Had a wonderful breakfast at this organic/green hotel. Yougurt made fresh there on premises, great fresh fruit and breads...very nice indeed. Talked to the owner who wants to move to Miami to open a bakery cafe! We didn't say anything but thought -- wow you live and run a Michelin Hotel in Provence and you want to move to Miami? We wished him luck and went on our way.
We headed directly to the very high hilltop village of Gourdon - you can belive the views - see photos. We had read about this town and it's wonderful views, picturesquest setting, and a cafe perched on a cliff-side. We got their fairly early and it was just beautiful, but with many more gift shops than we expected. Wandered around for a good 3 hours - only 50 full time residents. Took photos, bought some gifts, mailed postcards and had a v. nice time. Sadly the cliffside cafe is closed but for sale if someone wants a new adventure and investment. See photos - must not be afraid of heights!
Then we hit the road heading towards the Verdon Canyon drive, stopping for lunch in a pretty roadside village of St. Valle de Thery -- (ok guilty of overuse of the words -- pretty, lovely, picturesquest, cute...etc.)
Then spent the rest of the day driving and stopping along the Verdon Canyon. High cliff and canyons and roads barely big enough for two cars let alone campers, buses and the occasional truck.
PRO TIP: On the back roads of France - the center line is merely a suggestion.
We ended our day at anonther Village Perche' - Moustiers and got a hotel right at the edge of the village, which is closed to traffic. Again a charming little town built right up against a huge cliff/moutain. You can see hanggliders floating above in the mountains. Strung between two mountain top hangs a star, said to have been hung there by a knight who was so grateful to have returned unscathed he showed his gratitude to God with this star.
Washed up and took a walk back up into town for dinner, but discovered everything closed by 9pm - we were back in town at about 8:45 - so ended up at a pizzeria open late and had really good, very thin crust pizza - a very popular thing here in France. And of course the house carafe wine was excellent.
Fell asleep to sound of church bells in the distance.
