The source:Wine, poetry, beauty in Vaucluse, France

Drawn by a Ruin

On yet another outing in Provence, France, our hosts take us to a town that had a canal running throught it. We are in Vaucluse, a valley surrounded by high cliffs. We spy a castle in ruins high above us, and so, what do we do but trek up the hill placing our feet gingerly on solid rock, inadvertently rolling some loose stones downhill.  On top we are treated to great views of the valley. We have to be more careful on our trek down for we certianly do not care for a roll! We are just being overly cautious so as not to jeopardise the rest of our travels over the next few months. 

Drunk by the scene,not the wine

Back on almost level ground we walk along what seems like a small lake surrounded by lush greenery, including fig trees. It's a haven for ducks and other birds. The water is green. The sky is blue. Atmospheric temperature is in the soothing twenties. Such balmy weather is ideal  for a walk exploring the terrain and crisscrossing the waters. Our hosts are eager for lunch, as much as we are. We find ourselves sitting at lunch at the waterside restaurant. Two ducks happily float beside us, turning their heads towards us every now and then, as though they belonged to our group. We are served, we share jokes ( I cling on to the few words in French - forget the grammar- that I'm familiar with and my mind connects them into a somewhat coherent whole, enough to give me the gist and hence guess the context, and genuinely respond to the conversation).

Our hosts order wine for themselves. It is a standing joke among us that DrINK and I ( teetotallers) do not appreciate the hardwork put in by the vineyards in the Provence. "Bon Sante" to the wine industry!

Powerful wellspring -- water and Petrachian poetry

A short, but not so laboured, walk uphill leads us to what this town is famous for. The waters we saw were of the Sorgue River and we were approaching the source of the river, a spring located deep down at the mouth of a cave!  What more, it is ceaselessly prodigious! Standing at the cave entrance, dominated from above by the castle ruins, and the cool clear waters pooling from a bottomless chasm below is postcard picture perfect. 

I was stunned by a plaque for Petrach, the Italian sonneteer,set up by the Dante Society. Petrarch, famous for his sonnets, fell in love with a married woman, Laura, and spent the rest of his life pining for her. He found solace at Vaucluse and hence his most productive years as a poet before he became a Poet Laureate of France, turning down the same honour in Italy, his birthplace.

It is then time to explore the downtown area. On our way we enter a reconsructed paper mill and are treated to a look at how paper is made the old fashioned way. The walk also takes us to a glass blower who makes a little bird for my host upon her request. 

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

The walk leads us to the main street of the town which is called an island because the Sorgue river splits into two streams here. The shallow, calm and green stream along which we walk is something like an esplanade where people dip their feet in the water as they sit along the steps on the banks and enjoy a snack or a book. Almost every store-front is attractive for most are antique shops , home decor shops, waterfront cafes and restaurants. Adding to the charm are footbridges and the several working water wheels that are testament to the city's wealthy industial past.