Getting off to a late start after last nights festivities we still made it to nearby Cadenet for the weekly market and I armed myself with a new hat ( as I do every visit) as the temperature was well into the high 30s by now.
After lunch we planned to check out the local selleries (saddleries) in nearby Avignon just to see if we could pick up any horsey 'souvenirs.'
Thank goodness for Jeanette, she managed to deliver us to the industrial zone of Avignon – somehow not a place we had visited before – without too much trouble where we found two stores within sight of each other, one of them next to an erotic clothing store….mmmmm, catering to riders of all persuasions.
Unfortunately neither of them were air conditioned and not very conducive to trying things on. Russell baled early, I found a couple of shirts in the sale rack and gazed longingly at saddle pads and rugs….
On the way back we detoured into a shopping mall, not really that common in our experience outside of Paris anyway, and we managed to pick up a few things and escape the heat as well.
By now it was nearly dinner time and we stopped off about 15 mins from home in the village of Cavaillon, significant for us this trip because it is on Le Tour de France route next Thursday! We wanted to find a good viewing spot for Thursday but unexpectedly also had one of our best meals so far at Cuisine Re-Creative.
We tried to book for Thursday lunch but unfortunately they are closed as in addition to Le Tour coming to town Thursday is July 14, Bastille Day, and of course a public holiday. We will just have to try our luck on the day.
Tuesday morning we awoke to thunder and lightning and eventually heavy rain followed but by the time we had finished breakfast it was disappearing to the south and we decided to continue with our original plan to go lavender searching.
Unfortunately, once on the road, the rain set in again and dreary skies surrounded us. We had a way to go though and crossed our fingers as headed north east toward Valensole and eventually the cloud began to break up and the rain stopped. We were following the itinerary sent to me by one of my forum 'buddies' who is a Provence champion and as we reached the Valensole plateau we were not disappointed…
Lavender as far as the eye could see.
We had been worried that it might have been too late in the season but in fact we got to see the best of both worlds with harvesting actually in progress and hence the stunning contrast of green (cut) rows and purple rows yet to be harvested.
Aaahhhh Provence….
Photo stop after photo stop and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, sunflowers as well!
We were in our element but eventually retreated to nearby Valensole for lunch. The village was pleasant, the lunch less so but hey, we're in France and the sun is shining and by now is bloody hot!
Some years ago on another trip to Provence we visited the village of Moustiers Sainte Marie and given that we found ourselves relatively close, decided to visit again.
Moustiers is an ancient village dating back to the fifth century and sits snugly between two cliffs. It's famous, landmark symbol is the five pointed gold star which has hung suspended between the two cliffs for centuries. It's actual origins have been lost but many theories exist including star crossed lovers and knights returning from the Crusades being responsible. Obviously the star itself has been replaced many times over the years and despite the tiny speck in the photograph below, the current star measures 1.25 metres and was hung with the aid of a helicopter, goodness knows how the original one got there.
The building up on the left cliff (262 steps no less) is the Chapelle Notre Dame de Beauvoir, parts of which date back to the 12th century – we decided to view it from below as our real mission here involved the many faïence stores for which Moustiers is famous.
Faïence describes the technique of making off-white pottery which was developed here by the Clérissy family in the 17th century after initially being pioneered in Italy by the monks in Faenza.
Today Moustier's narrow streets are lined with many artisan stores selling the traditional faïence style but also more modern creations at very reasonable prices ( I thought anyway.)
Last time we were here we found a store that would ship to Australia but when I put my order together and shipping was calculated I almost had a heart attack which had nothing to do with the many steps we had climbed to get to the village.
This time I decided that with Emirates generous baggage allowance I could buy a hard shell carry on bag and risk it! So, difficult choices were made and we left with several lovely pieces that will hopefully be in the same number of pieces when we arrive home!
The village itself, whilst very touristy on a sunny day in July, is very worth a visit as you are never far from the picturesque stream that rushes down the mountain and there are plenty of cafes and bars to slake your thirst.
Getting out of the car park proved MUCH easier than getting in and we were soon on way home, a little over 100 kms to go said Jeanette.
On the way home we passed many more lavender fields, several of them being utilised for impromptu 'model' shoots – often involving ladies with origins in the Orient . We couldn't resist a couple more photo stops ourselves but had no model worthy of the natural beauty so had to content ourselves with just that.
Tomorrow, to Aix-en-Provence to supplement our luggage capacity 🙂