Sunday walk

Normally it is too hot to walk in August but this year has been cooler so we took advantage of clear skies and temperatures in the mid 20 's to walk from home over the Perreal, 11 kilometres round walk in just under two hours with wonderful views and scenery.

T

This is one of our favourites house in Saint Saturnin Les Apt, it is quintessential Provence!

It will not be long before harvesting as we walk past the many vineyards which are on route

Fantastic views to the south west with the petit Luberon and Alpilles beyond

One of the climbs on the way up!

A good hat is a sensible option ( as are good shoes)

Looking North the mighty Mont Ventoux 

And back in the Luberon valley over Roussillon.

Heading back towards Saint Saturnin , another great view

This Cabanon is perfectly located with wonderful east and west views

Another gorgeous house looking over vineyards

Back up into the village, the Bar du Platane us a tempting stopping point !

On route home past one of the many fountains in the village 

Back home! Ready for a dip

Karen cooling off , the pool is still 27 degrees. 

Clients are out ! It's rare we sit by the pool! Sneaky five minutes! 

A perfect Sunday, and as today is our 13 th wedding anniversary we will have earned our dinner out tonight, Report to follow .....

Lavender, glorious lavender!

Mid July sees the Lavender at its peak, we took these photos on the plateau de Valensole.

our picnic spot had the most wonderful view.

At every turn you will be overwhelmed by the deep purple colours, the aroma of the lavender and the sounds of the cicadas singing.

Some one forgot to weed!

just before we past this lavender it was cut revealing an amazing contrast.

I remember saying to Karen some years ago, the day you don`t get captivated by this beautiful scenery is time to move on!! we are still captivated!

Thank you

A huge thank you from Karen and I to all our clients who have added feedback on Tripadvisor, resulting in our award, we really appreciate the kind comments and will strive to maintain everything for 2015.

Fete Votive

The stage is being set for the annual Fete Votive, three nights of partying in the village from 10pm to 2am! Friday night was a `DJ`, the dance floor was full and the weather stayed fair.

Saturday night is show night, the big one as you can see by the equipment being set up Saturday morning.

But! the weather has been mixed this year and a storm is looming, the band are warming up ready for the early supper served to the fete committee.

not to be deterred folks begin arriving!

Sadly at about 9.30pm the rain started, and if you have experienced a storm in Provence you will know, when it rains it pours and the thunder and lightening provided quite a spectacle! The show was off!

And so Sunday night had some making up to do, again a disco but with a foam machine - it was incredible. who needs to go to Ibiza!

So the weekend was saved! and next morning the only sign of a weekend of partying were the remaining soap suds!

Get Back!

In Gordes we recently attended a Beatles tribute night, starting at 21.00 the evening started with presentations to the regions Vignerons (wine makers) notable the ventoux producers.

These formalities lasted almost an hour causing the excited audience to become impatient, as well as anxious, hoping that the nearby storms would pass.

And by ten they took to the stage and kept the audience entertained with great renditions of most of the Fab fours hits!

But for many, the highlight was still to come, at close to midnight a huge buffet was laid out accompanied by wines from the Ventoux region all provided at the vignerons expense,

and so about 250 people munched their way through what was an amazing selection of food,

washed down with great wines and the entire evening was free! thats what I call a great night out! 

Le Tour de France 2014

On Sunday 20th July the worlds biggest and most famous cycle race passed through our village.

It is the fourth time we have witnessed the great spectacle, once passing at speed through Apt, twice up the mighty Mont Ventoux and this year in dear old Saint Saturnin Les Apt!

We joined our friends and most of the residents of the village to firstly see the caravan come through, always a laugh watching grown adults clambering for the freebies with anything from a biro, hat, cake, juice or even condoms being thrown to the excited crowds! 

And then soon after the breakaway cyclists come through

Followed by the peleton

and in a flash it was all over! but there was great footage of the village, the Luberon and Provence for the world to see so hopefully that will be good for next years bookings!

Bastille Day, July 14th , 2014

Each year our village celebrates Bastille day with a huge 'vide grenier'  translating to emptying out your loft space, like a car boot. We arrived at 6.30 am to hoards of waiting buyers, the village is transformed for one day with literally hundreds of people descending looking for a bargain! a good days trading was had and by four in the afternoon we had cleared many of the items we had been collecting in the garage over the years.

 Here we are, me manning the stall and Karen keeping people out of the friends house we were outside!