#3---Thanksgiving in Cézanne Country

On our journey southward we stopped for a week in Provence, as the house guests of a friend that Red knew from back in Cincinnati. Her friend's husband used to work for the U.S. State Department, but now works for a large international scientific research facility nearby in Provence. They moved to a small town near Manosque a couple months back with their daughter, who is enrolled in a bilingual school.

Our week there was stunningly marvelous, and happened to overlap Thanksgiving, which we spent in the company of our hosts, as well as other expatriate and local families in the area. A splendid time was had by all.

On our fine autumn weekend afternoon Red's friend took on a drive of the famous Luberon area of Provence, towards Avignon. We met up with a local herbalist that Red knows from doing an herb class in France a couple years back. He gave us a tour of the ruins of the cliff town of Oppède, which (according to our guide) was abandoned in the 1970's as the population dwindled, but now has a smattering of residents again who have begun to open a few businesses. It reminds one of a town in the Greek isles---the long stone paths---but without any tourists to be seen.

I remarked that in twenty years, the place might be a tourist center again, and no one would believe that it was ever so depopulated. Who knows?