Our Vacation Rental Homes in Sablet, Provence

Sablet Village, Vaucluse, Provence, France
Maison des Pelerins and La Baume des Pelerins, or "les Pelerins" as we affectionately refer to our dream come true, of owning our own homes in Provence, are located in the heart of the Vaucluse. We thoroughly enjoy hearing from our guests to "les Pelerins" that they feel they are spending time in their own home in Provence. To be a part of village life, Sablet is the perfect place. "Les Pelerins" dates back to the time when the Popes administered the Catholic Church from Avignon, with a Papal Vice-Legat having a residence right here in Sablet. Our neighbor's home was the Vice-Legat's residence. Ours was one of the buildings that housed visitors and pilgrims and was connected to it, as we can see from the internal portals, and the front door of Maison des Pelerins. Hence the name - Pelerins is French for pilgrims. I hope this Blog will help you get to know Provence and live your Provencal Dream.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

A Walk Through The Vineyards - Sablet to Seguret

A walk through the vineyards from our village of Sablet to the closest neighboring village of Seguret is a favorite activity of ours as well as many of the guests who visit us a Maison des Pelerins and La Baume des Pelerins.

I thought it would be fun to do a picture blog of a walk we took in October last year ... I hope you will enjoy the pictures of the trail through the vineyards and also of the beautiful little village of Seguret.

Getting started - from the Route de Carpentras, turn onto L'Olivet and this is what you see along the road ahead ...



Along the road - Brightly colored Virginia Creepers decorate fences and the walls of houses ..



In the vineyards - the vines range from yellow to orange and various shades of pink and burgundy ..





This is almost harvest time for olives and all the olive trees are laden..


Climbing up the small road towards Seguret, we see the first signs of the rocky outcrop that forms the backdrop to this perched village ..


As you walk up the hill and onto a level area, the village is now in plain view as are the sharp rocky walls that look like the Dentelles de Montmirail ..


Around the corner, walk across a small bridge and up into the village ..  near the entrance to the village -a terracotta cat climbing a roof!


In the village and it's time for lunch ... decisions, decisions..


Cafe Poternes or Le Mesclun?  They're both open today..




We decided on Le Mesclun and settled in at a table under a large fig tree with a view over the valley ..


Lunch was great - but dessert really got my attention -  wasn't sure if we were supposed to eat it or save it as a hat for the next Royal wedding!


We decided to eat it! Yum! Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate!  Now .. time for a walking tour of the village after all that chocolate.


A pretty fountain in the square..
A baignoire that has no doubt seen a lot of use over the centuries ...


The story of this fortified village and its renovation ...


A communal oven that would have been used by all the villagers at their allotted day and time ... 


Tall village houses made from local rock cling to the hills behind them ...


Village houses huddled together for protection around narrow ruelles ....


The Chapelle Ste Thecle where you can see lots of great "expositions" - including a Christmas Eve 
"Cacho-Fio" celebration which is the beginning of the Provencal family traditional Christmas Eve dinner. The oldest member of the family together with the youngest, carry a fruit tree log to the fireplace, circling the dining table three times (a symbol honoring the Holy Trinity) and then places it in the fireplace. The oldest member of the family then douses the log with wine saying, "God give us his grace to get through the New Year, and if we are not more, let us not be less."  Some say that this log which burns slowly until the New Year is the source of inspiration of the Yule Log that is a traditional French Christmas dessert.


More pretty ruelles..


Must taste some wine!


More walking ....




There's always time to take a peek at Santonnier Marcel Carbonel's work ... He's closed today but peeking in the window reveals his great craftmanship ...





L'Eglise St. Denis ... where each Christmas Eve the whole village joins in to celebrate the Pastoral Midnight Mass which is celebrated in the Provencal language and features many residents of Seguret in a living Creche.


The rich interior of this Romanesque Church 





Time to return to Sablet ... we've spent most of the day walking to an from and around Seguret so the sight of our little village across the vineyards is a welcome sight as we head back along the same roads. You can take a different road back, but this time we decided to go back on the same road.








1 comment:

  1. Nice photo tour. We drove (should have walked!), and still enjoyed the little village. nice to see it again. Hope to see again sometime. Your photos keep my hope alive.

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