A tale of two towns: Gordes and Roussillon

After our aborted attempt to visit Gordes yesterday, we tried again today. We were pleased to get a space in the car park easily. Paying for it was another matter! The queue for the payment machine was long so John, thinking he was being clever, attempted to pay online. Unfortunately 4 different cards wouldn’t work so we had to join the queue. Somebody told us there was a machine down the road so John went to try that while I stayed put. Sadly, he couldn’t get a 2-hour ticket from it so he came back to me. Eventually we managed to pay, put the ticket in Bertie and went to explore.

It was market day in the town and there were stalls selling everything from local produce, to crafts to clothing. I would have liked to browse but John was grumpy after the car park fiasco. He complained about the crowds of people, until I pointed out he wouldn’t be complaining about crowds when we go to see Wales play rugby in Nice! Instead we explored the narrow cobbled streets where it was quieter, and found some lovely viewpoints over the valley far below. I thought the village was beautiful.

We went into Saint-Firmin Church, which was very colourful and quite unusual, if rather in need of renovation. Then we visited the Caves of the Palais Saint Firmin, which were cellars and rooms dug into the rock. We explored rooms with water tanks that would have supplied the whole town, tanning tanks, the remains of olive oil presses and vats, and a manger from which the donkeys that powered the press would have fed. It was interesting to think how these cellars would have been below homes and shops at street level.

Our next stop was Roussillon. This wasn’t easy to get to… not with a campervan anyway! I’d programmed a car park suitable for Bertie into the sat nav. Unfortunately, we had to turn back twice as the streets through the town were barred to us. We ended up having to drive about 10-15 minutes extra to get to the suitable parking. Thankfully, there was plenty of space for us and it was shady too. We made ourselves some lunch then walked into the town to do the ‘Sentier des Ocres’ or ochre footpath.

The path follows an area that was formerly quarried but has now returned to nature. The landscape is very strange, with interesting rock formations. There are apparently 17 shades of ochre in the quarries. We certainly saw colours ranging from yellow, through orange to pink.

The town itself has been constructed using lots of different hues of ochre. Exploring the streets, it was was very attractive with the wide variety of colours and a faded elegance. It was as almost as busy as Gordes had been, but I think we both enjoyed it more.

There were panoramic views from the top of the villages and we could see Gordes and Mont Ventoux in the distance. However, by now it was late afternoon and we’d had enough. Although it’s been a bit cooler, it’s seemed more humid. We found the campsite where we’re staying for the next 2 nights, then we’ve done some washing, had a swim in the pool, showered and made steak with ratatouille and roasted potatoes for dinner. We never seem to stop!