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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2888 |
22nd September 2014 Hiking - Walking: Mont Serein, Mont Ventoux Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny Max Speed: Distance Covered: Sunday 21 September 2014 – travelling and sightseeing – sunny periods We did our exercises out in the sunshine on the river bank and ate breakfast out there to:) Lots of cyclists out and about today along our lane and over the bridge. We packed up and left about 11.30. Drove down the Rhone along the canal before heading east and finally arriving at a place called Vaison la Romaine in the Vaucluse area. We headed to the car park for the medieval village and had our lunch there looking up at the village on the cliff. After lunch we walked over the Roman bridge and up the narrow streets to the chateau at the top. It is very beautiful and well kept. We went into the church to an exhibition of sculpture which was a little weird but the hands on the people were amazing – I think he should concentrate on the hands and not bother with the rest! The lady on the cello was very good:) We also visited an exhibition of paintings and photography and were very taken with lots of the exhibits. We couldn’t afford any of them but chose postcards of our three favourites:) Back down to the town and through the main street of the old town to the tourist information. Got several leaflets on the area and were amazed to find a huge enclosure of Roman remains next door. We decided we would pay the 8 euros each to get in but were very pleased to find out that it is ‘museums are free all over France day’!! What a result. This is the second time we have benefitted from this – the last time was roman too:) We walked round the remains of two large affluent houses complete with reception rooms, latrines, bathrooms, kitchens and all the plumbing – amazing. Then a bit further on there was a huge theatre, which had been refurbished which was a shame because it looked too new, but it is still in use. The original part underneath the tiered seats was really great though and there was a tunnel leading to it through the grounds of the big house. Walking back through the main street we did something unheard of! We splashed out 59 euros on a beautiful patchwork quilt, a thing of the region and just what we need at home as ours has had it after twenty years! Really pleased with such a bargain because they are usually well over £100 for the size we need. Also bought some lavender soap to make it smell nice all the way home! Back to the van for a cuppa, exhausted! Set out to find somewhere to stay tonight as they don’t want campers in the car parks which is a shame because where we were would have been perfect. Even had a quick look at the camper aire which was miles outside the town but just filled up with water there. Drove back thinking we would park near the medieval village, take some photos when it got dark then either head up into the woods or even back to the camper aire but found somewhere up the road near the village where another camper had parked so wedged ourselves between two trees and had our tea:) Wandered through the old streets again tonight to take photos in the dark of the narrow streets lit up and get some atmosphere – lovely with people in the little bistros etc.. What a find – and there is even a Lidl for tomorrow! Monday 22nd September – Hike at Mont Serein, Mont Ventoux ***** Sunny We had a good night’s sleep tucked under the medieval village and after a quick breakfast left there about 9.30. We stopped at Lidl for a stock up and headed for Mont Ventoux. A cyclists challenge course – 26km straight up! We saw lots of very determined people straining for the top!! We stopped just short at a small ski resort on Mont Serein. We went on a quick ten minute walk to the view point and looked over the spectacular views then returned to the van, drove to the other end of the village, packed lunch and set out on the proper hike. It was a sort of very long arboretum as it pointed out various trees on information boards along the way. The path followed that of the cross country ski/raquette walk in the snow. It eventually led us to the view point we were at this morning and we stopped there for our lunch and relaxed for a while with our books and had a chat with a Belgian lady who was walking up to be met by her husband at the top. She was a bit of a worry because she had already got lost when we saw her and when we bumped into her just arriving at the top she said she had got lost twice more!! Hardly saw anybody else the whole time we were out. There was a flock of brown sheep busy munching with their bells ringing with three of the white sheep guard dogs – all asleep! We walked back along the road and had a look at the drag lifts which take you up nearly to the summit. They look a bit antique and the pistes very steep and narrow but we might come back and give it a look in the winter:) We got back to the van after about 2 ½ hours having walked about 4 ½ miles. Drove up to the summit and although there were a lot of people up there it was still spectacular. A lot of the closest scenery looks like the moon, very pale coloured small rocks everywhere. There were several cyclists already at the top and more arriving huffing and puffing while we were up there looking at the tables of orientation. The trip down must be equally challenging and scary because it is sooooo steep! We weren’t inspired to get ours off the bike rack!! We drove to a small car park at the summit of Mont Serein where the lifts come up from the ski resort. It is only just off the summit and the views are amazing. It did get pretty chilly very quickly but the sunset was beautiful and I got frozen taking photos of it! |
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