Funnily enough, having just written about Fontaine de Vaucluse, a place that left us with some negative thoughts, it’s making me smile to myself, now I think about the visit to the Village des Bories!!!! What a laugh!!!!

We pulled in to the aire parking for the Village des Bories, just outside Gordes. We had our late lunch on board (made a nice goats cheese crostini salad with some leftover walnut bread), then I made some of my mix of dark and milk nutty chocolates, then we locked up and nipped out to see the village.

Hmmmm!!!! Well, we thought the village was right there! – so we walked a little, expecting to see it appear any moment around the corner, walked a little more, around another bend, walked a bit more!!!

I was getting progressively fed up and irritated!!! – and in turn, Michael was getting fed up and irritated with me and my huffing and puffing and mutterings!!! I couldn’t believe it when we rounded one more corner and a sign said the village was in 1,600 metres!!!!! Well!!!!!! Talk about steam coming out of my ears!!!! I was in a catch 22! Go ALL the way back for nothing! OR go this extra 1,600 metres!!!

I’m not averse to walking when we’re on our travels as the exploring twists and turns of towns and villages offers up plenty to see and I’m of course enjoying taking my photos. I’m not even averse to dry stone walls and olive trees (this route!), love them, BUT what I am averse to is feeling someone’s leading me a song and dance!

Well, I couldn’t see the point in going back after all the distance already covered, so all there was for it was to trudge on. I was very tempted to thumb a lift! More bends of dry stone walls and olive trees, which by now had lost their shine, and finally we reached what clearly was the destination.  

Having expected a village (a living breathing regular old village dotted with these stone ‘bories’), I couldn’t believe it when what we had reached was in fact a paying museum effectively! It was nothing as we had expected, ie not a real village, and I certainly hadn’t expected to have to pay!   

Now totally in the wrong mood, and even less inclined to pay to see this tourist attraction (as it was), we turned around immediately and began the hike back – with me even more serious about thumbing a lift from any French car that was passing!  

Well I didn’t! I think funnily enough there was in me a sense of wanting to achieve completing the whole flaming walk! – though I was close to thumbing as I asked Michael for the van keys!

Wonderfully, as is always the way, the walk back seemed way quicker than the crawl there!!! – and I did feel chuffed with myself for achieving it, though ideally it would have been preferable with a more gracious attitude! – (hmmm enough said!)

On reflection the situation wasn’t anyone’s fault but our own! We hadn’t seen the sign at the aire car park that said, very clearly what the ‘village’ was all about, and distance to it!!!

So for those of you who know me well, I hope you’ll agree (that bar the bad attitude that went with it!), I did jolly well to have walked in all 3.4 km!!!! – but equally don’t think I’ll be doing that again!!!!

Had we been able to park up outside, would we have gone in? – well actually, I don’t think we’d have bothered! – but don’t let that ever put you off if you’re in the neighbourhood of the ‘Village des Bories’! It’s very likely excellent!
   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

Gordes we saw briefly some good number of years ago with a hire car, but never got to visit it. It’s stunning to look at from a distance and we wanted to return to see it again, and explore it in its entirety. 

As you approach Gordes you can’t help but be blown away (thankfully not literally!). It’s set up high on a hill.

We parked up in the paying aire, but never had anyone knock on the door for the fee in the morning so bonus!  

We walked up into the town, headed into a restaurant for lunch, and asked for a table with a view! Enjoyed our lunch, and then explored the rest of this hillside town.  

Brilliantly the sun was shining that day, which you need to enjoy and experience the view of Gordes at its best! We weren’t disappointed!  
   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

  

[More from Gordes tomorrow – M]

Date of Visit: 20/03 to 21/03/2016