The drive from Gordes to Fontaine de Vaucluse was only about forty minutes long and as we neared the town, we passed under an enormous aqueduct that reminded me of Pont du Gard. The parking lot was a short walk outside of town, along the Sorgue river, and actually had some very decent views from it. We paid our full day parking fee (4 Euros) and walked into town. Our first view of town was the most spectacular one – a bridge (with an attached water wheel) spanning the rushing, clear water of the Sorgue set against the town and the enclosing mountains in the background. We crossed the bridge and decided to go see the source of the Sorgue, which is what really put this town on the tourist map. The Sorgue is the major river of the Vaucluse and one of the major rivers of the world in terms of output volume. We walked uphill through town and the gauntlet of tourist shops and restaurants lining either side of the road. We passed several viewpoints over the Sorgue and it was interesting how at some points, it was a rushing river and at others, it looked almost still. Eventually the river bed just dried up and all we could see was the moss and various grasses lining the rocks. Water clearly flowed here and joined up with the fast-flowing Sorgue below, but not today.

At the end of the dead-end road, we reached the source. It was a bit anti-climactic given the rushing waters below. Luckily it was a "high-tide" today so the water was actually coming out of the hole and forming a small pool above ground. I guess depending on the time of day/year, there may not be any water visible at the source. You weren't allowed to actually go down to the water’s edge because of the overhanging cliffs and possibility of rocks falling. But as always, those warnings don’t mean much to some folks who seem to be convinced the authorities just don’t want you to have a good time. So a couple French tourists hopped the fence and wandered down to the edge. A few minutes later, we heard a lot of swearing and shouting from their way and when we craned our necks to look around the corner, we could see that one of them had slipped and fallen into the water up to his chest. He was clambering his way out as his group (and the rest of the tourists) had a good laugh at his expense. As we headed back down towards town, he was wringing out his socks and commenting on how wet his wallet was and I wondered if he’d be jumping any barriers in the near future or if he’d learned his lesson.

On the way back into town, we stopped at working paper mill that is still producing paper from rags. There was an enormous water wheel driving the simple machines that were pounding the rags into a pulp. We had seen a paper mill in action back in Arnhem but it was neat to see one of this scale and being able to get to see the inside of the water wheel. The wheel does about five rotations per minute and is 7 m in diameter, with wooden pallets 2m in length each. The water wheel drove the “mallets” that pounded the rags for 24-36 hours. This factory was a reconstruction of what a paper mill would have looked like at the end of the middle ages. There was an actual paper factory on this site from about the mid-1500s till the 1800s. I’m simplifying the next few steps in the process but essentially the pulp is then formed into sheets and the water is pressed out of them until you’re left with paper. The visit to the paper factory was free and as a result, it led directly into the gift shop where there were lots of paper products for purchase. We window-shopped for some time before heading out into a gallery of boutiques selling all sorts of regional (and not-so regional, read: Made in PRC) products. Once we were through that tourist shop gauntlet, we emerged back into the daylight and wandered back to the main square where most of the restaurants were clustered. We looked at at least five menus before settling on one that offered both pizzas and a complete, 3 course menu. This restaurant didn’t have a view directly onto the Sorgue but its inside dining room offered a view onto a small offshoot of the main river. We opted to sit inside because the Mistral (blustery winds that can blow for days on end and start in the Alps and Massif Central and gather steam as they head south towards the Mediterranean) was blowing and making al-fresco dining less enticing. Megs and I were originally going to for the pizza but then decided that we wouldn’t be such a good idea as we’d left behind watching Sheahan eat her three courses. We all opted for the 20 euro menu and had entirely different meals. Here is what Sheahan, Megs and I ordered respectively for appetizers, mains and dessert: pigeon terrine with onion chutney and toast, mozzarella and prosciutto salad drizzled with pesto, smoked salmon with toast and butter, steak, confit du canard, trout pan-fried in about half a block of butter, chocolate brownie with whipped cream and fruit coulis, “nougat” ice cream served with red-fruit coulis. Each of our main dishes were served with a stuffed tomato, a ratatouille of eggplant, tomato, peppers, and mashed potatoes that just melted in your mouth. All three courses were just exquisite, both in terms of presentation and taste, and we were left scraping our plates till we couldn’t get any more off of it. It definitely ranked as one of the top meals we’ve had on our trip.

After a wonderful lunch, we headed over to the nearby Resistance Museum. The museum showcased life during WWII and also gave an introduction to the resistance movement in the Vaucluse region. The most interesting part of the museum for me was seeing artefacts from WWII that gave you an insight into the daily struggles that people encountered. Among the more interesting artefacts were ration coupons, shoes with soles made of wood due to the rubber shortage, a purse made entirely out of wood, dining sets loyal to the Vichy regime and a bicycle tyre made entirely out of corks!

Our next stop was the Santon museum down the road which had an incredible collection of Santons, or “little saints”. Santons are hand-crafted clay figurines that are painted and depict typical scenes in Provençal life. This craft really took off after the French Revolution, prior to which it was forbidden to have a crèche for Christmas within an individual’s home. Santons originally started out as figurines for the crèche but then expanded to include the other people in the village, such as the baker, shepherd, fruit vendor, etc. The museum was on two levels and was the collection of the enthusiastic proprietor who was just itching to tell us all about it. She resorted to giving us a brief intro before letting us explore on our own. There were literally several thousand figurines in the collection, all from various artists. We spent a good hour looking around and checking out all the intricate details. There was even one creation where an artist had fit 32 miniature santons into a scene created within a walnut shell! It was so small that we had to take a magnifying glass to it to have a good luck and reminded us of the matchbox creations found in Seiffen, Germany.

Before setting off back to camp, we got some gelato to cool down and then set off on a different route back to Gordes than the one we’d come in on. It was a narrow road but quite scenic and just before we arrived in Gordes, we decided to check out the Abbaye du Senanque. It was a slight detour but we wanted to see how the lavender fields were coming along and this was a particularly scenic spot, with the abbey nestled in a valley amongst the lavender. The lavender was still not in bloom, but it was picturesque nonetheless. We took a few photos around the grounds and just as we were about to get back into the van and finally head back to camp, Megs spotted a fox wandering amongst the lavender so it was a little while longer before we arrived back at our campsite. It had been a long day but a very interesting one. We made a quick dinner and as we were getting it ready, Sheahan noticed that the campers across from us were most seriously engaged in adjusting their picnic table. When we took a closer look, we saw that they actually had a level out on their table-top grill and were adjusting their table legs to get the surface perfectly level. We had a good chuckle at that but did appreciate that they took their cooking most seriously!