離開渡假屋後,好友拋下丈夫孩子數天,跟著筆者一起租了輛小型房車來自駕遊。從 Grignan 出發,經過有無數葡萄園和酒莊的羅訥河谷 (Rhône Valley),再過不遠便駛達普羅旺斯北部的阿爾卑斯山脈。穿過了綠油油的山脈後,雖然經過好幾個小鎮,但是那些小鎮渺無人煙,餐廳也關了門,所以除了停在一個路邊水果檔買水果外,午飯也沒吃便一口氣用了接近三個小時抵達旅程的首站 Sisteron。
Sisteron 位於幾座大山脈的罅隙之間,在兩條小河匯合成 Durance 河的河畔,河對岸有座叫 Baume 的大石山。Sisteron 有數千年歷史,山丘上有座十八世紀時重建的大城堡 (Citadelle de Sisteron) 。小鎮雖然不大,但充滿著中世紀時代的小屋、教堂和四座大塔樓。參觀了大城堡後便隨意地在鎮上的狹窄小巷走走,走倦了便在河畔坐著來慢慢欣賞那裡明媚的風光。望著對岸,發現原來有不少攀石愛好者專程到 Sisteron 來挑戰爬上那差不多垂直的大石山。Sisteron 屬於山區的地方,食物也跟普羅旺斯其他地方截然不同。那裡最有名的菜式有個很特別的名字,叫 pied et paquets,直譯是腳與包裹,初時看得我們一頭霧水。好友點了這個菜做晚餐,原來所謂的腳是羊蹄,而包裹是包了香草、煙肉等的羊內臟,整道菜是由番茄醬、白酒等慢火炆數小時而成。
次天早上,我們離開 Sisteron,駛經溫泉小鎮 Digne-les-Bains。Digne 也是個中世紀小鎮,拿破侖曾率領軍隊在1815年時路經於此。被群山圍著,加上東南方有溫泉,令小鎮充滿靈氣。那天天氣酷熱,路過一間有規模的超級市場便走進去乘涼。雖然是連鎖式的超市,但在不同地區也有那裡的食物出售,我們還找到上段提及的 pied et paquets 罐頭呢。賣酒的角落更厲害,由於賣的主要是附近出產的紅酒和白酒, 一瓶普通的紅酒竟然只需兩歐元,比樽裝礦泉水還要便宜!十歐元的看來已不錯,筆者也買了兩瓶回家。吃過午飯,在鎮裡逛了一會便繼續旅程,我們捨高速道路而取迂迴曲折的小路而行,因為由 Digne 到 Valensole 的小路是其中一條有名的薰衣草之路 (Routes de la Lavande)。據說多數花農在七月底已把薰衣草收割,但也想碰碰運氣。果然除了零星的薰衣草田上有些花還沒被收割,大部份的田都已顯得荒蕪,但可能是早幾天才收成的緣故,空氣中仍有薰衣草的芳香。
Valensole 這小鎮雖然只有幾條街道,但堪稱薰衣草首都,我們也在那裡停了一會來買手信。沒想到這麼小的地方也有幾個中國遊客,連商店門口也放了好幾張中國遊客在薰衣草田裡拍照的相片。離開 Valensole,花了一小時便抵達 Apt。Apt 位於普羅旺斯中部,鄰近 Luberon 國家郊野公園,每星期六有大型露天市場,是個很受各地遊客歡迎的市鎮。我們住在鎮中心的小旅館,幸好老闆娘提示我們把車子停泊在鎮外的停車場,星期六早上我們被叫賣聲吵醒,原來露天市場果然名不虛傳,整個小鎮內的街道和停車場都變成市場,有攤檔在擺賣!市場裡當然少不了賣蔬菜水果、芝士,肉類、麵包等的攤檔,但也有不少是賣富有普羅旺斯特色的東西,例如當地有名的馬賽肥皂 (savon de Marseille) 、花紋檯布、手造被子等。因為價廉物美,筆者與好友花了一整個早上在那裡購物,大家都滿載而歸。
旅程的終站在地中海沿海小鎮 La Ciotat,這小鎮離開南部大城市馬賽 (Marseille) 大約半個小時車程。到達時是下午,剛巧那個週末在碼頭附近有表演,令這個海邊小鎮人山人海。為了避開遊人,我們登上觀光船,乘船觀賞 La Ciotat 和馬賽之間的 les calanques, 是主要由不同形狀的巨型石灰岩形成的懸崖和海灣,那些石灰岩延綿不絕,實在十分壯觀。下了船,吃過晚飯後到海濱長廊散步,遊人仍不絕,原來當晚街上還有市場,賣的東西由衣服到紀念品也有。次天醒來,赫然發現海濱長廊上又有市場在擺賣不同的東西!數天內第三度逛市場,我倆都覺得有點膩,逛了一回便走到小鎮遠方的海灘游泳去。到了下午,從 La Ciotat 駛經迂迴山路 Routes des Cretes 再一睹 les calanques 的壯觀風景後才送好友回她家翁的家裡,然後到馬賽機場還車,乘飛機回倫敦。其實這個自駕遊旅程才短短數天,但我們真正做到遊山玩水,把由阿爾卑斯山脈至地中海的景色進入眼簾。
全文完。
Sisteron 位於幾座大山脈的罅隙之間,在兩條小河匯合成 Durance 河的河畔,河對岸有座叫 Baume 的大石山。Sisteron 有數千年歷史,山丘上有座十八世紀時重建的大城堡 (Citadelle de Sisteron) 。小鎮雖然不大,但充滿著中世紀時代的小屋、教堂和四座大塔樓。參觀了大城堡後便隨意地在鎮上的狹窄小巷走走,走倦了便在河畔坐著來慢慢欣賞那裡明媚的風光。望著對岸,發現原來有不少攀石愛好者專程到 Sisteron 來挑戰爬上那差不多垂直的大石山。Sisteron 屬於山區的地方,食物也跟普羅旺斯其他地方截然不同。那裡最有名的菜式有個很特別的名字,叫 pied et paquets,直譯是腳與包裹,初時看得我們一頭霧水。好友點了這個菜做晚餐,原來所謂的腳是羊蹄,而包裹是包了香草、煙肉等的羊內臟,整道菜是由番茄醬、白酒等慢火炆數小時而成。
