No sooner arrived than we took off for the Vaucluse and our annual visit chez Habib and Ruth. The mistral was blowing, which meant windy days in Rians but as we travelled west we felt the full power of this chilly wind that blows down the Rhone Valley...and it was a particularly fierce mistral, so complained the provencales. As if we did not have enough wind, we decided that enfin we would go to the top of the Mont Ventoux, a visit that has somehow been put off over the years.
Quite the experience!
I was the only one to get out of the car on the top and the wind was so strong that it took all my strenght just to stay standing. My ears almost froze off. And undaunted, the cyclists kept coming! (this is the holy grail of cycling hills)
Just below the bare stony top is a relay station and a welcome cup of coffee. Half the cyclists were fortifying themselves for the cold ride down, the other half still had the last steep montée to do.
Picnic on the northern flank of the Mont Ventoux. We weren't exactly fighting the crowds for a good spot! But we had a perfect view of the top of the mountain.
Back down in the valley, a vineyard. First greening.
Before the Ventoux we visited this barrage, the first one built in Provence in the early 18th C. Because of the wet spring the ground was carpeted with these lovely little blue flowers.
Nearby, the Chateau de Barroux.
A lovely little shop in Caromb, one of the villages at the foot of the Mont Ventoux.
