Final Lunch in Provence, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Today, in between visits to potential properties for Amy's future photography workshops, we enjoyed our final lunch in Provence in the village of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. We had hoped to dodge the relentless mistral that has been blowing for days without end but, alas, no respite was to be found. So we settled in to the Hostellerie le Chateau restaurant for a lengthy indoors, out-of-the-wind meal.

We were not disappointed.  The server was accommodating to our vegetarian/vegan needs and the chef conjured up a delicious three-course feast that made our day.  He also came out to table to visit and see how we liked his creations. Great service! Above, a starter of fresh asparagus on a flaky pastry bed.

Followed by a melange of roasted veggies.

And to finish up, a delicious sorbet.

And on the way home, we passed this "snow covered" field to pay homage to my snow-covered home in Massachusetts......

.....and to see close-up, a fresh crop of springtime dandelions - ah, Provence - au revoir mon ami!

Tomorrow, we hit the road for the 600km drive to Lucca, Italy.

Cabrières-d'Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Throughout this visit in Provence I have been amazed at the number of dwellings, walls, fences, and roads that were built, in many cases hundreds or thousands of years ago, all from the local stones.  It is difficult to imagine the number of stone masons it has taken to do all this painstaking work.  The beauty and longevity, however, are the proof of their value.

Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

The town of Roussillon stands on a hilltop of what was once a very productive world source of ochre for the pigment used in textiles during the 19th century. This is the follow-up to my April 1 post.

In recognition of the important part the ochre mining played in their history, they have built a nice park with a formal trail that provides informative signs along the pathways.

Many of the pine tree trunks were stained red from the wind-borne ochre dust as it pelted the gray bark.

Nice place for photos. A well-marked path winds through the woods and deposits, the wind whistling through the pines, snow-capped Mont Ventoux was visible to the north, the ochre often soft underfoot on the trail like a bed of pine needles

You can see the various shades of ochre tinge in the buildings in town.

Roussillon is another beautiful spot in an area filled with beauty - Provence.

Sunset, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

We are getting ready to leave L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue after using it as our base to explore this area of  Provence for the past  three weeks. We have had a strong mistral wind blowing for the past six days - gusty - 20-30mph - dry and mostly clear. About a half hour before sunset, the clouds on the western horizon were showing potential so I headed out for another attempt to see a beautiful sunset.

More clouds start moving into view.

After the first couple images, I was cold and under-dressed, the wind was howling, so I turned and started for home.  Ten steps later I stopped and turned around and went back.  Another couple images and I did the same thing.  Eventually I stayed another half-hour until it was too dark and cold to get anything useful.

It just got better and better.

Found a slightly different vantage point nearby.

Patience is hard-earned standing in the cold and wind. Clearly, I was richly rewarded. (These images are straight out of the camera with some minimal cropping - no other Photoshop trickery.)

Here are a few random thoughts about France I have neglected to mention in previous blog posts:

1. eating outside in the world on a cool day with the sun shining down on my plate is ALWAYS a delightful experience.
2. salad is never served here with nasty iceberg lettuce but rather with fresh romaine or similar - crisp, fresh, and green.
3. the French culture does not try to protect you from your own stupidity and carelessness - the roads are narrow and twisty with steep banks and often steeper drop-offs and seldom are there guardrails - drive carefully and pay attention - it's not France's fault if you hurt yourself.
4. life and living is a good thing to be savored, not something that needs to be managed, regulated, controlled in every detail, nor rushed through.
5. I like France - a lot!

Note: two posts today, keep on scrolling.

Lioux, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Lioux is a tiny - blink and you'll miss it sort of place - located next to the high escarpment in the background.  Quite a dramatic setting. This beautiful old Citroen automobile was parked beside the road posing nicely.

Soon the plane trees (sycamore family) will be budding and leafing out.

