Nos Cartes Postales de Carpentras!

#OurPostcardsfromCarpentras

We are settled in at our new accommodation for the balance of our stay in France.

We are located in a sizeable village "Sarrians" which has many villages, towns and Provençal cities all within an easy driving distance from ten minutes to an hour away.

And oh did I mention that "Mont Ventoux" (the Windy Mountain) is always lurking around every corner, it is clearly visible from our bathroom window and Monsieur Honey has a strong, crazy desire to go to the top!

It has an elevation of 1,912 meters/ 6,273 feet at it's summit and is the largest mountain in Provence.

He has a personal DVD recording in his memory vault of the "Tour de France" cyclists climbing the mountain and the amazing views,

You'll have to come back to see if this happens! Any bets?

If you haven't figured out what kind of travellers we are yet ... we like to do a mix of touristy things but are more relaxed about it; as in there are very few must see sites that are on our list!

We don't have a laid out/ chocked full planned out itinerary but still manage to see many historical sites, beautiful gardens plus lots of off the beaten path places.

We like to wander, see what surprises lie around the next corner or behind that gate, meeting new people and of course enjoy some good food and wine. 

And ... we love the café scene, sipping a coffee in the morning or a cold glass of rosé in the afternoon watching the goings on around us!

Saturday we checked out Carpentras the nearest city to us ... only nine kilometres away.

Here we had just one of our kind of days.

Surprise sculpture in the museum garden was our first discovery as we walked into the town center.

The tourist office is located in the former "Dominican Convent" ... where there was an exhibition about the railroad history in Carpentras. 

With a map of the town in hand we were ready for our day of adventure.

                                                  

        

The town has many fountains ... 

The Hotel-Dieu (former Hospital) constructed in the mid seventeen hundreds. 

The facade is dominated by these ornamental pots. 

                      

Some entertainment on the Church steps.

She was singing and having her photos taken!

The Roman Arch ... Arc de Triomphe 

The Post Office ... stunning architecture built between 1909 and 1911, architect Léopold Busquet.

The Campanile / Bell Tower ...

The glassed in shopping street ...

                      

A "Café" break in front of the "Fountain of the Angel" overlooking the Hotel de Ville. 

This fountain was originally built in 1731, destroyed in 1904 and reconstructed in 2004.

It was a great spot for some people watching as many weddings were taking place at the Town Hall.

This looks like a good place for lunch ... what no outside Café / terrace on the street?

Beautiful interior courtyard ... a table for two please! 

Note the place did fill up ... I'm just careful about taking photos with people in them.

Perfect garden setting with views of the bell tower ...

                            

Another tasty lunch was enjoyed!

And that's how we spent our day in Carpentras ...