"It's on the list of the prettiest villages in France," she said to me.
"There's a list?!" I asked.
Yep. There's a list. And official requirements to be on the list. Click HERE to see the website.
Well, I got to go to Gerberoy. And then I went to some others. And then I decided that I want to see as many of those villages as I possibly can, because oh man...they're so pretty! (Maybe that's why they're named the prettiest villages in France?) Before I go on, I thought I'd give you a little tour of the ones I've been to.
2. Roussillon. Click HERE.
3. Gordes. Click HERE.
4. Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. Click HERE.
5. Moustiers-Sainte-Marie. Click HERE.
6. Lods. Click HERE. (I think this one would be prettier in fall, spring, or snow covered.)
I thought I'd been to more...but I suppose that's about it. Anyway, the first five were so beautiful that I assumed (which you ought never to do overseas) that the rest on the list would be just as beautiful. I assumed wrong. As you can see from my comment about Lods...it would be among the prettiest villages in France if the trees hadn't been barren when I went. I think many of the towns are like that. They're beautiful in spring or fall when the flowers and trees are full of color. Or in winter when the town is blanketed in snow. Or they're beautiful from a helicopter when you can have a great aerial view, but on the streets...it's just another village.
So Mr. & Mrs. X and I set out to see one of the villages on the list, Ansouis, with the thought in our heads that "the prettiest villages in France" usually aren't so pretty in winter. The one we went to had a santon museum or exhibit or something like that. (See my santon post for explanation of why that would be interesting to me.)
When we got there...everything was closed. Everything. Everything was dead. No flowers in the windows. No ivy on the walls. No leaves on the trees. Blah. Sad little Ansouis. In my opinion, not exactly the prettiest village in France.
But another crossed off the list. And a fun road trip with Mr. & Mrs. X. Click HERE for the photos.
4 comments:
Your pictures are gorgeous. Moustiers and Gerberoy are my favorites (how in the world do the French pronounce "oy"??).
I don't know that it always follows a rule (cause when does French ever do that?), but in this case, the "oy" is pronounced like "oi."
And I learned in my phonetics class that the "y" is like two "i"s side by side, so if you think of it that way, you can see the "oi" in it, and then just drop the final "i" as silent.
And for anyone reading who doesn't know how "oi" works in French... it makes a "wah" sound.
I believe Les Baux de Provence is on the list...we went there for staff fun day in 2009 :-) and being friends with Shane and Joy - you have never been to Lourmarin?
You're right, you're right...I HAVE been to les Baux de Provence, I forgot. I think I forgot because I didn't get any good pictures there, and I was using photos to help aide me make the list.
But no, to my recollection, I have not been to Lourmarin, despite having heard Shane and Joy talk about it a bunch. Unless that's where lavender fields are, and then, yes, I've been. But it was a field and not a ville, so um...
Ugg.
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