Thursday, January 03, 2008

Oppède-Le-Vieux

The church in Oppède-le-Vieux seen from the old part of town.

One of the must-see villages on the Luberon circuit (Bonnieux, Lacoste, Ménerbes, etc.), Oppède is part inhabited town and part ruins. It's a lot of fun to climb around the old stone ruined buildings, then take a nice break in a small café in the lower part of town.

Some of the ruins at Oppède.

I think we've been there twice. The first time was on the 1993 trip when these photos were taken. The second time was in 2001 with our friend Sue.

Looking up inside a circular tower. The remains of a broken stair that wound upwards are apparent in this shot.

We stopped at a little café in town and had a Pastis. Sue wanted to try it since she'd always heard about it. I don't remember if she liked it or not. I'm not a big fan of Pastis, but I had one anyway. I'm still not a convert.

6 comments:

  1. Well, to like pastis, you have to appreciate the taste of anise. I like it but usually will drown my pastis into lots of water. I am not much of a drinker!
    When I first looked at it, I thought the circular tower photo was a well!

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  2. The second photo looks like, "Madame, à sa tour, monte."
    As long as you're well, I'm fine with your day off, now and again. I have much to discover in your blog. Presently I'm with "cathedrals and churches". It was great to listen to Laurie, but it was not long enough! I thought I might find her again in your "music" post. What I got was an interesting list of songs, some I will add to my MP3. Thanks for everything! Take care.

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  3. Pastis on a hot day working in the yard is a summer favorite of mine. In April, I usually go purchase two or three bottles in hopes that will take me through the summer (rose is another popular drink in my house while working outside). Usually it does, but not this past summer.

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  4. claude, I've never been a fan of the anis flavor, but I have developed a taste for fennel (bulbs and seeds) and I like badiane in certain dishes.

    claudia, I'm glad you're having fun! It's nice to know that someone is actually looking at the past posts.

    dan, I definitely prefer a chilly rosé on a hot day!

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  5. All these gorgeous photos of Provence make me want to head back over there and explore some more.
    I'm not a big fan of pastis either. Give me rosé any day!

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  6. We were just drinking a Cote de Luberon wine the other night and I asked Jean-Jacqcues where Luberon was. The slightly irritated wave of the hand either meant I have no idea but I am not actually going to say that or what a stupid question. Either way I had to look it up, and here are pictures of Luberon. The coincidences just won't stop.

    I love anise and pastis and things like that. But what I really love is that anywhere you go you can buy fennel for cooking. I could always find it in the US but it was often expensive. It is a weed, if you ever had it invade your garden you would know.

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