Sunday promised to be a beautiful day, so after breakfast on our terrace (did I mention that Les Olivettes delivers a basket with fresh baguette and pastires to our door every morning?), we grabbed the guidebook and our map and set off.
It turned out to be a glorious day! Once we left the N100 on the other side of Apt, we seemed to have all of Provence to ourselves. The wheat is still soft and green and just showing its tassels, the lavendar plants are still tidy little lumps in a row, and the poppies and wildflowers are everywhere.
The drive is through a lightly populated, out of the way area in the high country of Provence, on mostly one lane roads that wind through the hills and dip occasionally down into pretty valleys.
We stopped and walked around three or four small perched villages, most quiet and nearly deserted on Sunday afternoon, but we encountered what appeared to be a big boules tournament in Viens that was fun to watch.
I often wonder if Bob and Sue Winn, the authors of this guidebook, have any idea how many memorable days they have given to Provence visitors with their backroads tours. I hope so!
Just one more:
Comments (3)
Thanks for those nice comments about our guidebook and the evocative notes about your back road drive. You made us want to be back in Provence right now! We have gotten a lot of wonderful notes from users of our book, which gives us great pleasure. We'll be back in Provence in May of 2008, which seems far too long to wait.
Posted by Sue Winn | May 7, 2007 11:00 AM
Posted on May 7, 2007 11:00
I can hardly wait until you post all your photos when you get back - the ones you posted on the blog are beautiful!
Posted by Pauline | May 8, 2007 5:11 PM
Posted on May 8, 2007 17:11
*Boggles**
Wow, those photos are simply stunning, Chris. I haven't been to Provence since my honeymoon--perhaps it's time to go back...
Enjoy the rest of the trip!
Posted by Amy | May 9, 2007 5:55 PM
Posted on May 9, 2007 17:55