Wednesday, July 24, 2013

ART EXHIBITION

We enjoyed seeing the interior of the Chateau in Caseneuve and meeting with the wife of Serge Ripert who had his first exhibition in 1947 in Paris.





His work comprised of  a collection of over 300 peices including artwork and sculptures some of which are on show at this free exhibition that  is well worth a visit 




The chateau at Caseneuve below and above.








There are wonderful views from the village over the Apt valley, the Luberon and reaching to the Alpilles.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Bad Hair Day?



With temperatures hitting the mid 30`s the late afternoon storms are quite welcome - free water for the garden, cooler temperatures for sleeping but the lavender and Perovskia are not so sure!
They will recover tomorrow!

 

Tis the season!

The tourist season is well underway in Provence, no wonder France is  No 1 tourist destination in the world with 81 million visitors in 2012 up from 79 million in 2011 - nice to know we are doing our bit!
Are you Frenching it next holiday?

A day out does not get much better than this!


One of the best routes we have done, with so much to see.
We left St Sat early (for us) at  8 am, taking the picturesque drive along the D900 through Cereste passing the through the corridor of  Plane trees, from here take the superb drive to Manosque and then through the town of Greoux-les-Bains, famous for it's spa hotels. 
From here take direction Riez and onto Moustiers-Ste-Marie.
The village is  renowned for its pottery. We arrived within two hours and just before the influx of tourists!




Make sure you have good walking shoes so you can make the climb to the chapel at the top of the village which dates to the 11th Century.




From the top there are views out to 'Lac de Sainte Croix'


Allow a couple of hours to meander around the village to take in the charming backstreets, pottery shops, bars and restaurants.



We took a picnic, rather than trying to make the choice of where to eat!
So we headed off towards Ste Croix du Verdon, passing the most impressive fields of lavender I have ever seen on the plateau du Valensole.



Being mid July cutting was just starting.


The beautiful lake and village of Ste-Croix, hire a pedalo and take a swim in the turquoise water.


And as we headed back towards Valensole we came across these magnificent Sun Flowers


As Lou Reed sang - a perfect day!







Monday, July 15, 2013

The 100th Tour de France Stage 15 at Mont Ventoux



The valley approaching Sault with Ventoux in the back ground - the perfect way to start our day.



We set off from home at 10am and parked on the road up from Sault at 10.55am.
After a two hour walk carrying our picnic we took our place surrounded by cheerful folks literally from all over the world, many of whom had been camping out for several nights beforehand to get the best pitches.



There were literally hundreds if not thousands of cyclist making the ascent, people of all ages, shapes and sizes! and some bikes that were no more than you would you as a shopping bike!


Estimates of the crowds on Ventoux were between 650 and 850 thousand people!


The caravan starting coming through about 14.30


There were some characters there!


The excitement was building as the camera helicopters circled over head so we knew they were on the approach from Bedoin.



About 96,000 cycle up Mont Ventoux each year. there are three routes, and the most popular route, as taken by the tour, is from Bedoin .


The weather on Ventoux can be as much as 20 degrees cooler than somewhere like Apt, 
and the wind can blow - in 1967 a speed of 320 kilometres was recorded in the February.



In all it took  about 20 minutes for the riders to come through. 

And then we headed back down hill!

Where for a wile it all ground to a halt!
But by 19.30 I was home and in the pool with memories of a very special day.

Sunday, July 07, 2013

A Provencal Tart!

Our village Boulangerie run by Damien & Sylvie not only produce the best croissants and bread but also wonderful tarts!