Driving South

Friday, 12 July

After a very pleasant stay in Annecy it was time to move on this morning and we decided on an early start to what was going to be a long day of driving.  Jean-Pierre and Patricia came to check us out - and rolled their eyes when I told them that we planned to take the Route Napoleon down to Provence.  A very winding road apparently but we were undeterred and our French friends had to concede that the scenery would be wonderful!  And we did have all day - so nice that it doesn't get dark until 10 pm!  No need to be driving in the dark.

Goodbye to pretty Annecy

We left town via the western route around the lake, stopping for a few bits and pieces and fuel at a supermarket, but then it was through the valley to Ugines and onto the motorway to Albertville.   Seeing that Albertville hosted the winter Olympics in 1992 we thought it would be worth a short detour into the centre ville.  I did like Albertville which is not as alpine looking as Chamonix, but it is a pleasant town and the Olympic Village has a rather unique look.  It is built around an elongated plaza with shops and cafes at street level and the apartments above.  There is also a lovely bronze statue commemorating the opening of the games.

Albertville

No time to linger and we rejoined the autoroute and sped south to Grenoble.  As we approached the city some huge snowy mountains appeared to the east (up to 3000metres)- it seems that is the location of a huge skiing area, Alpe d'Huez.  TomTom was a bit tardy and we had a couple of brief whoopsies with wrong turnoffs at the autoroute interchange just south of Grenoble.  Not to worry, the sun was shining, the scenery was beautiful and TomTom soon sorted us out.   We climbed out of the Grenoble Valley, now on the famous N85, the Route Napoleon.  It is hard to believe that a huge army marched along this route from the Mediterranean - a bit of a hard slog I would say! 
As promised, the road was vey windy and there was some traffic -  not too bad though.  We skirted some pretty barrages (man-made lakes) - there are a number of hydro-electric power stations along the river valley.  Again there are heaps of places to camp, hike and enjoy water sports - French people are very into outdoor pursuits and who wouldn't be with so many gorgeous places to engage in such activities.  Of course people come here from all over Europe and beyond for their summer holidays.
After and hour or more of twists and turns we arrived in Corps, a small town which sits high above a barrage called Barrage de Sautet.  We drove down to the lake's edge but there is not a lot there - one small camping ground - so it was back up to the town for lunch at a café in the main street. The town seemed to be a popular place for lunch on the N85, despite it feeling very remote - some wild, rugged country around here, a lot of it part of the extensive Ecrins National Park.

Vegie gardens, Corps on the Route Napoleon

 
The road down to Gap was a lot less tortuous but just as pretty and the descent into Gap is quite spectacular.  The road drops quite steeply, leaving the high alps behind and there is a magnificent view over the countryside surrounding Gap.  By now we had left the Savoie region and were driving though the Haut-Alpes de Provence.
From Gap we had a speedy journey along the A51 autoroute, turning off at the old town of Sisteron to head southeast in the direction of Mousiters-Sainte-Marie - our one night stopover. Sisteron was very busy - tourist season in full swing!  Once again TomTom decided on the goat track approach and against my better judgment I followed along.  We climbed up and up and suddenly came upon a quaint perched village called St Jurs - well off the beaten track.  After consulting our map we figured out where we should be and gave TomTom a stern talking to.  Leaving the hills we found ourselves crossing the Plateau de Valensole and we were right in the thick of huge fields of lavender in full bloom.  The fragrance hung in the air as we travelled along, past Puimoisson, where there is a major lavender distillery and finally down to Moustiers-Sainte- Marie.

Lavender fields near Puimoisson

  The approach to the town is jaw dropping - it is a medieval stone village that seems to grow out of the high, sheer rock face of the Sierra de Montdenier which rises behind the town.  Of course it is busy with tourists but is still  very lovely.

Looking up to the Chapel above St Moustiers

We settled into the Bonne Auberge Hotel, just a short walk from the centre of the village and then set out to find a nice restaurant for a celebration dinner.  Jess received her final results from uni today and is now the proud owner of a Bachelor of Film and Television Production from Bond University.   A deep gorge splits Moustiers in two and we decided upon a terrace restaurant overlooking the rushing waters of the river as they tumbled down the gorge.
Some nice steaks, jacket potatoes and champagne were the order of the day.  An enchanting place in a remarkable location.  No trouble sleeping tonight!

Jess, the graduate - celebration dinner, Moustiers-Sainte-Marie