My last two provincial villages are both on the "most beautiful villages in France" list and they did not disappoint. The whole family joined me today as Neil did not feel comfortable letting me drive the 1.5 hours to the village of Seguret, which I had read about in the trusty France magazine, and sounded quaint and oozing character.
Seguret was different from the previously visited villages as it was to the north in the flatter wine country. Seguret itself seemed to be up on the last hill overlooking kilometres of vineyards. It was a pedestrian only village with cobbled streets and typical winding paths and lane ways. The kids had fun directing us up stairs and down through tunnels. Another unique thing it had was a clock only had one hand. The locals seem to be able to tell the time and it chimes on the hour. It didn't take us long to explore as there was only about three streets. The village was just about in ruins back in 1997, then the remaining villages rallied together to start restoring and bringing it back to life. They have done a great job but you do get the feeling that it's mainly a tourist town with not many residents (there isn't even a boulagerie). After ticking Seguret off the list we headed for Venasque (which we actually drove past in the morning to get to Seguret). Venasque was a hill top village perched on the end of a ridge. We arrived in the middle of siesta so we set up a picnic with an incredible view over to a hazy Mont Ventoux and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
The village ticked all the boxes, with fountains, lovely old buildings with colourful shutters, vine covered cafe terraces, artists' workshops and a boulangerie. By the time we had wound our way around the streets it was hot and everyone was fading very fast.
It was a lovely day and I feel very satisfied that I have covered every type of provincial village. Tomorrow Neil is riding Mont Ventoux from home and back going up an alternative route to the one he did last week. While he does so the kids and I will have a morning at home and start to pack. I'm not quite ready to leave here so I'm not sure how productive the day will be.
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