Looking east toward the Durance and the Alps from the plateau at Ganagobie
Today we ventured further beyond the Luberon, once again to the Alpes de Haute Provence.
Our day began in the town of Forcalquier, about an hour east of Apt on the N100, in an area dotted with fruit orchards and olive trees. The village of Banon—known for its cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves—is not too far away.
We've driven through Forcalquier several times and spent several hours here in 2005 on our way to go skiing in the French Alps. We’ve always considered it an impressive town with the ruins of a castle and chapel on the top of a rounded hill. In 2005 we climbed to the top after lunch. (We actually ate outside in January!) The views from the top are superb, extending west to the snow-covered Alps and back to the Luberon in the east.
Forcalquier was once a very important place—an independent state and capital of the region. Today it comes alive primarily on Mondays—market day—and that was the reason for our visit today. The Forcalquier market is considered one of the best markets in this part of Provence. Our friends’ housekeeper Laurence used to live in a neighboring village; she said this is the major market for people living in the surrounding area and that even in summertime, there will be more locals than tourists.
We arrived early, but crowds were pouring into the town. We parked in a big dirt lot on and just followed the other people. The market sprawls all over the town, and included several of the same sellers we’ve seen elsewhere: the bracelet woman from Apt, the scarf man from Aix, the woman from Apt who sells her paintings.
So what was different? There was an entire section of arts and crafts (jewelry, paintings, sculptures, artisan pottery). There were lots and lots of clothes—at discount prices. There was food (meat, fish, cheese, olive oil, wine), but not as much produce as we’ve seen elsewhere. To me, the Forcalquier market seemed like a combination of a giant discount store and an upscale arts and crafts fair. I initially thought the market was very well spread out in lots of open areas, but by 11 am it was packed and actually difficult to make progress in the crowd.
At the market in Forcalquier
We were looking more than we were shopping today. But here’s what we bought: salad greens (to go with my newly-developed vinaigrette), a slab of parmesan cheese (from a stand that was mainly selling Italian cheeses), some sliced ham (to go with melons we bought the other day), fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, dried strawberries, corn nuts, a purple sarong for Kelly, and a pair of bright turquoise flip flops, also for Kelly. Hmmmm... maybe we weren't just looking!
Charley suggested that rather than deal with the lunch crowd at Forcalquier, we could go to Sisteron for lunch. Sisteron—called the Gateway to Provence—is further north, on the Durance River and on the edge of the Alps. It’s a pre-Roman town on an incredible site: a restored 13th century citadelle perched high on a rock mountain above the town on one side of the river and a huge rock mountain (Rocher de la Baume) on the other side. Because of its site, Sisteron was a major defensive post. Napoleon ate lunch here on November 5, 1815 on his famous march from Elba to Grenoble.
Charley and I visited Sisteron on a Saturday in late January 2005, while Kelly was on her week-long ski trip with her class from the Bonnieux school. We wanted her to see the town, and we wandered the narrow streets in search of an interesting place for lunch. We ended up at the same place Charley and I had eaten in 2005, a hotel-restaurant on the north end of Sisteron with decent food and a fantastic view of the river, the rock and the chateau. We all enjoyed our meals: I had a menu of local Haute-Alpes specialties: tourtons (a kind of ravioli stuffed with potato) and tartiflette (a casserole of potatoes, ham, cheese and cream). Yum!
The Rocher de la Baume from our lunch table in Sisteron (photo by Kelly)
After lunch we made an attempt to visit the priory at Ganagobie, a peaceful spot high on a hilltop south of Sisteron. The monastery was founded in the 9th century, and the present building dates back to the 12th century. It is known for its red, black and white mosaics. We drove up a narrow twisting road to a plateau on the top of a mountain (1148 feet), arriving at a large parking area set among low oak trees. Despite the heat, the air was crisp and clean and there were clear views to the south and the west. The perspective of the Alps was especially dramatic; Charley is always drawn to the Alps.
We started down the long dusty pathway to the abbey and paused to read the information on a large welcome sign. The abbey was only open from 15:00 until 17:00, which was definitely good, since it was exactly 3 pm. But the opening days were Mardi au Dimanche and didn’t include Lundi (Monday), which was today. Duh! I lobbied to walk on down just to get a look at the abbey, but the sign also said it was 600 meters (about a third of a mile), and on this hot afternoon, I was outvoted by my husband and daughter.
Our Plan B was a good one though—we drove to the top of “La Montagne de Lure,” the distinctive high point in this part of Provence. We took back roads through the small villages of Sigonce, Cruis and St. Etienne les Orgues, finally beginning our ascent of the mountain. Mont Lure is known for its aromatic plants, and I read that the famous body care/fragrance company L’Occitane en Provence (headquartered in nearby Manosque) gets most of its lavender from Mont Lure. The lavender we saw from the road today had already been harvested.
The peak of Mont Lure (5990 feet) is above the tree line and covered with white scree, much like Mont Ventoux (6263 feet), giving both mountains the appearance of being snow-covered all year. Also like Mont Ventoux,. Mont Lure has a ski area and a communications tower on the top. We drove almost to the top, watching the temperature drop as we ascended. Once there, there wasn’t much to do. We saw a few cars and a couple of people taking naps on the grass. At other times of year, this is a major area for hiking. We got out, looked at the view, took a few photos, and headed back down. Now we have another recognizable landmark for our travels around Provence... and perhaps we'll come back one day to hike.
On top of Mont Lure
We took other back roads home—past Banon, Simiane La Rotonde, and Rustrel, and then we were back in Apt. We had another very good day—exploring new places and revisiting places we’ve been before, enjoying seeing them at a different time of year.
