Ardeche in July

Sampling the meadows

Almond trees

Chez nous

Organic whilst on a cycle ride

Mt. Ventoux from Agueze

Vienne War Memorial

Rhone at Vienne

St-Maurice Cathedral, Vienne

Ardeche Gorge

Returning to our regular haunt in the Ardeche after the splendours of the Alps was swapping mountains for a limestone plateau, two of my favourite things. The journey across from the Alps passed through Gap and then the lower Alps before the final leg over the Rhone and onto the limestone plateau.We were met by Evelyne and shown to our suite of rooms. A bedroom with a balcony facing south, a large bathroom and a sitting room. We decided to eat in having spent the last five nights dining on 4 course meals with wine and liqueurs at the chambres d'hotes in the Parc des Ecrins.

The next day brought the mistral and heavy rain so we spent time in Barjac and then explored some of the villages to the south. The area was busier than usual with a high percentage of Belgian tourists escaping the shenanigans in Brussels. We had three Belgian couples staying at Le Garn and we obtained their take on the future of Europe. Needlesss to say they were not very enamoured with the efforts of David Cameron in calling and then losing a referendum.

There were also American guests who thought that Europe had it easy compared to the USA who had to contemplate Donald Trump. On hearing that Scotland had flown Mexican flags on his scottish golf courses during his recent visit, they wondered whether we would be prepared to accept a contract for his non return, maybe he could sort out the UKs immigration problems they opined.

I spent two days watching the tour de france, we visited the Luberon to see one of my oldest friends in his new house, a couple of days visiting other parts of the Ardeche and most days walking in the local area through the peach, apricot, fig, cherry and almond orchards and lavender fields, swimming, running and I even managed a couple of bike rides on the owner's mountain bike. In short we enjoyed the total peace and wonderful landscapes of our remote escape in rural France.

On the way back to Lyon we stopped in Vienne, where several friends that I had met whilst walking in in Corsica lived and we enjoyed a fine lunch and this splendid Roman town on the banks of the Rhone before the flight home.