Sunshine, must be Provence.

It was always the plan to make a long journey to Provence, we have seen some of the central Rhone before but we have never stopped around Avignon. Our farmhouse is just outside Saint Remy de Provence where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last years at the hospital Saint Paul de Masole, and where he painted some of his most famous work. We arrived in the late afternoon, in time to drive up Les Alpilles to the town of Les Baux, a town partially hewn out of the rock and perched on top of the hill with stunning views to the south. The chateau has been in the family of the Princes of Monaco for many years and it is no wonder that this was one of Princess Grace's favourite places. You often hear that the light in Provence is one of the things which attracts artists and we got our first feel for it as the setting sun lit up this quaint little church.

The following day was spent around Arles, Beaucaire and Uzes in the west. There is a lot of history in Arles with the old theatre, Arena, museums and Espace Van Gogh, at the hospital where he stayed. However there is not much to see inside other than the courtyard where he painted. We much preferred St Paul de Masole which was tastefully decorated with many large scale reproductions and where you could walk around the hospital and gardens and in the hills around to see many of the scenes which he painted. We were struck by how non-descript many of the subjects were and it shows the genius of the man that he could look at something which most people would probably not give a second glance and create a masterpiece from it. His room in the hospital.

While the towns south of and including Avignon are interesting the landscape is generally flat and not that exciting, particularly when one has heard so much about Provence. Today we set off to the Luberon and it was not long before we understood why some people make a complete lifestyle change to come and live here, although that is not on our agenda. There are many pretty towns set up in the hills and we have only seen a few but there are 2 which typify this region and although they could not be more different from each other they are literally just a few miles apart.

Gordes sits majestically in the foothills of the Monts de Vaucluse and is as stunning to look out from as it is to look up at, all the light stone houses with their coloured shutters encourage a lot of photography. We found a small bar for coffee which did not look like much from the entrance but at the other end was a terrace with seating for 8 which overlooked the valley. The panorama over the valley with the multitude of colours of trees, fields and the mountains beyond summed up Provence in one. In contrast are the ochre rocks and buildings of Rousillon, a stone's throw away in distance but like being on a different planet in feel, as if it had been transported from Arizona. Totally different but also stunning.

That's enough for one day!