Day 15 - Wednesday, August 14th Provence -> Frankfurt/Wiesbaden

We have about a 1/2 day in Provence before we need to drive to Marseilles airport. Where has the time gone? Down to breakfast around 9:30 am. Mostly packed our suitcases and backpack/bag last night. Pay the balance of our stay and talk to Francois about the best order of the three places we wish to visit. We keep our baggage at Le Mas de Grès as it is safer than the hatchback rental car.

Our first stop is Roussillon that we briefly visited on our cycling trip. We lucked into finding a parking spot near the top of the hill. Good parking karma again and about 1 Euro for 45 minutes. Followed another self-guided walking tour from our guide book. Roussillon is in the Luberon area and on top of a hill possessing a dramatic view and of course the usual mistral winds. Valley below is farms, trees and vineyards as this has been deemed a natural reserve. Short stroll to Church of St. Michel built in the 11th Century. White interior church walls and naturally air conditioned! Lana pays 1 Euro to light a candle as she commonly does in the churches we visit.

We see a 150 year old gnarled and gigantic grapevine that decorates most of an old restaurant.

Ochre is made of iron oxide and clay and used since the Roman times. Very red and used for wallpaper and linoleum. The town now survives strictly on tourism. We purchase a sandwich and piece of pizza. Yup, love the French bread!

 Town of Roussillon

Ancient church on top of the hill missed out on the bombings of WWII

Next stop will be Gordes famous for its classic pictures that advertise Provence. This is my take on the picture. Wow, it is on top of a hill and in Provence?  ha ha

Drive to Fontaine de Vaucluse which is not on a mountain or hill but is famous as the source of the Sorgue 'river.' Quite something that a river is fed entirely from a natural spring. We found free roadside parking, but a bit of a walk to get to the village. The village is very busy. The Sorgue stream/river has crystal clear water running over very green underwater plants that wave in the current. Typical tourist place. Public toilets charge a fee, but at least they have real toilets, soap, running water and a cloth. About a ten minute walk uphill to the base of the cliff where you can jump a short fence and walk down the rocks to get closer to the giant crystal clear blue water pool nestled in a cave. 

 The origin of the natural spring where the Sorgue 'river' comes from

Cliff walls above the natural spring.

Last stop is Moulinà Papier a reproduction of a 17th Century paper mill driven by a 22 foot diameter paddle wheel. Not very interesting though, but free. 

Example of a vineyard with house at end of driveway

Plane tree example. Beautiful trees all over Provence that can live for hundreds of years.

Return to our accommodations by 3 pm. Get our luggage and drive south to Marseilles airport. Mostly freeway driving. Usual toll to stop and get ticket and then some time later stop to pay the toll. You can use your credit card if you like as you reach out of the driver's window. See the Mediterranean ocean near the airport. Plan to fill up the gas tank at the airport after we go through the rental car returns. Fill up circle around again and drop off the car with little drama except for a wait. 

Lana heads to Starbucks so she can add Marseilles to her list. Drop off one bag each at Lufthansa check -in and then to the lounge (Lana has privileges). Very small and simple lounge, but they have everything including free wifi. Takes a while to figure out how to activate the free wifi and I am not the only one asking questions. Transferred pics to Picasa and got started on updating the blog, but couldn't finish a day as we needed to get to Gate 24. I sit in the row behind Lana and update my travel diary. Free glass of white wine with crappy schnitzel meal. Uneventful flight. 

Philipp picked us up at the airport around 9 pm and off to Wiesbaden. Wiesbaden is located about 20-25 minutes west of Frankfurt airport. Staying in his beautiful apartment on the second floor that comes with a washer and dryer in the basement. High speed wifi is much appreciated! Good chat with Philipp. He shows us around the apartment and downstairs. Each unit owns their own washer and dryer - common in Deutschland. Each is separately monitored for electricity usage. He has a small device that you use bluetooth with to play your music from your iPhone. Lots of windows and indoor switches to control the exterior blinds. We are tired and pass on going to the wine festival. To bed around midnight. It's great to be in Deutschland!