I wanted my first visit to France to be something special and it certainly turned out to be exactly that. My two friends and I decided to take three weeks to discover La Vie En Rose! We spent five days in Paris, the City of Lights, then went by train to Avignon in Provence, where we picked up our rental car and spent a week in a house we rented outside of Gordes. At the end of that week, we traveled by car to Burgundy to our second rental house in the little village of St. Romaine, outside of Beaune.

In Paris, we chose to stay in a hotel on the Ile St. Louis, the small island next to the Ile de la Cite, the home of Notre Dame. Our hotel, the Hotel De Lutece, is located on the main street of this little island at 65 rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Ile. This is a charming location and is an oasis of tranquillity in the heart of Paris. The writer Louis-Sebastien Mercier observed two centuries ago "the island seems to have escaped the great corruption of the city, which has not reached here yet." It has a village-like atmosphere, with treelined quays and peaceful streets of elegant gray stone mansions, built in the 17th century as an annex to the fashionable Marais district. The main street just outside our hotel has many luxury shops and restaurants, including the famous ice cream shop of Maison Berthillon. That was convenient!

While in Paris, we traveled mainly on the Metro, which was a convenient and inexpensive way to get around. We bought a "carnet" of ten tickets, which costs the same as five tickets if bought individually. These tickets can also be used on the RER, the suburban rail network that passes through the city center. There were two Metro stations within easy walking distance of our hotel. We also used the Batobus, a river shuttle bus that had a nearby stop at Notre Dame. It stops at the Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, the Champs Elysees, the Louvre, the Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame and can be joined at any of these points.

After checking into our hotel and catching our breath, we strolled around the Ile de la Cite and ended up at the Samaritaine department store. We had read that there is a wonderful rooftop promenade here where we could have a refreshing drink and soak up the Paris skyline. We weren't disappointed a bit and even got in a little shopping on our way up to the rooftop.

We had previously been advised (by Rick Steves, no less) to purchase the Paris Museum Pass and had bought these through the internet before even leaving the States. This pass offers unlimited access to more than 65 museums and monuments over a one-, three-, or five-day period and was well worth it. For example, we bypassed long lines at the Louvre and several other crowded sites.

Each morning we went to a nearby brasserie for breakfast, "Le Louis IV," where we would start the day with delicious crepes, pain au chocolat or omelettes and, of course, delicious café au lait. One of our favorite spots to relax, have dinner, and watch the world go by after a day of sightseeing was "Le Lutetia" café on the Quai Bourbon.

We did the usual tourist things, like visiting Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and Sacre Coeur. All the tour busses stop at Notre Dame so we tried to get there early. This cathedral was built on a site considered holy for many centuries, where the Romans had earlier built a temple to Jupiter. It took over 150 years to complete and is today one of the world's most beautiful examples of early Gothic architecture. We had hopes of climbing up into the towers to get a close-up view of the gargoyles but after hearing that there were 387 steps to the top of the north tower, we thought better of it!

We found the archeological crypt (Crypte Archeologique de Notre-Dame de Paris) to be very interesting. This contains remains of the Roman settlement, which were discovered while building an underground parking lot beneath Notre-Dame. In the courtyard outside the front of the cathedral, we found Point Zero, which is the "center" of all of France--all distances are measured from there. Supposedly, if you stand on the brass plaque and twirl around you will return to Paris in the future (sort of like throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain in Rome).

The Louvre is huge, so we followed Rick Steves' Mona Winks tour and were able to see the Winged Victory, Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo among other works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Titian. I was impressed by the Pyramide, designed by the Chinese-American architect Ming Pei, which forms the main entrance to the museum. We relaxed in the Tuileries (Jardin des Tuileries) while enjoying yet another ice cream.

I would have lost my camera at the Arc de Triomphe but for the kindness of a visitor from Spain, who saw our frantic efforts to find it and told us of a security guard finding a camera in that same area. After retrieving it, I vowed to never take it from around my neck no matter how "touristy" it made me look. Again, the steps to the top of the Arc (250 or more) dissuaded us from climbing and the elevator was out of order.

