Avignon and environs through the rear window, and the joy of going far afield
Now that I’m re-confined here in Bordeaux, I thought taking a little trip, with or without drugs, your choice, might be in order. Considering how screwed up the world is now, revisiting these places is a welcome breath of unconfined air. Hell I’m even jealous of myself for having done this. Escapism, a recipe for today
I visited these mostly medieval towns with my friend/guide Marlene, an absolute whiz at history and in possession of a remarkable memory. I chose the spots to visit based on their history and tried to avoid the most popular Provençal destinations. If possible we went on a market day, which meant getting an early start. Honestly the route less taken has always been my preference, and all in all I think I chose well, each place a new adventure. Here’s the list: with some notes
Brantes, tiny medieval hilltop village, neither here nor there and in the middle of nowhere, nice view and a good lunch
Vaison-la-Romaine, all things Roman YES….An entire roman town laid out before your eyes FORMIDABLE! the market a must, but got very packed mid morning
Séguret, medieval town with the biggest platane trees ever, good wine and good climbing exercise
Sommières, cool, rundown, medieval, great cathedral, Tiberius Roman Bridge, in use for over 2000 years
Val des Nymphes, mysterious pagan holy place
Garde-Adhémar, perched medieval village with an amazing view, lots of wind and an extensive botanic garden
Tarascon, seedy, a bit menacing, empty, home to Soleiado Museum, my kind of place but not for everyone
Le-Grau-du-Roi, the Coney Island of the Camargue, 1970’s kitsch, imagine every tacky souvenir possible, but with bulls
Les Baux de Provence, too many tourists flocking to see Les Carrières de Lumières, the works of Dalí and Gaudí projected on the walls of a cave, cute souvenir-y town with great views, but really not my thing,
Saint Rémy de Provence, too crowded, too chic, too expensive, everyone seems to love it, not me
Saint Restitut, tiny and absolutely empty, just go
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, the archeological museum was closed so I couldn’t see the largest European mosaic nor the 15th century Ark of the Covenant, however I did go to the Truffle Museum
Grignan, absolutely fabulous, even though again I missed Madame de Sévigné’s Château, packed with turistas, however while they were all busy in there oohing and aahing, we had the village to ourselves
Vézénobres, medieval chic, go for the view and a verre
Sauve, home of the pitchfork museum, like an old western ghost town movie set, probably my favorite spot
btw all the churches and marchés were super
It was all icing on the cake, although Avignon and all of Provence was hot as hell
Waved goodbye on August 18th and took the 6 hour train to Bordeaux (masked, of course) where I took up where I left off, school, heat, mosquitos, painting and now masks
August, September, October, passed, tourists were everywhere. The streets, restaurants and cafés were packed, no one seemed to care about the virus, happy to be out and about, with pals and the weather cooperating. Masks obligatory but only downtown, and no curfew. Then:
BOOM
October 31
Confinement part deux
Nothing left to do but zoom school, homework, one hour walks, and my own painting
From my rear window I basically see the sky and the apartment buildings across from mine. No street views, no trees, just rooftops, chimneys, orange tiles, clouds, rain, too many pigeons, and the twice daily group flights of some kind of bird. So, confined just like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, I began speculating about the neighbors
Who are these people, not on some computer screen, but living in living color across the way from me? What do they do and like, are they bored, what are they making for dinner, where do they come from, are they happy, what do their apartments look like, what are they watching on tv……what do they think about?
There’s the weird guy with his man bun who works all night… the happy couple… the party boys…the welcomer with a steady stream of visitors….the loud mouths, who actually live in the apartment below me but I can certainly hear them….all the time….the new neighbor…the loner…the cleaner (lots of laundry hanging and the vacuum going)….the noisy family with kid….and the roommates.
What do they look like up close, (NO I do not have binoculars!) would I recognize them on the street? And are they in turn wondering who I am and what am I doing up on the top floor?
so far, unlike chez Jimmy, no signs of anything nefarious
Whoa….
is this another pandemic symptom
French Lesson learned: probabilities, doubts, suppositions, speculations….. in the subjonctif… or certitude in the infinitive