We had little trouble leaving Aix (surprisingly) and are soon on the freeway heading north. I noted that the freeway eventually leads to the town of Sisteron, which is the home of the artist whose work we bought, but we exit before that. Our exit takes us on more country roads, and it would appear we are in the heart of lavender country. We drove through the small, cute town of Valensole, which had many lavender fields. Eventually, we found ourselves in the town of Moustiers-Ste-Marie, the gateway to the Gorge and known for its ceramic pottery. Of course we have to stop. So, apparently do many other tourists as we try to find parking on a Sunday morning. Oh well, we were warned, the sign entering the town told us that this was France's more beautiful village (but wait ... didn't we see that same sign outside of Menerbes and Les Baux ... maybe it was a three way tie!).
Once we found parking and strolled into town, we were drawn into a really great ceramics store. The attendant was a member of the family that produced the works, and we were immediately drawn to so many pieces. This was a really great shop! Ultimately, we settled on a small platter with a design that dated to the 1600's and a modern design in china of gorgeous flowers. We were really happy with our choices, but wished we could have made more! The town was also quite charming, with a verticality that is not uncommon, but still impressive. Here is the photo of a church overlooking the town:
After leaving Moustiers, we then explored the Gorge. I don't really have any words to describe iti, so I will leave it to the following pictures:
Even thought the weather turned overcast, we really enjoyed seeing this natural wonder. To be honest, it was not as impressive as the Grand Canyon, but do we really have to compare and contrast natural wonders? Can't we just enjoy each of them for what they are, which is just stunning? Yes, of course we can.
Now, it was time to drive to Nice, which took us across many two lane highways, them a freeway, then some confusing routes through Nice to find our hotel. Just do what the GPS says! And we did!
The GPS took us to our hotel: the Villa Victoria. Right away, there seems to be a problem as there is no where to pull off the street to check-in. There is a small parking space, so we squeezed in. Rob goes in to check in and is told that the hotel cannot accommodate our car, but they can direct us to public parking only a few blocks away. That doesn't sound good; but the clerk does tell us that we can park in the hotel front for tonight. Problem solved, but only temporarily.
We checked in and went up to our room. It is a disappointment. Pluses: It is clean, has a nice bathroom. plus a small balcony. Negatives: although there is a unit claiming to provide air conditioning, it is not getting the job done, not by a long shot. We are booked to stay here five nights. We both agree that there is no way we can stay in Nice (tempuratures at least in the 80's, plus humidity) with no air conditioning. We use the hotel's Wifi (which is also substandard and very slow) to find a booking at Le Meridien, so after confirming that we can cancel our stay here (after one night), we book it. It is a lot more expensive, unfortunately.
We go to dinner tonight at the seafood restaurant recommended by the woman at check-in called Boccaccio. It is fantastic. We are seated inside, upstairs in a really nice booth, and we both order the same thing: green salads followed by the Daurade, a grilled fish. The fish is presented to us whole, but then the waiter filets it, and it was delicous and was served with artichokes. We will definitely eat at this restaurant again.
Back to the Villia Victoria to sleep with the balcony door open.
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