Holiday Day 11 – The Essence of France

What is it that makes France so special as a holiday destination? I think what we experienced today encapsulates it. It was the weekly market in the nearby medium sized town of Vaison. We were warned that it would be difficult to park so we left early. The streets of the town were already at 9am engulfed with stalls selling everything from local produce, takeaways to handbags. The colour and vibrancy of it all was fantastic.

There was brilliant selling taking place. At the olive stall I had many tastes of tapenade before I decided which one to buy. Each one was accompanied by a smile, and what do you know I bought more than I intended. Before buying any fruit or veg it was thoroughly poked and prodded.

As we had left early we sat in a street side café drinking coffee and eating croissants watching the world go by. The smells of the herbs, and cooking all mixed together into an aroma that you might describe as the essence of France. Some stalls were inexplicable, one sold camouflage netting that looked as though it had dropped off the back of an army truck. It was odd, as I did not see any para-militaries around, though I suppose that I would not if they were well camouflaged.

Lunch was eaten in a outdoor café overlooking the main square as all of the stallholders cleared away into their white vans. Then in almost a miraculous cleansing the market was gone, the streets were returned to normal traffic, and the town settled into a sleepy French afternoon.

The rest of the day saw the weather deteriorate until the evening when there was quite heavy rain. We gained solace in a competitive game of Scrabble, though it was misery for me again as I comprehensively lost. C’est la vie. 

Holiday Day 10 – Relaxing

The day dawned brightly and we bustled around the cottage, we had to stay in, as one of the property agents was due to visit us. It was no hardship as we had a leisurely French breakfast of croissant, baguette, jam and coffee. It always tastes so good here. The rest of the morning was spent reading and swimming. The agent never turned up, so as Marion said we could have had another hour in bed. The weather has been almost perfect today, bright sun with fluffy clouds and in the mid-twenties.

In the afternoon we visited the lovely hill top village of Seguret. It had winding narrow lanes over hung with houses, sitting on a hilltop over looking the famous vines that make Cotes du Rhone wines. It was a lovely stroll and relax in a typically Provencal environment.

The evening was great; by now our friends Iain and Barbara had arrived back from visiting the newly discovered pre-historic cave paintings in the Ardeche. Iain and myself reconnoitred the local café, and the ladies joined us after thirty minutes. We ate a simple meal but eaten outside in the lovely square. Much wine was imbibed as the conversation ebbed and flowed. It was soon 10pm; we had sat down at 6.30! The coloured lights were on above the tables giving the square a very festive feel in the dusk. We walked back the short distance to the house watching the lightening some miles to the west. A simple but lovely evening and a very relaxing day. Tomorrow we are up early to visit the local market.  

Holiday – Day 9 Provencal Cottage

After our long drive of yesterday we slept well last night. I woke first and ventured to the local village for bread. There is only a small mini-market so the choice is limited. The village is only about 300 metres away so is very walk able.

We then got down to the boring task of completely unpacking and then doing the accumulated washing of the last week. I had to go and purchase the essentials that we had forgotten yesterday, like toilet rolls, rubbish sacks etc…..

The little village that we are near has a typical French Market square where the three cafes that surround it set-up their tables. By the time we arrived at 12:30 it was very lively. When in France do as the locals so we ordered a carafe of the house rose and two enormous salads. It was idyllic sitting under the trees in warm sunshine listening to the buzz of conversation around us. So idyllic in fact that we did not move until after 3pm. Just as well really because our friends Barbara and Iain arrived just after we returned.

The weather was really good so after a brief shower Marion made her third venture into the pool, while because it was still a cool 27 degrees it was my first.

So a really relaxing day, with the promise of more to come.

Holiday Day 8 – A High and a Low

Today started cloudy in Courmayer, but as we had breakfast the cloud lifted and we took the decision to ride the new Mont Blanc Skyway. It only opened two weeks ago, so everything is state of the art and spotlessly clean. As we started early it was really very empty. The cable car rotates as it ascends so that you get an all round view. The ascent to the midway station was spectacular as the valley dropped away below us.

As I said halfway up you swapped to another cable car that was configured in exactly the same way. By the time we reached the top we were in cloud and visibility was limited. The whole top terminus was covered in ice. There is a viewing platform although unfortunately there was no view. Strangely it was quite warm at this level even though the sun was only a dull orb through the cloud. This I think was the highest that either of us has been on land at just over 11300 feet. Indeed it made Marion feel light headed.

