Still in the fog on the hill across from Gordes, this time looking towards the sun with a fiery flare.
As promised yesterday, here's the village of Gordes emerging from the fog on January 1st. The fog came and went and the scenery changed every ten seconds. Take your time to enjoy the views, I'm taking a short winter break. Back next Friday. Have a great week everyone!
Comme promis, voici le village de Gordes émergeant du brouillard, photos prises le 1er janvier. Avec les mouvements des nuages le paysage changeait toutes les dix secondes. Prenez votre temps pour admirer ces vues sublimes, je fais une petite pause d'hiver. Je reviendrai vendredi prochain. Bonne semaine à tous.
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tout flou
Me on 1st January 2012. What a spectacular start to the year!
I was standing on monkey rock overlooking the village and plains of Gordes. Over a period of fifteen minutes I watched the fog rise from the valley and progressively engulf the village. In my next post you'll see only the tip of it left.
Flash back to last August: the village of Gordes, one of the prettiest in France, is photographed a zillion times each day by tourists from this very spot : a sign announces the lookout and a large car park makes stopping easy. To make my own photo a little bit different I stepped down onto a rock below. Do you find this scary?
To those of you who think I'm over-indulging in cliché autumn leaves colour tradition today, I'll readily admit to it. My only excuse is this : I hate the cold, I dread winter. I'm not one of those who revel in the striking contrast of seasons. I lived in tropical climates for many years without ever a longing thought for winter evenings curled up by the the log fire. If I could give cold temperatures away, I'd gladly give them to whoever wants them. But the fact is that Provence comes with harsher winters than many tourists think and these striking autumn colours are one of the very few trade-offs I see to it. So too bad if they're cliché, let me enjoy them. Autumn colours, old facades and cobblestone streets. There.
A ceux d'entre vous qui pensent qu'aujourd'hui j'en fais un peu trop dans le cliché sur le thème rabâché des feuilles mortes, j'avoue, c'est vrai. Je n'ai qu'une seule excuse : je déteste le froid, je crains l'hiver. Je ne suis pas de ceux qui savourent le vigoureux contraste des saisons. J'ai vécu sous les tropiques pendant des années sans jamais rêver d'une bonne soirée d'hiver lovée au coin du feu. Si je pouvais me débarrasser du froid, je le donnerais bien volontiers à qui en veut. Seulement voilà, c'est comme ça : la Provence a des hivers bien plus rudes que ne l'imaginent souvent les touristes et les couleurs d'automne sont l'une des rares consolations que je trouve à cette marche forcée vers le froid alors tant pis, j'assume. Feuilles d'automne. Voilà.
Gordes in the snow was such a gift that I'm treating you to a second post on the subject.
I'm sorry to let you down for a little while but blogging is taking too much of my time, I need a breather. I hope not to loose you dear readers and look forward to seeing you back next week. If you suffer from deprivation in the mean time, may I suggest you visit some of this blog's earlier posts? There are two and a half years worth of images on this blog : how about going back to the very beginning in August 2007 for example? Or a change of season ? See spring here, summer here or autumn there. Alternatively you can also go back to the 2009 Avignon Theatre Festival or the 2008 edition there, see views from my window here or the nearby village of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon there.
Gordes & olives
On Sunday morning a miracle occured : the sun came out. I felt compelled to return to the scene I had photographed the day before under grey skies (see yesterday's post) and see Gordes again in the sunshine. I can't begin to tell you how thrilling, how exhilarating, how magical it was. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Dimanche matin un miracle s'est produit : le soleil est apparu. Je n'ai eu de cesse que de retourner sur les lieux que j'avais photographiés la veille (voir billet d'hier) et de revoir Gordes sous le ciel bleu. Je n'ai pas assez de mots pour dire l'émerveillement, la magie, le débordement de joie que ça a été. J'espère que mes images vous en donneront une idée.
Col de Gordes - Gordes pass
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A number of you enjoy following this blog because you've been to Provence before. If you ever visited the picturesque village of Gordes I'm sure you'll recognise this view, it's a classic. Every tour operator stops at this lookout for a kodak moment. The difference today is the snow of course.
While tourists enjoy commanding views of the village and plains of Gordes from this lookout, locals have a different perspective : from the village they see an endless stream of visitors stand on that rock taking pictures of their homes. So they found a nickname for this spot : they call it 'monkey rock' - you know, the rock at the zoo where all the monkeys stand and shriek! On Saturday it was freezing cold and I was the only monkey on the rock !
If you've been to Gordes perhaps you had a drink here at the Renaissance cafe in the shade of the tall plane trees (the most expensive drink in the region I've heard), or perhaps you dipped your arms in the main square's water fountain in an attempt to cool off ? What a change of scenery now with snow and a Christmas tree ! Do you like it ?
My photos yesterday were taken from inside the castle of Gordes, a medieval village some 30 kilometres to the east of Avignon; the first through an uneven glass window, the second through a very dusty one! The castle dominates the hill top village built on a steep slope and has commanding views of the valley below. Of the original castle built in 1031, just a few stones remain: the fortress went through several additions and amendments in the 12th and 14th centuries as well as during the Renaissance in the 16th century.
In the days when the chateau was used as the village's town hall, this used to be the wedding room. For those of you who wouldn't know, in France you are not allowed to get married wherever you please, on a beach or in your garden. The official ceremony must take place in the town hall of the city where the bride lives, and be performed by the mayor or one of its assistants. The reception and party are then held somewhere else. No scope for creativity but when you're lucky enough to have such a lovely setting for a wedding, who would want to go anywhere else?
The chateau of Gordes is now an arts museum exhibiting the works of Belgian contemporary artist Pol Mara (1920-1998). After taking interest in neo-expressionism and then abstract painting in the 50's Pol Mara moved towards pop art in the sixties, introducing elements of photography in his works. A member of the Belgian avant-garde, he made several al fresco paintings for the Bruxelles metro and won numerous awards among which the Tokyo Biennale in 1967.
