A view up to the Castle at Le Barroux

A few days ago, following a second trip to Carpentras, our in-car navigation took us on a different route back home. It was a winding route through the hills and I don't expect that Magnus enjoyed it much. However, we spotted a castle nestling in a village in the hills that looked quite impressive and today, as the weather was sunny again, we made a trip to see it first hand.

We were able to park in the pretty, well manicured village and we walked up to the castle quite easily. Fortunately, the castle was open (as it is off-season many things are closed) and having paid Euro5 each for entry, the friendly dog-loving lady at the entrance let us in with an English guide folder.

Apparently, originally a watch tower built in the 12th Century to look out for invading Saracens and Italians, over the next 4 to 500 years, it was added to - to make the castle that we see today. It was restored in the 1920s and again after the Second World War after the retreating Germans set fire to it and it burnt for 10 days.

The interior is very basic as the only things that are original are the walls of the castle themselves. Down one level from the main entrance, there is a little chapel, which is still in use. The other rooms in the castle are in use for art exhibitions. As you would expect, from what was originally a watchtower, the views are impressive.

A short drive down from the village, there is the Benedictine Abbey named Sainte Madeleine, founded in 1978. As we walked around the abbey, a monk and some worshippers arrived as a service was about to begin. This is one of the few times that I regret that Magnus was with us as the apart fom the odd shop, the French have welcomed him just about everywhere including restaurants. Pauline had a quick glimpse by opening the door slightly as the monks filed in and when we heard them singing, you could imagine that it would be quite magical. We will definitely come again-without Magnus-sorry.