A quiet beauty in southern France...

  Driving from Nice in southern France to the inland area around Gourdon was, to say the least, an experience that left many impressions. 

 It was September, the world wasn't in the middle of a financial crisis, I couldn't see the end of full time work around the corner and we were far enough past 9/11 that a trans-atlantic trip was seriously considered.  The drive from the coast inland is winding but not as breath-stopping as say, crossing the Cascades in Washington State.

Some scenes brought forward the question, "How did they build that?"  This scene comes to mind, I remember taking the photo.  The structure to the left is a restaurant, there are tables below the observation point but the sheer sense of a drop that seems straight down made one pause and just take in the view.

The village of Gourdon, according to Wikipedia, has a population of 379, one road entrance to the village and is 4,000 (+) feet above sea level.  What is life like here, on a day to day basis?  On a sunny, warm early Fall day, it had a sense of being on a movie set.  The villages of southern France give you that sense, however, especially on a beautiful day. 

Sitting at a small cafe, along the street, sipping a glass of wine this place seems so disconnected from the rest of the planet.