The Oppede Loop (Lacoste, Abbay St-Hilaire, Menerbes, Oppede-le-Vieux). This is one of Bob & Sue Winn's recommended day trips from their book "Provence Byways:Guidebook to the Luberon Region of France". We will be taking at least 5 of their trips in the next 11 days.

I should also explain that we are staying for two weeks in Kathy & Charley Woods apartment here in Bonnieux. We have never met, but exchanged messages at Slow Travel for many years. Kathy actually put us on to a cottage in the grounds of Chateau Creancey where we stayed in 2005. It was fantastic.

Their apartment here in Bonnieux has two bedrooms, bathroom, small lounge room, large fabulous kitchen and a sundeck facing down the main street and across the countryside toward Lacoste. It is well furnished (bed amazingly comfortable and pillows that actually work) and stocked with everything you need and everything you didn't realize you might need (rubber bands). It's also close to the best restaurants in town and all the shops (boulangaries, boucherie, Utile, presse (newsagent) , galleries and boutiques Ches is yet to explore. Just about perfect.

Daylight saving started her last night. That meant that this morning we were only 9 hours behind Sydney time. Come next weekend when daylight saving ends in Australia, we return to a 10 hour time difference. I could get jet-lagged all over again.

Because we were staying close to Bonnieux today, we weren't n any hurry to get started this morning. There are two Boulangeries in Bonnieux; brothers I think. We weren't overly impressed with the one just down the street from Kathy's apartment, so this morning decided to try the other one. It is no longer on the street above the apartment and just up from Utile (minimarket). It is now around 200 metres down the street from his brothers, 100 m from the apartment on the way to the new church.

We were spoiled for Boulangeries in Maussane-les-Alpilles, and the one in particular that we adopted had a fabulous range of breads and pastries. Bonnieux's are pretty average, which is surprising given that this is the home of the "Musee de la Boulangerie" It reopens for the season on April 1st.

Anyway, we bought bread and pastries at the newly relocated Boulangerie and it will remain our regular. Ches actually bought a "donut". She's always had a thing about the doughnuts of her youth. Whenever she sees them (in Rome and anywhere), she cant resist buying one to see if it is as good as she remembers. It never is, and is always a dissappointment .... but she keeps on trying. FINALLY, at last it is. That means a "donut" a day I think. "A donut a day keeps Chessie at play"

It was now so late that we made up half a baguette with tomato and terrine and another half with pate, and had lunch before we left at 12.45.

It was only 8km or so from Bonnieux to Lacoste. Now this is specifically for your benefit Jenny .... Half way there, the views of both towns across the countryside is magnificent. I pulled into a driveway, set up my tripod and attached a telephoto lens. Now Ches said that it was 20 minutes later that I returned to the car. I reckon it was 5, perhaps 10 minutes at the most. Ches exclaimed that if I took this long to photograph the towns and countryside, we'd never make it to the four sites. She fears for how long it will take to do the longer "Loops" later in the week.

We drove on and up into Lacoste. Fortunately I'm able to photograph on the move, so we walked the streets of this very pretty town. Apart from some kids, teachers and mums at the primary school, some guys at the only cafe and a couple of locals in the street, we didn't see any tourists and had the streets to ourselves. The Savannah School of Art and Design are one of the American colleges to have set up a school in the town, but we saw no sign of activity.

Now, this is what I loved most about Lacoste, at the top of the hill looking down on the town clustered at its feet sits a Chateau. It is partially restored and probably an on going project. Built in the 11th C, it became known as Chateau Marquis de Sade after de Sade took refuge there in 1771. It belonged to his grandfather, and he had to flee Paris because of his erotic writings and loose morals. Guess who is responsible for restoring it? Pierre Cardin.

On to Abbay St Hilaire. The Winn's directions were OK as far as getting us to the dirt road that leads to the abbey. From that point on, Tom didn't have a clue and neither did we. There was a sign pointing to a car park however the erosion in the track was so great we were in danger of loosing the car in a ravine. I pressed on and climbed up into the car-park. There was no sign of a path to the abbey, nor any sign of the abbey. Back down from the car-park and a hairpin bend to get on the dirt track going down the hill. if another car is coming up, they will have to back down because there is no way I can back up. There are more potholes than road. 100 hundred metres or more and we come around a bend and there it is. Probably enough parking for 10 cars.

