Lauris, Lourmarin and some more poppies

About nine or ten years ago I was learning about natural dyes and discovered a new (at the time) organization called Couleur Garance. This ecological organization was created by Michel Garcia and was located (and still is) in Lauris. We called them at the time and they told us to come on by. When we arrived we found the high perched chateau of Lauris and a tiny office with eager dyers who were beginning to educate interested people about the traditional ways of dyeing with plants. Garance is the French word for Madder.
We were welcomed with open arms in the office and JC was taken off to the "dye kitchen" by Michel Garcia who showed him all the bubbling pots and dyes going on there. I went out with the volunteer gardener to the dye garden which was coming into its second year and he showed me the various plants they were growing there. The days I spent there inspired me to try all sorts of natural dyes over the years. I have not been back to this lovely place in many years; since we had some free time in the afternoon and the weather was good we drove over to the valley of the Durance river. We arrived at the door of the Conservatoire des plantes tinctoriales and I was amazed at the changes there!

The organization has moved to one end of the gardens of the chateau and through the boutique you can access the dye gardens and be guided through them. They were closed for a workshop but I got some photos through the gate and there in the garden is Michel Garcia getting ready for the workshop.

This courtyard of the chateau (the original Couleur Garance office) has now become a center for artist studios and a cafe and there are all sorts of activities and classes going on there during the year and especially in the summer.

Love this quotation from Baudelaire stenciled on the wall in the courtyard. 

This is a view from the chateau into the main gardens and further on the lower right are the dye gardens. The building at the end is now the Conservatoire for plants and the boutique.

This group of friends was sitting and gazing out towards the Durance as they laughed and told each other stories.

En route  to Lauris we made a short stop for a walk through Lourmarin

which was where Albert Camus lived the last part of his life...come along for a walk through the little narrow streets.

This house has a collection of cigales on its blue shutters.

The tower of the church has inscriptions in Latin above the clock on both sides.

A view to the chateau from a backyard.

Returning home to Carpentras we could see these poppies...now the fields are full of them. See Mont Ventoux in the background?

Even along the road from our little apartment. And out in the field nearby two very handsome horses.

I could not resist a photo of this ad. I love the darling face of the little dog wearing his "cagoule" knit cap...covering his poor hairdo since the ad is for a hair salon which does not have expensive prices...it is "Cheap"!!(Tchip)

I hope it makes you smile! Here is another smile for you...papa and son snoozing before Maya's birthday party:

We are getting ready here for the long drive up to Bretagne this coming Thursday with Anton and Maya! There will be some stops along the way...so I will keep you posted as often as possible! If the weather is good we will be building castles on the beach...if not????

Scenery in La Fare and Suzette

When the sun is out and the air warm it's the perfect time to take a short drive around the area and one day we decided to drive up near the Dentelles de Montmirail and see some of the little villages up there.

 Can you see the tiny car in the vineyard?

This is the perfect time actually to be there when the day is warm because there are no tourists yet; only the hikers who go along the many trails through the hills and the vineyards and also a few intrepid cyclists.

This little village is called La Fare and the streets were empty except for a cat who walked past us. We had a salad of chèvre chaud at the little bistro (only place in town)

and then walked along the streets and admired the views.

There were strongly scented wisteria blossoms hanging off this wall and we could hear low conversation in the garden.

The tiny church is built over this rock jutting out onto the street.

 I am sitting just above that rock in this photo. The Dentelles are back behind me.

This is looking out into the other direction. Over the hill behind JC is Beaumes de Venise and then Carpentras.

I liked the lavender of the shutters in the distance.

Back to the town fountain and to our waiting car.

We continued up to Suzette and waited on the road while a huge tractor was being turned so it could go up a narrow road with a sharp turn.

Suzette is even smaller and higher up.

The church is ancient and the view down to the valley and road below is quite dizzying.

That is Mont Ventoux in the arc...already all the snow is gone and what is left now is calcaire stone.

I could see lots of these irises blooming everywhere...

and looking up into the trees you can see the baby leaves have started to really get bigger...my favorite shade of green actually!

We got back to Carpentras and as we drove through town past the gare we saw the new trains waiting. Train service between Carpentras and Avignon began April 25th so now you can take the TGV from Paris to Avignon and then connect to Carpentras. JC and I are going to give it a try sometime this week.

A bientôt!!

that looks like it might be snow.