Another drive in the Hills

Last night was pretty loud after an evening of loud jets zooming overhead, only this time it was thunder. It rumbled up the valley and down the valley and right here, but no rain fell. In the end, we were left with no rain and this view off the end terrace.

The weather continued to threaten north of us, but at the end of the day, no rain had fallen. We started off the day at Auchan - again - and I finally got my altered pants, plus a few other goodies. Then we got gas,right ahead of this cute number.

Things are never dull in France. Next, we headed up country to Barroux, for a walkabout we didn't have on the last visit. This chateau, prominent from the 12th to the 16th century, is not open to the public, but did afford many memorable views.

The next picture of Le Barroux is probably one of the best shots I've taken, illustrating the diversity of the countryside here and in particular, the changing colours in the vineyards at this time of year.

The next shot also shows how this terroir morths from vineyards to olive groves.

After driving through Malaucene, staging town for the nasty bike ride to top of Ventoux, we took another quick peek at Crestet, before backtracking up the valley to Suzette.

This road quicky takes you into the heart of the Beaumes de Venise wine country, a cru village most famous for their sweet dessert wine, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, but also a noted red wine area.

It's always interesting to us how many of these perched villages look so much better from a distance than up close. Of course that distance view is what brings the visitors. This is not unlike Suzette, on the road from Malaucene to Beaumes de Venise, which has a great backdrop of the Dentelles, but ends up as a pretty insignificant stop along the windy road - and once again their restaurant was also closed. To appreciate the Dentelles, one should drive up the private road to the Domaine Coyeaux. This steep climb quickly affords you the best view of the back of the Dentelles you will ever get. It also gives you a nice vista towards Mt. Ventoux, if the peak is visible, which it wasn't in this pic with Jackie and Dawn.

By this point in the journey, no restaurants appeared open and we were hungry, so we zoomed back to Cairanne. After a quick lunch we - sans Tony, who preferred to stay planted on the terrace - went back to Orange for some last shopping in Provence. Tonight we had a dinner of duck, which was preceeded with foie gras, accompanied with a fig sauce (on right) for Tony and I, once again.

The girls have now opted out of this experience. The boys ruled at cards tonight - must be the lack of foie gras - but we know that all that could change tomorrow.