Vaison la Romaine

It was frustrating! We were tired of driving but could not find our bed and breakfast in Vaison la Romaine. We had followed the maps downloaded to our iPod, and they were accurate right up to the barricade on Rue d'Avignon. Yes, the street our lodging was on was barricaded. What to do? On the right we were fifty yards from the Ouveze River and on the left was a  mountain.  But ingenuity and French hospitality paid off.  My tavelmate found a real estate office with two great  women who drew a map on the back of advertising flyers to show us the way. We checked into Hotel la Bastid de Vaison about nightfall. Thank God for French women!   I have said this before for a different reason, which I won't go into now.

Our temporary abode had been used for processing olive oil and was built in the 13th century.  It was quite charming and comfortable as well.  Our host was very helpful and we were quite pleased since we had booked this lodging online without the benefit of the English language. The morning sun came into the room at dawn, and through the window you could see the vineyard on the hillside and the big furry white cat peering in at us. We ventured down two floors to the breakfast prepared by the innkeeper. We don't often eat at our lodging, but this was a considerable distance from town.  Coffee and fresh croissants as usual.  I love 'em.  The patio was bursting with colorful flowers and plants making it difficult to leave the inn.  But there were Roman ruins to be seen.

Soon we were enjoying one of the true benefits of Vaison la Romaine: free parking. Free parking is a rarity in France except in very small villages. But here in Vaison la Romaine not only was it free, but was located across the street from the Tourist Information Office at place da Chanoine Sautel and between the two sites of Roman ruins. This was the first of the often lauded in the guidebooks tourist Information Offices we had found open. So we stood in line to get our map of the city, to find out where to get fuel for our car,  and where the laundry was. And, of course, information about local attractions.  The lady was extremely helpful, although it seems that every place you would want to go to in which ever town you're in is always "ten minutes away".  Vaison la Romaine is made of two towns Villa Basse and Ville Haute.  Ville Basse being the lower town and Ville Haute the other.  The ruins are located in the lower town.

We bought our tickets to see the Roman ruins and entered through the gates.  We walked to the top of the hill through the ruins to get to a very modern museum exhibiting ancient relics.  Like all the museums we visited in France this one was first class. We paid eight euros each for a map of the ruins and an audio guide in English. Out of the museum we went to discover the 2,000 year old ruins of a town. Only a small portion of it is visible while the rest is still buried under the current city. Here you can walk among the ruins of houses  and see what's left of the walls, gardens, baths, and kitchens of the Roman homes. Wall frescoes are still visible, and we walked on mosaic floors that were over 2000 years old. To me it was interesting to see how the water system worked, supplying in fresh water and taking away waste water.  On one site is a 6,000 seat amphitheater which is used today.  The population of this city in the first century was 6,000 and that is the current population.  However, after the barbarians ran the Romans out, the population declined and has only recently reached its current level. The audiotours are indispensable  for the enjoyment of the ruins.  After visiting the Puymin site we ventured across the street to La Villasse, the other site.  Your ticket has a code which is used to open the gate to this site since there is not a caretaker on site. This has more shops and fewer residences. 

After a bit of lunch it was time to do some chores. We normally do laundry every three days or so, and we had put it off long enough. Of course the laundry was only "ten minutes away", but it took a little longer to find.  The coin operated machines would not take our coins.  (Some things never change regardless of country.)  But my clever wife, with the help of another customer, found the owner and they solved the problem.  While my travel mate was doing laundry I found a gas station and topped off the tank of the Peugeot.  It was kind of frustrating because the pump would not take my credit card and I had to go inside to pay while the waiting line at the pump grew. 

 After the chores were done we were going to dinner in Ville Haute which was the medieval town on the mountain the other side of the river. We crossed the Roman bridge and drove up to the restaurant, an Italian one recomended by our innkeeper.  But, alas, it had not opened for dinner, so we decided to walk around the town. It had the narrow steep streets lined with stone houses.  Flowers seemed to be bursting from every available spot of soil. There is nothing very notable here, but the cobbled streets and many fountains are a delight to behold. It was the onset of evening as people were enjoying dinner, and you could hear laughter and the clink of glasses through open doors and window. As we walked past an open window we heard the voice of a four-year-old, saying  " Bonjour!".  He was a cute little fellow.  Throughout the town there are large black and white photographs of people in the windows of vacant buildings.  From the chateau, which was build in 1195, we walked down to the restaurant where we had left our car and enjoyed a great meal while watching the lights come on in Ville Basse.  Incidently, the people from Ville Basse always retreated  to Ville Haute when attacked by barbarians as the high ground is always easier to defend.

Couldn't help using a little
Photoshop magic!

We had enjoyed our stay in Vaison la Romaine and were continually surprised at the number of Roman ruins in France.