Monday, December 7, 2009

Row of Shops

A row of shops in Sr. Saturnin has a driving school tucked in between a home furnishing shop and a shop that sells awnings and pergola covers.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Ocher

Ocher deposits abound around Rousillon in Provence.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Chock-a-block Full

Take a look at what is crammed into this village square. You have a hostel, a cafe, a restaurant, a hotel, an ice cream shop and a war memorial.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A Perfect Example

A perfect example about what I like about Provence. Here we have a terrace melding into a street with parked cars. Below is the lower tier of the village built on a mountainside. But in spite of the fact there is a stone retaining wall, it is lined with planters and pots of flowers. Flowers are EVERYWHERE in Provence.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Rose Arbor

A rose arbor decorates the doorway of a village house.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Villagers On A Sunday Morning

Villagers walk their dog along the hilltop village streets on a Sunday morning.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Street Meets Gate in Village Wall

As you drive through the village on the narrow streets, you come to the ancient wall of the old village. This was a gate in the wall. It is obvious that the car will not fit through a gate made for donkeys and horses. And you have to back up all the way, because there is no place to turn around. These are some of the quaint surprises in the hilltop villages of Provence. In another place, the road changes abruptly into stairs.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Incredibly Old Grape Vine

The older that a grape vine is, the thicker it is. This old specimen has been pruned many many seasons and still is producing in a Provencale vineyard.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In a Provence Church Yard

I snapped the above picture in the church yard in the village of Roussillon.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Medieval Walls and Vine

This old rock wall abuts the wall of a hilltop village. A solitary grape vine grows against the ancient rock and doorway lintel. The mortar is made with ocher.

Monday, November 23, 2009

The Hameau

A hameau is French for hamlet. The way that many hameaus came into existence, is that a wealthy farmer would build a dwelling for his grown son and his wife. Also there would be a dwelling for the hired help. Over the generations, a mini village would arise with many dwellings. Hameaus are sought after dwellings these days, because they are usually surrounded by pastoral farm land and vines, even though the houses are close together.

A wonderful field of poppies is in front of this hameau.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Beautiful Wooden Door

A village house has an elegant wrought iron gate and a marvelous old wood door that adds charm to this residence.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Castle Turret

This turret wall is on the castle in the village of Gorde. What caught my eye, was the shooting port in the castle wall, where a defender could fire from.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Village House with Artistic Flair

An ocher village house displays an artistic flair with a bird motif.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Bucket of Rocks

This bucket of rocks was in the vineyard. Limestone rocks are spread on the ground at the base of grape vines to both reflect the light and hold the heat for the vines. This is an ancient technique that is still practiced.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Portable Fish Market

On market day, the portable fish market shows up in small towns in Provence selling fresh fish probably hauled up from Marseille.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Mas With Attached Chapel


A provencale manor house or mas oftentimes had an attached chapel as this one has. The little outcropping from the building is the chapel.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Yellow Flowered Bush

I was in the country taking a late afternoon walk among the vineyards along a quiet road. I came upon these bushes growing wild, just ablaze with yellow flowers.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Doorway of Provence with Stone Mailbox

This beautiful doorway is typically French, narrow and tall with dark wood. The interesting item in the shot is the stone mailbox.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Hidden Living Spaces

Little patios, hidden nooks, flowers, doorways, bright shutters, and a barbecue are the hallmarks of these village house entrance ways.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Vine on a Rock Wall

A wild grape vine grows against an old rock wall.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hilltop Village Tiers

Here is a schematic of the the village of Bonnieux showing how the tiers work on a hilltop village.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Almonds and Irises

Almonds ripen in the Provencale sun while irises grow along the line of almond trees.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Neat Narrow Shop

An incredibly narrow shop straddles the loop back street that goes down the mountain from the village.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

The Butchery

A butchery displays it wares of pates in shop window along a narrow village street.

