Month: September 2010

So, this August was a chance for the three of us do a bit more exploring around the area.  First, we visited the great Friday market in Eygalières.  Then, it was up to the Alps for a few days in Savoie.

First, here are our images from hanging out in the market with our good friends René, Pascale and their two lovely daughters.

This is a view of the church ruins at the top of the village.  You can see Mont Ventoux in the background.  There will be some images from our trip to the top of the mountain in a later post.

Here is the village of Eygalières with the collines (little hills) in the background.

The happy, absolutely adorable family walking ahead of us.  🙂

Salesmen seem to be the same pretty much all over the world. This guy was demonstrating his great cutting utensil.

The lavender had just been harvested and was all over.

Mmm…sausage.  Very tasty.

The olives were, of course, a highlight and ubiquitous.

As you may be able to discern, this woman is weaving stalks of lavender with a ribbon.  She’s got 20 shoots of lavender … quite impressive.  Each one took her an hour to make.

A typical lunch scene.  Not too bad, huh?

That does it for the market … time to move into the mountains.  We stayed at an absolutely AMAZING place.  Château des Allues.   http://www.chateaudesallues.com/ Although I don’t have any images of the place (they were accidentally erased), it was simply perfect.  The service, room, and exquisite food/wine.

This is the start of a hike we took with X.  As you see, there were vineyards all around.  Our kind of place!  The Savoie wine was a hidden gem.  We didn’t know much before staying there, but it was a nice treat to discover it’s delicious.

This is Château de Miolans.  It dates from at least the 11th century.  On our way back, we stopped for a tour … pictures of that to follow.

Anna cruising down the trail.  X was hangin with me at this point.

The beautiful valley.

Anna and X by the valley.

Touring the Château.  This is the garden that was of great medicinal and magical value in the middle ages.

The Tower of St Pierre, with its commanding view of the valley is the oldest part of the castle.  The tower itself dates back to the 14th century.

X and I hanging out again.  Although the castle was originally built as a fortress for the lords of Miolans, it was converted into a state run prison from 1564-1792.  The Marquis de Sade was perhaps its most famous inmate.  He’s the guy for who the term “sadism” is named.  Yeah, that guy.

Well, that finishes our little tour of Savoie.

Next up will be the trips we took in Provence when Gabi and Philipp were visiting (Les Baux, Mt. Ventoux and Vaucluse).

Until then…

–Jim

Although my lovely sister has requested more X pictures, I was about to post these images from our jaunt to Roussillon in July.  Then, more X pics!  🙂

So, after spending a little time near Gordes, the road led us to visit the magnificent Ochre Hills of Roussillon.  We were joined by our good friend, Leah.

Apparently, Roussillon sits atop the world’s largest deposit of ochre and was the European capital of its production for use as a colorful pigment in things like paint and wallpaper.  The practice of using the pigment dates from at least Roman times, when they used ochre in building bricks of various colors.  Roussillon had a reputation as the best quality ochre in the world (despite probable dispute from other production sites such as the US and Italy).  Things continued in about the same manner for 2,000 years until right before WWII, when other less expensive options became available.  However, ochre from the region is still used.  The ochre jaune walls in our house is the case in point.  This yellow tinted wall covering is known as chaux and renowned for its thermal properties.  The only downside is no spot painting…  it’s never the same color.  Kinda like painting in fresco.

OK, here are the images from the day:

They say there are 17 shades of ochre.

X had fun hanging out with Anna walking through the old quarry with Anna.  However, since it was bright and hot, he was hiding in his carrier and slept through most of it.  Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to come back when he’s a bit older.

Here’s Leah.

For scale, not the person in the lower right corner of the image.

The three of us.

Another image of Leah.

Yep, Anna caught me again.  Not hard.  As you may notice, I am fully stocked with equipment … a blanket in my cargo pocket, just in case X gets cold in the summer heat.

More of the various ochre shades.

This is the view from a restaurant we ate at in the village.

Another view from the restaurant in the deepening afternoon light.

Almost time for a golden, red sunset

On the way out, we liked this door and garage.  Plus, the wall color is one of many shades in the buildings of the village.  The village itself has been a protected village since WWII and now benefits from virtually no modern development.

One last image of the cliffs before we headed home.  As you notice in the background, there are still plenty of vineyards nearby.

Ok, that does it for the ochre of Roussillon.  Up next is a post of Little Alexander. Until then…

–Jim

OK, these are a little out of order.  They are a few images of the lavender fields of Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque outside of Gordes back in early July before we left for the wedding.  Nonetheless, here they are … hope you enjoy!

OK, I know this post is lacking much text.  Sorry, it’s about the lavender this time.  Up next is the ochre in Roussillon.

Till then!

–Jim