Lipizzan Horses in Gordes France - A Day to Remember (Une journée mémorable)

Lipizzan Horses in Gordes France - April 2003

In April of 2003 MH and I traveled to France to spend three weeks with our Daughter who, at the time, was participating in a Student Exchange Program through the Oklahoma University (OU) Michael F. Price College of Business. 


During this visit we traveled to the Luberon region of Provence. One of our favorite Provençal villages in this area was Gordes. This hilltop village is listed as one of  "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France" ("The Most Beautiful Villages in France").  Gordes is an incredibly picturesque old Provençal village with clusters of magnificent stone buildings literally clinging to the southern edge of the rockface of the Plateau de Vacluse. At the top of the village, a church and houses surround a large twelfth-century château. The buildings of Gordes are made of beige stone but appear to be orange in the morning sun. I recall it as "the orange village."


The first picture above is one that MH took of two Lipizzan horses.  We were walking through the narrow cobbled streets (called "calades") of the village when we stumbled upon these horses and their keeper out for a walk.  I love that, at first glance, this picture looks like a mirror image of one horse.  Look closely though and you'll see that the manes are different lengths.  In the second picture, the vision of the white horses against the beige cobbled streets, the stone buildings, the French blue shutters, the boxwood topiaries in the French pottery and the touch of greenery above the horses was almost surreal or dream-like in its sheer beauty.  I recall this day as one of the most beautiful days of my life, a day to remember or as they say in France "Une journée mémorable!"  I was with two of my favorite people in one of my favorite places, who could ask for more?

This beautiful photo was taken by Marzia from Italy who graciously allowed me to use his work in this posting.  Thank you Marzia!  Your picture perfectly captures how I remember Gordes.