To the Fort of Buoux

 One of the most historic sites in the Luberon Valley was a good mornings hike for us.

view from Mid Paleolithic cave to the watchtower of the religious wars

homes carved into the rock, with drainage and "sinks" along the wall

love the warning sign

Rock walls everywhere

Hard to believe you can climb from a prehistoric neolithic cave home, through a bronze age burial ground, to ancient village ruins and medieval bastions, XIIIth century church to Gallo Roman watch towers in a morning's stroll! The amazing site at the top of the hill attests to the ingenuity and the desperation of the protestants fleeing the papal armies during the religious wars. Some of the stories of slaughter rival what we hear today with ISIS.
Europe has such a larger time picture than our United states does. It is a great place to get old in because age is all around and it is honored. There are clubs in several villages today that you have to be at least 80 years old to join. And they have a waiting list! I'm pushing my mom to try one out.
more info on the fort

Back to my sister's kitchen

My sister is one of the best cooks I know of. I noticed this even when we were quite young. She always had a knack of throwing together a great tasting meal, starting with the chopping of garlic, while keeping up the conversation and piping in some great musical sound tracks. In this, her latest, kitchen she has a large fireplace that radiates heat and scent through out the house. (In fact, the fresh picked herbs she doesn't use end up going into the fire).

Each time we get together, I try to learn a little more from her. She gave me this beautiful apron and in it I feel like Martha Stewart... ready to swing my wooden spoon and deliver a delectable feast for twenty!

 In fact she often serves an army (of artists). Her table is a welcoming easy place filled with treats and conversations. She has the gift of throwing strangers together and having us all enthralled to the point we lose track of time and find we are all family!

It is pure alchemy at my sister's table.

The cork screw museum

Don't leave Menerbes without stopping by the Musee du Tire-Bouchon!

There is more history there than I ever imagined.

Two rooms like this!

Pretty serious screws

a precurser to the swiss army knife

Don't mix drinking and dueling!

Musee du tire Bouchon

Tips to document your travels

I love pictures. And by sketching a scene I commit the place and time to memory. My hand helps me see details that I would otherwise, in passing, miss. Five tips: work small, work quickly, combine a couple different media (such as pencil watercolor ink and collage), carry a glue stick to include the detritus you collect along the way, AND keep everything in a backpack or purse so as to grab the impulse/chance when it comes. One more thing: don't expect a masterpiece, just have fun.

 Sneaking a sketch in every chance I can!

I love the water filled brushes

Three french hens

sold

This trip cannot get any better for me.

oh the french cafe's!! (love love love)

Such a nice respite in the day... and always with a good view!

A rendez-vous to the color "factory"

One of my favorite delights is traveling around the corner from my sister's home in the Luberon National Park to the hilltop village of Rousillion where one of the biggest deposits of ochre pigment was a source mined for artists and textile manufacturers. The hills provide an array of colors from yellow to purple and have been mined since the early 18th century. You can still buy jars with an array of pigments for use in painting or dying. I have mixed mine with egg yolk for my own egg tempera paintings.
Fearing total destruction by over-mining, the village has stopped digging out it's cliffs and turned to tourism. Busses of tourists climb up the village roads and walk through the cliffs. Small families can be seen picnicking with yellow pigment smeared across their faces!
While Michael hiked the Sentier des Ochres (Ochre path) I went up to the cemetery and painted a sketch looking back at the charming village.

This is Gordes, another charming hilltop village- no time to paint it!