Dal Mont Ventoux ai campi di lavanda

From Mont Ventoux to the lavender fields

00:00 Friday
Our tour in France begins passing as always through the Montgenèvre pass. We pass through Briançon until we reach the Serre-Ponçon lake.
By midday we are in the small village of Chorges for our lunch break at our usual welcoming Bar la France
In the afternoon we cross the Gorges de la Méouge, in the heart of the Baronnies Provençales Regional Natural Park and our caravan continues its march along the wonderful French roads of the Vaucluse department
Our final stop today is the comfortable Hotel le Pradet in Vacqueyras.

07:28 Saturday
After leaving Vacqueyras we travel along the suggestive D90 and then begin the ascent to the iconic Mont Ventoux.
Mont Ventoux, nicknamed the “Giant of Provence” by the French, classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. At the top a very strong wind awaits us.
We then cross the spectacular Gorges de la Nesque, a deep incision in the limestone mountain massif of the Vaucluse pre-Alps, also integrated into the Mont Ventoux “Biosphere Reserve” whose biodiversity allows the life and reproduction of many protected animal species.
Lunch break at the Bistrot de Saint Trinit, a pleasant tasting of local products and then head towards the first large lavender fields: Puimoisson, Riez, Valensole.
End of stage Manosque.
14:12 Entering the city during a truckers’ demonstration we arrive at the welcoming Terreau hotel and end the day with a happy birthday at the Chez Bastien – Le Petit Lauragais restaurant, reserved entirely for us

16:55 Sunday
We take the road to Gréoux-les-Bains, Riez and immerse ourselves again in the colors and scents of the lavender fields on the plateau of Lake Sainte-Croix. Last photos to immortalize these expanses which will see the harvest in a few days and from here we begin the climb towards Digne-les-Bains where we stop for the lunch break.
The final part of our tour takes us to le Clue de Perouré and le Clue de Barles, an integral part of the Haute Provence geological reserve and a true open-air museum. Rocks, fossils and landscapes that tell a 300 million year long story.
To finish, a spectacular road takes us back to the Serre-Ponçon lake where we take the state road towards Briançon again, unfortunately towards the end of our tour