III: Provence

6:22:00 PM



I didn't manage to post this ealier,
sorry about that (but better late than never, righ?). This time it's about Provence, region on the south of France with the bluest sea and that smells like lavender.

L'isle sur la Sorgue
We were in the town called L'isle sur la Sorgue (it's ok, I can't pronounce it either), full of canals (it's called Provence's Venice), water mills, restaurants and people. Even though it's small, it's far from boring and monotonous; specially on Sunday when they organize Sunday's market when people from nearby places come to buy anything from clothes and shoes, to food and spices and even crystals. Since we're in Provence, there's a wide variety of lavender's products, from soaps and oils to honey (I tried it, I don't taste a difference, but everything smells amazing).
Spicess
When we arrived, we discovered that there's a some kind of festival under our window, with parades and the host of the program who was hosting it very dedicatedly and loudly til the early hours. I thought it was really cool that we can see everything and be a part of it without leaving our apartment, but around 3AM i wasn't as enthusiastic. But the host and the majority of the visitors were.

Discovering Arles

Aigues Morte
From there we were visiting new places every day. Every single city was incredibly cute, with houses that are either colorful or made of stone and have bright colored windows, flowers, squares where someone is playing classical music that can be heard everywhere, sometimes even with Roman theaters where operas and plays take place (in Arles' and Orange's case).
Orange
Roman theater in Orange
Gordes
We went to Avignon (very smart of us) around afternoon, which made that charming sun and stone and incredible heat atmosphere. Nevertheless, it's such an interesting place, above all historically; it was the center of Catholic church when papacy escaped from Italy in XIV century. Palais des Papes (Pope palace) has a wonderful view with a lot of greenery (which is not the characteristic of the rest of the town) and it's very pleasant to spend time there. It kinda reminds me of Boboli gardens in Florence.
Avignon was also the place where Francesco Petrarca saw his Laura for the first time.
Streets of Avignon
View from Palais des Papes
Another interesting place we've visited is monastery where was the asylum where Vincent van Gogh spent his time and painted a lot of his paintings, including the famous Starry night. It's a museum now. I don't know what was your first association when I said "asylum", but I suppose it's negative. Wrong.
It's a wonderful, wonderful place, surrounded by nature, you are listening to birds and little bugs and smelling the lavender field nearby. It's so peaceful that you don't want to leave (even me, a city girl, even though I'm usually not amazed by those kind of things).




You can read about my experience in Milan and Figueres x
Nakon raznih peripetija i nenadanog zakašnjenja (izvinjavam se) dolazimo do Provanse, regije na jugu Francuske koja miriše na lavandu i koju zapljuskuje najplavlje more na svetu (ovo "najplavlje" mi čudno zvuči, je l' to prava reč?? Mada i ako nije...... sad jeste).
L'isle sur la Sorgue
Mi smo bili smešteni u gradiću L'isle sur la Sorgue (u redu je, ni ja ne umem da to izgovorim), punom kanala (zovu ga još i provansalska Venecija), vodenica, restorana i ljudi. Iako je to jako malo mesto, daleko je od mrtvog i monotonog; pogotovo nedeljom kada se organizuje Nedeljna pijaca na kojoj se skupe ljudi iz raznih okolnih mesta da bi obogatili svoj orman, frižider i policu sa začinima (ili kristalima). Pošto smo ipak, jelte, u Provansi, postoji veliki izbor proizvoda od lavande, od sapuna i ulja do meda (probala sam ga, ne primećujem neku veliku razliku, ali zato kozmetika miriše predivno).
Kad smo došli, otkrili smo da se na trgu ispod našeg prozora tih dana organizuje neka proslava, sa sve paradama i voditeljem programa koji je vrlo posvećeno i glasno vodio program sve do kasno uveče. Meni je bilo zabavno što smo u centru dešavanja a ne moramo čak ni da izlazimo iz apartmana, mada mi je u 3 ujutru entuzijazam malo popustio. Voditelju i ostatku ekipe koji je bio tamo nije.
Streets of Orange
Odatle smo pravili izlete svaki dan. Svi do jednog grada su preslatki, sa kućama koje su ili kamene ili u raznim bojama i sa prozorima takođe ofarbanim u jarke boje, cvećem, trgom na kom se svira klasična muzika koja se čuje u celom centru, ponekad i sa predivnim rimskim amfiteatrom u kom se organizuju opere i predstave (Oranž i Arl).
Arles

Orange

Gordes
U Avinjon smo, vrlo pametno, otišli u podne, a jako sunce i kamen nisu baš najprijatnija kombinacija. Ako zanemarimo kukanje zbog vrućina, jako je zanimljivo mesto, pre svega istorijski; nakon što je papstvo u XIV veku pobeglo iz ratom zahvaćene Italije, svoje sedište su smestili upravo u Avinjon. Park oko papske palate ima divan pogled, puno zelenila (što se za ostatak grada ne može reći) i jako je prijatno provoditi vreme tamo i odmarati se; podseća me na Boboli vrtove u Firenci.
U Avinjonu je i Petrarka prvi put ugledao svoju Lauru.
Avignon

