source: colorsofprovence.comAlthough I don’t recommend watching the film, “Das Parfum”,for the story, half of the movie takes place in Grasse and gives one a good idea of the landscape we saw last week -minus the blooming lavender, it was harvested in early June. Still Grasse is too far east (near the Italian border) from where we stayed, so we didn’t visit the town.

We arrived at Gesela’s around 7 pm and enjoyed an apéritif, namely Pastis, which is an anise-based drink common in the Provence. We also met Alex’s brother and his brother’s girlfriend. Yes, ironic that both brothers would vacation at the same time and in the same small town, nevertheless, a long story. They stayed in Gesela’s guesthouse while we bunked in Gesela’s spare bedroom.
siebenschläfter or fat dormouseGesela is Alex’s 70-year old cousin and truth be told, she doesn’t act ‘old’, whatever that means. She’s full of energy, engaging, and a wonderful hostess. She gave us plenty of tips of what to see and where to park. As the five of us ate dinner on the front porch under the growing full moon, she spoke of the Siebenschläfer, or edible dormice, who live in the trees and reek havoc during the night. She is not a fan of Siebenschläfers and I have to admit the sounds they made at night left me a little paranoid too.

the CalanqueWe stayed with Gesela for four nights and visited many of the small towns, such as, Cassis, Sault, Gordes, Roussillon, Tarascon, and Beaucaire. We also saw the Roman aqueduct, Pont-du-Gard, and the Palace of the Popes in Avignon. We were sure not to miss the beaches on the Mediterranean with a stop at Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer and hike over the Calanque between Marseille and Cassis. I hope to go into short detail on our adventures in a little while…