I have learned today that Peter Mayle has only discovered a minute portion of the beauty that is Provence! Vineyards and fruit trees (in blossom) replace the lavender of the Alpes and the hills are softer and tree covered. This area of Provence is gentler in landscaped and more populated. Roads are often lined by plane trees making an elegant canopy and looking more like a grand avenue than a country road! (If I had a chauffeur, there would be a picture of this!!)
It was two hours cross country to my first destination - Bonnieux. I stopped because it had been touted as one of the prettiest villages in Provence (a coffee table book here in the chateau). I must be becoming more discriminating because I could only find a church that made it different from the other villages I've seen! Lovely panoramic views!
On to Lacoste - infamous as the home of the Marquis de Sade. He was the Lord of Lacoste for 30 years and his chateau sits perched at the very top of the village. It was destroyed during the Revolution and remains a ruin.
I don't know if it was the gray, overcast day or the wind whistling down the alleyways in the village or the fact that the streets were deserted for the noon hour...or whether it was just my fertile imagination but the village felt incredibly eerie and cold! The few people I did meet looked unfriendly and, at times, slightly unsavoury! Distant relatives of the Marquis?! I was quick to take my pictures and go!
Menerbes has several claims to fame. It was captured by the Calvinists in 1573 (a "trick" is alluded to?!) and it took 5 years and a considerable ransom to get the village returned to the residents. More recently, it was the home village of author Peter Mayle. I have seen so many beautiful villages over the past two weeks that this one did not stand out as any more so. It WAS the first village where I had to pay to use a bathroom! 0.20 euros - and not worth the price...I'll just leave it at that!
I did see the butcher shop that Peter Mayle frequented - closed though so no chance for an autograph! Truffle pate in the window!
Gordes was on my "to see" list not so much because of its beauty (although it does have a spectacular approach)
but because of the history behind it. In WWII, the Germans completely razed the town in 1944 in retaliation for the killing of one of their soldiers. It was rebuilt to its 16th century state and, in my mind, is a testament to determination and resiliance! Many of the walls and buildings are of drystone construction which is unique.
Near Gordes there is a village of bories - a collection of drystone huts (similar to the beehive huts of the Dingle Peninsula) dating from the Iron Age to the 18th century. Time didn't allow for a visit there but I got a good sense of the method in Gordes itself.
The final village on my "loop" of Vaucluse was Roussillon. Ochre mining and erosion have exposed the cliffs in the area and the villagers have applied ochre to their homes to create a colourful village!
I prefer the romantic legend to the scientific explanation however! The story goes that, in medieval times, the local lord's wife fell in love with a troubadour. The lord had him killed and the wife threw herself off the cliff, forever staining the cliffs with her blood!! You choose the explanation you prefer!!
The poppies are out along the roadside - another splash of colour! I am still looking for a field of them like the picture I've had on my fridge for the past couple of years! That has been my image of Provence and is my dream photo opportunity! For now, the display just outside the chateau gates will keep me happy.
It has just started to rain. I was lucky today - some cloudy periods and some brisk winds but also up to 18 degrees and sunny at times. I'm settled in for the night so let it pour!!
Tomorrow is my last full day in this area of Provence. I have a couple more roads I haven't explored but will stick close to the chateau as I try to put everything back into my suitcase again?!! I will be sad to leave but am looking forward to the sights and adventures in the Arles and Carcassonne regions!
