Great Scott!

I discovered, by mere chance, that Sir Ridley Scott owns a vinyard in Provence, and moreover, that he was filming an adaptation of "A Good Year" (starring Russell Crowe) here in Provence! How could I not know this? I am so ashamed.

Consequently, I couldn't resist visiting some of the reputed filming locations (which were all on our itinerary anyway) to see what we could see. We stopped in some beautiful towns - Apt, Gordes, Bonnieux - including one confirmed location, the Canorgue vinyard. Funnily enough, we bumped into a filmcrew for a "Mr Bean" film instead.

Oppede le Vieux - clifftop ruins, a lot of fun to explore because there are no real barriers to speak of. Apparently now owned by an artists collective, who are reconstructing the area. Site of the "Mr Bean" film crew, but no Mr Bean.

Valley of the Luberon - alongside the Luberon mountain-range. A pretty drive with a lot of cherry trees.

Bonnieux - very beautiful on approach, the usual hilltop stone town that we have become so accustomed to from Italy. A little plain once you're inside, however.

Chateau de Canorgue - stopped by so that Dad could have a degustation (he bought a bottle of red) and so I could prowl around the chateau, taking some snaps.

Apt - ate lunch. Not much to write about, but you can buy good "confit de fruits" here, crystallised fruits.

Rousillon - named after the "rust red" ochre earth of the region. All the houses are built with this distinctive coloured brick. Very picturesque, and I wished we could have spent some time here but there was no parking to be had!

Gordes - beautiful town, though it's a modern restoration of what was destroyed by the Nazis during WW2 (as a penalty against its resistance members).

Fontaines de Vaucluse - achingly beautiful valley, where lies the spring that is the source of the river Sorgue. The spring level was quite low when we visited, but is still fascinating. It comes out of a cave at the foot of the valley cliffs - Cousteau was unable to find the bottom when he descended by submersible. I had a paddle in the freezing cold water. Lovely!

Isle de la Sorgue - for all you French buffs, that's not a spelling mistake. There is no circumflex, and there is an s. Go figure. Nice little canal town, watered by the Vaucluse srpring. Had a nice wander and dinner with the company of some rather nice ducks.