A second consecutive day of bright sunshine was cause for celebration, even if it started with below-freezing temperatures. We left Lourmarin at 9 a.m., which is too early for the sun to penetrate the Combe de Lourmarin, the winding valley passage between the south side of the mountains to the villages and plateau to the north.
A boulangerie in the hilltop village of Bonnieux was busy, and we picked up a few pastries as we headed down to the plain. Our first stop was the Pont Julien, a stone bridge built by the Romans across the Cavalon river nearly 2,000 years ago. Until the mid-90s, it was still in use by vehicles, but a modern bridge now diverts traffic except for cyclists and pedestrians. We spotted a hunter and his dog walking near the river a few hundred yards away.
We’ll let the photographs tell the story of this day’s drive through ocre-colored Roussillon; the rather spectacular mountaintop village of Gordes, which seems nearly entirely constructed of limestone blocks and rocks; and eventually a stop at the Pont du Gard, the Romanesque aqueduct west of Avignon that was named a world heritage site two decades ago.
We happened to pick the “wrong” side of the river for the best viewing, and that along with the poor sun angle and cold temperatures made it a quick stop. But not to worry; in one week we’ll be in Rome, where world heritage sites are a dime a dozen.
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