次天早上,我們離開 Sisteron,駛經溫泉小鎮 Digne-les-Bains。Digne 也是個中世紀小鎮,拿破侖曾率領軍隊在1815年時路經於此。被群山圍著,加上東南方有溫泉,令小鎮充滿靈氣。那天天氣酷熱,路過一間有規模的超級市場便走進去乘涼。雖然是連鎖式的超市,但在不同地區也有那裡的食物出售,我們還找到上段提及的 pied et paquets 罐頭呢。賣酒的角落更厲害,由於賣的主要是附近出產的紅酒和白酒, 一瓶普通的紅酒竟然只需兩歐元,比樽裝礦泉水還要便宜!十歐元的看來已不錯,筆者也買了兩瓶回家。吃過午飯,在鎮裡逛了一會便繼續旅程,我們捨高速道路而取迂迴曲折的小路而行,因為由 Digne 到 Valensole 的小路是其中一條有名的薰衣草之路 (Routes de la Lavande)。據說多數花農在七月底已把薰衣草收割,但也想碰碰運氣。果然除了零星的薰衣草田上有些花還沒被收割,大部份的田都已顯得荒蕪,但可能是早幾天才收成的緣故,空氣中仍有薰衣草的芳香。
Valensole 這小鎮雖然只有幾條街道,但堪稱薰衣草首都,我們也在那裡停了一會來買手信。沒想到這麼小的地方也有幾個中國遊客,連商店門口也放了好幾張中國遊客在薰衣草田裡拍照的相片。離開 Valensole,花了一小時便抵達 Apt。Apt 位於普羅旺斯中部,鄰近 Luberon 國家郊野公園,每星期六有大型露天市場,是個很受各地遊客歡迎的市鎮。我們住在鎮中心的小旅館,幸好老闆娘提示我們把車子停泊在鎮外的停車場,星期六早上我們被叫賣聲吵醒,原來露天市場果然名不虛傳,整個小鎮內的街道和停車場都變成市場,有攤檔在擺賣!市場裡當然少不了賣蔬菜水果、芝士,肉類、麵包等的攤檔,但也有不少是賣富有普羅旺斯特色的東西,例如當地有名的馬賽肥皂 (savon de Marseille) 、花紋檯布、手造被子等。因為價廉物美,筆者與好友花了一整個早上在那裡購物,大家都滿載而歸。
旅程的終站在地中海沿海小鎮 La Ciotat,這小鎮離開南部大城市馬賽 (Marseille) 大約半個小時車程。到達時是下午,剛巧那個週末在碼頭附近有表演,令這個海邊小鎮人山人海。為了避開遊人,我們登上觀光船,乘船觀賞 La Ciotat 和馬賽之間的 les calanques, 是主要由不同形狀的巨型石灰岩形成的懸崖和海灣,那些石灰岩延綿不絕,實在十分壯觀。下了船,吃過晚飯後到海濱長廊散步,遊人仍不絕,原來當晚街上還有市場,賣的東西由衣服到紀念品也有。次天醒來,赫然發現海濱長廊上又有市場在擺賣不同的東西!數天內第三度逛市場,我倆都覺得有點膩,逛了一回便走到小鎮遠方的海灘游泳去。到了下午,從 La Ciotat 駛經迂迴山路 Routes des Cretes 再一睹 les calanques 的壯觀風景後才送好友回她家翁的家裡,然後到馬賽機場還車,乘飛機回倫敦。其實這個自駕遊旅程才短短數天,但我們真正做到遊山玩水,把由阿爾卑斯山脈至地中海的景色進入眼簾。
全文完。
After leaving the holiday home, my friend left her husband and kids for a few days in joining me on a road trip. We rented a car and headed east from Grignan, passing through many vineyards and wineries in the Rhône Valley, before reaching the alps. The northern part of Provence is known as Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, so after passing through winding roads up and down lush mountains, we drove past several small towns on the way. Thinking we could stop for lunch, we discovered these towns were all but deserted and restaurants closed. Probably the whole town packed up for summer holidays! So aside from stopping by a roadside fruit stall to buy some fruits, we drove for about 3 hours non-stop to the first destination of our journey, Sisteron.
