Rougiers
Today, I was lucky enough to visit a friend in her new home in Rougiers. Rougiers is in the Var region of France and is only about 45 minutes from Aix-en-Provence. I decided to take the national route (D7) and I’m so glad I did. I’ve said it before, but this route is one of the most beautiful routes I have seen, yet. It took me one hour from Aix.
When I arrived in Rougiers, I was charmed to find an adorable old village. I took my car through the small winding roads and slowly climbed my way through as it was uphill all the way. When I arrived in the main square, I saw one man drinking a beer. He was sitting alone, almost in the street, on his plastic cafe chair. I did my best not to hit him. He seemed to be the only one around. After slowly squeezing my way up and around the tiny streets, I arrived at the very top, which is where my friend now lives. We hadn’t seen each other in awhile and she took great pride in showing me around her new home. It was beautiful and had many windows which looked over the town and as far as the eye could see. Spectacular.
After a little coffee and some lunch, we headed out for a nice walk. We were able to walk straight from the house and from there we began to climb a little path which is known as “Le Chemin des Glaciers”. It was a cold day and I wondered for a minute if we were going to hit some ice. We did not, so up we went. We climbed through a wooded path and it only took about 20 minutes but it was straight up. I was huffing and puffing at some point and my friend assured me that once we were on top of the hill that it was well worth the climb. I didn’t want to stop but I was feeling very unfit.
A Cave
Could Mary Madeleine have stayed here?
We finally made it and boy was it worth it! I felt like we were on top of the world. We were actually in the ancient village of Rougiers which dated back to the 2nd century BC. I couldn’t believe that people actually lived up here and how old it really was. There wasn’t very much information about the village but what I found online (in French) was that the villagers found a safe haven on top of this hill. Apparantly Mary Madeleine was also a visitor and she sometimes camped in some of the caves that were found in the mountain. The village is in ruins but has been restored. There is a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary that looks out over the town of Rougiers. It is such a beautiful and quaint place. Back in the day it must have really felt like the middle of nowhere. I would say even today that it is a bit of a hidden spot.
We spent some time walking around and trying to imagine this village “live”. It is truly amazing to me to come across these ancient sites and to imagine all that came before us.
What I found interesting about this town is that it has a mountain feel. It was a cold day but I can imagine that in the summer time there is a nice breeze up there. It is pretty high up. It’s a great location and is only 30 minutes or so from the sea.
We had a really nice time together and I’m looking forward to returning. Perhaps for a swim in the pool next time.