Despite playing "Lady of the Manor" this morning (reading, writing in my journal, watching the end of a movie I'd started last night), I still managed to accomplish a lot today. I feel like I have driven the whole of Provence but on the map I can see that I have covered only a very small portion of it!! But what a wonderful day it's been!!
I started my tour by heading north about 20 minutes to the little village of Riez. It is a typical Provencal village with the tile roofs and soft coloured, shuttered buildings. The streets are narrow and you risk your life just stepping out your front door not to mention driving down one! It is a pretty village but seems tired and a bit worn. I stopped in at le tabac to get some stamps and there were men lined up at the bar with their pastis or beer - at 11:45 on a Sunday?!
I headed farther north to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, a gorgeous village nestled into the side of the cliffs! 
Even farther up is a 12th century church - the Chapelle de Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir. (You can just see it in the cleft of the middle and right peaks!!) The path up is rocky and uneven and one has to be part mountain goat to keep from slipping! Being a good Protestant, I wasn't sure what I was looking at but I think the stations of the cross were positioned along the path - monuments with symbols and pictures of the life of Christ. I felt like a true pilgrim as well as a mountain climber! It was apparently a popular destination for pilgrims in the 13th and 14th centuries so I was following the tradition!
There is a 135 m cable running above the chapel (634 m alt!),between the middle and right mountain peak, with a star suspended from it. The legend (adopted by the poet Mistral) says that a knight was taken prisoner by the Saracens while on Crusade and vowed that if he ever got back to his village, he would hang a star high above it! Knights and Saracens and Crusades - Grade 4 Medieval unit!! My kind of village!
The earliest recorded star dates back to 1565 and has to be replaced a couple of times every century!! (The photo has to be large so you can actually see the star!!) Apparently the star now is 1.25 metres wide?!
From the top, the view was breathtaking - all the way to Lac de Ste-Croix. To call the water turquoise is to do it a disservice but there doesn't seem to be any colour or word that captures its essence! And against the various greens of the surrounding trees, it's an artist's delight! I rested at the top, had a snack and enjoyed the panorama in front of me. I wished I had a wider lens for my camera to capture all that I was seeing!
I hiked a bit more around Moustiers then it was time to move on. Driving along gorges and canyons etc. is not my idea of a "fun time" despite the promise of spectacular scenery. Just the thought of being on the side of cliffs with sheer drops to the gorge floor makes my heart race!! But, since this year and this trip are all about stepping outside of my comfort zone and remembering to carpe diem, I decided that I would attempt the Grand Canyon du Verdon! It is a series of gorges 25 km long and up to 700 m deep...and guardrails are sporadic...and not where I thought they should be!!! Fortunately there wasn't much traffic so I was able to take it slowly. The road wound high up into the mountains with some "wonderful" hairpin turns (all done in a manual transmission car!!). I braved a few pull offs and got some photos. It really was worth the occasional white knuckle and gasp of horror!
I stopped in La Palud sur Verdon for some lunch at a little cafe looking out at another range of mountains. I had thought of continuing on to Castellane but it was already 4 p.m. and I did NOT want to be driving the pass in darkness. (At 40 km an hour, it takes awhile!) One doesn't want to overdo adventure!
I headed south to Lac de Ste-Croix and the mouth of the gorge. Another winding road but closer to the bottom of the mountain. It must be a fabulous place in the summer. There are huge expanses of beach and even today there were people on the shore.
I'd wanted to wind my way around the lake and head back home but must have missed that turn! I ended up in Aups and came upon the market. What a treat that was! The stalls were set up in the town square with the fountain across the street and cafes with people watching the activity. The square and surrounding area is sheltered by enormous plane trees - so fascinating - and there were people strolling and visiting and enjoying the day. There were ponies taking children for rides around the village. Each stall offered a different temptation - olive oil, wine (fill your own containers!), soap, honey, pottery, olive wood bowls and utensils etc. I found it hard to resist and will probably give in at one of the many markets I have on my "to do" list over the next 2 weeks!
I was just heading back to my car when the air raid siren went off!! We have one in Paisley and it used to be used to call the volunteer firemen but I imagined this one had different uses in the past!! I wasn't sure what one does when one hears an air raid siren in the heart of France?!!! No one else seemed concerned though so it mustn't have been anything dire. I did see the gendarmes go racing off in one directions....and an ambulance head in the opposite direction?! Somebody didn't get the correct directions!
From there, I was ready to head back to St. Laurent...just wasn't sure how since it's not on any map I have! Even the Michelin map I have is limited in the roads and village names for this area so I just drove and turned when I recognized a place in the direction I wanted to go!! A fun way to see more of the countryside and I stumbled on some more quaint little villages - perched and otherwise - on the way! I ended up coming full circle and arrived back at the chateau at 6:30.
I'm loving the freedom of planning my coming days "as the spirit moves". Not sure what I will do tomorrow. I drove through some villages close by that I would like to explore and the largest market in the region is also tomorrow. Fortunately there are usually two market days a week so I have choices as to when I go and can fit a lot more of them into my schedule! So you will be as surprised as I am to find out what I do!
P.S. "Only" 165 photos today!
