1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 182 Entering Another World

"It's still easier to practice driving with you." Zoe said happily, "My father always uses various reasons to persuade me to give up driving. He said that riding in a car is 10,000 times more comfortable than driving, but he doesn't look comfortable at all when sitting in the car I drive, so I still have to control the steering wheel in my own hands."

She looked at Ronan and smiled:
"I'm not that bad at driving, am I? I just need more practice."

Ronan looked like he had just been fished out of the Mediterranean Sea. The 30-degree heat and strong sun in Provence did not dry his clothes:

"You drive pretty well, but it would be better if you could drive a little slower."

Zoe finally slowed down and said in a very good mood:
"I know when to go fast and when to go slow. Now is the time to slow down."

She pointed to the yellow or orange mountains on both sides of the road and said:
"Here, those are the ochre mines."

Ronan was so nervous along the way that his attention was all on Zoe and the car that he didn't even notice that they had entered another 'world'.

Everywhere you look, the green fields seem to be covered with a new curtain, a shade of ochre and red, so brilliant.

"It's amazing. This place is only 30 kilometers away from Lourmarin, but it feels completely different. It's different from any other place. It's like looking at the world with orange sunglasses on." Ronan said, looking at the scenery along the road.

"Roussillon has the largest ochre deposits in Europe." Zoe slowed the car down to a very slow speed so that Ronan could see the ochre cliffs on both sides clearly.

"I remember you told me the 'story' of ochre!" Ronan said cheerfully, "You said that the Archangel Gabriel fought a desperate battle with a group of fallen angels, and their blood dyed the soil red. From then on, ochre ore appeared in the world."

Zoe smiled very happily. She was very happy that Ronan remembered everything she said, but...
"That's a bedtime fairy tale. The ochre deposits here are because Provence was covered by an ocean 2.3 million years ago. After hundreds of millions of years, Provence emerged from the water. Some of the sediments previously deposited on the seabed formed limestone, and some formed ochre mines. Provence is very rich in mineral resources."

"It is a land that has been lovingly embraced by nature." Ronan said with emotion.

Zoe laughed crisply:

"I find that you have artistic talent."

Ronan shrugged awkwardly:

"Acting?"

"No, if you don't run a restaurant, I might suggest you become a writer." Zoe suggested seriously.

Ronan stroked his chin and thought seriously for a few seconds:

"But I don't want to compete with you for the title of 'the greatest artist in Lourmarin.'"

The people of Provence love to give others various titles and use them on various occasions.

Ronan heard someone say this in the old tavern:
Man, you know why the best farmer in Lourmarin and the best truffle hunter in Lourmarin are best friends? It's because they both love kicking the laziest villagers in Lourmarin's ass!

Zoe said in a doting tone:
"Great, I like your confidence."

With beautiful scenery beside him and beautiful women by his side, Ronan finally felt like he was on a 'happy vacation'.

He stretched out his right hand, palm facing upward, and placed it between the two of them, saying lovingly:

"How can I be worthy of you who is so confident that you shine without confidence?"

Zoe also extended her right hand.

Ronan smiled and went over to hold her hand.

But Zoe's hand suddenly dropped rapidly in mid-air and landed on the gear lever:
"I'm confident that we can drive to Roussillon in 15 minutes, so we can buy paint and find a nice restaurant for lunch."

With a roar of the engine, Ronan's "happiness" was left far behind.

Ronan gave up the idea of holding hands with Zoe while driving, which would put both of them in more dangerous situations. People in Provence drive very wildly, which Ronan experienced when he bought his first car.

But he really couldn't understand that Zoe, who attached the most importance to safety and protection, also had the potential to become a speed racer.

Perhaps the genes engraved in the blood of the Provencal people have awakened?

In order to get Zoe to drive slower and slower, Ronan had to show his curiosity about every flower and grass on both sides of the road, hoping that Zoe would slow down and let him take a closer look because he was a Parisian who knew nothing.

Fifteen minutes later, a small red-earth village appeared at the end of the mountain road. Ronan was finally able to ask something that interested him:
"The one in front is Roussillon, right?"

Roussillon is also a "bird's nest village". It is located on an ochre-colored ridge. The stacked houses, bell towers and churches are like the gorgeous oil paintings of the painter. The alternation of orange, yellow and terracotta makes the sky behind appear a bit brighter.

"Yes, that's Roussillon, which translates from Latin as 'Red Mountain'." Zoe nodded.

Ronan's impression of Roussillon also came from the 'Most Beautiful Villages in France' selected in the 21st century, in which this village was also listed.

But compared with Lourdes, the natural environment and scenery here are too advantageous. There is also a tall snow-capped mountain behind the village.

"Is that a branch of the Alps?" Ronan made this judgment based on the direction.

"Yes, that's Mont Ventoux, the highest mountain in the Vaucluse department." Zoe threw out another point of knowledge that Ronan didn't know.

Hearing the name, Ronan blurted out:

“Mont Ventoux, a crucial stage in the Tour de France!”

Zoe pouted her lips cutely:

"Thank God, I can finally learn something from you."

Ronan wanted to spread his hands flat and make a "this is nothing" gesture, but he didn't want to leave the armrest too far, even though the car was not going very fast.
"We have known each other for too short a time. Slowly you will find that I am also a 'knowledgeable' person."

Without key body movements and gestures, the momentum expressed by Ronan was much weaker.

Zoe said in a perfunctory tone, as if coaxing a child:
"Okay, I'm really looking forward to it."

Ochre pigment can be mixed with clay to create brightly colored ceramics.

However, since the finished products fired from this material have very natural colors, they are expensive.

Zoe bought 500g of it before, but she was reluctant to use it all. It was said that it took her half a year to finish that small can.

But now her wallet is fatter and she feels more confident.

Not only do I want to do a lot of shopping today, but I also want to go to the ochre pigment store with the best reputation and quality in Roussillon.

Ronan looked at Roussillon from a distance on the road and thought it was already very beautiful. After parking the car and walking into this ochre-red "world", he felt that it was even more beautiful.
Unlike the stone houses in other villages in Provence, the exterior walls of every building in the village are painted with yellow, orange or terracotta paint. Walking on the streets here, it feels like nothing is real.

Zoe was not the first to come, but she felt the same as Ronan:

"People who live here must be very happy, right? It's so beautiful here."

Ronan sighed silently.

In the future, Lourmarin will be voted as the "most beautiful village in France" together with Roussillon?
This is unbelievable!

How has Blanc ‘transformed’ Lourmarin?

(End of this chapter)