France trip, Jul 2007 - Small towns and villages in Provence

I love the small towns and villages in Provence. The fact that we decide to return to Provence rather than going to a new place says it all.

I find the towns and villages to be traditional, beautiful and peaceful. It is very relaxing just to take a stroll around town, or sit at a cafe to watch the world (slowly) go by.

I love the fact that there is a fountain in almost all villages and town.

The water usually comes from a local spring. The water is very cold yet tasty! Spot the peach in the pool? SP put it so that it would become cold. He also put a watermelon in at some stage and it worked!

There are not excessive numbers of pigeons around the town. So instead of being a pest, the are kinda lovely,.

Some bigger towns will have monuments of their own. This octagonal chapel sits on the top of the hill at Forcalquie. The platform offers fabulous view to all directions.

Don't you think this photo looks like a painting almost? It is so beautiful!

Sisteron is another one of those amazing town! It is sometimes called the 'Porte de la Provence' (The Gateway to Provence) because it is in a narrow gap between two long mountain ridges. The almost vertical rock faces (in the photos) are great for rock climbing.

Random shot of an uphill path. It was so quiet.

Walking around at St Remy. It is an artist's town and there are many art galleries here.

What do you think this is used for? (answers below)

Flassan, with has less than 400 inhabitants. It has a great square and fountain. It is so picturesque!

French people love their bread. And they get their fresh bread everyday (Sometimes, twice a day!) And look at the moustache on the men's face! That's so French! :)

The village and town people grow all sort of things. This house has vines over their front door. Can you see the healthy bunches of grapes?

Some town has preserved their windmill, which is always a pleasant sight. We spotted this from afar and decided to drive into the town (Saint Saturnin-les-Apt). It turned out to be a very beautiful town with wonderful food. I bought a good amount of tinned foie gras from here (I cleared their geese foie gras stock!!)

Some towns just have a nice 'shape', such as the one in the photo (Gordes). Gordes is a rather touristy town. We spent more time here this time round because we wanted to walk through all the paths! We found that all paths eventually leads back to the town centre! Perhaps it is a good thing.

Here I am, looking through the real estate brochure to find a home for our retirement! Keep dreaming, JK! hahaha

Answer to the question above:

The area is the washing area for the village. This comes way before washing machine though!