April 27, 2019 L'Isle-Sur-Sorgue

Many moons ago I met Alexandrine and Gérard when I brought students to St. Étienne for an exchange program with one of their high schools. My students stayed with French students and their families. Later, these French students came to Rochester, MN, where I was teaching at John Marshall High School. When we knew we were coming here, I contacted Alexandrine to see if we could meet since we would be only 3 hours apart.

The result, after several email conversations, was a week-end visit with them staying in our little apartment. That apartment is becoming very useful!

Gérard on the balcony outside the apartment upstairs

They arrived Saturday morning and we discussed our planned weekend itinerary. Our targets were L'Isle-Sur-Sorgue, Gordes, Sénanque, and Fontaine de Vaucluse. With dinners out on Saturday and Sunday.

Today's plan is L'Isle-Sur-Sorgue.

The Sorgue is a large river in this area, instrumental in forming the character of the city. Originally an island in the middle of marshlands. the swamps were eventually drained into canals, earning it the nickname of "Venice of the Comtat". Fishing was an early industry and Isle fishermen had exclusive fishing rights for the Sorgue.

One of the canals controlling the flow of the Sorgue river through the town. Not deep, but the water is flowing well.

With canals in place, water wheels could be built to power industry, the first being flour mills in the 12th century. In later centuries the wool and silk industries became dominant peaking at 62 water driven mills in the 19th century. There are still 14 waterwheels on the canals today (and one working woolen mill, no longer waterwheel powered) and it is this tour of town that we will take.

Gérard and Alexandrine pose in front of a water wheel. Behind them is a canal. Small bridges as wide as a door allow access from the houses behind to the street.

Like any long-lasting medieval city, L'Isle-Sur-Sorgue was originally surrounded by walls and gates. Only one gate exists today.

remaining tower and gate

The church is a work of the Jesuits, Alexandrine tells me. Very spare and severe on the outside,

front of Collegiale de Notre Dame des Anges

but gilded in Italian baroque on the inside.

looking down the nave

17th century baroque painting, gilding, statues, and reliefs are everywhere

the high altar

close up of left side of the high altar with angel of the altar and statues behind

And there's a statue of Joan of Arc, a favorite French saint, naturellement. 

Who else but Jeanne d'Arc?

A wedding is imminent and last minute decorations are being added to the altar and the bridal couple's chairs outside the main altar.

flowers and candle for the wedding glow in the late afternoon sun

chairs for bride and groom are decorated and placed in front of the altar

The entire wedding party and guests arrive together, walking from where ever they have parked.

the wedding party and guests arrive. Here there are no worries about seeing the bride in her gown before the wedding.

We moved through the town following the guided tour of the waterwheels. Walking along the canals was a pleasurable, calm and refreshing afternoon activity on this lovely, warm, sunny day.

water wheel on a canal in l'Isle-Sur-Sorgue

Some water wheels were turning,

this water wheel was turning - can you see the drops of water falling off? Hard to capture in a still photo.

Others were not.

Another of the 14 windmills on the tour

We saw some delightful sights along the way.

Mama duck and her babies.

A game of pétanque - small metal balls; played similarly to bocci ball

seen along the canal

Back to the center of town, we stopped for some ice cream before moseying down the street to have a quick peak in an antiques mall before heading back to the car.

Lynn, Clark, Judy, Gérard, Janis, and Alexandrine at the café

This café has been here a long time, as we found it in an historic photo

I stayed at the bridge enjoying the view of the river.

Always tourists block your view - oh, wait! This is Janis and Clark. Never mind.

View at the bridge

The mall had a spacious park in its center.

Judy in the antique mall. Store fronts lined both sides of this mall. I didn't ask how big it really was.

And the central city is much more open and spacious today than it would have been in medieval times with only a few narrow alleys remaining as reminders of the city's medieval past. In its place are many restaurants and gift shops as this city attracts lovers of antiques and bric à brac the world over. Twice annually, there are international antique markets in the town. The rest of the year, there are antique markets every weekend. People come from far and wide to search for just the right antique to complete their collection. I know this will break Chuck Bowen's heart, but I refused to go to the spring international antiques fair because it would be impossible to park, to move, or even to breathe in that town on that weekend. Sorry, Chuck.

On our way home, we stopped at a small town called Le Thor, another small village along the Sorgue River. We only planned to visit the church as it was already 5 pm and our dinner reservations were at 8 pm.

Notre-Dame-du-Lac in Le Thor

Another walled village, with parts of the wall and a gate still intact, its church, completed in 1202, is romanesque, but with the very first hints of gothic visible in the construction of its nave. As such, it marks the transition that was occurring at this period of time.

When we arrived, we found that a concert by a chorale from Avignon had just been completed and several people remained cleaning up. (Lucky for us or the church would likely have been locked.) We spoke to a gentleman who gave us some basic information about the church and then turned us over to his wife who is clearly a docent of this church.

The lady in the white shawl is the enthusiastic docent we had the luck to meet. She knew everything about this church and shared it eagerly, giving us almost an hour of her time. We are grateful for her willingness to show us this gem.

She gave us an inside and outside tour of this national monument, barely damaged in the wars over time, and clearly a source of pride to this French woman.

Romanesque with a cupola over the nave/transept crossing and a traditionally romanesque apse

original doors

the Sorgue flows on the north side of the church (it would be on
the right in this photo

The church has no windows on the north side as it once was part of the city's protective outer ring. The Sorgue flowing along this side provided additional protection in the form of a natural moat.









In all, we spent an hour with this enthusiastic lady and were shown all sorts of interesting details.

The engraved characters are the marks of the stone carvers who would place their mark on each piece of stone the shaped from the quarry. It was how they were paid.

A knight rides past an enemy who has been able to hide from him.

the bell tower was added much later and is a bit small for the size of the church. From here, one sees that the church is typically romanesque, but with the beginnings of decorations that hint also at the coming gothic style.

Now, after 6 pm, we needed to hurry home to get ready for our dinner at our local brasserie/restaurant, Le Pressoir. Our reservation is for 8 pm, civilized time in France, apparently. When we arrive at a restaurant before 7, it is sometimes not open yet.

The menu here includes pizzas and calzones, but also dinners both à la carte and as part of a 2- or 3-course meal (also called a menu). It's important to know that "Entrées" are first courses; "Plats" is the word meaning plate and is the main part of the meal; and of course, "Désserts" needs no further explanation. We all ordered à la carte and most had a plat + dessert, while a couple had pizza or calzone.

Judy's pizza provençal

Dave's calzone was huge

my medallions of pork in a honey-wine glaze, ratatouille, and french fries

By the time we walk back home after dinner, it is nearing 10 pm. Quick good-nights and bed as we have a full day of touring tomorrow. Bonne nuit! Dors bien!