Provence travel log 2006-12-28

This was a day of many small towns. First stop was L'Isle sur la Sorgue, where we marveled at the iced-over waterwheels spinning in the river. Dad says there were originally 64 wheels in the city. They’re still economically important after hundreds of years, though now they generate wealth by attracting tourists rather than grinding wheat.The shopping gods smiled on Lauren, who found gifts for friends and family. After the requisite stop for café au lait and warmth, we returned to our cars.For lunch, we stopped between towns at l’Estellan, which was a random stop and a real stroke of luck. All of us agreed that it was the best meal we’d had yet in France. I had pumpkin soup, chicken, and mashed potatoes. Food was just perfect. As we sat there, we saw that the restaurant was recommended in all of our guidebooks. Based on its location, we also suspect that l’Estellan was the restaurant that Patrice was trying to recommend, but whose name he couldn’t remember. So it was fate that we landed there, I guess.The next stop was the beautiful village of Gordes, a real “city on a hill” that reminded all of us of Gondor from the Lord of the Rings movies. There wasn’t much to do except marvel at the countryside below and the white walls above, but this was exactly what we’d come to do, after all.Finally, we journeyed on to Roussillon, another hillside town whose soul seemed tied to the ochre beneath it. We stood wrapped in rouge: sunset, city, and hill. Beautiful.Lauren was so excited that she celebrated with her new favorite: a Nutella crepe.

From there, we drove back home. Having no dinner plan, intimidated by the cold and dark outside, and frankly sick of driving, we decided to return to House Pizza, the bumpin’ pizza place across the street. Lauren, Sam, and I took care of business, securing 4 thin-crust pizzas for the household and enjoying the company of all 5 young people in Alleins while we waited.