The long road to la Roque-d'Antheron

After an amazing time in Sestriere, we headed across the border into France and then south.  Not quite the highway, but the scenic route more-or-less along the highway.  It was beautiful to descend from high up in the mountains and end our day down almost at sea level!  We broke the 400km odd journey (on small windy roads) up with many cool things we found en route.

Along the way we stopped to see Les Demoiselles Coiffees (the ladies wearing hats) which were formed from glacial moraine that has been eroded, where the large rocks and boulders protect the lower substrate from being washed away.

And the beautiful Lac de Serre Poncon with her turquoise water and sandy beaches.

As we got lower, we found ourselves in wheat and lavender country,  really pretty!

The scenery in Provence is stunning- lots of low, dry forest of oak and a type of pine with little passes running through them; farmlands of vineyards, fruit, wheat, lavender and livestock; typical "Provence" farmhouses with their shutters painted pale blue or green and their walls either bare stone or painted cream.  Really picturesque!

We were relieved to arrive at Annie Tripoteau's house in la Roque d'Antheron by evening.  Annie's daughter and son-in-law (Laetitia and Pascal) are good friends of ours in Cape Town.  We're using Annie's house as a base for the next 10 days while we explore Provence.  She is also doing a sterling job at introducing us to the fantastic local cuisine and we find ourselves having to hold back at every meal to prevent the beach ball syndrome setting in!

An old cottage (cabanou) in a field in la Roque.

Geoff and Annie with our feat of roast rabbit and veggies! 

One of the pretty squares in la Roque