April 14, 2019: Séguret

We had a quiet morning, hoping the wind would die down before venturing out. But, alas, not happening. So, windbreakers zipped up, we headed out to finish our Michelin Guide tour by visiting Séguret, a Plus Beau Village. The day is sunny and the sky clearer than the past few days, if you could only ignore the cold wind.

Séguret is 18 km (12 miles) northeast of us. From the map below, you will also see some of the other towns we visited on our Green Guide touring that are a stone's throw from Séguret.

map of the area north of Sarrians. Our route is in blue. Our address is the 138, Impasse des Merles

We passed along the edge of another interesting-looking town, Sablet, just 2 km from Seguret. There seems to be a village every 3 or 4 miles here no matter which direction you head.

A church crowns the  hilltop in Sablet

At Séguret, we passed up the parking lot at the bottom of the village which claimed to be Parking Obligatoire for cars. We know now that just mean "optional" (tee hee). But it is not tourist season and the roads are not yet flooded with cars and vacationers, so parking is usually not a problem even in small villages.

Note the "Plus Beau Village" sign as you enter the village

Séguret, built in the 10th century, takes its name from the Provençal "segur" which means security. It certainly is a relatively safe place to build, huddled as it is along a rocky ledge between the Dentelles and Mont Ventoux.

Séguret, nestled on the hillside

It's a "Plus Beau Village" meaning it has less than 2,000 inhabitants, a rural character, and at least 2 national heritage sites. Villages wishing to join make application to this association and in return are allowed to post a sign outside the village noting their membership label. (and be included in books and publicity from the association).

Le portail des bises

Séguret certainly meets the criteria. The old town is entered via the "Portail de la bise" (gate of the kiss). The kiss is the cold mistral wind that blows up the street. We were certainly "kissed" by the wind today!

windblown - this prompts everyone to bundle up - I should have brought a hat!

The narrow cobbled streets are bumpy enough to knock your teeth out. The streets go up sharply and down just as sharply causing my scooter no end of struggle. But the sites and views were lovely.

streets of Séguret are steep and bumpy, but oh, so lovely

We first saw a covered lavoir (large stone basin which fills with water for doing laundry) next to the Fontaine des Mascarons, at one time the only source of water in the city.

the fountain with lavoir behind (lavoir now has café tables in it.

Along the Rue du Four, we found the communal bake ovens, reconstructed in recent times.

the community ovens (restored)

We went down and out the Portail Neuf, the gate at the other end of the village.

the portail neuf has never been restored since the 14th century - note the old wooden doors

A second lavoir and a paved road were our reward, as was the guitar playing of a gentleman from near Orange who was simply enjoying the warm sunshine in a protected corner near the gate. Plane trees planted in 1860 covered the adjacent parking lot in shade. The horrific pruning we see in winter produces the lovely shade we are seeing now.

running water in the lavoir

the basins filled would be filled with water for washing clothes. Laundry was a communal thing

the guitar player from near Orange

We followed the road back down to the car, befuddled that we couldn't find a road to the church (we could see cars parked there) or to the castle which was supposed to be on top of the stony outcropping. We did see a terraced restaurant overlooking the valley that would be a great place to eat lunch.

Once back to the car, we put the scooter in the car (battery nearly drained from effort) and eventually found a driveable road leading to the church, after a wild goose chase to find a road to the castle. (We decided you have to hike through the woods around the back of the rock to get to the castle.)

Church of St. Denis - twelfth century

A look inside this 10-12th century church revealed sumptuous baroque altars in this plain Romanesque church.

baroque altar is 17th century

One tradition is the "mystère des bergers" (mystery of the shepherds), a re-enactment of the Christmas story by the residents of Séguret which has been periodically performed since at least 1720. There are panels of photos documenting these pageants along one wall of the church

The view from the church terrace is spectacular. Clark thinks he can see all the way to Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

Back on the road, we make one last stop at the wine coop in Vacqueyras (which is on the route home) to restock wine.

The sign outside Vacqueyras - Hollywood can't hold a candle to this!

Of course, we had to taste a few wines we hadn't tasted before. A dozen bottles and a BIB (bag in box) went into the trunk and we made the last few kilometers in good time. Aperos and leftovers for dinner (stuffed zucchini, ratatouille, duck fat potatoes, salad and bread, with a Châteauneuf du Pape. Ended by the remains of yesterday's birthday cake. Now that's what I call leftovers.

Tomorrow is Nancy's last day and our first long-distance trip. We will go to Cassis on the Mediterranean coast just east of Marseille. We are hoping for moules-frites (mussels and french fries) for lunch, followed by a boat tour of the Calanques, little bays carved into the rocky coast. But the temp is supposed to be cold - only low 60's, but sunny.