Hunting Season in Provence

Actually, that is not really a good name for today's blog.  It really should be - Provence!  Wow!
Nancy and I drove to Provence Saturday AM, taking th slow, scenic route - which was even more slow and scenic thanks to all of the stops for pictures, the little side trips to visit wonderful little villages, and a confused GPS which had a hard time finding an site with no address.  After 3 calls to our hosts and finally geting a name of a village with all of either 2 or 3 houses ( really, I'm not kidding) we found our way to a charming bed and breakfast, then perused one more village for some vin, pain, and olive spread to go with the fabulous apples we had purchased along the way directly from the ferme.  (With apologies to my colleague who does not believe in mixing languages - I am not trying to be a pain about pain.  :-))  Our room was delightfully decorated with antiques and was in the upper story of a restored farmhouse with fieldstone walls.  The shower was much like taking a bath in a cave - only with hot water and clean towels.  The sink was a carved stone basin.   Our breakfast was served after madame had made a run to the bakery for fresh bread and pastries, and we listend to the sound of French hunters in the surrounding hills.  (Either there are a lot of deer and pigs or else they are very bad shots - we heard so many guns going off.)  We did not do any hiking in the woods.

We visited castles, towers, villages with streets too narrow to drive - I know, beacuse I had to back uphill out of one - stupid GPS!!!  (So  it might have been that I did not look at the screen, but the detail of the directions left a great deal to be desired in a few locations.)

After a great lunch in a restaurant in Roussillon in the Luberon, we did a bit more exploring; then headed home on the motorways. (http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence-tourism/visit-provence/roussillon-ochre.htm This morning, the rain poured for quite a while - I am not sure if we will see more snow on the peaks or not.  They are still shrouded in clouds.

Maybe we can get some pictures up later.