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Monday, September 2, 2013

Moustiers Sainte-Marie


Located in Haute Provence, Moustiers Sainte-Marie has been given the title of Un Des Plus Beaux Village de France (one of The Most Beautiful Villages of France). It's a great starting point if you want to explore the Gorges du Verdon, which means a drive on a very very scary road!  We did not drive it this trip, but heard that the road had been converted to one way for part of the drive, which would make it a little less harrowing.  When we did it the last time we were here, I wasn't sure our marriage was going to survive!  I was repeating   " I think you only have a few inches more on this side, so you better move over!"  And Camera Guy kept saying
"I know how to drive...!" ...as he white knuckled around  a very precarious curve where we had no idea if anything was coming in the opposite direction. I knew he was freaked out driving when I noticed he hadn't blinked for about 10 minutes.  I am sure you get the picture:) We now laugh about it but there were times I thought we were  going to go over the edge of the road like in the movies - the drive is not for the faint of heart.   The scenery is spectacular so it  is worth it.  This time we settled for a relaxing afternoon in Moustiers Sainte-Marie!  




The village is packed full of Faïenceries shops ( "faïence" ceramics or Faience Pottery) - not my style, but very pretty. There are terrace cafés for relaxing and a fair number of restaurants.  The village has narrow medieval streets and is nice to walk around.
If leaping off cliffs into space with a flimsy contraption on your back is your thing, this seems to be the place to do it.  Above the village there were so  many hang gliders. They were beautiful floating over us!



Ceramics Everywhere! 
Do you see the ceramic insects on the wall below?  Those are Cicadas also called Cicales in France.  They are widely recognized, mainly due to their large size and unique sound.  They are sooooo loud!
By the way, they do not bite or sting in a true sense, but may mistake a person's arm or other part of their body for a tree or plant limb and attempt to feed. hahaha. It can be painful if they attempt to pierce a person's skin with it, but it is unlikely to cause other harm. It is very rare and only happens when they are allowed to rest on a person's body for an extended amount of time, so don't carry them around,  just watch them:)


The village sits on a rushing mountain stream with a dramatic rocky canyon.   It was quite dry when we were there, so it was amazing to see the amount of water flowing down this stream and from the mountain.  We were wondering if it was a man made gigantic  fountain with the water recycled for the dramatic effect...but that was just crazy talk! 



Me and Camera Guy about to go for dinner.



We had dinner at La Cascade restaurant, built on a bridge right over the stream that flows down from the mountain. It's a dramatic location and the food was pretty good as well. 


And my lovely dessert...

A demain

Penny

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