Saillans, Crest, lavender fields and the Vaucluse

After waking up, I flung open my bedroom windows to be greeted by a great view of the area around Saillans. I spent a final half and hour exploring more hidden passages and admiring the backdrop of the mountains surrounding the town on all sides.

Then I got back in my car and headed to the next impossibly pretty town of my trip – Crest (pronounced “kray” in English), famed for its tower – possibly the tallest stone keep in all of Europe. Indeed the Tour de Crest was visible for miles from the road as I approached the town.

I parked my car, strolled through the town and then up an imposing set of steps to visit the tower. The building has a long history; it was originally built in 1394 and was part of a castle complex, and then a prison from the 1700s to the mid nineteenth century. I worked my way steadily up through a series of rooms with displays about the tower’s history until I reached the roof, which offered wonderful views but which was swept by a strong wind – the famous Mistral – which made me worried I would be blown away.

After visiting the tower, I had a coffee in the town’s main square before continuing my drive south along a pretty road. Occasionally I passed fields of lavender – the harvest that year was unusually late, and a few fields were still in bloom. I stopped to breath in the scent and admire the hundreds of butterflies visiting the flowers.

My route took me further south, past Nyons (which I would visit on a different day) and on to Vaison-la-Romaine in the Vaucluse region of France. This ancient town was once a major Roman city and many ruins remain to this day. I summoned up just enough energy to explore them in the heat of mid-afternoon sun.

Vaison-la-Romane also has a medieval area with a Roman bridge, which is supposed to be pretty, but it was very hot and I didn’t want to arrive at my gite late, since I wanted to spend a bit of time chilling beside their pool after two very busy days of sightseeing. I stopped at a roadside shop selling food specialities of the region and bought some bread, olives, cherries, cheese and wine for dinner.

My lodgings were wonderful – a small bed and breakfast which had been bought as a ruin by a couple, who had then stylish renovated it themselves (the husband was formerly a builder by profession). I spent the evening by the pool enjoying the food I had bought – including probably the best cherries I have ever tasted – and watching the sun set over the nearby Chateau du Barroux.