Let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France

I was here today:

I know, I can't even believe it. Look how gorgeous it is!

Today was the first of two IAU-sponsored excursions to other parts of Provence. We went to the Luberon region, which has mountains and little picturesque villages perchées--perched villages. I love the image of the villages sitting on the side of a mountain like a little bird on a branch. According to one of my friends here, this part of France is supposed to be the inspiration for Disney's Beauty and the Beast (the best movie ever made). I'd always assumed it took place farther north--Maurice gets lost in the snow, after all--but there are definitely aspects of Belle's village that could take place here. The mountains, the fountains, the sheep, everyone saying Bonjour...

We went to three villages, each of which had a distinct character and charm. The first was Lourmarin,  the village in the picture above. My Film & Litt. professor came along with us, and he said that, while somewhere like Saint-Tropez on the Côte d'Azur is a popular destination for Hollywood celebrities, Lourmarin is the equivalent for intellectuals. High praise! But it was lovely. Albert Camus lived here at the end of his life, and is buried here. We visited his grave, which was covered in beautiful flowers. There was a big market in town that day, and we saw so many wonderful things; I even befriended a goat. I walked around the market with Cara and Kyle, and we ate lunch right here:

Hello castle! It's the Château de Lourmarin, which just means Castle of Lourmarin. It was built in the Middle Ages, when it was mostly a fortress (its location on top of a hill was strategic, not just picturesque). It was seriously renovated during the Renaissance and escaped destruction in the Revolution because the nobles were popular with the people of the town. Very lucky! Not just for the nobles, who got to keep their house and I bet that was nice for them, but for me, since we walked around the gardens.

The second village was visited was Roussillon, where Samuel Beckett lived during the war. It used to have an ochre mine, but now they are worried about erosion so the mines are preserved; you can marvel at how well Apparition works as you explore the Grand Canyon. It was really kind of confusing.

In the ochre mines with Cara and Kyle

There is a tragic legend associated with the ochre, which dates back to the Middle Ages. The lady of Roussillon castle, Sirmonde, fell in love with a troubadour named Guillaume. Her husband found out and, jealous, invited Guillaume on a hunting trip. Once they got into the forest he killed Guillaume and cut out his heart, which he ordered the chef of the castle to prepare for dinner. Sirmonde, who did not suspect anything, pronounced it the most delicious meal she had ever eaten. When her husband told her the truth, she threw herself off the cliffs. Rough life. Her blood mixed with Guillaume's blood to make the red earth I saw today. There is a café named after Sirmonde in Roussillon.

The other highlight of Roussillon, for me, was trying lavender ice cream (glace à la lavande). It was surprisingly good and surprisingly lavendery; take that as you will. The tragedy was that my camera's battery died as we reached the top of the village, so I don't have any pictures of the final village: Gordes. It was beautiful, though, and Cara took a lot of pictures for me. We drove by or through several other villages; Bonnieux stands out in my mind as particularly gorgeous. But really, they all were. I kept thinking today about how lucky I am to be in such an incredible part of the world. I had this song stuck in my head all day, and I finally realized the significance of "buy our parents homes in the south of France." It isn't just a pretty image and a nice word that rhymes with "dance." Tomorrow I'll probably fall in love with a new part of Provence as I go down to Cassis (camera is charging as we blog), but today was just amazing.