The Trip from Bend, Oregon to Provence, France

In order to help us pass the time on the 11 hour flight from Salt Lake City to Paris, we pull out our watercolor journals and palettes and do some painting.

Here is Helen's cute little palette that she made out of an Altoids Box

Tired but upright we await the train from Paris to Avignon

I try to capture some little hill top villages from the train window.  I end up with lots of blurred photos!

Helen's cute drawing of me taking photos out the train window

Our train is going over a hundred miles per hours.  We reach Avignon in just three hours!  The French really know how to travel

I am so happy to be out on the ground again.  We spend time walking around Isle sur la Sorgue

 

We are enjoying the colorful buildings and the lay of the land in Isle sur la Sorgue.  The river Sorgue surrounds the city as if to hug it. The canals run between the narrow ancient streets. There are little bridges to cross and great wheels to look at with mossy blades turning in the river. 

Isle sur la Sorgue

 

 

 

Friday morning we take our trusty little Renault, Kangoo for a tour of the countryside.

Colorful window dress display

We meet some wonderfully nice French people.  This lady is showing her Obama hat that someone sent her.  Everyone is exited to talk to us about Obama and "Bean Ledanne" (Bin Ladin).

We come to a screeching halt in our little Kangoo to take this photo of one of France's 100 most beautiful villages, Gordes

Finally we start to see what we came for, Poppies in Provence!

More Poppies!