Today started with a round of chocolate croissants from a local bakery that were simply delicious (and some store-bought orange juice). With our bellies full of happiness we made the journey back to Baux de Provence, this time to the Carrières de Lumières, a former limestone quarry. The unusual and unique space is now used for art-based multimedia shows. We were lucky enough see Chagall: songes d’une nuit d’été (Chagall: Midsummer Nghts’ Dreams), in which a myriad of Marc Chagall’s art was projected onto the immense walls, pillars and floor of the Carrières all set to music.

The second show was apparently for kids, called Au pays d’Alice (Alice’s Land), but I loved it just as much! We were taken down a tunnel by a little white rabbit on a journey into a wonderful world, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s novel. It’s sort of difficult to describe how it feels to be literally surrounded, by and immersed into, someones art (the 100 video projectors and 27 speakers make that possible). It truly was a remarkable experience.

Once we could peel our eyes away from the limestone artwork, we started our drive to Abby Notre-Dame de Sénanque, a working monastery with a rich history and magnificent architecture. As we were driving up to the Abbey, we couldn’t help but comment on how stunning the valley was. We also couldn’t help but comment on how tricky it was to actually find this abbey!! Our navigation system seemed to have thought we had arrived long before we actually had, which lead us onto a high and narrow winding road, with no way of turning back if it did happen to lead the wrong way! There was also nothing, after the initial turn off, in the way of signage for the abbey. It almost seemed as if the monastery was deliberately making it difficult for tourists (there probably is an element of truth to this, keeping some peace and quiet for the monks), but to be honest, when we arrived I was kind of glad they do! It added an extra air of mystery and serenity to the place. We could not go inside the abbey (the only way inside is to take a guided tour, and these were full), but we were content to just take our time walking around, admiring the lavender fields (unfortunately not in bloom 😦 ) and beautiful grey stone work. The only real downside was that I lost my earring for about 20 minutes (a very stressful 20 minutes.. ). It got caught and came off as I pulled the strap of my camera off my neck. Thankfully I have the loveliest of friends who did not mind helping me look for a glint of blue amidst an infinite amount of rocks.

We headed back up the valley on a different, yet equally as narrow and windy road to the hilltop village of Gordes. Built on the foothills of the Monts of Vaucluse, facing the Luberon, the houses and buildings of white stone root themselves into the sharp cliff of the mountain. As we neared, it was easy to see why this is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France! This gorgeous town literally blew my mind when I saw it, and labyrthinth of “calades” (narrow cobblestone streets) only added to its charm. We enjoyed a lovely lunch and soaked up some incredible views before heading back to the car.

On our way out of Gordes, we drove past some of the buildings in the stony Bories Village – constructed entirely of dry stone walls!

Our next stop was Aix-en-provence. Now there is reportedly loads of things to do in this university city: boutique shops, fabulous cafes, delicious restaurants, museums, open-air markets… But we had one goal in mind. The library. Why you ask? Because apparently, they have giant books (it’s the little things in life right?)!! Now we thought it would probably be easy to find these giant books, but turns out not so much (or maybe it was just that “road-trip-luck” we kept seeming to find…). We ended up walking around the outsides of building with seemingly no entrance in sight, entering through a car park with a towering metal fences and a gait that closed behind us (maybe this was not where we were supposed to enter?), trying to not look suspicious as we stalked around side entrances, found some disappointing large books (not the ones we were looking for) and had almost given up hope (also where were all the other people roaming around this “library”?) until we rounded a corner and saw what we had been looking for!! Le Petit Prince!! We took our photos and concluded there must be an easier way to leave than the way we came in, so we walked straight ahead and found ourselves amidst loads of people milling around.. We just seem to prefer the path less traveled right?

Now we did manage to appreciate some of the leafy boulevards, public squares, 17th- and 18th-century mansions with wooden shutters and gurgling moss-covered fountains en route to and from the library, but the giant books are what I will remember ;).

Our final destination of the day was Marseille. Now, for the most part, this huge port city tends to get a bad wrap. I won’t lie – it’s probably never going to make my top ten – but while it was gritty, and there did seem to be a few sketchy looking people floating around, it also seemed like an edgy and bustling place. We parked the car and headed to the Vieux Port (old port), where ships have docked for more than 26 centuries, and walked along the waterfront as the sun began to set. We then walked around the town, admiring some of the old architecture, until we found a place for dinner. The address for the restaurant we originally tried to find led us to the train station…so we scrapped that idea… We ended up at a quirky little restaurant/bar called Bistrot l’Horloge. The food was nice, the service was good, the waiters were attractive, the decor was weird and wacky and it was packed with locals! What more could you want? Well.. gelato.. but we managed to get that on the way home too!

Making our way out of Marseille was another matter entirely. The roads were packed full of cars, there was a million times that Vicky (our car, we named her) told us at bear right or left when she really meant turn, we were tooted and whistled at (from other cars mind you1!!) and there was a whole array of one way streets, odd traffic light combinations and tunnels!! But we lived to tell that tale and can laugh looking back on it. So in the end, maybe that’s all you want?