On Sun
19 Jun we drove across to Bedoin in Vaucluse, which sits at the foot of Mont Ventoux and is a haven for cyclists attempting to conquer the "Giant of Provence" as the Mountain is known. The campsite, just outside the town, is small and friendly, but the electricity supply wasn't of sufficient "oomph" to power the fridge and it was hot! Luckily we had plenty of gas on board. We walked into town along the footpath behind the campsite and enjoyed a beer or two in the company of a couple of cycling Kiwis from Christchurch.
On Monday we went back into the town for the fantastic market, bought some very colourful cheese (bright blue lavender cheese and a bright red tomato cheese), along with a fantastic old Cantal cheese which has a very fine nutty flavour like very mature cheddar. We also walked up to the cherry stall at a local farm to buy some Ventoux cherries, undoubtedly the best cherries we have ever tasted.
On Tuesday
21 Jun it was the fete de musique, a great evening of street entertainment.
On Wednesday we headed into the Luberon and the very pretty village of Gordes. We had a great lunch in town in the company of an American family and then lazed around the campsite pool.
On Thursday we undertook the long, long hike through the forests to the Abbey at Senanque. The trail followed narrow tracks along the ridgeline of a high escarpment and she managed to lose her hat which she had only bought the previous day in Gordes. Eventually we arrived at the Abbey and found it somewhat disappointing. Still, we bought some holy Evian water and some holy honey cake for sustenance on the way back and commenced the long climb back, luckily finding the missing hat en-route.
On Fri
24 Jun, again on the recommendation of our friend Dominique, we headed off to the fountain of Vaucluse - a very pretty site but the water levels were low so the actual spring itself was quite disappointing. We also managed to find a fabulous car wash where we could get rid of 4 weeks of accumulated filth and insects. We then drove on to Sault, walked out of a restaurant run by the most miserable git in France, had an ice cream, and found a France Passion site on a lavender farm miles from anywhere. The charming lady who runs the farm invited us in to enjoy a glass of her home made apple juice, very welcome in the searing heat.
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| Sault |
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| Beautiful clean, clear water |
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Despite being the 5th largest spring in the world, it was disappointingly empty
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On Sat 25 Jun I opened the door to find the 4 farm dogs waiting outside to play. I managed to entice them away from the van, and her beauty sleep, without making too much noise and we wandered around enjoying the peace and stunning views, soon to shattered when the workers started processing the lavender, but the smell was divine. Despite not speaking English, the dogs were very well behaved and I enjoyed leading my pack immensely. Leaving the farm, we drove on to Forcalquier to a nice site just outside town and wandered into town in the hope that somebody would be showing the Australia v England Rugby but, alas, no luck again.
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| Mont Ventoux |
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