29th October, Antique Market

Markets are a way of life here and they range from the small to the huge as we experienced in Vienne. Sablet is very well served for the staples in life but a fish monger and a cheese seller come into town each thursday with their mobile shops.
Last Sunday, 27th October, an antiquités et brocante (antiques and flea market) came to town with their silverware, linen, crockery, tools, bells, furniture and all sorts of odds and sods. One seller had his own metal work fabrications for sale, while another had available magnificently restored "old" hand tools and door locks all presented in clean and shining condition. Another was offering full sets of silver cutlery, serving spoons, trays and some items which we had no idea what they were. There were cow bells with elaborate collars carved from wood and table ware linen of a quality that is difficult to buy new today.

Some of the furniture. The roll top desk had 950 Euros on it.

Hand made metal table and stools

Wooden bench and hand tools

Restored hand tools and door locks

Cow bells

Unknown silver device (not the knife). We bought it and know what it is.

29th October, Avignon

Avignon is more than "Sur le Pont D'Avignon", the song we all have running through our heads when the city's name is mentioned. This well preserved walled city of approximately 100,000 people (12,000 of who live within the walls) was the home of  the popes from 1309 to 1403 - 7 popes in all and they built the encircling wall, the bridge, the Palais des Papes (an enormous palace for themselves and now a museum) and amazing churches.
We have a policy that we avoid cities and crowds and queues in our adventures but at this time of the year the crowds are very much absent - summer is the time for Provence. The tourists are evident but in small numbers and walking and window shopping and looking in awe at the buildings are comfortable activities in autumn.
As we do in these larger cities we take the tourist bus or, in Avignon's case,"le petit train d'Avignon". This gives us our bearings and provides an overview, with commentary, of  the place and where we may be drawn to on our walk and areas we may wish to avoid. We did not mark any that we would avoid, and as the area within the walls is flat the whole area was ours to explore.

The first thing that you see when you leave the stairs out of the Palais des Papes underground car park is the Palais des Papes. What a start to the adventure.

The Palais des Papes and no one in sight

Notre Dame des Dom Cathedral alongside Palais des Papes

Gold Statue on top of  Notre Dame des Dom

Le petit train d"Avignon

Little statues are on the building facades throughout the city

The drawbridge from the Palais to the "bridge"

The "bridge" - Pont Saint-Benezet

The Opera House

The alter of Saint Pierre - a minor Bassilica

Entrance to Saint Pierre's Bassilica

Entrance door to the Bassilica

28th October, Dentelles de Montmirail

The Dentelles de Montmirail is a small mountain range running about 15 kms north to south and reaching 800 meters high and hovering over the Côtes du Rhône wine villages of Sablet, Séguret (previously  mentioned in this blog ) and Gigondas, Le Crestet, Vacqueyras, Lafare, Suzette and Beaumes de Venise. 

Today we explored the area around the Dentelles de Montmirail and what a beautiful Provence day it was. Not a cloud to be seen, no wind and 29° in the afternoon. We continue to be amazed at the continuing and changing beauty of this region of Provence from the lavender fields, the vineyards, the mountains and the valleys, the hilltop villages, the forests and woods. 
The stories behind the development, growth, decline, regrowth and current situation of the villages is quite interesting and all have a different tale to tell, but unfortunately beyond the scope of this blog.
Suffice to say that the two villages we walked today, Le Crestet and Suzette, are amongst the villages that have seen big declines in population. Le Crestet has declined from a population of 600 in the 16th century to 35 today.  Current rebuilding  and investment by other European holiday makers expands it to 55 in the summer months. It is thought that an interest by telecommuters, who apparently prefer the quiet village life to that of the busier cities, may see the population of these villages rise and preserve them for future residents and travellers to enjoy like we did today.
The first village we visited, Suzette, (no relation to the Crêpe) is another one of those villages which appears to float on its hilltop, along with its small 12 century church, a handful of residents and a sign which asks you to Respectez son calme (respect its peace).
The scene on the drive out of Suzette is gorgeous and surprisingly underdeveloped. The lack of water put an end to any thoughts of housing and farming in this area. Water is everything in this parched region and without it you can't cultivate the land. Quickly you enter Le Col de la Chaine Mountain Pass at about 475 meters with vistas that take the breath away.
The peaks thrusting up in the distance are the Dentelles de Montmirail. The rocky tops are the result of a gradual uplifting of the land and then blown bald by the angry mistral wind. 
Slightly further on we arrive at Le Crestet in the empty visitors' carpark and begin the climb up the cobblestone walkways to the village. This hilltop village walking caper is hard work, so steep are the walkways and uneven are the cobblestones that knee replacements quickly get put to the test. But by walking you come to appreciate the work that went into putting these villages together rock by rock so long ago. It is a beautiful little place and the views from above are worth the effort. The town had an elaborate water channel and cistern system and disputes over water were a common problem.

