Picture 1: Along the Sorgue River. We aite lunch just to the left of the bridge.
Picture 2: One of the water wheels on a stream of the Sorgue.
Picture 3: Inside the cathedral at Sorgue
Picture 4: Vineyards everywhere ready to be harvested.
Picture 4: Vineyards everywhere ready to be harvested.
On Monday, Sept 21, our final day in Provence, we headed east to a pretty, but touristy, town called L’Isle-sur-le-Sorgue and then on to the Luberon region. The Luberon has become a destination for the French wealthy and other expats looking for the bucolic life style. But they have kept a low key presence. Agriculture is still the primary focus of the locals, except for a few touristy spots. That's where we were headed. All of the towns we visited could be overrun with tourists in the summer, but we seemed to have missed the largest crowds.
L’Isle (Island on the Sorgue) sits in the middle of the Sorgue River. Channels of the river meander through this little town turning 10 water wheels that used to grind flour, and driving medieval textile, silk and woolen mills. Water wheels have been in operation at L’Isle since the 1200’s. Some we saw could be that old judging by the moss. This town was the source of the colorful Provencal fabric still popular today. The original patterns came from India. Right now the town’s main occupation seems to be scenic restaurants perched on the riverbank. We ate lunch here, making sure we ate between the magic hours of 12 and 2. Tourism and the antique trade are also thriving.
The town’s 12th century church, Notre-Dame des Anges, has a very gilded Baroque interior. I read this was typical of Louis XIV, the Sun King, period churches.
Our next stop was at the Lavender Museum in Coustellet 6 miles to the southeast. This museum houses the Chateau du Bois lavender farms collection of antique lavender stills and other processing equipment. Lots of polished brass and silver coils on display. This was a good place to learn about the different types of lavender and how each is used. This is a major crop in the Luberon. The bushes grow at an altitude between 900 and 1300 feet on the rocky soil of the area. They grow wild as well as being farmed commercially. Bloom time is June and July.
Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, lives about 10 minutes to the southeast of Coustellet in the village of Ménerbes. We didn’t stop and say hello.
Instead we headed for the ochre village of Roussillon 10 miles further northeast. It was supposed to be a 15 minute drive. Ha. The village perches atop a 30 mile long seam of ochre bearing rock. Mining the ochre was the village’s major industry until WWII. Ochre is used to make a pigment for paints and glazes, and in wallpaper and linoleum. Roussillon’s deposit is the largest in the world but other sources exist in Italy and the U.S.
This is one steep town. Visitor parking is outside the town, downhill. The town accomplishes the miracle of having you climb into town, climb all over town, never going downhill until that final, steep climb back. But it is certainly the most colorful town I have ever seen. The residents have used a lot of ochre to “ochre” wash their buildings, as well as paints of similar colors.
The cliffs on either side of town dramatically display the varying shades of the mineral.
Heading back home we had to drive through the hill town village of Gordes. It perches on its mountain top with narrow, steep winding streets that no other car than the Renault Twingo we rented could navigate without causing the passenger, me, to have a heart attack. We had been navigating with GPS. We bought and downloaded the French maps before we left, taking our GPS with us. It had been doing a superb job in the past few days but now it decided it wanted to see the countryside. We saw only side roads, tiny towns and steep mountain roads until it finally returned us to civilization a few miles from our hotel. I guess it didn’t like the direct route we had taken earlier.
L’Isle (Island on the Sorgue) sits in the middle of the Sorgue River. Channels of the river meander through this little town turning 10 water wheels that used to grind flour, and driving medieval textile, silk and woolen mills. Water wheels have been in operation at L’Isle since the 1200’s. Some we saw could be that old judging by the moss. This town was the source of the colorful Provencal fabric still popular today. The original patterns came from India. Right now the town’s main occupation seems to be scenic restaurants perched on the riverbank. We ate lunch here, making sure we ate between the magic hours of 12 and 2. Tourism and the antique trade are also thriving.
The town’s 12th century church, Notre-Dame des Anges, has a very gilded Baroque interior. I read this was typical of Louis XIV, the Sun King, period churches.
Our next stop was at the Lavender Museum in Coustellet 6 miles to the southeast. This museum houses the Chateau du Bois lavender farms collection of antique lavender stills and other processing equipment. Lots of polished brass and silver coils on display. This was a good place to learn about the different types of lavender and how each is used. This is a major crop in the Luberon. The bushes grow at an altitude between 900 and 1300 feet on the rocky soil of the area. They grow wild as well as being farmed commercially. Bloom time is June and July.
Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, lives about 10 minutes to the southeast of Coustellet in the village of Ménerbes. We didn’t stop and say hello.
Instead we headed for the ochre village of Roussillon 10 miles further northeast. It was supposed to be a 15 minute drive. Ha. The village perches atop a 30 mile long seam of ochre bearing rock. Mining the ochre was the village’s major industry until WWII. Ochre is used to make a pigment for paints and glazes, and in wallpaper and linoleum. Roussillon’s deposit is the largest in the world but other sources exist in Italy and the U.S.
This is one steep town. Visitor parking is outside the town, downhill. The town accomplishes the miracle of having you climb into town, climb all over town, never going downhill until that final, steep climb back. But it is certainly the most colorful town I have ever seen. The residents have used a lot of ochre to “ochre” wash their buildings, as well as paints of similar colors.
The cliffs on either side of town dramatically display the varying shades of the mineral.
Heading back home we had to drive through the hill town village of Gordes. It perches on its mountain top with narrow, steep winding streets that no other car than the Renault Twingo we rented could navigate without causing the passenger, me, to have a heart attack. We had been navigating with GPS. We bought and downloaded the French maps before we left, taking our GPS with us. It had been doing a superb job in the past few days but now it decided it wanted to see the countryside. We saw only side roads, tiny towns and steep mountain roads until it finally returned us to civilization a few miles from our hotel. I guess it didn’t like the direct route we had taken earlier.
Pictures of Rousillon and Gordes will be in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment