Les Mas De Haute Provence Saint-Etienne-les-Orgues

... campervans. One of which had the biggest dog we have every seen. It was a Newfoundland, which looked a little like a small bear but was as tame as a kitten. As the sun was about to set we took some photos and then had a wander through the village - everything was closed - end of season.

... a narrow valley with high cliffs on either side. The Abbey was founded in 1148 and construction and growth continued into the 13th century. It is still in use today, it's brothers having celebrated the 850th anniversary back in 1988. We took a very quiet tour of the Abbey. Silence is demanded as that is one of the vows of the brothers. When we were in more public areas the tour guide described the history of the order ...

... I will stay here. It was quiet and so beautiful. Again, it was so hilly that we watched a toddler giggling as she tried to walk down this treacherous landscape with no concern at all. Luckily, her parents each provided a steadying hand.

Most of the buildings in this valley are built with limestone from the local environment. There are meticulously tended ...

... The cobblestone walkways are narrow and steep, but fun to walk. We twisted and turned about and kept arriving at new views of the valley or new shops to explore. Unfortunately, one of the sites of the city, the Chateau, was not open while we were there, so we gave it a miss to head on to Roussillon.

Lunch in Gordes: Croissant with ham, cheese and I believe a bechamel sauce.

... to bite harder, or poison stronger..nothing too dibilitating, but soooo itchy, qnd quite a pain in the ****.

Other than that i am in good spirits, and good health, as far as i know.

Hope the rain stops where you are, ill try to send some of the sun here over there, its too dry here, plants dying...
Hope all is well in Canadaland, Happy Canada Day, 4th of july, and all that.. and have fun at the artsfest Lasquetians!!!


Love Maya

... location offered complete privacy and a perfect view of the lake down below.

For the afternoon activities, I most enjoyed driving (or hiking twenty minutes down the hill) to the artificial lake, where the slightly cold and still water felt refreshing under the hot summer sun. One time, we swam one hundred yards to a ledge of rocks and jumped into the water from pretty high up. I am not great with measuring such distances accurately, but based on my celebrated ...

The lavender season in Provence starts around mid-July so it's a pity that I was too early for it. I joined a half-day tour to the Luberon mountain area to visit several picturesque towns and the lavender field, which was still lush green but would become a sea of soothing purple flowers in one month or ...

... area of the car. No problem, no luggage needed for the next few days.  On the ride back to Jean's home in Coudoux to return his car, Michael did well driving the streets of Marseille and Coudoux. He hasn't driven a car with a standard transmission in years, but it's just like riding a bicycle -- you never forget. However, without Dominique's expert navigation, I'm not sure we would have made it back to the house as quickly as we did. After ...

... Ferrassieres) was having a fete nearby and that it would be a great experience to go. She then suggested a beautiful drive from that town and basically helped us to plan the rest of our afternoon! So off we went to Ferrassieres, driving past families having picnics in the fields. Now we knew what we were going to do for lunch! We parked the car and walked into the little village. They had lots of market stalls set up selling lavender, soaps, oil, honey, meats, breads ...

... 9 pm. Today: I slept until 10:00! AMAZING! I got lunch with Camilo again and we made another trip into town, this time to research prices on mobile phones. I suppose it would be boring to list what I did today, so maybe I'll just write down what I've learned. I learned a bit about Camilo today. He was born in France and stayed there until he was 13 years old, then he and his parents moved back to Chile, where they've stayed for the last 12 years ...