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(Most) beautiful villages

Another Saturday in a UNESCO biosphere. I cannot reach the contacts Pierre Frapa gave me yesterday, so I take advantage of the beautiful weather and leave the "castle of the environment" in order to explore the biosphere's area by bike. An information leaflet tells me that several villages in the region have been labeled "one of the most beautiful villages in France" - I call this an invitation for a visit.

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First Stop: The Saturday market in Apt. Thousands of locals as well as tourists from Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands come to savour this feast for the senses: Horse sausage, freshly collected honey, soap from Marseille with serveral dozens of fragrances, local wines, cheese ... Among the masses, I meet again Julien and the others from the circus, that use the good opportunity to turn juggling and music into hard money.

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Several kilometers further, pastel-coloured Rousillon owes its reputation to the colorful ochre deposits in the surroundings. The orange-red pigments don't only form bizarre rock structures attracting visitors to the "Street of Giants" and the "Colorado", but are also used for the painting of house walls (see photo above), giving the village its distinctive colours.

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Gordes, situated in the Western part of the Luberon biosphere, welcomes me with a steep ascent to the village centre. The beautiful white stone houses surrounded by cypresses give the village a very mediterranean, almost Italian appearance.

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As I leave the village, a young Japanese tourist couple approaches me and ask about my travel. I use the exceptional view from Gordes across the Luberon region to explain the different protected zones of a UNESCO biosphere.

While the sunlight slowly fades, I continue my way to Menerbes, Lacoste, Bonnieux, each of which greets me with a "beautiful village" street sign. On the roadside, an old lady stops me, the hands full with collected mushrooms. "Do you have a plastic bag?", she asks me and explains: "There are a lot of them here on the roadside usually, but these days, I can't find a single one anymore." An indication for the successful work of the biosphere management?

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(Most) beautiful villages

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