Sisteron is sandwiched between several mountain ranges, and it is located at the point where two smaller rivers merge into a large river called Durance. It is a medieval town with a citadel (Citadelle de Sisteron) on top of a hill. There are many sand-coloured houses in the town, with several churches and four big towers that seem to guard the town. Across the Durance, there is a large rock formation called Rocher de la Baume. After visiting the citadel, we casually wandered through narrow lanes in the town till we reached the riverside. We sat there and watched a number of rock climbers attempting to climb Rocher de la Baume, which is no easy task as the grooves in the large rock are almost vertical. Being in the mountains, the food in Sisteron is very different to ones found closer to the sea. A famous dish there is called pied et paquets, which when we looked at the menu outside a restaurant (which happens to have an English translation), the translation of the dish is "feet and packages". My dear friend bravely tried the intriguing dish for dinner, it turns out, the "feet" is lamb trotter, and "packages" is lamb offal stuffed with herbs and lardons, with the whole dish stewed in tomato sauce and white wine for several hours.
After leaving Sisteron the next morning, we stopped by a small town not far called Digne-les-Bains. Digne is also a medieval town, one that Napoleon marched through with his army in 1815. Being surrounded by mountains and having a hot spring in the southeastern part, the town exudes a sense of well-being. It was boiling hot that day, and as we spotted a large supermarket, we went in to get some cool air. Even though it is a big chain supermarket, but stores in different areas tend to feature local products. In that supermarket we even spotted pied-et-paquets in cans! In the wine section, many of the wines are from nearby wineries and boy aren't they cheap, with casual drinking red wines selling at €2 each! It seemed like anything near €10 were pretty good already so I bought two bottles to take home. We continued our journey after lunch, but rather than taking the highway we took the small winding roads in the countryside, because the road from Digne to Valensole is known as one of the Routes de la Lavande. Although knowing the chances of seeing seas of lavenders were slim as most farmers would have harvested the flowers by the end of July (and it was early August when we were there), we tried our luck anyway. As predicted there were hardly any lavenders in sight, but perhaps the flowers had only just been harvested a few days before, there was still a strong lavender scent in the air.
Without seeing much lavenders along the way, we at least made a brief stop in Valensole to buy lavender products, as the small town is known as the capital of lavenders. Afterwards, another hour drive took us to Apt, a market town located at the heart of Provence. It is the gateway for those visiting Luberon National Park. Our bed & breakfast is in the centre of town, and the helpful owner reminded us to park the car outside of town, as it was market day the next day. She was not wrong, for we got woken by the sounds of stalls being set up first thing in the morning. We had no idea the market would be quite so big, for it occupies all the streets and carparks inside the town. The market is popular amongst locals and tourists near and far, and things sold in the market ranges from charcuteries, vegetables and cheeses to Provencal products such as Marseille soap (savon de Marseille), brightly coloured table cloths to hand made quilts. As there is something for everyone, we spent the whole morning browsing and shopping.
The last stop of the road trip is La Ciotat, a coastal town just over half an hour drive from Marseille. When we arrived it was afternoon, and we couldn't believe how crowded the town was, as there were performances near the pier. To get away from the crowds, we hopped onto a sightseeing boat that would take us to see the Calanques. Les Calanques refer to all the limestone rock formations that line the coastline, forming cliffs and harbours. It was quite a sight to see what seem to be never-ending limestone cliffs. Upon returning to La Ciotat harbour and having dinner, we decided to go for a stroll along the promenade. The crowds from the afternoon were still around as there was an evening street market selling everything from clothes to souvenirs. There was even a concert near the pier so the whole town was very lively. When we woke up the next morning, we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw there was another street market on the promenade! We thought perhaps the stalls just never closed the previous night, but when we browsed, there were some stalls selling food which we didn't see the night before. Three markets in a row was a little bit too much, so after browsing for a short while we headed to the beach at the far end of the town. In the afternoon, we drove along the Routes des Cretes, a winding hill road which stretches from La Ciotat to the next town, Cassis, for one last look at the Calanques, before driving my friend back to her in-laws' place then driving myself to Marseille airport to head home to London. Although the road trip was only a few days long, but we truly saw a lot in the short space of time and it felt like a much longer trip!
