We’re back – not sadly, for we certainly enjoyed a real break and it’s hard to come back to the routine.
This morning was particularly interesting as the farmer opposite our chambre d’hôte was picking the grapes for his white wine – this is done mechanically and it was a first for me to be able to actually get close to the machine and see how it’s done – in fact I was able to spend some time on the top of the beast as it shook the grapes off the vines!
The visit to Perpignan and Visa was as good as it gets – stacks of images, with some excellent some less so – but still well worth the visit. A name to remember is Ferhat BOUDA / Agency Vu with a memorable exhibition based on the Berbers in Morocco. The Stanley Greene retrospective was, for me, disappointing – I somehow felt the images didn’t show his talent to the full…
Visa pour l’Image – Eglise des Dominicains
We didn’t reach Arles although we had planed a visit – somehow the call of the swimming pool etc. etc. overcame our cultural needs…
This year, upon arriving at Causse de la Selle, we even managed to walk the hour and a half up to the top of the Pic St Loup – a relatively easy climb, to be rewarded by breathtaking views.
We were even ‘dive bombed’ by a local glider pilot (there’s a landing strip on the plain below) !!
The Pic St Loup (left) almost dwarfed by the ‘falaise’ rising from La Plaine.
Sadly, the famous ‘Cube’ turned out to be entirely virtual – the architect is real, but the cube is a ‘project’ he invented for a friends birthday – the photo-montage had a number of us wondering, but after more research (and having driven past the Pic!) we discovered the truth – sad really.
These are the gardens at our favorite eating place The Auberge du Cèdre at Lauret. We go every year, and it is always a real pleasure – the atmosphere, and the food of course – and they have rooms….so perhaps one day!
We also managed a short visit to Clermont l’Hérault to see an expo from a friend of ours, Georges Souche – sadly he wasn’t there, but the pictures were well worth the effort – he rang us the next day and when we said we were returning via Montpelier, he suggested a short halt at a photographer friend of his who was also having an expo – naturally Georges didn’t turn up as planed…I think he’s avoiding me!
Planning underway for the 5th visit to l’Hérault and all it’s wonders in 2018…