In order to recuperate from our traumatic event, we went to a nearby café and had a vino and planned our next move, which was to find the memorial to Princess Diana. My friend was saddened by the graffiti at the site but there are reportedly plans to erect a more permanent memorial there above the underpass where she was killed.

One day we took the RER out to Versailles, which is 14 miles southwest of Paris, and were disappointed to find that some sort of strike would prevent our being able to enter the buildings. Two decades into his 72-year reign, Louis XIV, the Sun King, decided to adapt his father's modest hunting lodge and weekend retreat into this palace large enough to house some 20,000 courtiers and ministers. Some 30,000 workers toiled on this structure for over 50 years. We did wander around the beautiful grounds, which cover 250 acres. These palace grounds are rigidly planned, with marble-paved courtyards, colonades, urns, sculptures, an orangery, a canal and lakes and ponds in a variety of shapes and sizes dissecting the velvety lawns and orderly flowerbeds. We were able to go into the Petite Trianon, one of the smaller chateaux in the northwest corner of the gardens. Look for the Petite Train if you get tired of walking through the vast grounds and gardens, especially if (like me) you find walking on the stone pavers very uncomfortable.

A visit to the Eiffel Tower was a must, of course. We rode the double-decker glass elevator up to the second floor, where the view of the city below was unforgettable. I was impressed with how large the tower actually is--1,050 feet in height. I later learned that in 1977 a crazy but skillful American pilot succeeded in flying between the legs of the tower. Needless to say, he lost his flying license as a consequence! We took the Batobus back from here to Notre Dame and it was a relaxing way to make our way back to our hotel and favorite watering spot at Le Lutecia.

After missing the train to Giverny (be prepared for long ticket lines at the train stations), we ended up going to Sacre Coeur (Basilique du Sacre-Coeur) on our last rainy day in Paris. We took the funicular up rather than climbing the steep steps to the church. The neo-Byzantine domes, turrets and towers make the church look more like a mosque than a Catholic cathedral but it is definitely unique. The Romans were the first to build a place of worship here high on the hill--a temple dedicated to Mercury. We ended up taking refuge from the cold rain in a warm, cozy Italian restaurant further down on the hill in Montmartre and forgot all about our intention to find the Moulin Rouge.

In my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in Paris is Sainte Chapelle, near Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cite. It was built by Louis IX in order to house a fragment of the Holy Cross and the entire Crown of Thorns, which he had purchased for an outrageous sum. He wanted the building to have the light, lacy aspect of a reliquary, and the result is this bejeweled masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The upper chapel appears to have no walls, with its tall glowing stained glass windows and clusters of slender columns rising to the lofty vaulted ceiling.

We left Paris on a Sunday, taking the new TGV train to Avignon. We discovered upon arriving that this train had started running only a few days before and that some towns had had to build new stations to accommodate them. Avignon's new station is outside of town and those in charge had not yet ironed out all of the kinks--like how to get arriving passengers into town, how to provide rental cars for those expecting to pick up their cars at the station, etc. Let's just say that this was an experience we would not like to repeat. Eventually we got our car and were on the road to Gordes, where we had lined up a rental house for a week through Interhome.

Gordes is a breathtaking perched village in the Luberon region, which stretches 30 miles along a ridge of hills east of Avignon. Much of this area is a French regional national park. Our house was outside of town near the Village des Bories, which are tiny beehive-shaped huts built of overlapping dry stones.

Our house had a wonderful view of the Luberon, two outside terraces where we could sit to relax, eat our meals, write in our journals. The owners were in a house nearby but seldom knocked on our door except to advise us on such things as where the nearest market town was. The first morning it was important for us to stock up on supplies for the week, so we headed for the nearby village of Coustellet for their weekly market day. We made it just in time to take a whirlwind tour of the market and buy fresh tomatoes, a roasted chicken, Roquefort cheese, bread made with olives, olive oil, peaches, bananas, a sort of potato pancake, eggs, wines (of course!), lettuce, carrots and olives--a veritable smorgasbord of delicious tastes! The market was where everyone gathered on Sunday mornings after church to visit with friends and purchase fresh items for their weekly meals.

