22 January 2008

Roquebrune village - 24

Many villages retain their lavoir (wash house) - indeed many are still in use by villagers. The one in my village, Gorbio, is regularly in use by the locals.

Here's the lavoir in Roquebrune, which is found near to the entrance of the village. As you can see, no water in it at the moment. Don't you love the sign 'It is forbidden to wash vehicles.' I took this photograph over the Christmas/New Year period, hence the crèche which you see in front of the lavoir. Each Christmas the village of Roquebrune creates a Chemin des Crèches. This year 130 crèches were exhibited - one family alone created 17. All compete for the top prize and the tourist office organises tours of the crèches.

12 comments:

  1. Yes, in Portugal we still have some also. None as beautiful as this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your recent village photos have been quaint, picturesque and wonderful to see. What a splendid area to visit or in which to live!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Funny to read that some of them are still in use. There are many lavoirs in the villages around Montpellier, but none in Montpellier. The lavoir in Roquebrune is particularly beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yous say tha you like my new banner ?
    But I love yours : It is very beautifull.
    It's remains me Corsica's photo in my Best Of Photo Blog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey this is a "lavoir" too !!! too funnny ...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful! If only these stones could speak....

    ReplyDelete
  7. il est tres beau ce lavoir, on en a un vieux à Evry, mais malheureusement il n'est pas entretenu

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for the info, but who would have guessed?

    In Brittany the lavoirs are located by a natural water source.

    ReplyDelete
  9. NEWS FLASH:
    The Lavoir is filled with water since yesterday afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never seen this before. It only makes sense since water was precious commodity then.

    ReplyDelete
  11. beautiful--and a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Jilly, this is very interesting, especially for us Americans since the only bath houses we have are indoor spa like places that are rumored to be where people go to "rendez-vous".

    ReplyDelete