dreaded mistral—the strong winds that gust through town in temporal increments of 3 (that is every 3, 6 or 9 days), since it was actually really hot here.

 
 

As we stepped off the TGV into Vaison-la-Romaine, the warm, sunny climate and pastoral surroundings immediately made busy city life in Paris seem more than hundreds of miles away.  We had also entered a new mental landscape shaped by a slower pace of life.  In Roman times, each of these little towns in the country was set up as a mini-Rome; hence the origin of the name “provence”—indicating a province of the Roman empire.  The hallmarks of Rome would be present (to varying degrees of preservation) in each of the towns we were to visit: a triumphal arch, forums, amphitheatres, baths, etc.

 

Into the Heart of Sunny Provence

At the market

Provencal tablecloths

Roman ruins

Learning boule