49. Provence - L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

We are in the heart of Provence at a very beautiful and popular location called L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue or 'the island on the Sorgue river'.

I should have taken some photos of our lovely little apartment before we messed it up with bags, computers and food. It really is very pretty.

I have the table under the window. Paul has the sofa and coffee table.

There are six apartments in the building which was completely gutted and beautifully renovated by a couple, formerly from Scotland where they had an interior design business. There is one studio, several one bedrooms and a two bedroom apartment on the top floor which they will keep for themselves. Four have been sold, only the studio remains. The floors are the original terra cotta tiles - I'm guessing 17th C.

I'm glad we are not on the top level in this heat. Because it is a heritage building, the developers were not permitted to install air conditioners with external motors so they are still considering how they can cool the upper floor which is in the roof space.  We have an excellent simple, tower fan in our apartment which works well, but it is still very hot.

We are right on the water and from our window we laugh at the children punting on the narrow, swiftly flowing canal.  Each evening the men of the 'neggochin' club supervise and teach the children to handle the extremely shallow and long boats. Some of them are incredibly good at it. They have to lay flat in the boat to get under that footbridge on the left.

I have seen this promotional image around town.  Originally the boats were for fresh water fishing but these days they have punting competitions, races and historical re-enactements.

We also have outside our door, one of the fourteen operating ancient water wheels in the old town. We intend to do the Water Wheels Walking Tour when the weather cools a little and I'll be able to get some better photos. In the meantime, I have had to use a publicity image below.

The water power of the Sorgue river has always been used to drive industry in this area.  Originally it is thought the water wheels were used for corn milling.  Then farmers who spun and wove their own wool brought their cloth to l'Ilse-sur-la-Sorgue to be fulled and finished by the dressing mills on the river here. Eventually the dressing mills took over the whole process from spinning the wool to producing the finished finished cloth. By the 13th C woollen cloth referred to as 'blanquets' was being made in l'Ilse-sur-la-Sorgue. There were originally 62 water wheels on the canals of the river, most located close to the factories that needed water to drive machinery. On one 527 metre stretch of canal in the centre of the city, there were 17 water wheels.

A document dated 1855 reported that there were 17 silk and woollen mills in daily operation employing 297 workers.

We found a nice seafood restaurant on the water and had excellent oysters and fish.  I think we'll go back to taste a few of their local freshwater offerings soon.  Sorgue river trout could be good and there is supposed to be a freshwater crayfish.

The canals are exceptionally clean and swiftly flowing with the odd duck, but not too many fish.

Paul + water = happy!