Monday is a very quiet day in Provence in the Winter. Many sights, shops, and restaurants are closed the whole day and even in the larger towns and cities, shops will only open in the afternoon for a 'short day'. Monday has therefore become a chores and housework day for us, but we like seek out a new local restaurant for lunch to break the day up so as not to be totally housebound.

We found a restaurant in Courthézon, which is a small town (commune) just a little South East of Orange. Originally, a Medieval walled village with a small river running by it, many of the original walls are either missing or have been subsumed into 'newer' buildings, but the town plan and the old gates evidence its origins.

Being a bright day, we saw Courthézon at its best, with the highlight being the Town Hall, which was originally the Château de Val-Seille. Whilst, I have not found much about this house, but it was apparently commissioned in 1869 by an Ellie Dussaud. More interesting is that the construction enginneer was Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was responsibke for the building of the Suez Canal. At some point, the chateau was given over to the state, who used it as one of the grandest town halls that a small town could ever aspire to. Extending to the back of the main building is an elegant annex that houses a police station and a green house.

(Click on photos for larger sizes and full aspect.)