Scenery on way to Suzette

Ann in the 12th Century L'Eglise Notre-Dame de Suzette

Looking back to Suzette

The Dentelles de Montmirail with Suzette to the left 
taken from the Mountain Pass

A view of the valley from the Pass

Entrance to Le Crestet

Le Crestet's intricate rock by rock construction

More intricate rock work

A no longer used water channel

Ann deciding whether to do another climb 
and test the knee, or not.

 

26th October, A Circumnavigation of Mont Ventoux

Mont Ventoux is dominating and has a mystical and captivating effect about it. It  overwhelms the country side in this region of Vaucluse and presents in different forms depending from which direction you view it. What better way to view these different presentations than to circumnavigate "Le Ventoux" and to get  different perspectives of  the countryside, from the lavender country around Sault to the east, to the wine country of  Vaison la Romaine and others  in the west, and the beautiful and little-known villages scattered in between.

We set off with Sault set into the GPS thinking this would take us in an anti-clockwise direction through country we hadn't previously travelled.  But no, we were led off in the opposite direction past turnoffs to known places but our girl came through and soon we were in unfamiliar territory passing by cliff hanging villages with enchanting names like Entrechaux and St-Leger-du-Ventoux to the north of "Le Ventoux".

Soon we veered off the "D40" and ascended to the little village of Brantes, precariously perched high up and with a fantastic view of the Mont Ventoux and the valley to the west. One thing the villages here have in common – they are all extremely photogenic. And Brantes more so than most. This tiny village looks like a giant has tossed a chapel and some houses on top of a small, sharp hill. It is a "walking through" village and consists of steep narrow cobblestone walkways and steps and this feature probably precluded us from seeing some of the village - but what we did see, and the views, were très magnifique.

Continuing along  on the eastern side saw us passing through other villages with similar enticing names like Savoillan ( at the foot of the Mont Ventoux, lost in time, the sort of place you might safely live in if you were being pursued by the mob), Reilhanette (guarding the southern entrance to the Toulourenc valley), Aurel (whose winding streets and clarity of light make it a magnet for painters, we are told) and eventually Sault, to the south east of Le Ventoux. 
The countryside east of Mont Ventoux is lavender country and the area around Sault is thick with lavender fields, which, we understand, provide a thrilling spectacle in the flowering season from late June to early August. We stopped here, took some refreshments, purchased some Provençal wares and nearly filled the memory card on the camera. The scenery was so spectacular. Sault’s market day is Wednesday, and has been running since 1515.
The descent drive into Flassan from Sault, through woods, gave us filtered views (through pine trees right up to the roadway) of Le Ventoux to the north but limited pull over spots to take photographs. The pullover stops that are along the road provided obscured views of the mountain, except one which we took advantage of. Flassan though surprised us. When we stopped to reset the GPS for home,  a casual glance in the rear view mirror provided probably the best view of the mountain all day.

BTW The white nature of the summit of Mont Ventoux, as seen from the east and south, is not snow, it is limestone rocks. The summit does though cover in snow throughout the winter from December to  March.
 

Mont Ventoux looking SW with Sablet in the foreground

 

View over vine filled valley around Vaison-le Romaines

Ann negotiating cobblestones in Brantes

Walkway scene in Brantes

Mont Ventoux to the west of Brantes

Mont Venteux to the NE of Sault

Mont Ventoux from Sault and over the lavendar fields

Mont Ventoux on descent fom Sault looking north

Mont Ventoux Looking NNE

Mont Ventoux from Flassan looking north

25th October, Pont du Gard

France has only nine sites listed as a "Grand Site de France" and the list includes "Le Site du Pont du Gard" in Provence. 

We visited it today and were gobsmacked.

If you have the opportunity to visit this part of Southern France, add this place to your must visit list.  
It includes a museum which is not your typical museum. It is not packed with broken earthenware jugs behind glass and old Roman coins. It shows and explains how this monument was built via full size models, reproductions and animations. It includes a kids' area where young people can become gallo-roman pupils or budding archaeologists, and a walk in/walk out cinema which takes you through the history of the Pont du Gard.

The grounds include three ancient olive trees, which are claimed to be have been planted in 908 AD ie 1,105 years ago, and they are all still bearing fruit.

My apologies to Wikipedia which generally describes the site  as follows :- 
(and again apologies for the history and geography lesson but an important site like this needs a little understanding.)

"The Pont du Gard  is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins in the Gard Department of southern France. It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long  structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzes to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nimes). It took 5 years to build in the middle of the first century AD - it is just under 2,000 years old.
Because the terrain between the two points is hilly, the aqueduct – built mostly underground – took a long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the construction of an aqueduct bridge. The Pont du Gard is the highest and best preserved of all Roman aqueduct bridges.  It was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance."

