In August we went back to the South France for our regular summer holiday. We stayed at a fantastic holiday village near Mallemort in Provence. It was hot, smokey, sporty, foody and great fun.
Pont Royal en Provence
The facilities at the village were great. Good accommodation, restaurants, pools, sports, activities
and entertainment. We've stayed in Eurocamp caravans before and this had the same fun atmosphere.
We switched from Eurocamp to this kind of village because we needed more room. And we certainly
got it at Pont Royal. Our house was big, comfortable, well-equipped and had a great view over the Durance
towards the Luberon.
We got involved in lots of the activities. John and Rachel played Petanques in the square and
even won a few games. Morning and evening activities were definitely the way to go as the temperature
was over 35°C every day and over 40°C on a couple of days.
Anne's brother Anthony, sister Mary and her partner John were staying at the village hotel. We caught
this great sunset from their patio.
We were close to the village of Mallemort. Like many local villages it sat on a small hill. At the
top was an attractive church and some castle ruins.
On the edge of Mallemort you can get another great view of the Durance and the Luberon hills.
Out and About
One of our first trips out was to St-Rémy de Provence. The town has some unique Roman ruins and
an area of narrow shopping streets.
We also went on a tour round the Luberon villages of Bonnieux, Apt, Roussillon, Gordes, Sénanque,
Menerbes, St-Saturnin-lès-Apt and many others. The views were breath-taking, the villages were
welcoming, and the cafes and restaurants were marvellous. This picture is of a clock tower in
Roussillon.
Roussillon is known for the red cliffs that are quarried for ochre. We got a great view from the
top of the village.
We dropped into Les Baux, but it turned out to be a bit of a tourist trap. Nice looking old buildings
filled with souvenir shops and over priced food.
But the nearby golf course was great. It had 9 varied holes in a beautiful mountain setting. The
professional was really helpful and suggested other courses nearby.
We visited Salon de Provence one evening. It's a lively modern town with the old Chàteau
de l'Emperi near the centre.
We went to Avignon early one morning to play golf. It was a nice little course near the airport.
Our trip to Avignon took in the old pope's palace. It you're looking for a break on a hot day
we can recommend the hillside garden next to the palace.
We had a very nice lunch in one of the main squares. Open air lunches are one of the
great parts of a holiday in France.
And we had another at a fantastic restaurant in Aix-en-Provence. Unfortunately we can't
remember the name of the place and can't pass on the tip.
We also went for a trip down to the rocky coast east of Marseilles. We started out at the small
harbour town of La Ciotat.
And the drove along the high coast road to Cassis. If you go there we recommend the park and ride
scheme.
Friends and Family
For the first part of the holiday we were joined by Anne's brother Anthony, sister Mary and her
partner John. Anne like this picture, but I'm not sure the Rachel will be so happy that it's on the site.
Did we mention that we love sitting in a square eating a good meal. Well this one was in the middle
of Salon de Provence.
Here we are at Cap Canaille. James looks pretty unhappy as the day before he fell over a barrier
at the multi-sport area while we were playing basketball. The side of his face you can't see is
covered in gauze pads and tape.
Rachel hooked up with some other girls and had some great fun.
We finished the holiday with a fabulous dinner at a nearby hotel. Everything was perfect - except
being dive-bombed by a huge wasp at one point.
One the way to the plane home we went down to Marseilles and met up with some friends.
James got to tick off another famous skate park at the Prado beach. For a couple of euros you can park
right next to the beach and the skate park. We recommend a visit.
A final tip is not to drive to the South of France. We took this shot just before we left Prado beach for
the airport. Five hours later we were back home.
The summer of 2003 was extremely hot in France and fires were a big problem. In the first week a fire
came to the edge of the golf course the village was nearly evacuated.
In all there were four fires in the area. The biggest was very close but luckily the
wind was blowing it away from the village.
A fleet of four water bombing airplanes came over the village several times dropping water on the fire.
And three helicopters with buckets picked up water in a nearby canal to drop on the flames.