We also found a little rotisserrie that was open and finished our shopping list there. The man working in the shop was outgoing and funny and we would clap for him when he would decipher our mangled French and find the item we were looking for. The word for the day is "basilique"--basil. This happened to be Fathers' Day and we had planned to go into Gordes and light candles for our fathers in the beautiful old church there.

Each day we would leisurely have our café au lait and decide which market day we would visit. Each village has its designated day for market and each seems to "specialize" in something different. For example, Cavaillon has many stalls with beautiful Provencal fabrics and clothes; St. Remy has beautiful handmade jewelry; Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has antiques.

Isle-sur-la-Sorgue was one of our favorite places; it lies 14 miles east of Avignon. The Sorgue River is a beautiful clear, cold stream and flows through the middle of the small town. The heart of the town lies on the far side of the river, spanned by many footbridges. Not so very long ago, "L'Isle" had dozens of paper-making factories, woolen mills and silk works, all of which depended upon the inexhaustible and inexpensive energy provided by the five arms of the Sorgue ferreting into every corner of the town. There were at one time up to sixty waterwheels throughout the town. Even though they lie inactive today, there are still enough of these waterwheels enveloped in a venerable layer of moss to make this town delightfully picturesque.

Another hill town that we thought was absolutely beautiful is Roussillon, which is located in the Luberon. A huge limestone range, the Montagne du Luberon is one of the most appealing areas of Provence; almost the entire area is designated a regional nature park. Roussillon, built on its famous ochre cliffs, is particularly splendid. Probably quarried long before the town was built, the area provided masons with a pallet of seventeen pure hues to choose from when building their houses. This explains why, on the main square, the frontage of the café is orange on the ground floor rising to pink above while, lower down, a succession of walls shows a whole range of yellow shades, followed by a succession of blue tints and skillful mixtures of whites, yellows, reds and greens.

No visit to Provence would have been complete for us without exploring Chateauneuf-du-Pape--home of my favorite red wine. Here, in the 14th century, the popes of Avignon chose to build a new castle and plant the vineyards from which one of the finest wines of the Cotes du Rhone is produced. Now, almost every doorway in this attractive little town seems to open into a vigneron's cellar. After the Wars of Religion, all that remained of the papal fortress were a few fragments of walls and tower, but the ruins look spectacular and offer magnificent views across to Avignon and the Vaucluse uplands beyond.

Since our house was right down the hill from Gordes, we also enjoyed exploring that hilltown. This village is known for its dry stone huts known as bories and the village that they constitute as well as for its magnificent Renaissance castle. Bories are tiny beehive-shaped huts built of overlapping dry stones. The construction techniques are thought to date back to Neolithic times. These particular bories were inhabited from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. The castle shares the hilltop with a massive church. The village on the hillsides is built of the whitish-grey stone which gives the surrounding countryside its unusual color.

Nearby Gordes we discovered the Lavender Museum, where we learned all about how the lavender is grown, harvested and distilled. Of course, we had to stock up on all sorts of delicious products sold at their boutique!

Also nearby is the Senanque Abbey, which was founded in 1148 by Cistercian monks. During the religious wars in 1544 the monastery was destroyed but was restored in 1854. The monks were expelled in 1903 because of the new laws on religious congregations but again returned in 1926. The abbey is very sparse--they did not want any interference with their prayers to God. The floor of the rugged ravine is lined with clumps of lavender and is absolutely beautiful during the summer months when it is in bloom.

Another hilltown that has a fascinating history was Les Baux. This is one of the strangest places in Provence. The ruined castle and old houses overlook the Val d'Enfer, with its weird rocks--once the haunt of witches and goblins according to legend. In the Middle Ages, Les Baux was home to powerful feudal lords but in 1632 Louis XIII ordered its destruction because it had become a Protestant stronghold. The living village below the ruins has many shops, cafes, a church and museums.

We were sorry to leave our little house in Provence at the end of our week there but were also looking forward to moving on to Burgundy and the little village of St. Romaine, where we had our next house rental. We booked this house through Provence West, as they had more rental choices in this area of France. St. Romaine is very near Beaune, where we had decided would be a good base for our daily trips in this region. We had a little trouble locating this house and were trapped for a short while in a tiny street in Petite St. Romaine! These villages were definitely not built to accommodate anything larger than a horse and/or buggy--which was the mode of transportation when most were settled.

