Provence You're Gorge(ous)

Probably the one lie in of the vacation, but even that I was thinking about the things we needed to see in this lovely part of the world.

I also needed to resume my running efforts, but by 9am the heat was on, and a 5K trundle in the locality all I could manage, and even that didn't feel very touristy.

Grabbed a bit of breakfast back in the lodgings and then nudged Carys towards a bike ride, a more relaxed one on the cards for today, but such a great way of seeing the countryside I think. Running is good for that, but you generally don't want to stop, so its more about soaking up the vibe. Cycling, you can take it all in and stop at your leisure. Definitely the sightseeing exercise of choice!

So Carys and I headed up towards Buis le Baronnes, finding a little route along the river, and the winding our way into the town itself on more main roads. Took a stop there as it was market day, so another dimension to this lovely little locale.

We continued out of there unsure of what we would find, knowing we were in the Provence countryside, but really landed on our feet. First a well known gorge in these parts, then a pull up through some olive fields and taking in the caonyonesque surrounds, and even detouring to get a few shots from hight. Stopped at the actual gorge on our return, watching bathers, rock climbers and generally soaking up the scene. All under the watchful eye of Ventoux which was keeping us under its wing.

All downhill back to the Airbnb, and a smorgasboard type of lunch, we have accumulated a lot of bread, cheese, fruit and crisps!

Whilst I have every intention of returning to the Ventoux and various offers and discussions already in play, it did feel appropriate to go and take another look at my new best frenemy. This time by car, and we drove up the same route from Malausene that we took yesterday, Chrissi, Bryn and I talking it all through. The last part of course new territory, and quite hairy with the sheer drops, sharp gradients, and lunar like landscape.

We made it up the observatory, parked up and took a look, shouting chapeau at the many cyclists hitting the peak. One thing we did notice, almost all seemed a lot more kitted out for the climb than the amateur effort that was made yesterday.

The views of course staggering, across to the Alps, down to Marseille etc Wove our way down to Bedoin, the more traditional Tour de France route, and Bryn and I recalling so many of the things we have seen watching, or indeed playing (Playstation style) the Tour at home. A notable nod at the Simpson memorial too.

Had a small beer in Bedoin, and a moment where we all seemed to lose the ability to lock the car!

Bryn keeping us informed as to football results back home (the Swans not doing their bit to keep him in holiday happiness) but fantasy football lifted his spirits a bit.

Didn't want to stray far from our house in the evening, and the one food place in the village was randomly a Vietnamese place, amongst the old worldy churches and streets. Turned out the owner got stuck here during covid and ended up staying, very much a cottage industry. To the point where we popped in, had a chat with him, and he basically agreed to cook us something with what he had left. A very different kind of of takeaway. But allowed us to relax by the pool and in the hot tub with a beer!

This turn of events gave us time back in our lodgings, and so chance to chill by the pool, book, beer, all that holiday stuff, hot tub too.

Bryn and I walked back down to see how our new friend Phi was getting on and watched him put the finishing touches to our wantons and spring rolls in his lovely homely kitchen. Chatted with him for a while about vietnam, france, the world.

Back to do the very late eating, a salad with lemon grass, beef, peanuts, noodles, and all manner of other fresh and crisp tastes which was quite different and unexpected.  Our go with the flow approach unearths a hidden gem from time to time, if you are ever in these parts look Phi up https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1892786-d23412177-Reviews-Phi_Gourmet-Pierrelongue_Drome_Auvergne_Rhone_Alpes.html

As darkness fell we played some quizzy stuff, girls hammering the boys and suddenly felt overwhelmingly tired (drunk?) and needed some sleep, need to be a little refreshed as the new week beckons!

(Carys)

A slightly earlier start from me today, though whilst dad was running, I had a little extra time to lie in. We then got prepared for our adventure on the bikes - less difficult and ambitious of course than yesterdy's adventure for the boys, but none the less, a good experience. We cycled up to the town we'd had food in yesterday, and beyond, up to about 450 metres of altitude. I took a bit of time to adjust to the bike, with it being so much lighter than my own at home, having smaller wheels, and a much narrower frame as well. Once I'd gotten used to that, and how easy it was for the handlebars to just turn, I also tried to understand the gears and how to use them efficiently. By the end of the ride, I'd say I got on with the bike well, and it was good to try a different style of bike. The ride was lovely, getting to see the market set up in the town that hadn’t been there yesterday. I had a slight mishap where I skidded but managed to avoid crashing into a parked car, and falling over and hurting my self, so all was okay. Further on, we approached the more mountainous areas, and had to tackle a bit of a climb - well, what I would consider a climb anyway. the views were spectacular though, and the feeling coming back down was so well worth it. Really exhilarating. The gorges were fantastic, and we managed to get plenty of good photos. It felt really good to be exploring on the bikes, and I’ve missed doing that on our holidays.

Back to the house, I wolfed down some lunch, having just had juice for breakfast, making myself a goat’s cheese and salad baguette, the same as yesterday. With varying other crisps and snacks. Then, I got on with some more reading whilst the others headed out, and once they’d come back, we headed to the pool which is just round the back of the apartments. I had a dip, which felt really good too. After some lounging, It got a little bit colder, so I decided it was time to get in the hottub again. I spent some time there, before having a shower, and soon enough, food had arrived. I found the dinner really intriguing, and wish I had come to the restaurant itself to see it and chat to the chef like the others did. Regardless, he sounded very interesting, and the food was just that to. A vegetable Buddha bowl, with salad, cucumber, cabbage, peanuts, mint, onions, noodles and varying other vegetables, along with hot spring rolls. As I said to dad, not what we expected to be eating at 10 o’clock this morning, but it’s good how things work out. Now feeling quite sleepy, and ready for a good night’s rest.

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