This post is well overdue but is worth the effort
We set out very early yesterday (well early for us – 6.30am) with the objective of getting our travelling companions (Denis & Kit Cherry) to Nice by late afternoon where they will be catching a plane to Italy on Wednesday. We started well, getting away on time, but it quickly went pear-shaped when I missed a road-sign that I should never miss, which meant that we were well on the way to Barcelona (to the south when we should have been going east then north), before I realized my stuff-up. And then the “back-track option” I chose was also less than ideal meaning that by the time we had negotiated Montpellier (a challenge at any time) we or should I say I, had blown at least an hour of our valuable time, and we were well and truly involved in the early rush hour.
We had decided that we wanted to go via Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, quite a diversion from the fastest route to Nice, but we really wanted to share Moustiers with Den & Kit. It remains our favourite village in France after we stopped there in 2005, just for lunch, at the recommendation of the guide book Gaye was reading at the time, but as it eventuated stayed for 2 nights. Moustiers is very special – it is classified “Un des Plus Beaux Village de France” which means it’s special qualities are officially recognized, and which of course means it attracts a lot of tourists (oh well!).
A view of Moustiers
Over lunch I had suggested to Gaye that instead of driving all the way back to Lodeve as planned (3.5 – 4 hours) we should return to Moustiers and spend a night there in the same delightful Chambres d’Hote (B&B) that we had discovered in 2005. We managed to secure a room but not the one we had last time – this one, on the second floor was even nicer. The plan was that we would return to Moustiers via Castellane (another beautiful village where we had stayed in 2005) and the magnificent Grand Canyon du Verdon (which we had only partially explored in 2005), using the quickest route possible between Nice and Castellane. Gaye’s navigation however sent us on an entirely different, and much more circuitous route that threatened to really challenge our schedule. At first, after realizing the mistake, I was less than impressed, but that quickly changed as we were confronted by the truly magnificent spectacle of the Defile du Chaudan (the gorges of the River Var which empties into the Mediterranean near Nice), a drive that cannot be adequately described in words or in man-made photographs – simply STUNNING. The next 3.5 hours were as good a driving experience as we have ever had in France or anywhere else. The last section, through the Grand Canyon du Verdon, of 45 kilometres between Castellane and Moustiers, was done in fading and finally disappearing light. Rather than this be a disappointment, it presented the magnificent gorge in an entirely different light that was quite magical.
It is about 9.20pm on Tuesday evening (22/9), we have just finished a delightful meal of poached salmon (etc) accompanied by a more than acceptable bottle of Brut Rose (a bubbly from Burgundy) from Leonce Bocquet (sounds like we should have paid much more than 5 euros at the supermarket but then this is France). We arrived home in Lodeve just 2 hours ago from a delightful couple of days full of unexpected surprises.
We set out very early yesterday (well early for us – 6.30am) with the objective of getting our travelling companions (Denis & Kit Cherry) to Nice by late afternoon where they will be catching a plane to Italy on Wednesday. We started well, getting away on time, but it quickly went pear-shaped when I missed a road-sign that I should never miss, which meant that we were well on the way to Barcelona (to the south when we should have been going east then north), before I realized my stuff-up. And then the “back-track option” I chose was also less than ideal meaning that by the time we had negotiated Montpellier (a challenge at any time) we or should I say I, had blown at least an hour of our valuable time, and we were well and truly involved in the early rush hour.
We had decided that we wanted to go via Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, quite a diversion from the fastest route to Nice, but we really wanted to share Moustiers with Den & Kit. It remains our favourite village in France after we stopped there in 2005, just for lunch, at the recommendation of the guide book Gaye was reading at the time, but as it eventuated stayed for 2 nights. Moustiers is very special – it is classified “Un des Plus Beaux Village de France” which means it’s special qualities are officially recognized, and which of course means it attracts a lot of tourists (oh well!).
A view of MoustiersAnyway we arrived at Moustiers in time for lunch, even if a bit later than planned, after an interesting, and often very beautiful drive of about 5.5 hours duration. In this part of France an average of 50-60 kms per hour is normal for those who like to avoid the motorways as much as possible – which we definitely do. Gaye had her heart set on a special table at a special restaurant – “Les Trielles Muscate” which is where we had lunch back in 2005, and we managed to achieve her goal. The restaurant is superbly located in the middle of Moustiers, perched on the edge of the small gorge that bisects the village, and is highly rated by travel writers. We enjoyed a superb three-course lunch with a bottle of local rose (nicely chilled), and then after an hour of exploring the village we set off for Nice which should have been just 2 hours away. Some less than average navigation (won’t mention the navigator) meant that it was nearly 3 hours before we set our passengers down (and said goodbye to our travelling companions of the last 3 weeks), in the middle of Nice.
Gayes favourite restaurant
Over lunch I had suggested to Gaye that instead of driving all the way back to Lodeve as planned (3.5 – 4 hours) we should return to Moustiers and spend a night there in the same delightful Chambres d’Hote (B&B) that we had discovered in 2005. We managed to secure a room but not the one we had last time – this one, on the second floor was even nicer. The plan was that we would return to Moustiers via Castellane (another beautiful village where we had stayed in 2005) and the magnificent Grand Canyon du Verdon (which we had only partially explored in 2005), using the quickest route possible between Nice and Castellane. Gaye’s navigation however sent us on an entirely different, and much more circuitous route that threatened to really challenge our schedule. At first, after realizing the mistake, I was less than impressed, but that quickly changed as we were confronted by the truly magnificent spectacle of the Defile du Chaudan (the gorges of the River Var which empties into the Mediterranean near Nice), a drive that cannot be adequately described in words or in man-made photographs – simply STUNNING. The next 3.5 hours were as good a driving experience as we have ever had in France or anywhere else. The last section, through the Grand Canyon du Verdon, of 45 kilometres between Castellane and Moustiers, was done in fading and finally disappearing light. Rather than this be a disappointment, it presented the magnificent gorge in an entirely different light that was quite magical.
A few images from our drive back to Moustiers from Nice follow:
After a quiet and restful night in Moustiers, and a classic French breakfast brought to our room by the Madame de la Chambre d’Hote, we set off for Lodeve by mid morning having planned a route that was almost entirely new to us. We drove through the Luberon region of Provence (made famous by Peter Mayle in his books on an expatriate Pom’s life in Provence), full of contrasting but always delightful landscapes.
We stopped in several small villages along the way, the highlights being Saignon (where the Australian author Henrietta Taylor has made her home – we rang her and had a little chat while we sipped a coffee next to one of her houses), Rousillon and Gordes. All of these villages are rated as “Un des Plus Beaux Villages de France”, and as far as we are concerned thoroughly deserve the title.
Gordes in particular, where we stopped for lunch, is superb, and now rivals Moustiers in our personal ratings. We must go back there with more time to explore and experience. A few images taken of and in Gordes follow:
Once we left Gordes, the rest of the journey was less spectacular bit still contained many highlights including the longest avenue of trees we have yet seen in France, and that is saying something because France is full of superb avenues of plane trees. This one must have been 5 or 6 kilometres long, just before St Remy de Provence (where Vincent van Gogh spent time in an asylum while living in nearby Arles). Two days, 1050 kilometres and nearly 20 hours of driving after leaving, we arrived back in Lodeve at about 7.30pm. Whew!
No comments:
Post a Comment