Avignon
Još jedno od interesantnih mesta koje smo posetili je manastir u čijem sklopu se nalazila duševna bolnica gde je bio Vinsent van Gog, a sada je tamo muzej. Na tom mestu je naslikao veliki broj slika, između ostalog i čuvenu Zvezdanu noć. Ne znam kakve asocijacije u vama budi ovo "duševna bolnica" ali pretpostavljam da su barem donekle negativne. Pogrešno.
To mesto je predivno. Okruženo je prirodom, čuju se ptice i bubice, oseća se miris malog polja lavande sa druge strane manastira i odiše tolikim mirom da ne želite da odete odande (čak i ja, potpuno gradsko dete, iako se inače ne oduševljavam takvim stvarima).

Inside of the monastery



 Možete pogledati moje utiske iz Milana i Figueresa x

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26 comments

  1. InmaAugust 30, 2017 at 6:32 PM

    Thanks for bringing L'isle sur la Sorgue to my attention! I had no idea such a place existed but it is now on my radar :)

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  2. nattsjourneyAugust 30, 2017 at 9:55 PM

    Dont worry dont think il be able to pronounce it either. Never knew thisnplace exisited. its defo added to my travel list now. great but interesting post

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  3. DadaAugust 30, 2017 at 10:34 PM

    Sooo jelous! I have always to explore that area! Especially for the lavander field! I dont know why we never get there and its only 6 hours drive from here!

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    Replies
    1. DunjaAugust 31, 2017 at 7:44 PM

      Ahh you definitely should! But I think it's better to go earlier than we went (July/August) because lavender's color is brighter and prettier at that time :)

      Delete
  4. Ana De-JesusAugust 30, 2017 at 10:42 PM

    Oh I love a Sunday market and I can imagine the Provence version being a lot of fun with all its spices and homemade goods. I also like the look of the lavender fields as well they are beautiful x

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  5. TaylorAugust 31, 2017 at 12:04 AM

    gosh france is so beautiful! I am obsessed! Lovely photos!

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  6. JhilmilAugust 31, 2017 at 2:47 AM

    Quite interesting, never heard of this area, but in your photos it looks so beautiful. lavender fields are awesome.

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    Replies
    1. DunjaAugust 31, 2017 at 7:45 PM

      It's quite famous here in Europe :) Thank you!

      Delete
  7. kalliaseverydaytalksAugust 31, 2017 at 6:55 AM

    wow!this destination just got itself in my bucket list! look at all that lavender at the market! So picturesque, so cute! Great looking town!

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  8. MonicaAugust 31, 2017 at 10:00 AM

    Wow, nice photos and beautiful places!

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  9. Anjali ChawlaAugust 31, 2017 at 3:03 PM

    L'isle sur la Sorgue seems like a stunner. And it being called the Provence's Venice makes me visit this place now. I love being close to the nature and can imagine how it feels surrounded by nature, listening to birds and smelling the lavenders :)

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    Replies
    1. DunjaAugust 31, 2017 at 7:46 PM

      You would love this whole area! It's absolutely beautiful :)

      Delete
  10. London MummaAugust 31, 2017 at 6:14 PM

    So gad to hear you had a beautiful time in Provence. I've never been and your pictures do it justice and makes me more envious.

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    Replies
    1. DunjaAugust 31, 2017 at 7:46 PM

      Thank you! Hope you'll have a chance to visit it soon xx

      Delete
  11. HelenAugust 31, 2017 at 8:41 PM

    Provence looks so beautiful and it sounds like you had an amazing time there. I love the different coloured houses and would love to see the asylum. It sounds such a peaceful place.

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  12. Anastasia GolovkoSeptember 1, 2017 at 8:42 AM

    Wonderful images and I enjoyed your writing. The place seems serene and really refreshing, with a different landscape and colors that I am use to. Thanks.

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  13. KavitaSeptember 1, 2017 at 9:59 AM

    Well famous place but i never heard it. Camera shots are beautiful like the place.

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  14. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2017 at 6:39 PM

    One of my favorite things to do on the weekends is visit the farmer's market here in NYC. The Provence market sounds like it would be an amazing place to check out!

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  15. BeccaSeptember 1, 2017 at 7:30 PM

    I used to spend all my summers in Provence when I was a teen, I loved it! I used to stay with my french penfriend's family, and would go to the beach, cliff jumping, hang out with friends at malls etc. It really helped improve my french x

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  16. David ElliottSeptember 1, 2017 at 7:48 PM

    Provence just looks so beautiful. I definitely would love to visit at some point. I really need to get out to France as soon as possible. My boss is going there now and I'm jealous.

    ReplyDelete

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