It was overcast, cool and drizzly this morning so a perfect time to leave the city! I got a taxi to Gare de Lyon. Travelling abroad and alone at my age does present some challenges. For someone who tends to be bit set in her ways, likes to be in control and needs to know what is going to happen next, being dumped in the middle of a busy train station in a foreign country takes some adjusting!! But, I took a deep breath and started reading signs. "Acceuil" has become one of my favourites!! I managed to get my ticket AND find the train in plenty of time! I even had time to grab a cafe au lait and a croissant! (Another new experience - reminding myself to eat!) I was finally onboard and seated when I (and several people around me) was informed I was in the wrong seat...on the WRONG CAR!!! A quick dash down the platform (as much as one can "dash" dragging a suitcase and wearing a heavy backpack!) to the correct car.
I am amazed at how calm I have remained in potential "crisis" (by my definition!) situations. I thought I lost my VISA yesterday but rather than panic, I walked through all the possible solutions and, by the time I'd decided what I would do, I realized that I had put it with my passport when I bought the Louvre tickets! Pas de probleme!
A wonderful train ride through some gorgeous countryside AND the sun came out about an hour after we left Paris!! Green, green rolling hills became craggy peaks with snowcapped mountains off in the distance. Fields were pitched on sloping hills and the villages looked straight out of the 13th century! Chateaux and old churches dotted the hills along with cows (white!), horses and sheep. The water in many places was turquoise!
I arrived in Aix en Provence mid afternoon and picked up my rental car - a Ibiza?! Manual but I quickly got the hang of it. I had very wisely put my driving directions onto index cards before I left home. All I had to do was quickly look for a highway number and/or community name and off I went. A smooth trip and I was able to enjoy the scenery. And it was spectacular! I drove winding roads up into the hills then down again with views into gorges. I went through quaint little villages with narrow streets and apricot coloured houses or by communities perched on hillsides! As I got closer to my destination, I passed field after field of lavender. Too early yet for the blooms (July, I think) but I can imagine the colour!
Chateau St. Laurent is in a valley on the edge of the village of St. Laurent du Verdon. (You can see the chateau in the open field between the trees.) It has a permanent population of 70 with a lot of the buildings shuttered up waiting for the holiday crowd. Going up the driveway to the chateau reminded me a bit of the villa in A Good Year - shuttered windows and large imposing building! I am hoping someone else will come in the next two weeks so I can see it with the shutters open.
The chateau has been divided into 24 apartments but is listed so must remain historically true - no satellite dishes or Internet cables! I am on the top floor in another loft room. I should be in great shape by the time I get home. 66 steps to climb here and it is 105 steps/paces from my apartment to the front door! Beams and terracotta tiles, old dressers and chests and armoires and Provencal fabrics on the table. Again, the bed is tucked under the eaves (I've already bashed my head several times!) and two skylights above the bed will make going to sleep and waking up a real treat!
I walked through the village to the local epicerie to pick up a few things to get me through the next day or so. There is also a pizzeria/restaurant in the village but it wasn't open yet. The old men were playing boules in the village. I had wondered what the large "sandbox" on the chateau property was. Must be boules around here somewhere too?!
I warmed up some pizza I had bought at a boulangerie in Paris last night and took my plate down to the patio by the pool (across the driveway from the tennis courts!!). The birds were singing and I could faintly hear the sounds of children and life in the village. There are grape hyacinths all over the lawns along with tiny daisy-like flowers. The magnolia bush is just finishing its bloom and there's a magnificent clump of purple something at the base of a tree. Planting has begun in the circular flower bed at the top of the driveway. Off in the distance are views of the hills and mountains. Can't wait to explore over the coming days! The church across the road rings the bell every half hour and puts that final touch on the Provencal life. C'est la vie and another dream come true!
