East of Avignon the town of Gordes centers a
region of villages including Roussilion,
Menerbes, Lacoste, Bonnieux,  and the
Abbaye de Senanque, all hilltop villages
connected by back roads for biking or hiking.

High speed train from Paris Gare de Lyon
station takes under  three hours to reach the
Avignon TGV station where rental cars from
Autoeurope are available.
Bonnieux,                                                                                                               Lacoste,    
Lacoste attracts artists to its school. Plien air painters work in the one-street village that
was once home to the Marque de Sade
Hiking and biking trails and country roads connect the hilltop villages
Hiking and biking near  Lavender fields in the hills near Sault on the Plateau de Vaucluse
where the bloom is in late June for a mid July harvest
Market day at Lacoste
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Mines in the hills near Roussillion supply the minerals for ochre colorant used in oil paints
The fields around Gordes and Goult  glow with lavender ripening for an early to mid July harvest
Provence Page 2
Hiking Provence,
The South of France
Hiking the Villages in Lavender Country
Hiking
Provence
Lavender
Country
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Biking in the
South of
France
Dave Hilbert's   
softSeatTravel
Hiking and biking trails connect the villages of Provence
If you do your hiking and biking in Provence in June the cherries,  apricots, and melons  will be
ripe and available at the farm stands along the way. June makes the After hiking cooking of
the many healthy French food recipes and Provence recipes easy.  We try to find a vacation
rental, Gite, or a villa with a full kitchen that includes a food chopper, grinder, or a processor
so that we can use the local produce and spices to do some healthy French cooking. Chicken
recipes using herbs de Provence and Provence recipes using Provence lamb smothered in
thyme and savory and  cooked over a bed of Rosemary will do it for occasional meat recipes.
 Provence vegetable recipes include tomato and eggplant and our  Provence dessert recipes
use  fresh fruit and Provence goat cheese along with a Cotes du Rhone.
A country road from the back side of Gordes reaches the Abby where fields of lavender ripen
at the end of June.
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david@SoftseatTravel.com