Only now when reading about it online do I discover that it only reopened for the season, this last weekend. It has been privately owned by the Bride family since 1961 and they have been restoring it ever since. Rene and Ann-Marie Bride are both buried next to the alter, Anne-Marie having made it to 100 yrs and dying in 2012. Just reward you would think.

It was built by the Carmelites on the site of an even older hermitage in the 12th and 13th Cs. This place really needs to be seen rather than described. Built with it's back to the hill we had driven down, the hillside around and below is terraced. There was a spring that fed a reservoir to water the gardens however it may have run dry as there was no water in the reservoir and no sign of running water anywhere.

I guess that it is so small also gives it that special something. Everything you would see in a substantial abbey but on a miniature scale. Small central courtyard with just two arch cloisters, small watch towers, small church.

It looks out across a small valley to the mountains (Petit Luberon). Very tranquil.

As we drove back up the track, again in danger of destroying the suspension, Ches observed that having only paid 2.5E each into a honour box, every cent they raise goes into the abbey and non is left for the road.

Every road between towns is surrounded by vinyards, stone fruit orchards and who know what (its still early spring and fiends are largely plowed and the vines have't even shot.).

Manerbes is confusingly described by the Winn's. They said is was like a ship and that you walk the long main street to the cemetery and then return. We found numerous streets, one of which took us up to the top where there is a privately owned small castle and from the edge we could see the back of the village, which is some respects was more pretty than the front. It's a fully restored town, very pretty but nothing special to make it stand out from the rest.

Cheryl only told me as we were leaving the town, that it did indeed have something that made it stand out from the rest. It has the worlds only corkscrew museum. Over 1,000 corkscrews and many of them erotic if not pornographic.

What made it special for us was that Tom made a massive blunder and when leaving to drive to Oppede-le-Vieux, took us into the main street which had been turned into a pedestrian mall. A couple of locals walking toward us pointed out the error of our ways however when we explained where we wanted to go, just waved us on. Basically, they were saying "You've already made the mistake, so why not just go on now rather than back up and find and alternate way" We did.

Oppede-le-Vieux is not to be mistaken for Oppede and Tom only knew about the latter. Opede is the newer town and Oppede-le-Vieux the medieval one built at the base of and up the mountain. We followed signs, which is never a good thing. First time in a big arc around the countryside we missed the entrance to the car park by "that much". 10 minutes later we made it. Because its all one way, we had to do the circuit all over again. The attendant wasn't on duty (probably because the season hasn't yet begun" That saved us 2E.50. Don't get excited, they got the money later.

There is a terraced garden with paths poorly signposted and half the staircases closed for repairs. 10 minutes or more later we made it over the hill and into the village. I had been suggesting a coffee and pastry break for the last two villages and with a sun trap out front of the villages only cafe, Ches relented. God I wish she hadn't. Here's where they got their parking money. A coffee and Perrier cost 8E.10. THAT'S $11.35. I think the extra 2E was for the sun.

We hadn't been going to walk up to the ruins of the chateau however we just kept on walking onward and upward and there we were. We didn't enter however, as the guidebook warned that it was unstable underfoot and that some of the paths were inches form shear cliffs. The walk however was definitely worth it. Fantastic street-scapes and views down on the village. Some of the original houses consisted of rooms around 10m by 10m cut into the rock and then bricked across the front with a window and door. The one I photographed through the window even had a fireplace with a chimney cut through the rock above.

The walk back was not so good. Not a sign pointing to the car-park, paths taped closed and on several occasions we contemplated me jumping off a terrace and then having Ches climb on my shoulders to get down.

Back home we had a drink out on the terrace where the late afternoon sun was peaking in under the roof. Some Camarge Red Rice and new season white asparagus, a drop of red and we were ready for bed.