Day 4 (Friday, July 29). We wandered to the train station to set up our trip to Vienna. The station clerk was great - wrote out the list of trains we had to take and with Edwige's help, we reserved our seats for Monday morning.
Then we went to her favorite market, went home, and had another one of Edwige's fabulous lunches before we all headed out to explore two of the 'nearby' villages; Mirmande and Cliousclat. Both villages are up in the hills and you hike up further after you park your vehicle. The stone buildings and skinny streets / walkways are just beautiful.
Mirmande had a quiet, country luxury feel to it. Edwige told us that people are rebuilding the stone home in many of the villages, using the stone that was part of the original structures. It is definitely a labor of love because you must build a normal house structure and then use the stones on the outside. Not some remodel to be done in a heartbeat or over the summer.
Cliousclat is one of the pottery centers of the region. It has more artists and shops and restaurants than Mirmande so it is a bit busier with a larger street running through it, but the same small paths between structures.
The pottery is very nice and we wandered through their operations areas and the gift stores...I wish I had had the room to pack a few items, but it would have been tragic to have them break.
Day 5 (July 30). This morning we explored the Crest street market while Edwige got rooms ready for a couple of students participating in the Jazz Festival classes.
The Crest Market was great! This market seemed twice as big as those in the cities around Paris. The artisans (jewelry, leather, fabric, etc) had their stalls down the side streets while the meat, cheese, and vegetable stalls were situated along the main street.
It got very busy, but we had a chance to get through it early and bought a wheel of the best cheese ever for Edwige. It is called "Reblochon" and if you ever get a chance to taste it, please do. It is made from raw cow's milk so it cannot be brought into the US.
Then we explored the area where Edwige's family had their summer vacation home near Gigor. We stropped at a wonderful village called Corbonne - like many villages, it had a beautiful, clear pool of water for thirsty visitors. We drove to Plain de Baix and hiked up to Veylans, a giant cross on one of the hills. The countryside is beautiful and the hills are deceivingly high. After marveling at the views from the top including the "3 Beaks" (Trois Becs), we made our way to the car and headed back to see the art exhibition and have dinner.
On the way to Matthew and Isabella's house, we noticed an oddly shaped mountain and a castle. Matthew Tyson and Isabella Oulton have a gallery called Imprints and they live at the foot of Piégros La Clastre (name of the mountain and the Castle.
Day 6 (July 31). Edwige wasn't able to accompany us today because she needed to visit her father and she had some work she needed to get started on. We packed a picnic lunch and Christian and us headed out for Avignon.
Avignon is famous for being a completely walled city and its bridge (surely you remember the song - Sur le Pont d'Avignon from childhood?). As you can see, the bridge does not go all the way across.We did a driving tour of the city with Christian masterfully navigating the small, winding streets. It would be wonderful to explore Avignon on foot when there is more time.
Christian got a pair of beautiful ocher earrings for Edwige as this is their anniversary.
We stopped in a farmer's field and had our picnic (sausage, cheese, and beer). We visited several additional villages most of them on hilltops with a ruin, church, or castle at the top before stopping to taste wine at one of Christian's favorite vineyards. Needless to say, the wine was incredible. Christian has a fabulous wine cellar.We went out to dinner with Christian, Edwige, and Delphine to wind up our stay in Crest. Christian - who is not a morning person - bravely took us to the Valence Train Station at 7 am on 8/1. Au Revoir - it was a wonderful visit.
