Provence

Yellow Flowers

Flowers, flowers everywhere in Provence.

Village Grocery Store

In the village of Menerbes, you will find this funky little grocery store.

Ten Beautiful Villages in France

I am getting Google queries with the most beautiful towns in France. Actually the French government designates 152 as the most beautiful towns in France. Here is my top ten list:

Bonnieux
Menerbes
LaCoste
Gorde
Apt
St. Saturnin
Rousillon
Belcastel
Brousse le Château
Collonges la Rouge

Of course, this is highly subjective, but Provence is the most beautiful place in France. Pictured is Gorde.

Butterfly in Provence

One morning I came out to go to the car, and this butterfly was drying off the morning dew from it wings.

Rustic Doorway

Note the irises and roses and sage around this rustic doorway.

View of a Village Street

A view down a hilltop-village street. Notice the old grape vine in the foreground left.

Perched on a Hill

With village houses perched on the hill, there are splashes of colours from the flowers everywhere.

The Atelier

I peeked through the door of this artisan's atelier and snapped the pic of the art treasures inside.

Wall Bushes

This wall was photographed in the town of Ménerbes , which is the town featured in Peter Mayles book and film -- "A Year in Provence".

Redundancy

This Brasserie and open air cafe has a redundant name -- translated as Brasserie of Colours. We had a fabulous meal here.

Blue Doorway Shutters

More in the series of doorways of Provencale village houses.

The Most Beautiful Towns in France

These two signs say it all about Provence. The first sign says something to the effect that "You are entering one of the most beautiful villages in France." The second sign denotes the wine country. In Provence, most of the villages are beautiful.

Rows and Rows of Vines

Rows and rows of vines stretch across the valley, framed by cherry trees.

The Bell

This bell is like a door bell. However it is made to be heard across the courtyard. You ring it outside the walls and the occupants open the gate to the courtyard.

Patio In Bonnieux

Village Square

Notice the church against the other buildings in the village square in Roussillon, the ochre village

Beetle in Flower

A beetle finds refuge in the petals of a wild flower.

Pont Julien

The ancient bridge pictured here is Pont Julien, or the Julian Bridge. It was built by the Romans between 361-363 AD during the reign of Emperor Julian. It is now closed to everything but pedestrian traffic, but as little as two years ago, the Lovely One used to drive over it with her car. The Romans were marvelous engineers.

Walking Paths in Provence

The winding path is the third picture in the series of the walking trail between Villars and St. Saturnin. See the previous two posts for more photos of this picturesque walk.

The Mas

The large building is a mas, or a farm manor house in Provence. It is surrounded by vineyards.

The End of the Walk

There is a beautiful walk of a few miles between the villages of Villars and Saint Saturnin. It is the Lovely One's refuge to take this walk mentally in times of stress. As you approach St. Saturnin, you get glimpses of the village in the distance.

I phoned my Mother to wish her Happy Mother's Day while walking this trail.

Pottery of Provence

The colors of Provence are reflected in the buildings and the pottery, and indeed life. These Provecale pieces of pottery reflect the blue sky, the ochre, the red poppies and the terracotta ground. The colour of the soil has gotten in their blood (or is it vice versa).

Doorway Gargoyle

An ugly gargoyle adorns the archway above the door of a village house that is now a doctor's office.

Medieval Security

This image detail was fascinating for me for a few reasons. The first is why would the window be so small. It must have been a special purpose hole in the wall for something when the building was built a few hundred years ago.

The security grating is ingenious. It is old beyond a doubt. It is blacksmith wrought iron that has been cleverly cut to make it such that the space to put one's hand through is occluded.

The third thing is that the building's mortar is made from ochre, which gives it colour. This pic was snapped in Rousillon.

View From the Terrace

The panorama above was my view for hours and days at a time when I sat at a terrace cafe perched on a hillside, writing software and eating a Savoyard pizza. A Savoyard pizza is a woodfire pizza with bacon and potatoes on it. It is the best tasting pizza that I have ever had in my life.