I know a little place


 

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Gourdon

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"The Earth is made of God's love and the same green cheese as the moon." Because each of us has the equivalent of a Google Translate app in our head, this is what I heard when a bus driver told me no buses go to Gourdon and that I would need a car to visit the mountaintop village. The thing is, Gourdon predates Roman times and the automobile is only a hundred years old. A puzzle piece is missing. We made a deal that he would take me to the Pont du Loup stop on the D2210 road between Vence and Grasse and I'll take it from there. The result was an unforgettable day on Le Chemin du Paradis . What a bus stop it is. Appropriately enough, the Path to Paradise is a difficult one. Even with Fahrenheit temps in the high 50s you will soak through at least one shirt and find yourself, hands on hips, taking a breather every couple hundred meters. At least three pillars that held up the old Chemins de fer de Provence railway are still standing here. Honestly, it's not too lat...
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Hiking to St. Paul de Vence

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To get a lay of the countryside, it seemed wise to hike the sodden slopes on either side of the Malvan River (it rained last night) with the object of reaching St. Paul de Vence, which is near the top of every "France's Prettiest Towns" list ever devised.  The trek begins in Vence by finding the 17th-century Chapelle Sainte-Anne and walking downhill. In about a half-kilometer, a bridge allows you to cross the river, which is running with some vigor today. The shaded path veers sharply uphill here. To gain a little distance, it seems wise to take a right at this navigation sign, called a balise . You can still get to St. Paul and get a few extra steps in. When you reach the paved road, take a left. There is an unnerving amount of traffic on these narrow country lanes, and while it is a good practice to walk on the left side of the road facing traffic, it is a terrible idea when the road curves to the left because oncoming vehicles will have almost no time to adjust to you...
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France takes a holiday

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Every church bell in Vence pealed for 30 minutes Friday morning starting at 10:35, presumably in a call to Mass on All Saints' Day. Most businesses are closed while families spruce up their ancestors' gravesites or, more likely, Netflix the day away. The analagous observance in Latin America and the American Southwest would be Dia de los Muertos , though my sense is that the latter is more celebratory (death is just as beautiful as life, etc.) Anyway, the bedrock tenet of touristing in France is unchanged: First thing in the morning, before you brush your teeth, hie thee to the nearest boulangerie and get a baguette or two, because when you get home at 6 p.m., they will all be gone and you will be stuck with some gross multigrain brick at the supermarket that no one wants. Boulangerie baguette prices in Vence currently hover at 1.10e ― unchanged since this tourist last visited France six years ago. Boulangerie du Peyra was open today and its baguettes have the cratered, irregul...
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