If you’ve come here because of a web search on the movie Thor: sorry to disappoint but this is a post about a town in the south of France of the same name. And big apologies to readers who were expecting vacation recap posts last week. Work + cold = not feelin’ it. Anyone living in Halifax can attest to the horrific weather we’ve been experiencing this spring. It’s enough to make me move to the south of France. On that note…
The perfect retreat situated about a 30 minute drive from Avignon.
For one glorious week in April, we rented a gite in Provence. The place was a short drive or bus ride from Avignon. Although we had seen pictures of the interior, we weren’t quite prepared to see this gorgeous villa awaiting us after we opened the property gates. A one week rental was about $1300 which was split between two families (this portion of the trip included Cokebaby’s sister, brother-in-law, and two girls).
A pretty amazing deal considering it included: a swimming pool (which actually isn’t open until May), a large living area on the main floor, laundry room, huge modern kitchen, dining room, games room, and powder room. Upstairs included a shared shower room for three bedrooms and separate powder room and an suite bathroom for the master bedroom with shower and bathtub.
Outside we also had use of a boules court where it was discovered I am the queen of the game. The gite was surrounded by a stucco wall which made the place very private and quite relaxing. The town of Le Thor itself is also really quaint. The people were incredibly friendly and happy to take their time with our varied levels of French language skills.
The central street in Le Thor leads to a square where markets take place a few times a week.
In the city centre there’s the 12th century Lady of the Lake Church. An older gentleman, upon exiting the church, shared some of the history of the site. You can still see the stone-masons signatures on each block of stone.
As with most French towns and cities, there are several types of markets that appear on set days of the week. That, combined with the proximity of the gite to an Intermarché, made this rental ideal. One thing to note when renting a gite is that although the houses can be quite beautiful, you should expect what you’d get when renting a cottage here in Canada: the bare minimum in amenities. Things like dish detergent, toilet paper, etc. are up to you to supply and there is a surcharge for towels.
Later this week: sur la pont d’Avignon, and other historic sites.
Source: http://eastcoastbychoice.ca/2011/05/17/le-thor/
