The Gorge - Friday 27 June

Aphrodisiac chocolate

This was a big day.  Emo, Allan's Dutch colleague raved about Gorges du Verdon, so we thought we'd check it out.

On the way there we passed many lavender fields.  What was mildly funny were the many tourists taking photos of themselves in the fields including a Japanese wedding party with the bride  and her full train


There were also numerous lavender distilleries and we stopped at one.  Beautiful wares inside, but I restrained myself and only bought chocolate with aphrodisiac spices (not that we need it :-))

More lavender

Lavender shop

Moustiers St. Marie

The "cascade"

We then went to Moustiers St, Marie.  Incredibly ancient.  We had lunch at the Cascade Restaurant which true to its name was beside a waterfall with very clear water.  We had fun watching the fish in it.

Fall beside restaurant

Moustier shop

Our destination

Feeling more than replete we climbed to the Abbey above the village.  It was a reasonable hike in 29C and of course all the steps were non OSH compliant.  The cobblestones were worn smooth by all of the pilgrims so coming down was a question of grabbing the rail or anything else you so you didn't slip.

The buildings and views however were fantastic.

I see the star!

Apparently, one of the Knights Templar hung a gold star over the valley which was stolen in later years.  Tradition has it that a new gold star is hung every 50 years.  we saw it but it is hard to photograph.  Allan is pointing it out here.

On the way we diverted to the grotto of St. Madeleine.  This photo is actually taken through bars.

Grotto of St. Madeleine

Grand view

Moustiers from above

Inside the church

Next up was the Gorge.  Allan thought it was pretty impressive - apparently its called the Grand Canyon of France.  After the obligatory sightseeing it was a two hour trip back to relax.

Lake from Gorges du Verdon

Gorges du Verdon