Our village house is on a hill surrounded as far as the eyes can see by green vineyards. The town even has a romantic ruined castle, a bakery, and a wonderful small restaurant, which turned out to be our favorite place to eat in Burgundy.

We began our day trips by going into Beaune, which hosts the most famous wine auction in the world. The Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune, together forming the "golden" Cote d'Or, meet at this historic town. The old center of Beaune is snug within its ramparts and encircling boulevards and is easy to explore on foot. Its indisputable treasure is the Hotel-Dieu, Built in the 14th-16th centuries, it houses the Musee du Vin de Bourgogne. The façade is gothic with multicolored tiles, which are thought to have originated in central Europe. The style became so popular that it spread through Burgundy and eventually came to be considered typical of this province. The hospice was built in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Philippe-le-Bon, Duke of Burgundy.

After the Hundred Years' War, Beaune was suffering from poverty and famine. Rolin founded the hospice and endowed it with an annual income, provided it with its own resources (vines and saltworks) and he hired many artists in its decoration. These vineyards continue to be very valuable and enable the Hotel-Dieu to host the famous wine auction each year.

We had a self-imposed mission to buy mustard from Dijon so trekked to that town on the following day. Dijon is the ancient capital of Burgundy and many of the old streets and buildings have been restored. After parking in the underground lot recommended by Rick Steves, we walked down the Rue de la Liberte in search of the Grey Poupon store. We passed it at first because Poupon has been bought out by Campbells and the store sign now reads Maille.

We also checked out the Notre-Dame church that is near the Place de la Liberation, a model of Burgundian Gothic architecture built between 1230 and 1250. Aside from its Black Virgin (Vierge Noire), which is one of the oldest in France, there is an interesting sculpted owl on one of the outside columns on the church wall. Legend has it that if you rub it, your wishes will all come true. So, of course, we did! Other interesting sights in this town include the Palais des Ducs, St. Michel, and the Musee des Beaux Arts.

Next we went to Autun, which was founded by the Romans in the late 1st century BC.

The monumental Porte St-Andre, the Porte d'Arroux and the ruins of the Theatre Romain and the Temple de Janus are reminders of Autun's glorious Roman past.

We visited the Cathedrale St-Lazare in the Place St-Louis, which was built in the 12th century. It is built on the highest point in Autun and was constructed in 1120 to house the relics of St. Lazarus. His tomb stood in the center of the chancel but I was not able to locate it. The church is special largely because of the genius of its sculptures, most of them by the mysterious 12th-century artist Gislebertus.

On a rainy day later in the week we made the long drive to the Champagne district to visit Epernay, which dominates the champagne industry and has the highest per capita income in France. Over 200 miles of cellars and tunnels run underneath the town and surrounding area, vaults cut into the chalk rock to store the bubbling wine. The town has been either destroyed or burned nearly two dozen times by invading armies, particularly from Germany. Few of its old buildings are left but the main avenue, Rue de Champagne, has neoclassical villas and Victorian town houses.

We decided to tour Moet et Chandon, the largest and slickest maison. This champagne house was established in 1743 by Claude Moet and was the favorite champagne of Napoleon. The tour was good, consisting of a short film, a tour of some of the cellars and then the tasting. It was interesting to learn about how the vines are grown and then harvested at the end of September or first of October (the Vendange).

Another interesting place we discovered in Rick Steves' book is the Chateau La Rochepot. This very Burgundian castle is near St. Romaine and is not overwhelmed by the tour buses yet. Once you arrive, you have to cross the drawbridge and knock three times with the ancient knocker in order to enter. It is an absolutely beautiful place and I could just imagine the knights and their ladies feasting on roasted suckling pigs and probably many kegs of wine!

We returned to Paris at the end of our week in Burgundy--tired but with suitcases bulging with our "prizes." Every trip we take, we vow we will pack lighter but we could not resist the wonderful French specialties such as wines, olive oils, mustards, tapenades, and lavender products. Each time we smell them or taste them, we are transported to the hilltowns of Provence or the lighted streets of Paris. Ah, la vie en rose!

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