La Bastide to Castellane: A Day of Rest

June 3, 2017

We awoke to a day of sunshine, birds singing and cool temperatures at about 14 degrees. It was nice to see the setting of our chambre d'hote as it was completely socked in when we arrived last night. Gary, the dog, saw us off a the front gate.

Gary, the dog had to say his good-byes to us.

We made plans for a light day today to let our bodies recover from the heavy day yesterday. That meant we would ride only 20k to Castellane, just over 1h of cycling. It would also give us time to explore the village and do some laundry.

It was market day in Castellane and so it was bustling when we arrived. Instead of exploring the market, we headed straight to the tourist info to try to arrange some lodging for the night. They were very helpful and found us a room in a hotel right above the square where the market was taking place. Here are some pics of Castellane with its chapel high above the town.

View of th chapel high above Castellane. You can attend a service there, but I suspect there would always be room if you're late.

The old bridge at the entrance to Castellane.

First priority was laundry so I pulled out my manual washing machine (MEC dry bag) and did 2 loads. You can buy these bags online (Scrubba Wash Bag), but the dry bag is a less expensive alternative. Of course, you can use the sink in your room but it's not always large enough and the stopper doesn't always work.

After a short rest we took part in the french ritual of lunch at a cafe. Then, we set off to explore the Citroen Museum and the Resistance Museum, both about a km out of town. We entered the gate to the Citroen Museum and found ourselves roaming a boneyard of citroens. Obviously we had missed the main entrance which was further up the road.

I have a feeling this one is a sacrificial lamb although the cars inside are un-restored.

The car museum is one of a kind. It's a collector's lifetime haul of un-restored cars. The unique aspect of the museum is the story of each car's life and how it made its way to the museum. We all recognize the the 2CV and there was a large variety of them in the museum. Less known in my world is the sedan. Here's an example of a rare DS that was hand built in 1955. It has hydropneumatic suspension with levelling control on all 4 wheels.

This one was born in the same year as us, also handmade.

One of the many citroens on view at the museum. All were working and un-restored.

The Resistance Museum was more sobering, a collection of items and stories about the resistance in France. Walking among the weapons, documents, communications apparatuses, bits of recovered planes, medals and photos and knowing these were once people's reality is hard to put into words.

Back in town, we strolled the tiny alley ways of the old town and later settled in for a fabulous meal at a small restaurant around the corner from out hotel. It was operated by 3 women who outdid themselves and we made sure they knew it.

Red pepper and tapenade appetizer at O'delices.

Today's ride: 20 km (12 miles)
Total: 644 km (400 miles)

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