September 2 – Tour of the Villages of the Luberon Region

We were up very early morning and had some wonderful morning light over the harbor and town. 

We have an early morning departure for a tour so we had a brisk walk this morning to the other side of the harbor where we met out guides for today.  We are taking a tour of some of the villages in the Luberon Region of France.  It is north of Marseille and east of Avignon.  Our first stop was a quick one in Aix en Provence where we picked up one other tourist, Francis from New York City. 

The drive through the countryside took us through villages, past farm houses and lots of lavender fields (with the plants cut really short as it was well after the lavender season) and vineyards.

Our first stop was the village of Lourmarin where they had a nice castle overlooking the village. 

We took a walk through the picturesque village with its sidewalk cafes,

narrow, windy streets,

and quaint buildings with window shutters on all the windows.

It was also market day in the village and we had a great time walking the market.  It was a local market and not a tourist one.  

There were lots of fruit and vegetable stands,

flowers,

treats,

and butchers.

There were also a various types of housewares.  It was definitely a great stop.

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More Lourmarin Village and Markets
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The next stop was a viewpoint overlooking the very picturesque village of Bonnieux.  The tour drive took us through town but we didn’t stop to explore.

On our way through the countryside we drove past an old Roman bridge.  It had been used by vehicle traffic until not too long ago when they decided that cars weren’t good for it.  So the road bypassed it but gave us good views.

Our next stop was the hillside town of Roussillon.  This town used to be a major supplier of ochre, a mineral used in the making of paints and dyes.  We could see some of the remains of where the mineral had been hewn from the hillside.

The village sits high in the hills and gave us great views of the surrounding countryside.  

There was also a very picturesque cemetery. 

The Roussillon is a historically listed village and as such there are a lot of restrictions about the buildings.  The population is also restricted to less than 5,000 people (otherwise it becomes a town).  This restricts the construction of new building in the village.  And all of the buildings are required to be the ochre color from the material that used to be mined there.  

There were also a number of tourist shops with interesting wares.  

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More Roussillon
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And we had lunch on a terrace overlooking the nearby valley.  During lunch we had a nice visit with a couple from the US. 

Then it was on for another viewpoint to see the town of Gordes.  This town is a “jet set” destination with gorgeous scenery, a quaint vibe, million-dollar homes and where the cheapest hotel rooms are $1000+ per night…probably why we aren’t staying here overnight. 

The route took us through the town where we could see how lovely it was.  Maybe next time.

This area has lots of stone wall lining the road and separating fields. 

Our next stop was Fontaine de Vaucluse.  It turns out that Paul had visited here on a shore excursion earlier this year when we were on our Regent Cruise.  The town has a lovely old stone church

and a small town square right on the river.

We took a walk along the river...

up to the hole in the mountain where the major spring emerges from the mountain to feed the river.  France is in a drought so there wasn’t any water emerging from this spring but there were smaller ones on the way up that were doing a good job of filling the river.

The final stop was L’Isle sur La Sorgue, a nearby town that Paul had also visited.  Wonder of wonders, he was able to find his way back to a street that had several waterwheels in a short stretch (he isn’t known for his sense of direction). 

We also visited the lovely church

and wandered the streets.

We stopped at a café along the riverside with a view of another waterwheel...

and had some refreshments before heading back to the car.  We really enjoyed the chance to get to see some of these lovely villages.

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More Villages of Luberon 
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On the way back to Marseille we got some pretty heavy rain.  The guides were able to drop us off very close to the hotel, so we didn’t get too wet.  By dinner time the rain had stopped so we were able to head out to find a restaurant with out getting too wet.  Great day.