The last two days have been occupied ticking off the tiny stone villages that fan out across the Vaucluse region. Avignon is the capital of Vaucluse and looking at the map... Vaucluse is a tidy region bordered by straight boundaries. But as Lonely Planet says, 'navigating its bucolic rolling hills, golden-hued perched villages and hidden valleys, is a bit like fitting together a jigsaw puzzle'.
The first signs of a change of season have arrived. The grapes have changed colour and now hang weighted near the base of the vine. The breeze is now whipping along the first of the autumn leaves... it is no longer has a warming effect... you step out of the lane ways into door openings to stay warm. The fragrance on the breeze is starting to gather a musty edge... no longer carrying whiffs of smoke and dust. But the light is still over-exposed... the rocks still shimmer in the haze... the walls exude a mellow hue. We have two or three weeks of magical summer remaining before the realities of northern climates takes its toll.
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue was nice... Cabrieres d'Avignon was real nice... Lioux was nice, real nice... all offering colour, mood, history and colour (did I mention Lioux's colour). For me, two features of particular interest were evident.
First, I was not aware how common water wheels had been at the start of the industrial revolution. We walked the circuit at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue... today showing 14 sites for water wheels... most running off the same channel of water. Most of the uses were simple... lifting water up into tanks... grinding grain... scrubbing linen and silk... and I think later (latter half of the 19th century) sawing timber. All this harnessing of power was done before iron axles and gears. You'd have to assume that moving parts made from timber would need replacement regularly. Anyway, Watt's invention of the steam engine didn't start the industrial revolution... he just gave them a more convenient source of power.
Coming down to Aix-en-Provence (where we are staying for the next few days), we passed through truffle country. Truffles are the fruit of a fungus that grows around the roots of some trees. Pigs are noted for their ability to dig up truffles... but the pig must be a sow (female). The attraction of truffles is that they have an aroma similar to the smell of a hormone of a boar... so boars don't have much incentive to find truffles... it doesn't excite their imagination one bit. We still have yet to taste the local (black) truffle... we'll keep searching for the next few days.
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