Fontaine de Vaucluse, a village in Provence, is charming not only because its scenic backdrop, but also because of its turquoise-est river.  The water glimmers in pure bright turquoise.

Look at how TURQUOISE this water is!

The water is obviously clean not only because of its magnificent bright color, but also because I could see living objects in the water such as plants and fish.  The river that passes through this village is known as the Sorgue River.  According to Eyewitness Travel: Provence & Cote d’Azure, Sorgue River is one of the natural wonders of Provence.

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Besides the shimmering river, visitors will also notice that there are quite a few watermills in this village.  This village is also known for making paper.  There is a tourist attraction site called Moulin à Papier Vallis Clausa where visitors can see paper being made as if it was made in 15th century.

This village is definitely not a souvenir-junkie shopping area as it’s filled with many wonderful art galleries.  Even if we can’t afford to take home a painting, it’s still very enjoyable to just look at the paintings to see what style artists enjoy to paint.  While many paintings and some other art items may not be affordable, there are still some shops that sell some not-so-expensive items such as ceramics.  Ceramic is a speciality of the Provence region.  Visitors will find many ceramic items such as plates, cups, and vases.

After browsing some boutiques, my host family and I went for a short hike in the mountains.

The scenery of this area is unbelievably magnificent!  The mountains are filled with groups of bright green trees patched everywhere.  The movement of the lines in the rocks created by cracks and folds on the mountains creates a stunning form of nature.  Just simply walking by crystal clear turquoise river and the moutains was a very calm and relaxing hike.  After a short hike, we had a picnic on the grass by the river.  Good times!  Great Vibrations!