Towns along the Luberon and horseback riding

Last day. Isabelle’s sister served us breakfast this morning. I don’t think she speaks a word of English but it’s all good. We took a few pictures of our lovely B&B and headed out to see as much of the Montagne du Luberon we could fit before horseback riding.



The Luberon is composed of three mountain ranges, and the valley between them contains a number of towns and agricultural land. We drove through the countryside of vineyards, orchards and villages until we reached the tiered beautiful village of Gordes. Perched on the southern edge of the high Plateau de Vaucluse, the stone buildings were filled with people celebrating Fête du Oliver, and annual traveling festival celebrating the olive harvest. The streets were jammed with olive oil makers, musicians, artists and what looked like and olive bake-off.

We strolled and tasted our way through the city for a while before heading towards the village of Roussilon. The soil, hills and buildings Roussilon are all this red/brownish color, and the town is known for its pottery. Many of the charming shops were closed for lunch, but we still were able to visit a number of pottery galleries and shops. We had a very quick lunch in a bar in St. Didier and made our way to the Ranch du Vallee Vert for some horseback riding fun!

At first it was a little awkward, they speak no English and it was hard to teach us anything about the horses. But the international language of signing got us on track, and soon we were saddled up and ready to ride.

I was on Geronimo. David hadn’t asked the name of his horse, so we called him “nice old horse” due to the fact that he was everything David wanted- slow and sweet. We walked, trotted and even galloped a bit through pastures and orchards, we climbed rocky hilltops and around gorgeous tree-lines paths of the Luberon for two hours.

We went back to Orange for some hot showers, packed up our things and went back to Courthezon to the Table du Princes for dinner.

I’m sad our honeymoon is over. There have been a few bumps in the road here and there- some wrong turns on scary roads and confusion about where exactly we are or what direction we should be headed in- but this has been a dream trip. We’ve tasted great food and wines, seen great art, enjoyed amazing landscapes, toured historic cities, relaxed on famous beaches and tons more. I know this is going to be the first of many incredible adventures with my husband. I have to say that married life ain't bad at all and I can’t wait to see what comes next!