One of our morning trips from Puyvert was to the village of Lauris, less than ten minutes by car but a whole other world away.
High atop a rocky cliff, Lauris has magnificent views of the Alpilles, the Durance Valley, and the Luberon. A former grand chateau has a formal garden open to the public, also with great views. We strolled through the serene garden with a straight line of manicured plane trees and circular pond with avocado green water.
Next we walked through narrow streets and hidden passageways with stone houses blanketed in ivy. The doors and shutters were painted in the glorious and familiar Provence colors of periwinkle, mint green, and blue that perfectly matched the sky. The front of every house was beautifully landscaped with plants and bushes, and the hydrangeas were on their last breath of their blooms. A bronze swan was spewing water from its mouth into a stone basin with sea foam green water with leaves swimming in it.
We stopped at a café and gourmet shop for a coffee and Vincent bought a scrumptious fresh fig tart for dessert that night.
Close to Lauris is the Silvacane Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery with parts of it dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. The architecture is a mix of contrasting styles, Romanesque and Gothic. The church is no longer used for religious services and now serves as a local cultural center sponsoring art exhibits and concerts.
http://www.abbaye-silvacane.com/
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Photos of the Silvacane Abbey
I am happy to have the prolific author John Baxter as my guest on A Bite of Paris. John has written many books about Paris including The Most Beautiful Walk in World, We’ll Always Have Paris, and books about the neighborhoods of Paris. Montmartre, Saint Germain des Pres, and Montmartre. John has also written two books about food in France, The Perfect Meal and Eating Eternity.
John and I had coffee outdoors at the pastry shop and café, Gerard Mulot, in Saint Germain des Pres.
Please watch the video at this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpPCLR-6ACg
For more about John and to purchase his books go to https://www.johnbaxterparis.com/
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