I woke up to the sun streaming through the skylights and blue skies! I could almost hear the wonderful and talented Limestone Chorale singing the song as I got ready to start another day MUCH happier with sunshine in my world!! The clouds tried to force their way back but sunny weather prevailed! There were clouds literally blanketing the mountains as I headed out this morning! An amazing sight!
I wanted to go back to a couple of the villages that I had driven through but hadn't spent much time exploring earlier. The first village was Moustiers-Ste-Marie - my favourite so far...maybe because it was my first? I had climbed up to the chapel in the mountain earlier in the week but didn't go into the village itself.
What a treat the village is! A stream runs through the centre of it with periodic waterfalls and the soothing sound of rushing water! Can you hear it?!
There are many little shops lining the streets selling Provencal fabrics and crafts as well as faience ware (soft, porous clay earthenware glazed with a pewter based enamel...I read the brochure!). It is an old pottery form that was a flourishing industry in the village in the 17th century. Its popularity declined in the 19th century but was revived in 1927 and is a tradition being carried on by many today. It's not my cup of tea but must have added some colour and delicacy to an otherwise very bleak and rugged area.
There were just enough people around to bring the village to life but not so many as to over run it....just the way I like it! I can only imagine what it must be like in peak season! The kids are on a two week holiday so they were tearing up and down the hills on their bikes and having a great time! Having had a bad experience involving a bike and a hill when I was their age, I was as inclined to think it was fun and quickly moved away!
I managed to pick up a few souvenirs and took WAY too many photos!! But there was a postcard shot around every corner and it is so hard to resist the colours and charm! Even the laundry hanging from the shuttered windows looks more exotic! Maybe the novelty will wear off soon?!
I have finally got the hang of Provencal life so was on the road to the next village when the shops closed down in Mousiers at 12:30! Fortunately Aiguines (820 m alt.) reopened at 1 p.m. so I was able to wander and browse there.
Not quite the selection as Moustiers but Aiguines has an amazing chateau that was my reason for visiting!! Incredible tilework on the turrets and the light sparkled off the glaze! LOVED the colours!
I decided to loop around the southern and western portions of Lac de Ste. Croix and see some of the villages there. Some were perched up in the mountains while others spilled down to the lake. All of them are made up of buildings of every shade of ochre. I always thought ochre was just one colour but again, one word in Provence is not sufficient to describe any colour!! There are rusts and reds and browns and golds and soft buttery yellows - in the fields, the mountains, the hills, along the roadside as well as the buildings... I'm thinking I'll leave the village photos and just start doing all the shades of ochre!
Tomorrow I will drive back up to Digne les Bains and take Le Chemins de Fer de Provence train to Entrevaux. It is one of those villages that has intrigued me since I started researching this trip. The citadel looks incredible and I will certainly get my workout climbing to the top!
P.S. It got up to 20 at one point today - depending on the altitude! Has the snow melted at home yet?! I keep seeing tulips and thinking of home!