We headed back down and had a stroll around the midway point with spectacular views in all directions. On arrival at the bottom it was off to Provence. Unfortunately there was a problem in the Mont Blanc Tunnel so it took us an hour to get through. This is when we made our low point, as at its deepest the tunnel is 2300 metres below the surface.

It was a spectacular drive down the valley from the tunnel towards Chamonix and then over the hills to Albertville. It seemed that we were dodging the Criterium for the Dauphine. Marion discovered a fantastic boulangerie and we had superb raspberry tarts for our lunch.

Eventually we reached our cottage at around 18:00 and immediately after unloading the mini it was out to the shops for some essentials. We did this amidst an almighty thunderstorm that reduced the temperature in minutes from near 30 degrees to around 17 degrees.

Publishing the blog maybe intermittent for the next few days, as there is no Internet connection in the cottage. Don’t worry I shall keep writing it and post as soon as I have some Wi-Fi. You do not get rid of me that easily.

Holiday – Day 7 A Roman City

An early blog today as we are having a restful drink in the hotel lounge after a wet day. This is because the weather today has not been kind. It was our objective to travel on the new Mont Blanc Skyway that starts very close to the hotel. However when we woke up this morning it was raining and the mountains were covered with cloud. Indeed we have just looked at the webcams on the mountains and we would have just been looking out on fog.

So a quick re-plan, the weather looks good first thing tomorrow, so we are going to get up early and either travel up before breakfast or straight afterwards. Keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow.

So the hotel came up with a contingency plan for today, a visit to Aosta the regional centre about 25 miles distant. This was first settled in 2900BC and because it is at a major crossroads of Alpine routes was of strategic importance for all civilisations from the Romans onwards. So there were lots of Roman remains. Also it was the birthplace of Saint Anselm who was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12^th Century. Interestingly it is bilingual with Italian and French being taught equally in the schools. There were several mentions of the need to keep speaking French.

It seemed to be a prosperous town with many interesting shops selling local produce. Very much the feel of Italy with one shop only selling fresh pasta. Inevitably there was an ice cream shop, so lunch comprised of a fantastic lemon ice sorbet and a strawberry ice cream. Yummy….

Of course everything closed down for a long lunch so we drove back to the hotel.

A mention for the hotel, not only is it well appointed but the staff our excellent,  professional and welcoming, nothing is too much trouble. The dinner last night was really good, although tonight I may cut down on the number of courses. Especially good were the local wines, we tried both white and red, apparently they are of high quality and only limited production. Not something to found in your local Booze Busters!

Tomorrow is also our drive to Provence and two weeks in a cottage. Seems to have come upon us very quickly.

Holiday Day 6 – The Alps

I am writing today’s blog looking from the balcony of our hotel room in Courmayer onto Mont Blanc. When we arrived it was very clear, however now it is obscured by cloud and there is thunder and lightening developing.

We made an early start from the Vosges wanting to pass through the Swiss border without any holdup. In fact we sailed through and were not even stopped, although there was a minor panic when Marion could not find our passports. It was very busy driving round Basle but the traffic improved as we drove through Switzerland. By the time we approached Gruyere the mountains surrounded us. When we stopped at the cleanest motorway service area that you have ever seen Marion had an anti-Swiss rant, apparently they charge women a fee to use the toilets but not men.

As we found the end of Lake Geneva at Montreux the weather became really hot, the sun shimmering off the lake. Our route took us over the St. Bernard Pass; instead of taking the tunnel we climbed the pass on the old road. It was well worth the drive, the views of the Alps were spectacular. We passed the summit at 2300 metres with no dogs carrying brandy in sight. It was absolutely brilliant being in an open top car, although it was a cool 12 degrees at the summit.

As we dropped down into Italy it became cloudier, and the architecture changed to more rugged stone houses. It was then a quick drive along the autostrada, almost 15 miles completely in tunnels, and we reached our hotel, which is near the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel. The hotel is lovely, staff in traditional dress welcomed us. We have a really super room with a balcony giving us a clear view of Mont Blanc. The end of the glacier is almost in touching distance. It is odd because although we are in Italy it does not feel typically Italian, more pan-alpine.

I went for a short walk to the base station for the new Mont Blanc cable car. This only opened last week and has revolving cable cars so that you can enjoy the full view around the Mont Blanc Massif. We are just hoping that tomorrow will be at least partially clear so that we can take advantage.