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| Following the red and yellow |
In the Country of the Marquis de Sade
We woke up this morning in Roussillon and after some discussion we agreed that we would walk to Bonnieux. The weather continued warm as we walked across the pleasant valley that separates these two villages. We were following our IGN maps and the red and yellow marks that pointed the way.
We arrived in Bonnieux at about 2pm and we hadn't bothered to phone ahead for a hotel, so we had to do a little searching before we found one: The Hotel Cesar, near the top of this perched village. We were hungry too, but trying to find anything open between 2 and 4 was hopeless. We did manage to find a Boucherie and grabbed some snacks and cheese and crackers and a bottle of wine and had it on our balcony, where we could look across to the neighbouring village of Lacoste, where the Marquis de Sade's Chateau stood out like a beacon. We should probably have made the walk over to Lacoste to see the Chateau up close, but that would have to wait until another year.
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| Wine and cheese on the patio at the Hotel Cesar in Bonnieux |
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| Le Fournil Restaurant in Bonnieux fits snugly into the cliff wall behind it |
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| Heading out into the Mistral |
The Cost of Fame
The next morning as we left the Hotel Cesar a brisk and cold wind was blowing. What was this wind and where did it come from, we wondered, after the pleasant warm days that we had been enjoying?
We could have walked along the base of the the Petit Luberon, but chose instead to climb to the top of this ridge and follow the trail through the cedar forest. The trees were brought here in 1862 from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco.
After a walk through the forest, we descended the ridge and made our way to the village of Menerbes, perched on a rocky outcrop, a great defensive position as so many of these villages are situated. Settlements have existed here since Neolithic times and withstood a five year siege in the midst sixteenth century.
More recently the area between Menerbes and Bonnieux is known as the setting for Peter Mayle's highly popular book, A Year in Provence, earning him not only a healthy financial reward, but also the ire of the locals, who did not appreciate his depiction of them. Another siege ensued, this time by tourists, who lay siege to the area. Peter Mayle eventually paid the cost of fame. The attention and tour buses that stopped by to see Mayle's house eventually caused to him to move on to greener pastures and he settled in nearby Lourmarin.
An Unexpected Party
With the wind at our backs we blew into Menerbes and out the other end looking for accommodation where there was none. We followed the B&B signs leading to Le Mas du Magnolia, although not officially open yet, our host welcomed us inside and offered us coffee and a chance to warm up. They only had two rooms available for us for the night if we didn't mind sharing the bathroom. Naturally, we accepted. Our host, Pierrick, was a former Parisien, who only moved here 3 months before with his wife, Mireille, to open the B&B . Pierrick was concerned about us walking back into the village for dinner in the wind and then coming back to Magnolia in the dark, so made us the unforeseen proposal to join them for a dinner party. They had friends staying with them, but assured us that it would not be a problem. Naturally we accepted the dinner invitation as well. We learned later that Mireille had been taking a nap at the time and when she woke up Pierrick told her that he had invited four Canadians to join them for dinner and he hoped that was ok. And, of course it was, that is just the kind of gracious hosts they are!
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| An unexpected party |
Judging from the comments on tripadvisor Pierrick and Mireille are as charming and gracious hosts today as they were a dozen years ago!
The next morning we were treated to Canadian breakfast, including bacon and eggs, and then bid our hosts adieu, as we headed off into the wind. Before leaving we asked Peirrick how long this wind was supposed to blow. "Oh, probably until the end of the month," he replied matter-of-factly. "It's the mistral," he told us. This was the first we had heard of this cold, dry wind that blows from the north-east every winter and spring and rakes across the Provence for days at a time. It was a wind we would would come to know very well during that day.
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| Leaving Le Mas du Magnolia for the walk to Opede |
From Maubec to Faulty Towers
We followed a quiet road with the wind at our backs until we arrived in Oppède-le-Vieux, where we stopped for coffee and climbed the hillside to visit the 16th century church.
Afterwards we stopped for a picnic lunch in a vineyard and then continued on to Maubec, where we hoped to find accommodation, but the only Chambre d'hotes was full, and the owner, Madame Carré-Delcroix, was beside herself trying to think of what to do for the "Canadians." She phoned a friend, who sometimes offered rooms in his house, and a few minutes later he drove the 3 km and picked us up. He stopped and made us dinner reservations at the only restaurant in the village and showed us the half km trail from his house and through the vineyard to restaurant. They opened the restaurant for us at 7:30 when we got there. The restaurant, located in a separate building behind a bar, was officially closed that day, but opened up just for us, then locked the doors again, not letting anyone else in. Again, luck was with us.
The next morning our host drove us back the 3 km to where he picked us up so we could continue our journey where we left off. Although the sky was clear and sunny, the mistral was blowing and had a bite to it. Today' walk would take us back to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, thus completing our circuit. This was the least interesting interesting of our days, as we were on roads for the first couple of hours, passing vineyards and orchards. We sauntered into Fontaine-deVaucluse 4 and a half hours after we left Maubec.
We checked into a nice hotel that was sort of semi open, a Faulty Towers kind of place with a Faulty Towers kind of owner, but that's another story...
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