Ochre, the Color of Provence

Our first full day in Provence we drove through several beautiful villages and arrived at the hiking trail of Le Colorado Provencal. It was a lovely, balmy day and we were able to hike right up to the cliffs of shades of orange.

The ochre cliffs of Roussillon. We visited Roussillon on another day and again were intrigued by the orange colors in the soil. Reading from Rick Steves book, "Roussillon was Europe's capital for ochre production until World War II." "Ochre is made of iron oxide and clay." "France's ochre is considered tops."

The color is everywhere in the living in Provence from the shades of the buildings to the land. It warms your heart. We bought some ochre pigments to paint with while in Provence. I would love to paint my house a soft, warm ochre color. Take note as I show you scenes in Provence in the next few days and you will see many different shades of ochre.