After going to France three times in the year 2000 — Paris in January for three or four nights; Paris again in July for three or four nights; and then Vouvray, Reims (Champagne), Rouen (Normandy), and Paris for three weeks — we returned in June 2001. We stayed in that same gîte in Vouvray for two weeks that month. We toured around with our old friend Cheryl (Sue's cousin) from California for a week, and then with our friend CHM for the second week. I've already described the gîte in Vouvray, so I'll move on.
We didn't return to France until September 2001. That year, we almost went to spend a week in New York City instead, but after checking prices for NYC vacation rentals we decided to go to Provence instead. Sue again decided to come with us. We rented the gîte in the photos here for a two week stay. It was in the town of Cavaillon, famous for its melons and less than 15 miles SW of Avignon and about 30 miles NE of Aix-en-Provence.
Above is a photo of the back of the gîte —the north side. For part of the time we were there, the fierce, frigid Mistral wind blew down from the north, buffeting that side of the house. It was so windy that we were afraid to use the big stone barbecue grill, which you can see in the photo below — we thought we might start a fire in the dry grass and brush that surrounded the house.
By the time we arrived in Cavaillon, I had developed a really bad sore throat. I came with a high fever, and I was out of commission for three or four days that first week. This is where we were on September 11, 2001, when the World Trade center in New York was attacked... As you can probably tell, the Cavaillon gîte was a big, spacious house. I spent a lot of time inside there, with my fever and sore throat, watching news from the U.S. on French TV all day, wondering how and when we would ever get back to California. Walt and Sue were able to go out on day trips to see Provence, so their vacation wasn't ruined. Walt and I had spent two weeks in Provence in 1993, so he knew his way around. And I had already spent six months in Provence in 1970, when I was a student.
Hope you recovered enough to enjoy the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteI had recovered enough to go out again by the following Friday. The sore throat and fever started the previous Sunday.
DeleteAttractive looking gite. What is the ‘season’ for the mistral, fall and winter? How long does it last?
ReplyDeleteIt blows harder and colder in winter, but it blows on average 130 days a year, from 40 t0 75 miles an hour.
DeleteThat's a high wind! Your gite looks lovely. I like the vine porte cochere.
DeleteI don't remember the Mistral the summer that I spent in Montpellier, but I do remember a couple of days of it once on an April visit. We flew to Denver on 9/13/2001 on one of the first flights out after 9/11. We had planned a trip and went. The Atlanta airport was just about empty. The whole thing was surreal-like this pandemic.
ReplyDeleteHi Evelyn. I don't think the Mistral blows that far west of the Rhône Valley. The Tramontane would be the Mistral equivalent in the Montpellier region. Like Mistral it is a cold north wind.
DeleteWow, good thing that you already had the gîte, and a place to stay, for a while, until flights were allowed back into the U.S. Betsy and Doug were scheduled to return on a flight during the time when flights were not allowed in, and had to impose on friends in Zurich to stay at their small apartment with them.
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