Rodemack, la Petite Carcassonne Lorraine

Sonndeg, 20 Mäerz.

If you know anything about me and my travels in Francophone Europe, you know that there is nothing that I love better than a picturesque village. Cosmopolitan cities and sweeping seascapes are all fine and dandy, but there is nothing that warms my heart more than a tiny, historic village perched on the side of a cliff or nestled in a quiet valley. And while Europe seems to be full of such lovely little spots, it is the Plus Beaux Villages de France that hold a special place in my heart. So imagine my delight when I discovered that Rodemack, one of France's 153 most beautiful villages, was located just a stone's throw from the Luxembourgish border!

Today we took advantage of a free afternoon -- and dry, if not particularly sunny, weather -- to make the thirty minute drive from Esch-sur-Alzette to Rodemack and see what this little village had to offer.

Sunshine and Surprises in Pérouges

Samedi, 21 juin.

Hallelujah ... the dynamic duo are back!! Molly, my eternal travel buddy, and I reunited this weekend for a few days of cheapskate adventures in Lyon! We originally planned this visit way back when Molly was still looking at a graduate school program at one of the city's universities ... although she's since decided that it's not her cup of tea, we figured that it would still be fun to explore together! We spent yesterday walking around the city and checking out the sights -- the Renaissance neighborhood of Vieux Lyon, the beautiful Basilique de Fourvière, and of course the famous "ONLYLYON" sign! (You might remember some of those sites from my November 2013 trip to Lyon.)

After all our city exploration, we decided that it would be fun to get out of town for the day. There are some beautiful sites within just a few hours of Lyon (including the lake towns of Annecy and Aix-les-Bains), but we decided on Pérouges, a preserved medieval village in the countryside.

 

If the name "Pérouges" sounds strangely familiar to you or if those pictures are bringing on some serious déjà vu, there's a reason ... it was one of the day trips that my mom and I took during her visit to France last fall! (Don't remember? You can refresh your memory here.)

But while Mommy and I visited on a cold and rainy day in November, Molly and I's trip fell on a hot, sunny weekend in June. And let me tell you, that makes ALL the difference. Instead of trudging through the rain and walking around ever-growing puddles along the road from the train station to the medieval town, we took the "scenic route." As if anything around here ISN'T scenic!

Molly's and my path (following the Chemin de l'Aubépin) led us through a neighborhood, around the picturesque étang de l’Aubépin, and past a thicket full of absolutely delicious blackberries. Can you say snack time?!

We would have been happy to lay out in the sun forever ... but we were on a mission! Even with the scenic tour, Pérouges wasn't far away. Before we knew it, we were wandering through the cobblestone streets of one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France.

 

Mommy in Montpellier: Day Trip to Pérouges

Mardi, 19 novembre.

In addition to our day trip to Annecy, we also left Lyon on Sunday afternoon to explore another nearby attraction -- the medieval walled town of Pérouges. I had stumbled across the quaint little village while scouring travel blogs in search of potential day trips from Lyon. It seemed cute enough. And then I found out it was a PBVF.

And as you might have noticed, I have a slight obsession with what are called "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France." (Note: the name PBVF is almost certainly used only by me). These villages, formally recognized as among France's most beautiful and charming, tend to be small, well-preserved towns that -- for me, at least -- fulfill every expectation that you could possibly have of an ideal picturesque French village.

Before coming to Pérouges, I had visited three of these PBVFs: the village of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (which you can read about here) and the towns of Gordes and Beaux-de-Provence (both of which you can read about in this post). I'd had just the best time each and every one of these little towns and loved the idea of exploring yet another with my mom! Besides, neither of us are big "city folks" -- although exploring Lyon was fun, the idea of exploring the Lac d'Annecy or a little village in the countryside was MUCH more appealing.

So after a little bit of Sunday morning exploration in Lyon, we took a regional train to the town of Meximieux. I have yet to find an explanation for the name of this town, which seems to me to combine Mexique and mieux ("better") and have decided it must be inhabited solely by extremely proud Mexican expats. Meximieux was cute, but became decidedly less so as we trudged around it in the rain. After a failed attempt to take what the Pérouges tourism office had deemed a "scenic route" (and what was actually just a really muddy field), we finally got ourselves on track.

It was a relief to finally see signs pointing us in the right direction!

A few more minutes of walking and we were there -- bienvenue à Pérouges! Like I explained before, the town is officially one of France's most beautiful villages. Although the region was first inhabited WAY long ago (we're talking two thousand years before Jesus), the oldest parts of the current village date back to the 12th century. The town was most active between the 15th and 18th centuries, at which time it had up to 1500 inhabitants -- more than it has now! In the 1900s, some of the town's families decided to restore it to its original medieval appearance. If you're interested, you can read more about the town here. For those of you thinking "absolutely no way am I reading more about this place" ... here's a video instead! It's not long and gives a pretty good insight into what it feels like to walk through the village (albeit it on a sunny day in summer, which we most certainly did not experience). Even cooler? This very nifty aeriel tour of the town.

