We actually visited L’Isle Sur La Sorgue twice during our stay in Provence! Yesterday we breifly stopped by and enjoyed some ice cream/desserts at Chez Ju Resto & Bistro before heading back to our Airbnb to escape the heat. L’Isle Sur La Sorgue is known for its antiques, and it honestly was a bit more difficult to find the best spots than expected! A few favorites included Le Village des Antiquaires de la Gare, Jardin Antique and L’Ile Aux Brocantes (plus lunch at Le Cafe du Village).
Senanque Abbey
After our morning market trip to Gordes we headed to the nearby Senanque Abbey. The lavender was blooming and while the abbey itself was closed, we wandered amongst the shady blooms.
Gordes, France
Today we were up early ready to explore Gordes. I vividly remember visiting in 2018 when Dale and I were in Provence — the village sits on a hill and is truly breathtaking. This time we had the opportunity to visit the market and it is worth planning around! So many vendors with food, textiles and more. I came home with a woven basket, comfy pjs, placemats, two pillow covers for my living room and hair clip. Next stop today: Senanque Abbey.
Cabannes, France
We’ve arrived at our beautiful (and final) Airbnb of the trip in Cabannes. The house has a stunning pool overlooking a vineyard and our plan is to spend the mornings exploring and afternoons/evenings swimming and making dinner at the house. I can’t wait to share more from shopping, eating and exploring the beautiful villages of Provence!
Nice, France
Our last full day in France started off with a drive back to Nice. Dale and I were both sad to leave the French countryside and decided to take advantage wine country with a quick stop at a winery. We ended up buying some rosé to drink that night at Chateau Saint-Pierre. After that we finally got our rental car dropped off and we took a bus to our Airbnb. This was the first real look we had at the Côte d'Azur and the blue water really is just as spectacular as its said to be! After dropping off our bags we headed straight to the beach and rented an umbrella at the Neptune Plage.
After a couple hours at the beach reading and enjoying the bright blue water we ate lunch and then changed before walking around old Nice and the town square Place Rossetti. I treated myself to a chocolate crepe with cinnamon ice cream at Fenocchio and then we continued exploring. That night we called my grandma to wish her a happy 80th birthday and then watched a movie before bed. It was the perfect relaxing day in Nice!
Southern France Part Two
Our second full day in Southern France began with kayaking through part of the Gorges du Verdon! When Dale and I started planning our Europe trip visiting the gorge was at the top of our list and I have to say it exceeded our expectations! That morning was a little rainy and the part of the gorge we were kayaking on was pretty quiet (near Montpezat) and really beautiful. The trip to the dam and back took around two hours and then we went back to our Airbnb to change before heading on to the town of La Palud-sur-Verdon!
Seeing the bright blue part of the gorge was possibly my favorite moment of our entire trip. It's stunning! We took lots of photos before heading to the Route des Crêtes. I don't know why we hadn't realized it before our trip, but the part of the gorge seen most often in pictures is really the end point of a river flowing through a huge canyon, not too different from the Grand Canyon! Our drive through the mountains gave us the best views, even if the road was a little terrifying. The river in the gorge empties into Lake Sainte-Croix, which I was surprised to learn is a man-made lake. I'm really grateful to our Airbnb host for sharing the directions for our drive, it's a must-see part of the area. After exploring the gorge we headed back to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie because we didn't have too much time to explore when we ate dinner there the first night.
I went a bit crazy on our walk through Moustiers-Sainte-Marie taking pictures of all the roses! I couldn't help it. Dale and I also hiked up to the church in the mountain above the town, the view was amazing. Our last stop of the day was Ste. Croix du Verdon, a small village right on the lake. The town was oddly quiet, and there were lots of cats, but it was also one of the prettiest villages we had visited. We had one last dinner in Riez, Italian this time, and then headed back to the Airbnb to pack for our drive back to Nice the next day!
