Tuesday May 13, 2014 - Lavender Route - Day 13

We didn't wake up with the sun today for some reason.  It was 8:30 before we arose and then we went down to breakfast a little before 9:30.  Yesterday afternoon and the evening were so relaxing.  Taking time to let it all absorb - we have already seen and done so much - THANKS Emilie!  What do the next 4 1/2 + weeks have in store for us?

Another delicious breakfast by Philippe at La Villa Noria.

Last night, Tim spent over an hour detailing out our path for today.  Today will be a scenic drive through the mountains, a drive through the Nesque Canyon, and visits to several small towns - Saint Jean de Sault, Sarroud, Sault, Aurel, and Saint Trinit.  He was really "in" to the route and I greatly appreciated that.

Tim may have "over-thought" the route.  Our first stop according to the itinerary should have been the Nesque Canyon.  We saw many signs for this, but Tim gave me an emphatic "NO" and instructed me to follow his route that he worked on last night.  That took us on small roads through the mountains and small towns, but no Nesque Canyon!  But I did as I was told!  It was a pretty drive and got us to the little cities we were supposed to go to.

We went to Monieux, then to St Jean de Sault, then Sarraud - and no spectacular vistas.  We stopped in Sault and walked around but skipped the hike!!!!  We drove by many lavender fields and forests and a couple of ruins of old feudal castles.  Absolutely beautiful countryside.

We stopped in Aurel and walked around - small and quaint.  A bit of uphill walking and lots of steps again.

Then we drove to St Trinit - my least favorite of the small towns - not much to see.

Lookout point over the valley before we got to Sault - beautiful views

More beautiful views of the valley from the small mountain roads

Lots of lavender fields - not yet in bloom - but lavender everywhere.

That's why they call this the Lavender Road!

Beautiful fields of lavender plants as seen from the lookout point in Sault

The old church in Sault.

And an old fountain and monument in front of the Sault cathedral

Spectacular weather and views from Aurel

The small town of Aurel - we walked around and took it all in

Small streets in all of these towns - very well maintained and clean

We headed back to Sault and had a great lunch at a small restaurant that had a view of the valley - super lunch and fresh strawberries for dessert.

After lunch in Sault, we drove back to the place where we saw the signs to the Nesque Canyon - and this time we followed them.  And wow - were the views spectacular.  Coming from Modene, in Villes sur Auzon we should have taken the D942 instead of the D1 up the mountain - Oh Well - we got to see it on the way back.  It all worked out and was SUPER.

We saw this first and that this was the Nesque Canyon - just a "teaser"!

Beautiful canyon - wow - spectacular - and very windy and cold.

The mistral winds were blowing!

The Nesque Canyon

A chilly Larry at the lookout vista at the Nesque Canyon

 

Tim's panoramic view of the Nesque Canyon

Lots of small tunnels carved into the mountain - only one vehicle at a time would fit

(Wish I had been driving!!!!)

Tim enjoying the Nesque Canyon

More of the Nesque Canyon - can you tell we liked it?

All along the road many of the shrubs had been trimmed into a "box shape" - interesting!

Since we finished early, we headed to L'isle sur la Sorgue since we skipped that the other day due to no parking there during the market.  We are glad we went back.  L'isle sur la Sorgue was about 50 minutes from the Nesque Canyon but well worth the drive.  We got there about 3:30 and walked around until after 5.  Found a parking place much easier.  The town is FULL of water wheels and a fast moving current in many channels.  Very scenic and beautiful.

The low bridges over the Sorgue River

One of the many water wheels in L'isle sur la Sorgue - the paddles are all made of wood and covered in moss and other growths

One of the large water wheels in L'isle sur la Sorgue

The largest of the water wheels that we saw in L'isle sur la Sorgue

The shallow, fast-moving current in the river Sorgue

The river went through the city as well and there were several water wheels inside the city

One of the water wheels inside L'isle sur la Sorgue

 We stopped at a small café and had a coffee and a raspberry crepe - a good treat for us to end the day.

The cathedral in L'isle sur la Sorgue

For dinner we went into Crillon le Brave, a short distance from Modene.  We ate at Le Restaurant Vielle Four - The Old Stove.  Delicious.  We had a window seat and watched an almost full moon rise above the mountains in the distance - it was so beautiful and the sky was so clear.  Dinner was good too.  The only distraction was a very large group of Americans - 12 downstairs and 10 upstairs who had probably had too much to drink before they got there and were very loud.  Otherwise, a great dining experience.  The woman who waited on us apologized for the noise and we told her it was no problem.  Another great meal.

Our view of the valley and the almost full moon from out table at Le Restaurant Vielle Four

We have some driving to do tomorrow - so we plan to get up earlier and get a good start.

What a fabulous experience we are having.  But we are eating too much and too good - a few pounds gained????  Glad that there is no scale close by!  Bon nuit!