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Tuesday 23 July 2013

PROVENCE PART 7

 
The river Sorgue has it's source at Fontaine de Vaucluse only 10 km away from the campsite we were staying on.  We cycled there one hot day through the lovely quiet lanes along the vineyards.  We arrived at coffee time and chose a bistro next to the river.  I sketched the view across the water as we relaxed in the shade with our coffees which came with a cool glass of water.
 
 
Having refreshed ourselves we set off to walk to the source of the river up the hill towards the cliffs you can see in the background of the previous sketch.  The beginning of the path is lined with tourist souvenir shops and ice cream sellers as well as plenty of plane trees for much needed shade as it's quite a climb! As we went higher the river became narrower and faster moving until it disappeared under the tumble of boulders.  At the end of the path we came to a deep blue pool, quite calm in the shadow of the looming cliffs, apparently over 300 metres deep which is where the river begins.
 
 
After marvelling at this sight, having never actually seen the source of a river before, we walked back down and returned to our riverside bistro for lunch.  I had time for another sketch while we waited for our pizzas to arrive.  After lunch we visited the paper mill which is still making hand made paper with old cotton rags in the traditional way with waterwheels turned by the river as it passes.  I took some photos of the process but haven't yet done any sketches.
 
 

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