The Alpilles are a diminished continuation of the crumple of land that makes the Luberon mountain on the eastern side of the river Durance, south of Avignon.
The Alpilles take and break the full force of the Mistral as it tears down the Rhône valley on its way to the Carmargue.. Quintessentially Provence, the Alpilles have groves of parasol pines as well as groves of cultivated olives.
The quiet country roads between Aureille and Eyguières are a fine place for a picnic, once the summer restrictions on account of the risk of fire have been lifted.
The rocks are light grey limestone that takes the colour of the sun and the sky: when Paul Cézanne painted scenes from the Alpilles he used colours to portray the moods so we have purples and blues that are entirely non-naturalistic but entirely appropriate.
My postcard also shows the fine ruins of the Castelas de Roquemartine, from the XIIth and XIIIth centuries: it's superficially similar to the popular château at Les Baux de Provence but became ruined as part of the complicated history of the Alpilles.