Roussillon, the ocre-red village and one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, is a tourist and artist destination on the southern edge of the Plateau de Vaucluse. We had last visited Roussillon in 2010 but had not tackled the ocre cliffs that time, so we started this adventure with the hike right out of the parking lot so that we would be fresh for the hour long trek.

Ochre is a natural pigment in the sandy soil that makes up the cliffs around Roussillon. Iron oxides color shades with the sands ranging from yellow to purple. The mineral landscape today reflects the effects of erosion and mining work. Informational signs along the trail describe the geology, the flora and the history of the ocher deposits in the Luberon. The scenery is all ocre…beautiful reds and oranges highlighted by the blue sky and the brilliant green fauna. As you walk down the trails under an umbrella of leaves, the temperature drops, and your visual treat is the iridescent moss growing on the tree trunks and quartz like stones of every color imbedded in the sandy trail.

We encountered a preschool group on a day trip and knew that they would be covered in orange sand and worn out for nap time as they enjoyed sliding down the hills of sand as if they were sledding in January.  Silently we applauded their teachers’ patience while they rounded them up for a photo op. We met a group of women with teenage daughters all armed with smart phones at different points on the hike and we took group photos for each other and then a little farther on met a lovely couple from the US with their toddler daughter and engaged in conversation for awhile, trading travel plans. We always meet the nicest people…

After all that exercise, a cold drink and déjeuner on a terrace overlooking the Luberon was in order, followed by a little window-shopping in one of the most picturesque towns in Provence. The first turn out of the restaurant, we found ourselves immediately in front of Françoise Valenti’s gallery.  We met Françoise in 2010, admiring her artwork and discussing her travels.  She was just as delightful this visit, saying she knew us on sight and remembered our friends as well.

Our first stop was a nearby wine cave recommended by Françoise, Au Goût du Jour.  John found a tasty Chateauneuf-du-Pape that was 25 euros, selling at home for $80…how many can we fit in our luggage?

Roussillon is extremely picturesque, so after a stop for coffee fortification, we traipsed around town taking more photos here and there, and getting in the way of other photographers and tourists on the same mission…every turn brought another beautiful building or doorway or scenic view.  

C’est tout! À demain…