Caroline's birthday today and we had a long Skype chat this morning - by a stroke of good luck Alex and Zac arrived at Fyfe's Road so we were able to speak with them too. Alex and Jean both have colds poor things - reminds us that it is winter at home. It is hard to imagine cold in the 35 degree days that we are having here. Really nice to see their faces and hear their voices - Benji too.
By late morning we were ready to head out for the day - in search of lavender fields. I am not really that keen on lavender perfumed products but I have always wanted to see it growing in the backblocks of Provence. Sure enough there is plenty of lavender in the gardens about the place but apparently this is not the true lavender that is grown at higher altitudes as a commercial crop. We did see a number of fields near Moustiers-Sainte-Marie but then we were more focused on reaching our destination then than paying a lot of attention to the fields.
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| Lavender field - Plateau de Vaucluse |
It was over the Luberon Range again to a largish town called Apt in the valley, and then up and up into the next lot of hills until we reached the Plateau de Vaucluse, a large lavender growing area.
The road up to the plateau seemed unusually wide and very well surfaced with sweeping bends instead of hairpins - a pleasant surprise and very nice to drive on. Up on the plateau we realised why the road was so good - there we came upon a huge, modern military installation surrounded by high fences. There were numerous large buildings, a crop of radar/satellite dishes and it all looked very sombre. As we passed the main entrance gates we saw what it was - the headquarters of the French Foreign Legion! I remembered from a TV documentary that the Foreign Legion is based in Provence - know we know where.
We were beginning to see fields of lavender, interspersed with farmlands, grazing cattle, and
large areas of forest - mostly pines but other smaller trees which seem to thrive at this altitude - don't know much about the native flora here. Part of this plateau is a national park. Ahead of us Mt Ventoux was looking very high and not at all like a jolly place for a bike ride.
Shortly after the excitement of coming across the home of the legionnaires, we arrived in Sault, lavender capital of the region. It seemed to be a very popular place today and there were a number of cute shops to browse in.
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| Cute display outside the Chacuterie in Sault |
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| Lavender farm - viewed from the terrace at Sault |
A handy café on the terrace provided a shady place for a coffee with a view. Across the valley the top of Mt Ventoux appeared above the nearby hills. Lots of sweaty cyclists were turning up for cold beers - no doubt having just conquered Ventoux. Good on you guys, especially in this heat!
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| Terrace overlooking the valley at Sault (a photography exhibition was mounted on the ends of hay bails!) |
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| Lavender valley - near Sault |
The other place on our agenda today was the (Plus Beaux again) village of Roussillon, back in the Luberon Valley - but stuck up on a small hilly area of red rock. It was downhill all the way - 30 kilometres of steep gradient and we saw some intrepid cyclists heading uphill!
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| Ochre cliffs, Roussillon |
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| Red cliffs and pine forest on the walk up to Roussillon |
We walked along the cliff edge and saw the strange formations of ochre laden rock which appear in the heavily forested slopes. The houses are all rendered with this red ochre so it has a very unique and attractive look. Of course once again the views from the town over the valley are quite lovely- a patchwork of vineyards, forests and villages.
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| Ochre rendered houses in Roussillon |
By now we were a bit over crowds so we didn't linger and soon headed for home and the peaceful garden of our little Lourmarin house.
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| I love lavender fields! |
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