First trips in Provence.

La Motte d'Aigues is a fortified village founded in the 11th century. It was condemned by the Merindol decree as a Waldensian village and destroyed in 1545. It is built on a hill with really narrow streets, many of which can not be accessed by car. It has a pub/pizzeria, a bakery, a Vival small supermarket, a wine co-op and a hairdresser - what more would you want!

A view down rue Jaubert Appolinaire from where we are on the left. The evening we arrived the family in the house with the chairs and table were all outside enjoying the sun (and showers). Below that are steps that lead down to opposite the pub - very handy! We try it this evening for an aperitif or even a pair of them!

We have sussed out supermarkets - a Hyper U and a Carrefour, both near Pertuis which is the closest large town. We stopped in the tourist office in Pertuis, situated in the dungeon of the old castle, and got more information to add to the huge folder that was left for us.

As far as I can figure out we are in the Vaucluse region of Provence. Vaucluse seems to be  divided into different districts/regions and La Motte d'Aigues is in the Luberon region. We have already discovered that the wines from the Luberon are very good. The wine co-op in La Motte d'Aigues sells only wine from the vineyards around the village. The young woman who works there is very nice and offered us huge tastings of some of the wines - surprisingly enough we did not consume all she offered!

On Wednesday afternoon, we took a walk through Pertuis which is described as the economic heart of the Aigues valley. It is a former fortified city where some ramparts remain. As we had left it rather late, we strolled around and will do a more detailed exploration another day.

Sculpture and fountain in Place de le Diane, Pertuis.

On our way back to La Motte, we stopped to look at L'etang de la Bonde, a lake which is used for swimming.

2 views of L'Etang de la Bonde. I think there are nice walks around there which we must check out.






We had dinner on the terrace but were annoyed by the wasps. Must think of some ways to distract them!