On the Road Again, Part 1—Poppies!

 

View out over the Luberon from Ménerbes

As the pandemic winds down, the confinement here in France is loosening up… but “loosening” is relative! No more 10km limitation on travel, and the curfew has been moved from 6PM to 7. Cafés and restaurants still closed, as are non-essential shops. We now have a schedule for opening: on the 19th of May eating establishments will finally open! Hooray!  Plus, the curfew will start at 9PM. Then, on the 9th of June indoor dining will be allowed, and the curfew will be set for 11PM. Certain theater and sporting events will open then as well.

 

 

We have been more than ready to get out of town, so the other day we rented a car for four days and set off, once more accompanied by our amiable travel companion Kate. Both Paula and Kate had a hankering to see the red poppies of Europe (in California we have the orange variety—it’s the State Flower, in fact—but not so many red ones). And Paula and I still carry the memory of the fields of red poppies we saw in Italy during our honeymoon trip in 1999.

 

Paula and Kate, out standing in the field.

Following reports of poppy sightings we headed north and east of Montpellier, towards the lavender fields we visited last spring (although it’s still a bit early for the lavender). As we were leaving a small town (seems like we’re always just leaving a small town when driving in the French countryside) we saw it in all its stunning red glory:  a large dense field of poppies! We did a quick U-turn and got off the highway.

 

We've got our stripes on in the poppy field!

We spent a good half-hour there, shutters snapping as we cavorted among the millions of paper-thin petals. Which was a good thing, because we didn’t see many poppy fields beyond that. (And the few we did find had no place to park!)

 

Kate, very happy to be immersed in poppies!

What's the point of a trip to a poppy field (or anywhere, really) without a good selfie?!

With or without a destination, driving in the French countryside is always rewarding. Although in this case we did have a destination: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The town is known for its hospital where Vincent van Gogh was treated in 1889, and where he painted some of his memorable works (including “The Starry Night,” which features the town). Some years earlier, in 1503, Michel de Nostredame was born here. He was later to be known as Nostradamus.

 

The nearly deserted--and rather sad--town square of Saint-Rémy

 But we were here neither for painters nor for prognosticators. Our goal was something more mundane: lunch. Paula and I had visited this town before and always found it lively and charming. This time, like most towns these days, it was neither. That cute, tree-shaded square with the 16^th century arch where we’d eaten before? Not only was everything shuttered and closed, and the place empty of chairs and tables, but a truck was delivering sacks of cement to the whine of a concrete saw.

 

Paula and Kate in front of a typical building in Saint-Rérmy.

Another month and things could very well be hopping here, so the residents were getting essential work done while they could. (We see the same thing happening in Montpellier: still no customers allowed in the boarded-up cafés, but many of the squares they front are busy as the umbrellas and shade structures are prepared and repaired, in preparation for the openings on the 19^th!)

 

This cute cheese shop...

...had this extraordinary window display. A French couple we spoke with here said this display impressed even the French.

We eventually found a pizza place doing take-out (the more enterprising restaurants and cafés have been offering take-out for several months; it’s allowed, so long as there is no place to sit!) We enjoyed our lunch while sitting on the steps of the nearly-empty parking lot across the street. While far from our idea of the “perfect French lunch,” it was, indeed, lunch, however imperfect. And, greatly appreciated.

 

We checked St-Rémy off the list, with a vow to come back later when it was more populated, and drove on.

 

An aerial view of the Village de Ménerbes.
----- Photo from Wikimedia by Marc Gimpel (Own work)

Our next stop on our search for the perfect poppy field (admittedly a half-hearted search, since we’d already exceed our expectations with that first field) was the Village de Ménerbes. Built on a rocky ridge of the Luberon, Ménerbes is (yet another) Medieval village that benefits from the label granted by the association Les plus beaux villages de France.*

 

* Les plus beaux villages de France is a private organization that awards its designation to those small towns that have shown « Qualité, notoriété et développement »: quality, recognition, and development. In short, they’ve got something going on, they have a history and heritage they are proud of, and they want to show it off. These towns are always very pretty, interesting, and lively.

 

Art sculpture, overlooking the valley of the Luberon from the village of Ménerbes

A few lonely poppies, also overlooking the valley of the Luberon

Well, ok, these days no village is very lively. But Ménerbes is very pretty, and, having been built on a tall narrow ridge, has fantastic views out across the countryside. It’s another medieval stone village, yet like every village it has its unique character. After hiking around a bit and enjoying views from the many overlooks we found a café that served excellent coffee. To go, of course! Then, passing through the center of the village we came upon a shop selling local food items (quite common here; every place likes to emphasize their fine specialties). We picked up a prepared dish for dinner, headed back to the car, and were soon on the road home. That evening we had an excellent dinner from the eggplant (aubergine) dish we’d picked up in Ménerbes.

 

A quiet moment...

Typical view from an overlook 

The three of us ate together, which was, frankly, the first time Paula and I had shared a meal with anybody in months and months. But the three of us hang out together frequently, and we’d all had our shots (the second one a week earlier), so it was low risk. It was also very, very liberating!

 

Entrance to the town cemetery.

A parting view of Ménerbes.

We’d rented the car for four days, but we took the next day off, saving ourselves for the weekend. We’d planned an overnighter, another post-pandemic first!

Up Next:  We still have two more days to report on, including our trip up the Gorges of the Tarn River, and the amazing Viaduct of Millau.