Here we are just inside the city's lower gate, happy to finally have reached our destination! Even though it was still preeeetty damp. (Notice the umbrellas. Also the water coursing down the street.)

 

Carpentras + Cousins

Samedi, 16 novembre.

Considering the weekend I'm about to describe happened just under three weeks ago, I'd say this qualifies as one of my most belated posts yet. It's just that life has been a little bit crazy for the last, well ... long time. I've had assignments and project proposals and trips and it's been difficult to keep up with this blog! But now that I'm enjoying a bit of a lazy weekend, I figure I can go back and pick up where I left off. Or, rather, before where I left off. (October 26, to be exact.)

Before all the adventures in Luxembourg and Belgium, I began my fall break with a short trip to visit my dad's cousin, Cécile, and her family in their vacation home in Provence! (I know, life is hard.) I took the train from Montpellier to Nimes to meet up with my cousins, whose house in Carpentras isn't far from the city. It was my first solo train trip since arriving in France and I was more than a little nervous that I'd get to Nimes, be unable to find them, and be forced to spend the rest of my days begging for food outside the old amphitheatre. (I have a good imagination, what can I say?) Luckily, I had no trouble finding the Harié family: my dad's cousin Cécile, her husband Jean-Claude, and their two youngest children, Raphael and Anne-Sophie.

They had never been to Nimes so in a very weird role reversal, I -- with two previous visits to the city under my belt -- became an impromptu tour guide. ("So... if I remember correctly, the Arenes are this way!") It was a struggle to remember what our tour guides had told us during my last visit to the city. ("This is the Palais du Justice. There's something important about the architecture at the top... but I don't remember what it is...")

Loved seeing the Maison Carrée sans its typical crowds!

Although I was far from a good tour guide, I had a lot of fun walking around with them. As opposed to my last tour of Nimes, during which we stumbled from historic site to historic site, this was much more relaxed. Sure, we peeked at the arenas and the Maison Carrée, but most of our time was spent just walking around. We stopped in at loads of little stores -- sometimes to look for something to buy, sometimes to window shop, and sometimes just because Cécile wanted to introduce me to some of France's famous marques. She was surprised how many brands I hadn't heard of: I had to explain that I'm in the habit of buying discount soup, not foie gras!

After a little bit of adventuring in Nimes, we headed "home" to Carpentras, where another cousin (Olivier, who is my age) was waiting. The city itself is relatively small and despite its history (like Marseille, it's been around since the Greeks) and great location in Provence, it's not exactly a tourist hub. In fact, when I first told my host family I'd be spending the first few days of my fall break there, they didn't understand.  "But ... what are you going to do there?" they asked. In fact, not much: most of our adventures were a little drive away from the city itself. My only real exposure to Carpentras was on Sunday morning, when cousin Cécile and I went downtown to go to Mass and run errands. And you know what? I really did like it! Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the cathedral or the city center. (But if you're curious, try Googling "Carpentras centre ville" or "Carpentras cathedrale" -- I'm sure you'll find some great pictures.

I really had no idea what to expect from their vacation home; I remembered seeing some pictures when they had visited us, but really had no idea what it would look like. Let me just say ... WOW. The house was absolutely beautiful -- ancient and rustic and charming in that way that only the South of France can be. Although I had been expecting a tiny cottage, the house actually had three floors -- all connected, of course, by the most picturesque ancient stone staircases you ever did see. My room (because sharing rooms is so very not French) was at the top of the house, with windows that overlooked the backyard and the pool. However, I was a bigger fan of the rustic sloping ceilings!

 

Even the bathroom sink was perfect!

I'd been in the house about ten minutes before I fell totally in love. I'd been telling the cousins about my plans to travel to Luxembourg and Belgium, but suddenly the idea of spending the rest of my life in a provencal cottage in Carpentras sounded much more appealing.

I Left my Heart with St. Guilhem

Mercredi, 4 septembre.

So I know it's been a little while since Sunday, but time absolutely flies here. We've been crazy busy this week, between choosing classes and giving oral presentations and going out to bars for trivia night (before preparing for said oral presentations ... whoooooops). Still, even though I'm absolutely exhausted by the time I fall asleep each night, I wouldn't trade the adventures we've been having for the world!

I couldn't possibly fit all my pictures from Saturday in one post, so here are some photos and fun facts about MY NEW FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD, aka the town of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.

It's a tiny commune about 45 minutes away from Montpellier (but still in the same department) and it looks like it just stepped out of a Paramount picture. Molly and I wandered through the streets in an absolute daze, snapping photos of every doorway and winding side street because everything we passed was more incredible than the next. Because our first stop (at la Grotte de Camouse) hadn't taken very long, we had a few hours to explore the town and eat lunch.