Musée de la Vannerie, Cadenet (84)

It's not easy to take a photo when the sun's shining in your face, but this is the east-facing elevation of Le Musée de la Vannerie, the museum devoted to the wickerwork industry that once florished in this village of Cadenet in Vaucluse. It's on the site of a wickerwork factory called 'La Glaneuse', and contains a wealth of examples of finished products, such as cribs, baskets and other many other carriers, ornamental work as well as functional, and some objects for which we simply have no names in English. The museum also has a great deal of documentary detail on the industry.

A view from the first and top floor, giving an idea of the contents. Our visit was greatly enhanced by the explanations and the seemingly endless patience of our guide, who especially dedicated a deal of time to helping my partner Penny (who has very little French) to understand things: in fact, Penny was receiving what amounted to lessons in French! Je croyais qu'on l'avait emmerdée un peu trop avec toutes nos – enfin, mes – questions et mes conneries, mais elle a dit que non, que c'était l'inverse. Il me semble qu'elle ne nous a jamais mentionné son nom, mais quand même merci beaucoup pour tout le travail que vous avez fait ! Formidable !

Well worth a visit.