Visit a Fountain Inside a Mountain
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
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I arrived in Fontaine, parked my moped and followed the sign towards the fountain path. A thirty-minute hike up a picturesque riverside trail brought me to the mouth of a cave. Inside the cave, which was located at the foot of a 230 meter high cliff, was the beautiful emerald green Vaucluse spring- the biggest of its kind in France and fifth largest in the world. It is the source of the Sorgue River with an annual flow of 630 million cubic meters of water.
Rather than admire it from afar like the other tourists, two men and I decided to descend into it. Protruding from the cliff beside the fountain was a small plank that somewhat resembled a diving platform. Tempting, as it was to jump in, I did not bring my bathing suit and was not sure how I would climb out. So instead I followed the River Sorge down the valley and back to the small village of Fontaine where I grabbed a bite at one of the numerous outdoor cafes overlooking the water. Afterwards I checked out the ancient paper mill. I would have also visited the Museum of the Resistance, the Torture Museum, the Santon Museum and the ruins of the castle of the Bishop of Cavaillon but it was starting to get late and I had to return my moped. Had it not been for the fact that I was freezing more than just my butt off, I would have enjoyed the drive back through the tree lined roads. The trunks of these trees were like nothing I had seen before, their bark resembled camouflage - perhaps they inspired the popular print. I returned the moped then walked to the internet café carefully watching my step to prevent another doggy doo incident. This time I got lucky. For tips on visiting France CLICK HERE
For tips on visiting Europe CLICK HERE For general travel tips on what to pack and how to plan ahead CLICK HERE For tips on travelling on a budget CLICK HERE |
Fontaine De Vaucluse
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Where I Stayed...
Hotel Alizea 38, cours Jean Jaures 84000 Avignon, France Tel: 04 90 82 03 21 Fax: 04 90 27 17 39 contact@hotelalizia.com |
