Pic saint Loup

Pic Saint Loup Hike

Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Randy’s last bucket list item before leaving Saint Drézéry was to hike Pic Saint Loup. This limestone mountain became a terrain lighthouse for us. Every trip we took we looked for the Pic to give us an estimate of time remaining until we reached home. Below are pictures containing the Pic throughout the year.

Our favorite castle ruins stood adjacent to the Pic. The wine we enjoyed was grown in the Pic Saint Loup region as well. Researching the Pic brought me to the history of its name. “Three vaillant knights, Guiral, Clair and Thieri Loup were in love with the beautiful Bertrade; the one that would marry her was to be designated as the bravest after the saint war. All three came back with high feats, but unfortunately the beautiful Bertrade had died meantime. Feeling hopeless, they all retired to a mountain. Guiral went to mont Saint-Guiral (near Aigoual), Clair to mont Saint-Clair (near Sète), and Loup to Pic Saint-Loup. Each year, on March 19th they lit a fire on top to celebrate her. Saint-Loup is the one of the three that lived the longest.”

Randy and Cody ventured off on their own one morning. The pictures he sent back had familiar vegetation and backdrops. The guys enjoyed their hike.

Aix-en-Provence

Michelle LeeLeave a comment

We opted to eat breakfast at this outdoor cafe before heading home. It was delightful and tasty.

On our way home we toured through the countryside toward Aix-en-Provence, looking for poppy fields, cute villages and green fields with stones.

We settled in for lunch and a nice village stroll in Mènerbes.

Perfect scarecrow for a vineyard
Welcoming

The outside dining experience and the view of Mont Ventoux were peaceful and relaxing.

The village was simple, quaint and perfect for our exploration. 

Iconic French village picture
The goodbye sign when leaving a village is just about my favorite thing in France.

A drive through downtown Avignon showed us more fortified castle walls and the “bridge of Avignon.” 

We never found a field of poppies. Randy eventually stopped by a few poppies so I could snag a few photos along a wooden fence.

Ironically the poppy fields surrounding our village bloomed while we were gone. This one was taken a few days later. The Pic saint Loup is emerging from the background. This has become a landmark for us, giving us timing as to how far away we are from home.