A budding archaeologist learning how the Romans built the arches

First view of aqueduct

An arch

1843 graffiti

The three levels of the 2000 year old aqueduct

Bob and one of the 1,105 years old olive trees

23rd October, Sablet

Sablet is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region in southeastern France.  It is a fortified Provençal village rich in history and it's our home for another two and a bit weeks, having arrived here on 19th.

We found our accommodation after being directed to it by another Sablet renter who advised us correctly that her place would not suit us with internal steep ladder type stairways and a climb up hill with baggage from street parking and that is if any was available at the time. Although this place covers four levels - ground with a bedroom, bathroom and toilet, 1st with living area and kitchen, 2nd with kingsize bed and bathroom and toilet and 4th with two single beds, the stairways are relatively easy and it also has its own lock up garage attached.

The oldest part of the village "inside the walls" (les remparts), is made up of narrow streets or ruelles, built in a circular fashion around the beehive shaped hill, which afforded inhabitants protection against numerous invaders over many centuries. Streets are named to reflect the activities of the village inhabitants over the centuries, for example climbing the "Escaliers de l'Eglise" to the twelfth century church of St. Nazaire or visiting the shoemaker on the "Rue du Cordonnier."

Today, the village has expanded beyond the "Remparts" and has an active group of "commercants" who provide for the day to day needs of its residents and the surrounding farms.

Main industries in Sablet are Wine Producing and Tourism. Although the village is a support center for the tourism that takes place in the area, it retains its primary role as a living village.

The major "fete" each year is the book fair or Journees du Livre which is held in July. Well-known authors from all over France and literary enthusiasts come to the village for this two-day event. During the first week of August the village celebrates its annual Fete Votive (a celebration to the patron saint of the village, as do most villages in the area) with music, dancing and events for children. Various other events such as  Antiques Markets, re-enactments of historic days, open air movies, art expositions and a Boules tournament also take place during the spring and summer months. We understand an antique market will be held this weekend.

Sablet is so different to St Albans de Varese in that it dates back to at least the 10th century and with its narrow lanes and houses built right on the street and with their windows open and curtains drawn you are almost inside the houses as you walk the streets.  We have visited villages like this in Italy and now in France but this the first time we have experienced living and walking these narrow lanes to go about our daily business.
Whereas St Albans de Varese goes back to the 18th or 19th century, we think, and is constructed along the lines of say inner Sydney or Melbourne with wider streets and houses setback a little more or even having a small front garden giving a little more privacy. And of course so different to current suburbia and Bundanoon.

Everybody (including the kids) offers a  "bon jour" as you pass in the streets or as you enter a shop, from both the customers and shopkeepers. It is a very friendly place as was St Albans de Varese and as we have found throughout France.

Another big difference between the two villages is that in Sablet there is no through traffic. The trafic that does flow is local, deliveries or tourists and they all do it slowly and quietly. St Albans de Varese was on a "major" minor road which linked several villages and a lot of those passing through ignored the 50 km/hr limit. During the day though there is the noise from the French fighter jets flying overhead in formation from the several air force bases here in this part of Provence.

Our Sablet house, white on left, on Boulevarde de Remparts

Part of "Remparts" opposite house

Typical lane behind the city wall

Note 1.5 M wide sign. Our Citroen DS3 is 1.715 M wide

A Passageway in the village

Section of  village commercial center

 

22nd October, Séguret

The closest village to Sablet,  just 3 kms away, is Séguret, another member of  "The Most Beautiful Villages in France". It is a walled town with entrance portals at either end and dates back to the 10th Century.

Its name comes from the Latin word securitas meaning "secure" and it is believed the village was patrolled 24/7 in the Middle Ages - they never took their securitas for granted. The village includes an elaborate exit passage network system called poternes which were needed in peace times to allow the village to expand below and outside the walls.

The town now though is home to a host of art activities and outlets including studios producing and selling Santons.
Santons  (little saint)  are small (2.5–15 cm) hand-painted terracotta nativity scene figurines  produced throughout Provence. In a traditional Provençal crèche, there are 55 individual figures representing various characters from Provençal village life such as the scissors grinder, the fishwife, the blind man, and the chestnut seller. Séguret transforms itself into one big crèche scene from mid November through to Christmas. This Provençal tradition has largely died out in other villages.

Séguret vignerons are part of the "Côtes du Rhône Villages Appellation d'Origine Protégée", which is made up of some of the village wine producers around the region who produce  high quality  wine.  In fact tonight Ann and I shared a 2010 "Messire de Very" a red wine from Séguret  which was given to us by our neighbours in St Alban de Varese.

Séguret from below

Cobblestone road

poternes access??

Beautiful village

A Santon - vegetable seller

Sablet seen from Séguret

Ann negotiating Séguret's steps

One of two portals with ancient gate still hanging

Sablet with Mont Ventoux in background
(taken today when cloud lifted)