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Ubiquitous Iris

Irises everywhere, even in Van Gogh paintings.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Large Vineyard

A large vineyard spreads out in the sun beside neatly manicured topiary trees, while the majestic mas (manor house) reposes in the trees behind the fields of vines.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Garden Greenery

This bit of garden greenery caught my eye. This isn't one flower petal, but lots of colour in this planter.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Green Cherries

Cherries have a special place with me. We had a cherry tree in the backyard all of my growing up years. And part of the charm of Provence, is that there are cherry trees everywhere. It is one of my favourite fruits.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Cafe Row

A row of cafes and restaurants dots a village street near a garage. The menu includes plates of the day, costing 9 Euros. One of the menu choices is rabbit.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Iron Gate

An iron gate closes off the lower level egress to a village house. Village house built on hills have weird inner geometries such that a doorway like this could be a main entrance. It is part of the enchantment of the buildings in Provence.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Vineyards in the Valley

Vineyards checker the valley, laid out in neat squares in the Provencal sun.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Farm Implement

A farm implement sits in the cherry orchard while wild iris grow beside it.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Lavender Art

Besides ocher and vineyards, Provence is also known for it lavender fields. Pictured outside this souvenir shop, is lavender art.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Empty Pool

It was early spring and the pool was being prepared for use, but for the time being it was empty, as was the Euro-chic furniture beside the pool.

Monday, October 26, 2009

The fancy while filigree on the shuttered blue windows caught my eye. The robin egg blue contrasts with the yellow ocher and you see a small evergreen tree peeking out near the window to the right.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

From The Village to the Valley

A couple walk with their dog from the village down into the valley on a sleepy Provencale road.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Village Doorways Reprise

Pictured above is the door of a winery in a Provencal village. The portals and doorways are as colourful and beautiful as the landscape.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The Banana Leaf

I was on the balcony of a cafe in a hilltop village, overlooking this lordly mas (Provence manor house) framed by greenery and a vineyard in its back yard. Then it struck me how far south we were. The big green leaf showing in the right of the picture, is the leaf from a huge banana plant.

Living in the tropics as I do, I see banana plants all over. They are planted as huge ornamentals. However, it was startling to see it overlooking the vines in Provence.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Bistro Food

A white pepper sauce on a perfect steak with roast potatoes, peas, a side salad and vegetables, washed down with a wonderful Cote de Luberon rose wine. This was just lunch.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Andreas Bocelli in Provence

We saw this poster of Andreas Bocelli. We had these visions of him coming to a Provence village and singing under the stars. We would buy tickets at any cost. As it turns out, the townsfolk were just showing a DVD of his performance.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Slippery When Wet

When I had to work, I had to be connected to the internet, so I would sit all day in a cafe in Bonnieux, connected to Nassau by the internet.

At the end of the day, I would walk home, past this sign.

It is surprising to think that the roads are slippery because of the mental picture of eternal sunshine, grapes and vines, and the Mediterranean. However the valley has its days of rain, cold and even snow.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Escargot on the Run

A snail makes a run for the wild instead of the cooking pot. Mmmmm escargot with garlic butter.

Friday, October 16, 2009

At The Cafe

A pleasant interlude during the day is drinks at the cafe.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Past Glory

This balcony over an archway into a courtyard has seen better days.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The Town Awakens

The town slowly awakens in the morning. A merchant puts out his wares while a villager lights a cigarette and strolls to a cafe for his morning coffee.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Beware of Dog

At the entrance to a guest house, a sign on the post says "Beware of Dog".

Friday, October 9, 2009

Narrow Village Streets

The streets are quite narrow in the hilltop villages. Luckily there is not much traffic. However the tour buses play chicken with you and drive forward forcing you to back up. Once when I held my ground, the bus driver kept coming at me with no intention of stopping. I suppose that if I got out of the car, he would have surrendered.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Fabrics of Provence

The fabrics of Provence are as distinctive as the landscape, the flowers, and the ochre.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

A Pair of Windows

One thing that I love about Provence, is how even something as simple as a window is much more than a window.

Here we have a pair of them. The smaller one has a plant in the sill, and a planter attached to the building below it. The big window has lovely lace curtains, and the utilitarian clothes line under it, holding a pair of socks and a dish towel.