I have never lived in a village in France. I lived in a city (Paris) but in Provence, I’ve always lived in the countryside. Never far from a village, but not actually in one.
Having house and cat-sit a few times for my friends about two kilometres outside the village of Malaucène, I’ve concluded I prefer life on the east side of the Dentelles. There is much less mistral, the access to amenities excellent (the two most important being the Crestet boulangerie and Guillaume’s round-about strawberries) and the distance to larger centres is not much different from where I usually stay. And without a doubt, cycling is much better than in the Rhône Valley. More and more we find ourselves cycling in the Drôme, where the mountains are challenging, the routes seemingly endless, and it is way more peaceful with fewer tourists.
As we are currently working out a plan for a full-time life in Provence, I thought it wise to spend some time living in the Drôme to see how I like being there, not just cycling through. I found a lovely little gite in the charming village of Mollans-sur-Ouvèze. We ride through it regularly; I’ve been to this village countless times and always thought it looked so pretty. And it really is an amazing little spot. The gite is just on the edge of the village, only a 350m walk into the centre which is rather nice for a change. It has plenty of amenities, including an organic food store with an excellent selection of items, two boulangeries, a couple of bars, a butcher, a Saturday evening market, and a funny little grocery with pretty much everything you need.
After being here for a few weeks, I can say it’s been a delightful pleasure. The cycling from here is fantastic, the village is very functional, the gite perfect and comfortable, and the lack of mistral wonderful. But… it is a bit of a hike to places like Avignon, Carpentras or Vaison-la-Romaine. So, I’ve found myself trying to get by just using the local options so I don’t spend too much time driving. It’s possible, but I think long-term I would find it frustrating to get around from here. And while it’s nice to walk into the hamlet in a few minutes, I prefer the peace and quiet of being a couple kilometres outside a village. All told it has been a wonderful experience, and I am so glad I still have another week here to enjoy all the best bits.