Market Day, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue has a Sunday and a Thursday market and they attract many folks from nearby towns. Market day is also a day just to be out and about and relaxing on a bench in the town garden. I love the expressions of these folks as I flushed this pigeon into flight - the dog missed the whole action.

Want some herbs or spices? Say the name of it or point - sorry, no little glass jars on a shelf like in an American supermarket.

Radishes, the long and skinny variety.

The olive and tapenade vendor was doing a brisk business.

As I've said before, anywhere a restauranteur can set up a table he/she will do so - even on this narrow bridge over the Sorgue river.

I have observed both in Paris and here in Provence that coffee and a cigarette and a long sit nursing a tiny cup is the cafe lifestyle - watching people, chatting, not in any hurry.  Smoking, drinking, dogs at their feet - cafe life. The waiter and waitress each with way too many tables, are unflappable - as soon as a table empties, new customers sit down  - back and forth, back and forth, weaving through the Sunday market crowd of walkers, dogs, cars, vans, vendor stands to reach the table by the water across the street - ever unflappable.  Nobody yells, nobody gets in a huff - cafe life - it'll be when it'll be. Patience in full view.

By mid-afternoon, the market stalls have been disassembled until the next time but the festive atmosphere remains as a saxophonist sets up below my window and entertains the cafe patrons for most of the afternoon.

The stroller kid was fascinated by the saxophone sounds.  Every time his mother tried to push the stroller away, he became quite agitated in his two-year-old manner and insisted they stay - they stayed. 

Note:  This is the first of two posts I published today, keep scrolling down.

Gordes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

You may think this is just another repetitive blog post about how beautiful and majestic is the village of Gordes. You would be mistaken.

Panorama - click on image to view full width.

Below the town is the studio of a man who specializes in "L'Art Posterieur." When we left town after taking the preceding images from the high overlook, I encountered one of those slam-on-the-brakes views of an art sculpture.  We stopped and visited and chatted with the very personable artist, Arson, who took us into his studio and showed us his works.  (www.arson-sculptures.com)

The red arrow points to his studio below the hilltown.

Yep, this is the view that brought me to a screeching halt as I drove by. It's not something one sees everyday.

The artist was adding some sealer to keep the work weatherproof.

Vive la France! 

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is the town at the source of the Sorgue River and is located only 6km/3.6 mi from L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Its freshwater spring is one of the most prolific in all of France. The river flows fast, cold, and clear. We returned to visit on a sunny day this time.

A beautiful spot on the planet.

It was nice enough for some to eat outside if you could get a sunny table out of the wind.

Some were bundled up like it was winter - parent's choice I expect.

Just outside town is the Carpentras Canal aqueduct that crosses overhead and perpendicular to the Sorgue River.

Of course, I had to climb up for a view (westward).

And it was worth the climb (eastward view). The camera is in my hand taking this picture.

Note: I published two posts today, keep scrolling.

Cavaillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Cavaillon is a town about 10km/6 miles south of our home base in L'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. We ventured there trying to scout a good vantage point to photograph a sunset. 

Same arch as the first image but looking the other way.

Walking around town we looked for a place to eat lunch. We did not eat here but, I liked the cowgirl boots look when I walked by.  We ate indoors in a very authentic local bar/restaurant - cash only, no credit cards - owner's kids racing around the room including behind the bar - birthday party at a multi-generation table - soccer game on the wall mount TV - locals having beers and espresso at the stand-up bar, talking loudly and gesticulating wildly - it seemed too intrusive to take pictures so I didn't. 

The west side of the town has a steep escarpment on the east side of the hill and this rolling view westward.

The east side view stretches out across town to the west end of the Petite Luberon mountain ridge. If I remember correctly from my pilot days, the sky contains remnants of alto cumulus standing lenticular clouds (wave clouds) that were set up by the strong "mistral" that has been blowing for days hitting the mountains of the Vaucluse and the Luberon.

Google translate says this means, "danger -cliffs - risk of falling."

Yes, there is some danger.

Panorama - click on image to view full width.