A memorable, memorable day. Everything about today has been fabulous. We have taken far too many pictures and I don’t know how I will choose.
We started the day with breakfast in our chambre d’hôte. Home made brioche, croissants, cheese, homemade jams and wonderful company. Conversation was a little easier this morning as one of the guests spoke excellent English and no one had to be exposed to quite so much of my fractured French.
The first climb of the day was up the steep driveway. We are glad we don’t have to shovel it in the winter. That pool will be getting some good use in the coming months. It looked very inviting.
We decided to reverse our route as far as Pont-en-Royans. We really wanted to take a better look at the town. It is always astonishing to us how different a route looks in the opposite direction. It was a fantastic ride up with virtually no traffic.
Pont-En-Royans is a stunning place. We visited tourist information and just puttered around. First up though was a traffic jam caused by a large truck. We loved watching the machinations necessary for this guy to get through the narrow street.
This wasn’t easy, and involved much backing up of everyone coming the other way. It was so much fun to watch. Everyone was patient and just waited until the drama was over.
An amazing spot. The foam you see on the river is actually blossoms that have blown off the trees. It is still windy, note the three trees on the right.
We had a delightful ride to St. Jean-en-Royans. Our route was a little further than expected when the bridge over the river on the bike route was closed but it didn’t matter. Everything about it was beautiful.
The poppies are really starting to pop, but this is probably only 10% of what it will look like in a week, judging by all the buds.
Our chambre d’hôte tonight is even more amazing than last nights. It is run by a young couple with three small children. Young Jean, at 6 months is a charmer. The house itself is old and beautiful. We were able to leave our bags in the room and after an amazing macaroon (or two) we started up the Col de la Machine. What an experience.
We were passed by about two cars and three motorcycles on the entire climb. Just as we finished gawking at the views and were ready to start through the tunnel this happened. The car had almost made it through and was suddenly reversing. At first I thought they were going to hop out and take a photo but that wasn’t it hehe.
The views were astonishing. Other than the truck and car at the first tunnel we had the road to ourselves. We just kept stopping and looking and exclaiming. Our host at the chambre d’hôte had warned us that the wind at the top could be extreme, and it was. We had to be very careful.
There are a million more pictures, but you get the idea! Heading down was quick and we just went for it. In no time we were back at our wonderful chambre d’hôte. We showered, relaxed and enjoyed a fantastic meal prepared by our hosts. We had fascinating company at dinner and learned a great deal. Time for bed after a fantastic day. We are so very fortunate, and we are thankful.
