A Day in the Luberon Valley: Cucuron

Cucuron is a cute little medieval village, and was one of the filming spots for the movie A Good Year. Above is the bassin, a pool of water in the main square filled with fish and surrounded by plane trees. 

Above is the St. Michel dungeon. There was a really nice view of the town from here.

Every summer in Cucuron you will find a giant poplar tree leaning against the church. This tradition started as thanks to the town's patron for saving them from the plague in 1720. Every year they find a poplar tree as high as the bell tower, cut it down, and carry it back to the church with a boy riding it and waving a flag. 

The organ is from 1616 and has been restored. 

And this wooden mural is from the 16th century. 

Rooftop kitty!

There were a lot of cats in Cucuron. Of course we stopped to pet them all.

A Day in the Luberon Valley: Lourmarin

Lourmarin is a picturesque village filled with art galleries, churches, and a Renaissance castle. The village was deserted in 1348 due to the Black Death Plague. Lourmarin didn't thrive again until 100 years later when the D'Agoult family settled there and started building the castle. 

The spiral staircase was really cool. 

A Day in the Luberon Valley: Roussillon

Ben and I spent a day touring the charming towns in the Luberon Valley. Our first stop was the town of Roussillon, famous for its ochre deposits. We were able to hike through one of the old ochre quarries. Ochre is a natural earth pigment used in dyes and paints and ranges from yellow to red.

The trunks of the trees were covered in the red dust. 

The town of Roussillon was also colorful since they use the dirt in their plaster.