March 27 The road to Orange Part two

The next day we went through the Châteauneuf du Pape wine region. It is really obvious that in some places a lot of money can be made, or at least spent making wine. There are some very impressive châteaux  along  the route. As luck would have it, the wine tasting centers were closed for lunch when we went past them. It might have been a blessing in disguise because it was only half way to our destination of Orange.

We were reminded of the time we spent with Tom and Dianne in Avignon. We covered many of the same routes we took on our wine tour with Serge. We didn't make it all the way to Gigondas but we had a good tour of the Chateauneuf de Pape region.

Orange is very nice town and there is lots to see and do. We are hoping to find a laundry and clean all of our clothes.

Yoly thought this would be the perfect place for her friend Hélène to live, we would visit quite often. It's name   "Chalet Hélène" is what made us think of her.

It is not a clear day but you can make out mount Ventoux in the background.

If Yoly buys me a vineyard I am going to get a tractor like this one.

I will probably just rent the excavator unless she buys a real big operation.

Set up for the specific aplication.

The rocks absorb heat from the sun during the day and keep the roots warm all night, making the wine better.

This winery looks to be about the right size.

And this would be a pretty nice place for us to live.

That is Châteauneuf du Pape.

This is me lurking at the wine testing station, lucky it's lunch time.

Roman ruins in Orange.

At one point in time when a roman emperor converted into christianity, the theatre was no longer in use, therefore, litlle houses were built inside the theatre to accommodate, shelter and protect the people.

The scars of house walls can still be seen on the walls of the theatre.

The biggest theater still around and better preserved in Europe.

Us in a sunny spot.

Were still in the sun, just not in the picture.

Antique scooter

I recall when we bought one of this for Hugh, it was the newest thing. This one folds flat just like the one we bought Hugh. It is made out of wood and has steel wheels. Turns out it wasn't that new after all.

Us at the top of the hill looking at the Roman theatre.

Ruins of a château at the top of the hill, behind the theatre.

The statue of the emperor was made with a removable head, to reduce the cost of changing emperors, only the head of the new emperor was carved and placed on the old body.

Around the corner of the theatre.

Inside the theatre.

Inside the theatre. This theatre is still well used during the summer for operas, concerts and many cultural events.

These are the roman ruins next door.

This is an artists rendition of the site the way it was when the romans ruled.

The arc de triumph in Orange.

Orange at night.

Mar 26 The road to Orange.

"We had a wonderful time riding to Orange. It took two days from L'Isle sur Sorgue. First day is seemed we climbed all day long up to 950 feet, 600 on the day. We loved going through little villages including Saint Antoine, la Roque sur Pernes, one of the most memorable was St. Didier. It is one of the little villages described in my favorite guided book novel that I bought in Banon. We refuelled our provisions in this little town at the local boulangerie and with many smiles the owner wished us a "bon voyage". The chapelles are never open in the morning or early afternoon, so we were unable to pay them a visit. We continue to  zigzag north through Mazan on road D163 through St Pierre de Vassols until we reached the top of the hill and stop for lunch at Crillon le Brave.  (We recomend this route for any slow lane travelers out there who haven't seen these towns before.) At this point we were at the south foot of Mount Ventoux. This little village takes its name after the most legendary of its dukes Louis de Balbes de Berton de Crillon. Back in the 1800s there were 800 inhabitants and it even had a local philharmonic society. Two wars and a failling water supply left this town almost in ruins. Today there is only one big expensive hotel, one restaurant, a church, the city hall and a school and it has a population of 400. We got cold in a hurry but had our picnic enjoying the view. 

Down hill we went through Caromb a larger, but still very pretty, village with an awesome view. It is truly stunning from a distance. Road D13 tooks us directly down to our destination for the day in  the town of Carpentras. Carpentras was a bit of a let down as it lacked the charm of the previous towns but the hotel was more reasonably priced, it was 499 euros a night in Crillon le Brave. You would have to be quite brave to spent that much if there was any chance Yoly would find out.

This is an Abri, just like the ones described in Yoly's guide/story book. They were used by shepherds back in the day if they got caught out in a storm with the flock.

This one apears to be quite robustly built.

Hey, there are sheep across the road.

This is the town St. Pierre de Vassols

This is Saint Didier from a distance.

One of the old gates to the village St. Didier

Yoly thinks this would be a nice house with a fountain in the back yard.

Mount Ventoux beyond the vinyards.

There is still lots of snow up there so we are going to stay down here. 

Al busy making lunch in Crillon le Brave.

While the statue of Crillon le Brave looks on.

On a clear day you can see Avignon, it was clear enough to see Carpentras and Orange, the destinations for the next two days.

That is Caromb across the first valley.

A cool view while eating our lunch.

From the top of Crillon le Brave

Church in Crillon

Looking back with a full belly and happy memories, it's all down hill from here.

Abandoned chapelle.

That was Crillon for us. 

Part of the route through Caromb.

Aquaduct at Carpentras, we got a look down into the aquaduct one time and decided not to drink the water in Carpentras, generally the waters are crystal clear in the aquaducts but the one to Carpentras looked a bit muddy, maybe because of recent rainfall.

The Cathedral in Carpentras.

This one reminded us of a scary dead cat we saw on the road in Luxembourg.

There is a glass roof on this mall that reminded us of one just like it in Xelaju Guatemala.

A little passage in Carpentras' street.