We arrived at the destination point and reason for our trip, Nick O'Connell's travel writing course in the diminutive village of Vaison-la-Romaine, and, speaking for myself, without expectation. Let the sticks fall where they may, I was ready for whatever adventures that place had in store for us.
An excerpt from my finished written piece (anyone know a magazine publisher??):
I’d ventured to Vaison-la-Romaine, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France, to permit the timelessness of this place to instill calm, to allow its paths to draw me through them without purpose or expectation... A leisurely breakfast in Hostellerie le Beffroi’s outdoor garden terrace sucked me in like a Calgon-bath ad. Sun-speckled pebbles peeped out from sizeable leafy tree shadows, an oval hoop of short hedging corralled rose plantings, wall-crawling vines edged up vertical heights created movement where there was none apparent. I chose a round table by the low stone wall overlooking the expansive lower town and pulled out a chair. The nearby church belfry, with its large, iron-numbered, ebony-outlined clock face, was a convenient diving base for birds jumping out, nose diving, chasing one another and returning again. I sat entranced, sipping that delicious, perfectly prepared café au lait, nibbling on a chocolate croissant, fresh bread with apricot jam, sliced cheese, and prosciutto, and contemplating my days ahead...
Strolling through the medieval Upper Town evokes a long history with each footstep on the worn cobblestoned paths. The way is littered with period and cultural curlicues: flower drenched courtyards beckon beyond wrought iron gates; time honored shutters disclose peeling faded paint; raspberry-magenta colored Jupiter’s Beard nudged into wall crevices pop deliciously towards the sunlight; meandering twist-and-turn walkways; jutting roofline angles splice cerulean blue sky...
Vaison-la-Romaine’s compact size allows me to find treasures wherever I stroll and on the edge of the town’s main core area are the notable remains from its nearly two thousand year old Gallo-Roman inhabitants...A vertical labyrinth of mystery unfolds with each zigzag turn...Black and white photographs...are the result of a 2008 exposition...mur-murées (wall stories or murals) called "Des Pierres et Des Hommes" (Stone and Men) sponsored by the ‘Association Pour la Protection de la Haute-Ville de Vaison’. These photographs depict and recognize the people who live or have lived in this upper village but more than that, challenge the viewer to "open the door of your imagination and go back a few days, a few months, a few centuries", making a visceral connection through these age-worn stones.
