Day 8 Mount Ventoux, Seguret, Gigondas

 

Got up this morning and it was a perfect day to go to the top of Mount Ventoux. I was determined to see one of the major climbs in the Tour de France bicycle race, and Mount Ventoux is considered one of the best. It's a 13 mile ride from the base of the mountain to the top and it's awesome from a bicyclist's point of view. We probably passed 50 cyclists riding towards the top and they were in various stages af exhaustion. I have riden over 5,000 miles this year and I know I could not possibly get to the top. Fortunately, I was in an automobile today and could enjoy the drive up to an incredibly scenic view of which pictures do not do it justice. You can see both the Pyrenees and Alps. We decided to go over to the Cote du Rhone wine region and possibly have lunch in the town of Seguret. It turned out to be the prettiest little village we saw except that you have to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up through an archway into the walled town that, at least today, had no place open for lunch. It was still worth it though. It's a tradition to wash your hands in the fountain pictured, and we did. Getting a little hungrier - after all we've been starving ourselves - we drove over to Gigondas where there were vineyards and tasting rooms everywhere. The Restaurant L'Oustalet looked to be good, so we tried it out. We were very lucky - it was excellent. The wine list was so extensive with Cote du Rhone wines (a favorite of mine) that I didn't know where to start. So I ordered a Gigondas, who's name I thought I could remember, Chateau Longue Tonque. It was terrific and went well with both the fish and pork that we had. For dessert Sylvia had a poached pear in a wine sauce and I had three small pieces of different chevre cheeses drizzled with olive oil. The food and service was impeccable. Anyone who enjoys wine should stop in Gigondas for an afternoon of enjoyment The ride back to Lourmarin was a long one on a full stomach, but we made it. After arriving back at the apartment we walked around a bit before sitting at the Cafe Gaby (just outside our door) watching people. We went out for a late snack at the Pizzeria Nonni where we shared a small pizza and some wine...Oh I forgot, some ice cream too. One thing of note, if you travel to the smaller towns in Provence it's good to know French because there are virtually no menus in Frwnch (oops I mean English), nor do most of the people speak it. In fact, most of the menus are daily blackboard menus that are difficult to read well enough to figure out what the heck anything is. I do a lot of pointing. Tommorow's market day in Lourmarin and we're looking forward to seeing who shows up.