Roussillon

Today was  the Festival of Associations in La Motte d'Aigues. The girl in the wine co-op explained that the people of the village meet up for a range of activities and events. The morning was devoted to healthy activities mainly for children. In the Place de l'Arcade (where the Vival mini-market, the bakery, the hairdresser and the wine co-op are) there was a wine stall and the bakery had a stall for tastings too. We tasted a few of the baked items, waved at and passed the time of day with the wine girl and went to the Place de la Mairie which had 2 untended information stalls. Then we went into the Salle Polyvalente (Community Centre) where there were about 3 stalls of jewellery, pottery and handcrafts. It took us all of 10 minutes. Behind the Community Centre, there were some tables and chairs and a stall preparing to barbecue for lunch at midi. We didn't stay. On our way home from our trip to Roussillon, there were a few more people about but not many - so these villages are even sleepy on a day of Festival!

So Roussillon - Roussillon is set on a hill between the mountains of the Vauclose and the Luberon. It is a beautiful village with red rocks, red stone buildings and red tile roofs. Like the other most beautiful villages in France that we have visited, visiting involves going up and going down! The first up was from the car park, supposedly 300m from the village but in fact 800m away. Uphill but no real problem - must be getting used to all this uphill downhill lark!

First view of ochre cliffs.

Ochre has been used in the Luberon since Roman times but it wasn't until 1785 that it was mined industrially. It was traditionally used as a pigment to colour pots and buildings.

Ochre comes in over 25 shades ranging from delicate yellow to vivid orange and fire red. We discovered these hues on the walking trail in Roussillon's Sentier des Ocres.

View of Roussillon from Sentier des Ocres.

A type of sundial at the beginning of the Sentier des ocres. A crowd of cyclists (about 20 young men) arrived at around the same time as us. They were convinced that the time was wrong but I think that it was right - one hour later than the time we were on - not winter time yet!

Interestingly - this area is called La Chaussee des Geants - not what we expect given our Giant's Causeway!

A view of  Mont Ventoux - very distinctive mountain.

What it's like underfoot you should have seen my feet! Sandals currently on the balcony hopefully drying having been washed.

Our footprints are there somewhere to show we did the walk!

Roussillon from the walk.

A picture of my choice of lunch. Aioli is a dish typical of this region. It consists of steamed fish and vegetables served still hot with a dense garlic dip - gorgeous!
A lot later on, the garlic is still pungent!

View  from the Castrel.

They paint doorways of unoccupied buildings here too just like in Raphoe!