Les Plus Beaux Villages de France - Part 2

The sun was shining.  The sky a brilliant shade of blue.  Misty mountains in the distance.  The now dormant lavender fields stretched out in every direction.  

And another “Les plus beaux village de France” to visit (translated: one of the most beautiful villages of France).  The little village of Rousillon, sitting high on it’s hill certainly earns this distinction.   

But what makes this village unique among the rather large group of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is the rich ochre deposit it sits on and is surrounded by.   

The ochre was mined from the hills around Rousillon until the 1930s, and now, one of the former mines is open to the public for a spectacular and colorful walk through the forest of green...

so sharply contrasting with the yellows and reds and oranges beneath your feet. 

And the color of ochre is painted all over this beautiful little village.  

I was in heaven because I love these colors, as our house back in the US reflects.  It’s narrow and winding streets are filled with charming little shops and cafes...

 And doorways that looked like photographs I've seen for sale in galleries...

and small, graceful archways that looked like picture frames for the scene that unfolded on the other side.  

All we did was stroll around this lovely little village of Roussillon and it's abandoned ochre mine.  

But that was enough.   

France - The Verdon River Gorge and Le Chateau in the Sky

After leaving the enchanting village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, we decided to drive south for a little ways while we still had a couple hours of daylight.  We knew that the Gorges Du Verdon, or Verdon Gorge, lay in that direction, but we weren’t sure exactly what we would see of it. 

It didn’t take long before we started catching glimpses of the most brilliantly colored lake I have ever set eyes upon.  As we reached a pulloff that sits high over the astonishingly turquoise-green waters of the Sainte-Croix-du-Verdon, we pulled over to the side of the road and from there we could see the source of these amazingly beautiful waters – the Verdon River which spilled out from the Verdon Gorge.  

 

I’m not sure even how to put this sight into words because I just sat there in the car, jaw dropped, staring at this awesome show of nature before us.  We were parked above a huge lake with aquamarine waters that looked more befitting for a Caribbean Island.  And off in the distance we could see a narrow gorge with impossibly high limestone walls - the Verdon Gorge.  Where the River emerges from the spellbindingly beautiful Gorge and into the lake sits a bridge, the only way over the lake unless you swim or take a boat.  As we walked across the bridge and looked deep into the canyon, it's sheer walls rising straight up towards the sky, and the Verdon River below us with crystal clear waters but no sign of the bottom which left my imagination wondering just how deep is this river is, my head started to spin and my heart beat fast.  It was just magnificent...

Amazing...astonishing...breathtaking...mind blowing… I think you get the picture. 

You can drive around the rim of the Verdon Gorge, but unfortunately we didn’t have time for that late in the afternoon.  So we settled for a shorter drive up to an overlook where you supposedly can see down into the Gorge. 

Well my friends, this Gorge is so deep that after climbing up for several miles to this overlook, we could not catch even a small glimpse of the vibrantly turquoise waters that we knew were hidden way down on the bottom of this great Gorge.   

Eric snapped what photos he could get, and we started our journey back to our little Robion apartment two hours away.  But we didn’t get far before we were distracted once again, this time by a beautiful little village that sits not far from the top of the Gorge overlooking the sparkling turquoise waters of the lake... 

The village of Aiguines...

And as the golden glow from the setting sun washed over the village, the sight was spectacular...

As was the Chateau that sits on the edge of the town with a view of the lake and surround countryside that is just unreal.  All the gates around Le Chateau were locked, but we could still get a pretty good view of the Chateau and it's four interesting towers, the roofs of which were each tiled in different colors and patterns.   

Beautiful, yes, but also very intriguing.   

Why would you use such different colored roof tiles on each tower?   

Well, it didn’t take long before we found the answer on a little plaque hanging outside the Chateau. 

The tiled roof of each tower represents one of the four seasons of the year - spring, summer, fall, winter. A tribute to mother nature, or as the plaque states, a local tradition - whatever the reason, it was beautiful, as was everything we had seen that day. 

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France - Part 1

Scattered around France there are 155 villages that have the honor of being labeled as "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France."  Translated, this is "the most beautiful villages of France."  Yes, there is an organization that actually bestows this title to small, picturesque villages with strong French heritage, and during our week in southern France, we visited two of these lovely places, and my, my, my, this designation as one of "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France" was well earned by both.  Today, I share our visit to the first - Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, a seemingly perfect little village snuggled up against the base of a huge rocky and steep hill at the western entrance to the impressive Gorges du Verdon.   

It was a two hour drive from our little apartment in Robion, but we didn't mind as much of it was through endless rolling fields of now dormant lavender which France is so famous for...

Not at all colorful in the middle of autumn, but it isn’t hard to imagine how amazing this drive must be in mid summer when the fields are covered in purple and the air is filled with the delicate fragrance of lavender.  Ahhhh... maybe we’ll just have to come back for a visit then. 

As we drove the last winding mile towards the little village, my excitement to walk it’s narrow, cobblestone streets grew and grew.   

Even before we entered it's narrow streets, this place just seemed enchanted.  As we drove along the tree-lined street that passes along the edge of town searching for a place to park, we caught glimpses of shops filled with handbags, clothing, knickknacks, and the faience ceramics that this tiny little village is known for.  Just the type of place the girls and I like to explore.  But what we discovered when we finally parked the car and entered the pedestrian only part of the village, which is mostly the entire village, was one of the most charming places I have ever set eyes upon.  

The stone buildings all huddled together with flowers and greenery decorating their already lovely facades...

The little cafes tucked here and there, with only enough room out front for a handful of tables...

A waterfall cascading down the gap in the huge rock face that towers over the village, it’s waters splashing under stone bridges and dividing the village in two.   

And as if that wasn’t enough, high above on a cliff on one side of that gap sits a church that blends in with the rocky terrain surrounding it - the Notre-Dame de Beauvoir chapel.

To reach this chapel in the sky you must climb 262 steps on a precarious stone staircase that starts in the back of village and seems to climb to heaven and offers amazing views out over the little village and into the gorgeous valley beyond.  

If only it were Sunday because I would love to witness the pilgrimage of villagers climbing this staircase to worship inside the stone walls of this amazing little church. 

Once we reached the church, we were the only people there.   

The stillness, the absolute silence, and the dramatic setting made us whisper when we spoke for fear of disturbing the sanctity of this site. 

As we entered the church, we were enveloped in darkness, as the steep rocky hills surrounding this beautiful structure just don’t allow much light to enter.  It was peaceful and serene, quite a setting for a small but still magnificent chapel.   

After descending the grand yet precarious staircase back down to the beautiful little village of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, we did a bit of shopping and then headed out of town, but not without taking a few glimpses back towards this captivating little town on the side of a cliff with the perfect little church watching over it from high above.