We left mid-morning for Provence after one last look at the Cote d'Azur out our hotel room window (the pirate ship and yacht left sometime before we woke up). The drive took about three hours but went quickly because the scenery was so interesting. I still can't believe I'm here after all the years of dreaming about coming here ever since reading A Year in Provence for the first time. I've read all of Peter Mayle's books but never imagined the real thing.
We are staying in an ancient village called Vaison la Romaine. It was built by the Romans and has been
inhabited every since. There is an old village and a new one. We are in the old one and the only people who can take cars into are people staying in our hotel.
I have no words for what this village is like. At the very top are the Roman ruins. Each generation must have started building down the high hill. We set out walking and I shot a ton of photos. People actually live here and there are lots of art galleries. Not tacky/touristy like Eze. Mostly almost sacred feeling because it is so old. You can see electric wires and little satellite dishes but from
certain angles you feel like you are in the 16th and 17th century when most of the buildings were built. Our hotel is comprised of a couple of buildings that were built in the 1500's. It's been modernized so the bathroom is great but the floors are tile and the doors appear 
to be original or at least very, very old.
We didn't make it during lavender season but the wildflowers are incredible. Bright red poppies, and lots of yellow, pink and white ones. We saw snow capped mountains in the distance and lots of high hills with several different colors of dirt ranging from white to ochre to orange.
We are staying in an ancient village called Vaison la Romaine. It was built by the Romans and has been
inhabited every since. There is an old village and a new one. We are in the old one and the only people who can take cars into are people staying in our hotel.
I have no words for what this village is like. At the very top are the Roman ruins. Each generation must have started building down the high hill. We set out walking and I shot a ton of photos. People actually live here and there are lots of art galleries. Not tacky/touristy like Eze. Mostly almost sacred feeling because it is so old. You can see electric wires and little satellite dishes but from
certain angles you feel like you are in the 16th and 17th century when most of the buildings were built. Our hotel is comprised of a couple of buildings that were built in the 1500's. It's been modernized so the bathroom is great but the floors are tile and the doors appear 
to be original or at least very, very old.I'm going to just throw some pictures on the blog tonight since I'm in the lobby of the hotel and it's time to go to sleep. Tomorrow is the weekly market day and it's supposed to be fabulous. I'll let you know. For now, I'm here living my dream...
The trip looks absolutely perfect. It looks like you are having great weather throughout. I am back in KC, having just checked into a hotel with Claire. Tomorrow we head back to TX. It has been a wonderful week: time in New York and Philly, then back to NY to meet Tim, Penn & family. Two birthday parties: one for L and one for Z (26 and 3 respectively, with quite different party styles, for sure). Tim in now somewhere over the Atlantic headed for Rome. Wish you were able to connect with him.....
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