We got ready and headed out about 9 for what we thought would be an easy, short day. Emilie put us through our paces today! And what a FABULOUS day - beautiful scenery, beautiful food, beautiful wine, beautiful weather - and a memorable day.
Our first destination was Lafare which was to be the entry point for us to cross over the Dentelles de Montmirair Mountains. We got there and then set the next destination for Gigondas but the GPS kept taking us back to Beaumes de Venise. We ended up in a vineyard in Beaumes de Venise, and decided to turn around and try "the rugged way". Tim finally discovered that the GPS had an option set to "Avoid Unpaved Roads" - uh oh! Once he took that off we set off across the mountains on "very interesting" roads. What fun this was to be off of the beaten path.
This is our French "voiture" - a Peugeot SUV with GPS - comfortable and petrol efficient!
Emilie had recommended a couple of hikes in the Dentelles - once I saw the trails - NO WAY! (:-)
The Dentelles de Montmirail are beautiful - sort of looks like "teeth" don't they?
There were LOTS of hikers on the trails and they "glared" at us as we passed them in the car. At one place we had to pass about 40 of them. All ages. Better them than me! My knees wouldn't have taken that especially with all of the rocks and hilly terrain. The Dentelles were beautiful. We stopped for a short time to take in the beauty and then headed on to Gigondas.
The town fountain . . .
and the laundry! All of these little towns have them.
We got to Gigondas and since it was a national holiday most shops were closed. We walked to the top of the town to the cathedral and an art museum. There was an interesting exhibit with large people doing various things - some provocative!
View of the Rhone Valley from Gigondas
Art exhibit in Gigondas
The small town with a couple of brassieries
Then we went to Sablet - and walked all around thinking it was Segueret! It had a view, a 15th century church and a public fountain with 4 faces. Who knew. Seguret was just next door. Segueret is rated as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France. We can vouch for that.
View of Segueret from afar. Beautiful tan villages on the hills.
Entry into Seguret - no cars allowed.
The town fountain and cistern. Every town has one.
We had lunch at La Mesclun - somewhat expensive for lunch but the food was delicious, the service excellent, and the presentation was creative and artful. This was a tomato gelatin with a salad on top in a fish bowl. Every plate was artfully created. Yummy!
We enjoyed a nice bottle of Provencial rose for lunch - Le Chateau la Churansonne
These were the dessert plates - fabulous and delicious.
The view from La Mesclun
Segueret is known for the "santons of Provence". We have 2 of them at home much larger than these.
View of la Dentelles from Segueret
What's Tim doing in Segueret???? A somewhat open-air pissoir!
Segueret as seen from the highway
Typical street scene in Segueret - quaint and very quiet
Then on to Vaison la Romaine - a Roman city from the 12th century - another public fountain
The ramparts at Vaison la Romaine
The old original Roman bridge from the 12th century - why can't we make things that last this long?
Philippe recommended that we also go to Crestet - a great recommendation - beautiful
This was a face someone had carved into one of the stones on the wall. Man with tongue sticking out!
Beautiful quiet streets in the old city at Segueret
Many, many steps were walked today - we have been eating really good - but walking it off too. My knees are killing me!!!!
The city fountain in Segueret
And the cistern - I'm sending Tim here tomorrow to do our laundry!!!!
We drove back through Malaucene but quite frankly we were tired - it was almost 6 pm and it had been a full day. Emilie certainly steered us properly in every suggestion - and we did some on our own. A great day of touring.
We got back to La Villa Noria, opened a bottle of wine, enjoyed the wonderful Provence breezes on our private patio and just soaked it all in. What a wonderful trip. THANKS Emilie! Perfect so far in every way.
We had asked Philippe to make a dinner reservation for us at La Colombe in Besoin for 8 pm. Actually it was a "hamlet" - or hammu of Besoin so it was outside. We didn't realize that. Long story short - we are FLYING through these back roads trying to find the restaurant, Tim screaming at me, and the GPS being of no use as there is no real street address on the card. Long story short, I'm laughing, Tim's NOT, and he uses his cell phone's GPS to get us there. We arrived about 20 minutes late and they still had our table and were expecting us. I'm not sure the French are that punctual anyway (at least not like Tim). (:-) A fun experience.
Dinner was good - not gourmet but good. Tim had oxtail with a fig spread for starters and I had salad with salmon. Dinner for Tim was duck (again) and I had fish - both really good. And a refreshing dessert. All accompanied with a good bottle of wine from Provence (a red). No coffee. But we have mastered asking for a "pichet" or "carafe du l'eau" - a pitcher or water instead of paying for a bottle of Evian. Just as good.
We headed back to the hotel about 10:30 and went straight to bed. An action packed day and we have another tomorrow.
End of Day 8.
your trip sounds perfectly amazing - can't wait for the next blog
ReplyDeleteJ&G
Thanks Joan - FABULOUS experience. I keep having to pinch myself. Our travel planner, Emilie in The Loire Valley sure put together a great program for us. We've been busy and loving it!
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