Friday Sept. 6, 2024 Pernes-les-Fontaines

Deb here. We woke up to a blue sky day. We have been so blessed by the weather gods for our entire travels so far.

After breakfast at the apartment we struck out for a driving tour of 3 of the nearby villages that are included in the “prettiest towns in France” list. They were recommended by both Anne, our Untours guide, last evening and the local tourist office gal in the morning, so we thought they’d be worth a visit.

We first traveled to Venasque, a hill town north of where we’re staying. It was (no surprise) a beautiful town with not many tourists there. We walked around the streets, ogling the alleyways and buildings. So much to take in everywhere you look! Parking was free and easy, albeit a long walk into town. Sorting out the history of these villages is daunting, since there is layer upon layer of historical events.

After Venasque, we headed to Gordes, a hill town with an imposing chateau. Gordes is clearly a popular tourist destination, with a humongous parking lot (and parking machine that was too slow) and lots and lots of businesses catering to tourists. We stopped in the Tourist Info office and picked up a wonderful brochure that highlighted a walking tour of town. We opted for the longer (1 hour) walking route and set off on our way. Along the way we actually ran into some English speakers, a family from Rhode Island and New York (complete with grandparents and two adorable kids) and a mother/daughter combo from New Zealand. We’re finding that it’s rare to hear English spoken in these parts. Gordes is absolutely gorgeous, with different architecture than Venasque, and just as much history represented. 

At the end of our walking tour we decided to stop for lunch at Le Jardin, a lovely garden cafe, and had delicious lunches of pesto and tomato pasta (John) and a melon and prosciutto plate (me), along with a peach melba dessert to share. Yum all the way around. Food is presented so beautifully here.

After Gordes, it was off to Rousillon, our final town of the day. Rousillon is known for its ochre, which is used for paint pigment. The entire town is orange-hued (think Sedona, AZ) and spectacular. Another paid parking lot and lots of people, but we managed to score a spot.

We walked up and down, admiring the vistas and looking inside the ancient church. After seeing all 3 towns, we decided that our favorite was Venasque, partly because it felt undiscovered compared to the others, but they were all wonderful in their own way.

By 3:15 we were back “home” and ready for some down time. John napped, I read, and we enjoyed chilling for a while. 

Around 6 p.m. we decided to walk into town and find the brewery, La Mousse Gourmande. Anne had mentioned last night that it was worth checking out, so we wanted to find it. We had a great chat with the owner and his righthand guy. The owner is Dutch, and has been in this area for 30 years now, with this business in existence for 10 years. John had an excellent IPA and I had a glass of rose wine, and we decided to move to the outdoor patio for dinner. The place filled up with locals (no English spoken at all) as the evening wore on, and we had tasty fish and chips with salad. The owner came outside to chat with us a bit more and it was all so pleasant.

After dinner we walked back home. Another wonderful day!