Another great ride before breakfast. I'm continuing to try a different route each day. This AM I rode to Rousillon which is about 10 K west of here. Rousillon is famous for it's ochre colored soil which is used to color paint. Consequently there are a lot of artists and galleries in this village. Came across an iconic lavender photo with the red cliffs in the background. I didn't have my camera with me, so when Joni and I returned to Rousillon after breakfast, I took a few shots. Once in Rousillon I rode around the streets and soaked up the sights before rewarding myself with a pre-breakfast croissant.
Got back to the B&B breakast included: bannana-apricot smoothies, sacristans, and quiche. Very tasty. A man and a woman from Denver joined our table for breakfast and we really enjoyed talking to them.
After breakfast we returned to Roussillon via my biking route...it was now much hotter and much more crowded. We picked up a few souvenirs, including a poster from one of the local galleries. Took a few more shots of the ochre cliffs; they're irresistible...then headed east to the village of Saignon for lunch.
Saignon is another mountain side village...just a few km southeast of Apt. Our restaurant, described by others as "lush and leafy" was run by a husband and wife. The husband was the host/waiter and his wife cooked. Joni and I both had salads that included melon, goat cheese and other delicious items, and for desert Joni had a creme brulee and I had a calfoutis...I've never heard of that desert before and now it's seems to be on every menu.
After lunch we drove a different route to Sault along some of the most beautiful lavender fields we've seen yet.
Once there, Joni did some shopping and I had a cold drink and read the paper at an outdoor cafe. From there we headed toward Mont Ventoux, 26 km away, to check out possible viewing spots for Sunday's race. The race was more than 48 hours away and yet the sides of the route were nearly filled with the "schlugge". The fans who follow the Tour in their RV's. We drove to within 6 km of the summit and then down along the Tour route to the village of Bedoin. More shopping and another cold drink, this time a beer, as we watched the final 30 minutes of stage 13, which was won my Mark Cavendish. Yeah!
From Bedoin we had a very short drive to Mazan where we met up friends from Cape Cod with whom we have often traveled with during our previous visits, Anne "Madame" Toole, and Annemarie Breakey. Both worked with me for most of my 30 years on the Cape. Ann & Annemarie have rented the same farm house in Mazan for nearly 20 years, and they have become friends with a few of their neighbors, who they invited over for drinks before dinner. We have met Sophie and Michel several times, so we really enjoyed getting re-acquainted. Eventually we went to the local pizzeria for dinner, and finally got back to our B&B in St. Saturnin at 12:45 AM. A long day.
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