Recently back from a month in the South of France. Not wanting to spend too much time in the car, I limited my day trips to visiting places not further than an hour away.
We went to the sea to visit Martigues, a village situated between the Mediterranean and the Etang de Berre, just south of Arles. My favorite village this year though, was Cucuron, in the Vaucluse, which has a refreshing bassin in the centre of “town”. The cathedral there recognizes a tragic piece of local history with a tradition of erecting a huge poplar tree before the village cathedral marking a promise to make a pilgrimage in honor of St Tulle, the village patron. This tradition started after the bubonic plague had ripped through the population in 1720, killing 1,000 Provençales habitants. I guess St Tulle didn’t help those folks, but the survivors continue to make this offering.
We also made a visit on a Mistral-y day to the Plateau de Valensole to see the famous lavender fields. Happy to report some of the fields are organically farmed. The Pre-Alps are in the background.
