When I think of French villages, I think of cobblestone streets, church bells ringing, and people drinking coffee and wine in outdoor cafes. The villages delivered that and more.
On Day two, I had two simple goals: I wanted to see the villages and I wanted to drink wine. Left to our own devices, Sara and I might have driven in circles with no idea what we were looking at, and then found ourselves drunk in a vineyard somewhere with no way to get home. Instead, we opted for the responsible, but more costly approach of hiring a driver.
When we contacted Domaine de Fontenille, they coordinated everything with the driver. They had coordinated with a long-time partner, A Cab in Luberon, who customizes tours of all sorts. Our driver, Patty, picked us up in her BMW promptly at 9:30 and we were ready to rock and roll.
Patty took us to 6 different villages, but the most beautiful and noteworthy were: Gordes, Roussillon, Ménerbes, Vénasque. Patty took us on a beautiful historical walk of each town, pointing out the architecture and special details. Each village was beautiful. I personally loved Gordes and Rousillon. We also did the typical tourist thing where we stocked up on lavender honey, beautiful jams and marmelades, fig jam, mustard, and fleur de sel. There were so many beautiful shops. I only wish I wasn't on vacation for 7 more days and with a carry-on suitcase- otherwise I would have bought a lot more!
We had told Patty we wanted to see the Perched Villages and visit some wineries. Because usually those are two different tours, Patty did her best at giving us the best of both worlds. She took us to two different wineries and Sara and I were SHOCKED when we were doing the wine tasting that the BOTTLES cost 6 Euros. 6! We didn't go to Whispering Angel, but basically you could have put any rose next to these wines and they would have been the same. In my mind, I started daydreaming a wine importing business and how I would need to come to Provence once per year and pack suitcases full of wine.
By the end of the day, we had seen so many beautiful towns that we could have done with a little more wine and a little less history. But, she was amazing. We had decided that since our hotel had one of the best Domaines in the area, that we wanted to get back in time for a tasting. In wanting to please us and rush back before closing time, she almost got us killed in a giant car wreck in a traffic circle. But, we forgot all about that an hour later once we got back to the Domaine.
We stormed into Domaine de Fontenille the way most Americans do: loud, enthusiastic, with a small dose of obnoxious. The Domaine was absolutely beautiful and blew the other wineries away with its presence, its knowledge, and quite honestly, its wine. The most disappointing aspect was that they said they don't export to the States currently (ahem, future business plan), so we knew that we were going to have to buy a few bottles to take home. And, quite frankly, we'd need one or two for our last night in Provence.
We walked across the road to the hotel and to our le petit chambre and decided to have a nice stroll around the grounds with our new favorite rose. It was one of those sun filled afternoons with your best friend at a beautiful chateau enhanced by alcohol content that just produced the biggest smiles on our faces. We had virtually no pictures from the trip at this point and took it upon ourselves to have a selfie photoshoot on our iphone in the middle of the grounds. (See pictures).
We finally got to see the pool, the vegetable gardens, sit with blankets on the terrace, and I found the farm with the donkeys! It was such a beautiful evening that my heart ached because I knew we would be leaving Provence tomorrow and I just hadn't had enough! I wasn't done with this place or this trip.
I made Sara promise that we'd come back for some sort of celebration- a wedding, a big birthday, or just when we're old/rich or have old/rich friends.
If I could do it over again:
Stay at least 4-5 days to enjoy the area and be able to enjoy the hotel. I would explore staying 2 nights in Gordes or one of the other villages. For a large group, a Villa might be a great option, but we personally loved having the comforts of a hotel.
We loved hiring a driver and it was worth the money. I would have split up the days with villages and wineries each day. At some point the history becomes overwhelming
Would have been able to go to the markets in some of the towns
We were lucky that there weren't hoards of tourists everywhere, but unfortunately because we went early May, the weather was still cold and lavender wasn't growing. Many of the vineyards didn't have vines that were alive yet. I would have loved to have had a picnic in the vineyard. (Domaine de Fontenille offers beautiful picnic options)
Some wineries I would have liked to have tried: chateau le nerthe, vieux telegraph, mourchon, domaine de nalys, don Venita, and Sainte Victoire.
A larger suitcase to take more wine!
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