I learned something new today: Be sure to leave your car windows rolled down while driving through Provence because the smell of lavender is amazing. (I am also learning that French keyboards are very different as I type on the laptop offered to us in our new hotel)
We slept in a little this morning to enjoy our last hours at Le Vieil Aiglun. We lingered at breakfast, had an extra coffee and tea. We wandered slowly around the grounds and took pictures to try to capture the place. But the time came to check out and we packed the car and headed off on our day of explorations. Our plan today was to take in some key sights over a three-hour drive to our next resting place, Antibes.
We started by driving through the closest village to the east of Aiglun, Digne les Bains - a quaint spa town tucked into the hills with well-known thermal spas. From there we headed south to the heavily touristed town of Moustiers-Sainte-Marie - at the entrance to the breathtaking Gorges du Verdon. On the way we passed field upon field of beautifully fragrant lavender rows.
There is a reason why Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is heavily touristed, it is picture perfect. The only way I can really describe it to you is with a few pictures (below). It is another famous Village Perches, tucked high into an impressive limestone mountainface, with narrow pedestrian-only streets that are lined with traditional Provencal stores, cafes and fresh produce market stands - not to mention a towering waterfall cascading directly through the middle of town. Dave and I wandered up and down the streets, taking pictures and doing some shopping. In addition to the lavender, fabrics and local farm products, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is known for being the town where traditional French, hand-painted, ceramics were born. So while wandering, it was fun to browse all of the ceramic shops and look at all of the locally made pieces that were all too breakable to fly home.
Dave and I were ready to head into the Gorges du Verdon park, so we loaded up on a picnic lunch at the little Fromagerie in town. We stocked up on cheeses, fresh bread, sausage and olives. Yes. It was that good.
According to the guide book, the Gorges du Verdon are one of France's secret treasures. And I am glad that we took the time to discover it. The park is known as Europe's Grand Canyon. The views were absolutely spectacular. Imagine the Grand Canyon, but with dark green vegetation, limestone walls and a brilliant turquoise river raging through it. Dave and I drove for about two hours through harrowing hairpin roads along the canyon's edge and took in the amazing views. We stopped and climbed up above an overlook and enjoyed our Provencal picnic. If it was possible to make fresh cheeses and sausages taste better, that view did the trick.
From there, we headed another two hours to the French Riviera. As we got closer to the sea, the mountains became increasingly full of buildings and towns. We were emmerging out of a very ancient, rural Provence and into the upscale and crowded beach towns of the Cote d'Azur.
We arrived in Antibes around 730. More on our hotel tomorrow. We are taking some time to adjust back to being in civilization, but I think that some much-needed beach time will certainly help with that tomorrow.
But before I go to bed, I wanted to mention our amazing dinner in Antibes. We wandered into Old Antibes and ate at a lovely outdoor restaurant, La Gravette. The food was spectacular. Dave had a crab gratin to start, followed by scallops and finished off with a lemon and cinamon creme brule. I had a tomato tart, followed by king prawns in a Provencal sauce and finished with a warm tart-tartin. The bottle of vin blanc was delicious and the atmosphere very cool, tucked in behind ancient stone walls alongside a marina and the Mediterranean Sea.
Tomorrow we relax and hit the beach. It's about time for our little vacation in the middle of our vacaction!
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