Poppies!

Today we got an early start and drove to a hill town called Bonnieux in the Luberon of Provence to rent bikes. Lucky for me given the terrain, they were electric bikes.  I doubt I could have made it up the very first hill to Lacoste.

Or Gordes

without that electric pedaling assistance. Some pretty steep ascents-these roads are often part of the Tour de France.

Lacoste was once home to the Marquis de Sade, though his chateau had fallen into disrepair until fashion icon Pierre Cardin acquired it 10 or so years ago. And Gordes has apparently become a Parisian getaway for the rich, with houses    priced at 1.9 million euro.

 

The countryside is gorgeous-and this time of year filled with wild poppies. 

It was hard to stop taking pictures and just keep biking. 

See-one more 

Maybe two. 

Normally when people think of Provence they think of lavender which is a huge crop-and tourist attraction...but not until later in the summer.  We saw fields full of it-but not yet in bloom.

It's not easy taking pictures of both of us-I'm sure you've noticed all the selfie handheld shots.  But sometimes the timer just doesn't last long enough to cross the road. 

Rich either figured out how to change the timing of posed shots - or he ran even faster across the road- you decide. 

We also visited the original "red hill" ( a reference for the Woodrings who may be reading). 

You can move right in 

This is the town of Roussillon famed for its ochre mines.  The ochre color comes from iron rich sand deposited into the sea more than 100 million years ago. To our American eyes it was reminiscent of Bryce Canyon in Utah.

The whole town, even the buildings, have a reddish cast. 

And as a reward for biking up to three hill towns, I enjoyed a nice birthday Pastis (an anise-ish liquor you cut with water) and Rich has a beer from a cafe overlooking a vista here. 

Ochre can be used to color paints

And make all kinds of colors 

Time to head back.

 First a walk through town and some art gallery peeping

Then the trek home. 

Only problem- the directions were in French, and Kat remembered seeing a sign back the way we came pointing to Bonnieux, so we backtracked.   Unfortunately it was the wrong way. And that mistake added time and elevation to our return journey. Which meant ...Sacre Bleu....our bike batteries were exhausted.  A theme for the trip so far - Kat, and technology, being exhausted.  We tried really hard to bike the old fashioned way, but e-bikes are very heavy, and Provence is very steep.  Even Rich was exhausted.  So we finally called the rental company

who thankfully drove out and replaced our tired battery.  We completed the trip  via new battery and then drove back to Avignon and then headed out for a delicious dinner at a popular local spot. Happy birthday to me.