A Weekend in Provence I

Village Walkabout

We just celebrated both Father's Day/First Day of Summer by taking a weekend trip a bit west of us to visit our friends with the wine chateau.  We normally go for their annual fête during May, but it was canceled this year due to family tragedy.  However, since our yearly trek is often the only time we see them, we were invited to come over now.  It's nice to know that they didn't want to miss our visit and were willing to share their time of grief with us.

Because Provence is fairly different from the Riviera, I took a lot of pictures to show you another aspect of France.  This post visits, on foot, different parts of their village, in existence since at least the 12th century.

Tour de l'Horloge exterior

Tour de l'Horloge interior

While the architecture of the region is generally quite picturesque, some areas retain more vestiges of ancient fortifications than others, and this village is not one of the most noteworthy.  That does not mean it doesn't have its fair share of charm.

One of the original three entrances into the town is through this Medieval bell tower.

The open framework over the bell itself is typical of the region, which can suffer enormous wind damage when the Mistral blows, as it did this weekend.

So where does this lead?

One of the side streets off this main entrance road apparently used to lead to a prison, but my hostess had no clue about that history.  Apparently the prison has been gone quite a long time. 

I'm not sure if this street actually leads to the current post office or not. 

However, I thought that this signage was rather pretty whether or not the street leads to either destination!

It took five centuries?

A beautiful setting

Going through the bell tower to the outside of the center of town, I came across an adorable ancient chapel.

Summer hollyhocks

The entrance garden was filled with various rustic Provençal vegetation, including a row of hollyhocks against an old stucco wall that just perfectly set the stage. 

Old trees, old gravestones, fresh flowers

Enjoying the peacefulness

Inside the courtyard was a huge tree stump and some old rock tombstones nicely set off by lavender and various cottage bushes. 

There was even a bench under the trees to provide companionship for an old grave, although I imagine it's really only the stone that remains!

Nearby countryside

Typical grapevines

Leaving our hosts' chateau in a different direction, I found myself in a completely different environment, out in the countryside.

As this region has been producing wine for two thousand years, grape vines can be seen everywhere.  Further out are large parcels of fields, but even close to town one can find lots of little plots filled with rows of them.

The real Provence

While all the houses remind one that this isn't a purely rural area, you can still see evidence of the region all over the local landscape. 

In just this one section, you can see cypresses, olive trees, grape vines, and oleanders.

Not to ignore that somebody has their own little lavender field.

A charming spot to rest

Have a little drink if you want

As our visit was more for consolation friendship than sightseeing, this was the extent of my promenading around.  However, I did come across this lovely bench where I could have taken a little break had I wanted or needed one.

A national bottled water company is situated in this village, so it wouldn't be surprising to find out that this fountain is actually supplied by the same source as the commercial water, for free.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll around a pretty Provençal village.  Next, I'll take you shopping on Market Day.  Stay tuned.