France 2008

L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Part 2

		On the Tuesday, we drove around the Luberon, visiting a number of villages. The first was Oppède-le-Vieux, under threatening skies. The car park was some distance from the village on its hill top. *
		The village church, seen from the car park. *
		The old village had been abandoned for years, but after WW2 a group of artists moved in and started reviving it. It is now very attractive. *
		Presumably an old chapel, not yet restored. *
		At the top of the village is the church of Notre-Dame d'Alidon, well restored and watched over by a volunteer. *
		A cat waiting patiently. *
		Streetscape as we walked back down through the village. *
		After leaving Oppède, we turned off the road down a dirt track to reach the Abbaye St-Hilaire, a peaceful complex that was owned and being restored by a private family. *
		The church had this lovely statue of Madonna and Child. *
		Then we went to Bonnieux and had a bit of a look around, but the weather was not very nice and we went home. †
		In the afternoon, we wandered around L'Isle, seeing some of its water wheels. *
		Wednesday was fine, and we set off for Fontaine de Vaucluse, where the river Sorgue wells up from this hole in the ground ... *
		and flows from springs under café decks. *
		The castle at Fontaine de Vaucluse. *
		From there, we went to the Abbaye de Senaque, but it was too early in the year for the lavender to be in bloom. *
		The abbey church is lovely from any angle. *
		*
		†
		We ended up at Pernes-les-Fontaines. The town is supposed to have many drinking fountains, but we could not find many of them. *

Time to start L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Page 3.