Spring of 2012, LB and I travelled from Frankfurt, down thru eastern France into the south, a short detour into Spain, up into Provence, then Monaco, and then thru western Italy into Switzerland and finally back into Germany, over a a three week period.

The detour into Spain was mainly to visit the Dali Museum in Figueres, and will be reported in a separate page.

We thought, being early Summer, we would catch the lavender in bloom, but we were a little too early. In Luberon, the small fields were starting to bloom, but up in the higher elevations near Sault , where the large farms are, nothing but poppies. With only two days of showers, the weather ranged from warm to hot. Skies were somewhat hazy limiting the panoramic shots, but the urban and closeup work was fine.

For a three week trip, we had the cities we wanted to see lined up and accommodations made in some very nice places. Otherwise the schedule was fairly open with few must see sights. Many times we just stumbled on places like the Fort du Buoux, or Pont de Julian. One afternoon, running out of time, (restaurants close around 2pm) we stopped at a small restaurant in Gigondas that could only serve us one meal to share. Held us over until dinner, but the food was fantastic, so we made reservations for dinner two nights later and it was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Not being much of a shopper, I still enjoyed the antique shopping in L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and outside of town wandering thru a stone “factory” that sold all types of fountains, entries to driveways, fences, etc. Some of which were massive.

For accommodations the Bastide de Marie is on the list of places we must return too. Room, staff, and food were excellent. Three days was too short here. Chateau Eza was very nice and we had one of our best meals ever. Staff was also very good, but besides the hotel, Eze was devoid of anything to do besides shop. Did I mention I wasn’t much for shopping? The dinner however made it worthwhile. I had never even contemplated having  foie gras creme brulee, but awesome comes woefully short in describing the experience.

I believe I might have enjoyed Albi more if there had been less construction taking place, making navigating very difficult. GPS hadn’t kept up with all of the road closures and detours. Met one of the nicest people ever here though. She directed us to our lodging, which being a nondescript door at the end of an alley would have been impossible to find without help. Then, on her bicycle, she took me, following in our car, to a car park, where she paid for my parking (LB had taken all of the luggage and funds with her into the hotel).  Behind that nondescript door?  A beautiful chateau. More of a B&B, run by the owner. Our room was at the top of a spiral stairwell three stories up that provided 360 degree views of the city. Lucky for me I was parking the car, so LB had to move the luggage up.