A few of my favorite things

I think today was my favorite so far. My memory of the lavender smell is still so strong that I'm tempted to start there, but chronological order must prevail. Today was the second and last IAU-sponsored excursion, this time into the Southern Alps. The Sound of Music was stuck in my head all day, yes, but after reflecting on the lyrics tonight it was distinctly appropriate:

My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
that rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
from a church on a breeze

First, the church on a breeze. We started at a little village called Vinon-sur-Verdon, where I got a coffee and pain au chocolat, and that was about as exciting as it got. Then we continued to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, a village perché like those we visited in Luberon last week. Moustiers has two main attractions: its pottery, or faïence, and the Star of Bethlehem. According to le Wikipédia the current star is only 50 years old because the first one fell, whoops, but the original one was brought back by a Moustiers crusader to the Holy Land. It hangs over the city, but it's really very high up so you can't see it in any of my pictures. However, we hiked up the mountain to see the chapel and the view from below, which was incredible.

The chapel

Looking down on Moustiers

The walk was paved with very smooth cobblestones, which meant that those of us with very little traction on our shoes had a rough time. It was definitely worth it, though. Just in these two weeks I've had so many vues d'en haut, panoramic views from up on a mountain, but they are different every time. Today I was struck by the red roofs of the town and the rich green of the pine forests. In the distance we could see the lake... but I'll get to that.

All the shops closed around one p.m., I guess for a lunch break. It was sad, because I really wanted to investigate the faïence more closely. After we'd eaten, Cara and I raced around to find a place that was still open, but to no avail. So I got cherry ice cream instead. It was so good!

Some faïence

As we were leaving Moustiers, I wished for more time to explore the market and the pottery. However, I quickly forgot all about it when we arrived at the Lac de Sainte-Croix. We were delighted that the gorgeous turquoise water we'd seen from the top of Moustiers was the subsequent destination. It is a huge man-made lake in the Gorges du Verdon, an immense canyon through which the Verdon River runs. It reminded me of Goshen Pass and my beloved Maury River, but on a completely different scale. It was not even real.

Gorges du Verdon--looking down from the bridge

Our bus stopped on the bridge so we could take pictures, but of course everyone just wanted to get in the clear water. Today Kim, talking about her trip to the Dominican Republic, described the water there as "delicious"; that's exactly what this lake was like. We could rent paddleboats for 12 euros, so Cara, Kyle, Kim and I got one and went exploring!

There were these big cliffs that you could jump off, which Cara and Kyle got really into. I stayed with the boat, but once Kim had had her fill of jumping she guarded the boat and I swam for a little. It was so refreshing I can't even describe just look at the color oh my goodness water.

We explored pretty far down the river in our paddleboat, and were well rewarded for our efforts. 

Look, we found a waterfall! We didn't go chasing it, but it was really exciting. It was also pretty cold; I think the water come from high up in the mountains. (I would ace Geography 101. It's true.)

Our boat rental was only for an hour, so we spent the rest of the time swimming with the larger group and marvelling at how absolutely breath-takingly unrealistically incredibly beautiful this place is. The clear, turquoise water... the blue sky... the green garrigue... the gray rocks... Once again I must refer you to a picture instead of rambling incoherently.

Imagine the wings of the birds that rise from the lake to the trees

We were all sad to leave Lac de Sainte-Croix. The next and last stop was also rewarding, though: lavender country! We stopped at a particularly stunning field on the side of the road to take pictures. The scent was overwhelming, and the color is striking. It seems so funny to me that you can grow purple. (I would like to grow pink please.) It was also interesting how neat the rows of plants were. I hadn't expected that.

This stop was not much more than a photo shoot, complete with Photographer Kyle (who do you think is taking pictures of all these groups of girls, anyway?) trying to get Cara, Janette and me to gaze into the distance meaningfully. It would have been really pretty, except that I couldn't stop from smiling, which then made Kyle (and therefore everyone) laugh. Keeping a straight face is hard! However, Janette and I frolicked, which was pretty challenging with the rocks but a lot of fun. In keeping with the Sound of Music theme, I guess we tripped and fell over stones on our way. It was amazing to be completely surrounded by lavender. This is one of the main symbols of Provence, and with good reason. Lavender scent is calming, and it is strikingly pretty--two key characteristics of this part of the world.

I love being here so much.