The end.
Sisteron is sandwiched between several mountain ranges, and it is located at the point where two smaller rivers merge into a large river called Durance. It is a medieval town with a citadel (Citadelle de Sisteron) on top of a hill. There are many sand-coloured houses in the town, with several churches and four big towers that seem to guard the town. Across the Durance, there is a large rock formation called Rocher de la Baume. After visiting the citadel, we casually wandered through narrow lanes in the town till we reached the riverside. We sat there and watched a number of rock climbers attempting to climb Rocher de la Baume, which is no easy task as the grooves in the large rock are almost vertical. Being in the mountains, the food in Sisteron is very different to ones found closer to the sea. A famous dish there is called pied et paquets, which when we looked at the menu outside a restaurant (which happens to have an English translation), the translation of the dish is "feet and packages". My dear friend bravely tried the intriguing dish for dinner, it turns out, the "feet" is lamb trotter, and "packages" is lamb offal stuffed with herbs and lardons, with the whole dish stewed in tomato sauce and white wine for several hours.
After leaving Sisteron the next morning, we stopped by a small town not far called Digne-les-Bains. Digne is also a medieval town, one that Napoleon marched through with his army in 1815. Being surrounded by mountains and having a hot spring in the southeastern part, the town exudes a sense of well-being. It was boiling hot that day, and as we spotted a large supermarket, we went in to get some cool air. Even though it is a big chain supermarket, but stores in different areas tend to feature local products. In that supermarket we even spotted pied-et-paquets in cans! In the wine section, many of the wines are from nearby wineries and boy aren't they cheap, with casual drinking red wines selling at €2 each! It seemed like anything near €10 were pretty good already so I bought two bottles to take home. We continued our journey after lunch, but rather than taking the highway we took the small winding roads in the countryside, because the road from Digne to Valensole is known as one of the Routes de la Lavande. Although knowing the chances of seeing seas of lavenders were slim as most farmers would have harvested the flowers by the end of July (and it was early August when we were there), we tried our luck anyway. As predicted there were hardly any lavenders in sight, but perhaps the flowers had only just been harvested a few days before, there was still a strong lavender scent in the air.
Without seeing much lavenders along the way, we at least made a brief stop in Valensole to buy lavender products, as the small town is known as the capital of lavenders. Afterwards, another hour drive took us to Apt, a market town located at the heart of Provence. It is the gateway for those visiting Luberon National Park. Our bed & breakfast is in the centre of town, and the helpful owner reminded us to park the car outside of town, as it was market day the next day. She was not wrong, for we got woken by the sounds of stalls being set up first thing in the morning. We had no idea the market would be quite so big, for it occupies all the streets and carparks inside the town. The market is popular amongst locals and tourists near and far, and things sold in the market ranges from charcuteries, vegetables and cheeses to Provencal products such as Marseille soap (savon de Marseille), brightly coloured table cloths to hand made quilts. As there is something for everyone, we spent the whole morning browsing and shopping.
The last stop of the road trip is La Ciotat, a coastal town just over half an hour drive from Marseille. When we arrived it was afternoon, and we couldn't believe how crowded the town was, as there were performances near the pier. To get away from the crowds, we hopped onto a sightseeing boat that would take us to see the Calanques. Les Calanques refer to all the limestone rock formations that line the coastline, forming cliffs and harbours. It was quite a sight to see what seem to be never-ending limestone cliffs. Upon returning to La Ciotat harbour and having dinner, we decided to go for a stroll along the promenade. The crowds from the afternoon were still around as there was an evening street market selling everything from clothes to souvenirs. There was even a concert near the pier so the whole town was very lively. When we woke up the next morning, we couldn't believe our eyes when we saw there was another street market on the promenade! We thought perhaps the stalls just never closed the previous night, but when we browsed, there were some stalls selling food which we didn't see the night before. Three markets in a row was a little bit too much, so after browsing for a short while we headed to the beach at the far end of the town. In the afternoon, we drove along the Routes des Cretes, a winding hill road which stretches from La Ciotat to the next town, Cassis, for one last look at the Calanques, before driving my friend back to her in-laws' place then driving myself to Marseille airport to head home to London. Although the road trip was only a few days long, but we truly saw a lot in the short space of time and it felt like a much longer trip!
The end.