Voyages around France: Another lovely day in the neighborhood....

Another morning with abundant sunshine and I wouldn't be surprised if we reach 80 degrees here today. Rudy and I just got back to the house and the first thing I did was change from my long sleeved shirt into a much cooler t-shirt. Rudy of course went immediately to his water bucket and drank it all and then let me know he wanted some more.

Yesterday afternoon I loaded up the camera gear and headed north and up into the Vaucluse mountains. During my trip up those winding roads I could see 2 paragliders soaring above the top of one of the ridges. They were just floating back & forth, catching the wind currents and without a doubt enjoying the views.

In doing some reading I've discovered that this part of the range was once home to part of the French nuclear arsenal. Up until the late 1990's nuclear missle silos dotted the top of this range which is called the Plateau d'Albion. In some past entries to my blog I've posted a few photos of this range from the vineyard out behind the house. In the latter part of the 1990's the French decommissioned these sites and removed all the warheads. There are still remnants of the sites and miles of tall, barbed wired fence remains in some of the area. Once you arrive to the top of the range it is called a plateau although there are still many rolling hills at this higher elevation. You don't see as many vineyards as they are replaced by many lavender fields, forests and pastures.

The roads I took were narrow and of course curvy but surprisingly paved. Not knowing where I might end up I just let the car do the driving and enjoyed the landscape and countryside that opened up around every turn. Lots of activity in the valley and on the plateau as farmers are gearing up for the new growing season. Tractors were plowing and disking and the sound of chainsaws could be heard coming from the forest. The lavender fields are still dormant but I would think with some rain and continued sun they might start showing some color soon. From what I've been told the lavender fields are at their peak sometime in June. I noticed even more green pastures during my descent back into the valley which reminded me of the wheat fields of early spring back home.

I haven't been a very good student so far this week when it comes to studying my French. Time to refocus a bit and practice on those reflexive verbs that I am ohhhhhhh so close to mastering... :-)