Once we had breakfast Andrew and I wandered in to explore the town and have a look at some of the shops. There was so much to see and every corner we turned we were astounded at what we saw. Just beautiful! We walked up through the old village to the Feudal Castle which is an outstanding landmark that can be seen from all around. From the grounds in front of the castle you have a magnificent view of Vaison la Romaine. Then we visited Notre-Dame de Nazareth (The Cathedral) which is the most eloquent monument of the medieval and Christian town. It was built in the 11th century on the site of early Christian remains and transformed in the next century. It's Roman architecture and history makes this stunning building a very popular place for tourists to visit. 

When we returned we  hopped in the car with Kaci, Marie-Christine and Pierre to visit another village called Gordes which is built on a hilltop and has so much charm and history. During the First World War Gordes went through a long period of depopulation with entire neighbourhoods falling into ruin and poverty. During the 1950's the first tourists arrived, among them many artists to find a village in decline. The new arrivals bought up the ruins and restored them, and Gordes was given a new lease of life. Today it's rich architectural and cultural heritage make it one of Provence's leading attractions. It is spectacular and we would have loved to have had more time here but we may be back in the future. We had to fit dinner in before we had to drive to Avignon to pick Marie up from her train so we needed to make sure we had enough time. 

We ended up ordering Pizzas to have back where we're staying and we left to collect Marie after this. It was so lovely to see Marie since it has been four years since we have seen each other. Very special! We talked all the way back and it ended up being a fairly late night because there was so match to catch up on. Can't wait for the next four and a half days we have together!