Journey to Provence via the Top of the World

Today we left the gorgeous Annecy behind for the beauty of Provence. On the way we went to one of the great Tour de France hill top finishes at Alpe d'Huez. It is an extraordinary climb. In 10kms you go up 1,100m. It is a torturous climb for the best cyclists in the world but there were a lot of amateurs making the climb today. The views are stunning and the awareness of what the Tour cyclists do was awe inspiring. We will all watch this years Tour with a new eye.

We then took the long drive to our little cottage in Buis les Barronies. There were a few more spectacular views across vistas of green rolling hills up to craggy snow covered mountain peaks. Fabulous!

We are staying in a lovely little cottage in B-L-B. It is about 4 metres wide and 20 metres high with 5 flights of stairs. Midnight trips to the dunny will be life threatening. It is nonetheless lovely to have a place of our own with everything in English. We had a wander about the village and bought some food and had a lovely home cooked meal. Delightful. A day of recuperation is planned for tomorrow then back to discovering the wonders of France.


From near the top of Alpe d'Huez




View of the valley from Alpe d'Huez




Finishing Point - the Cyclists
must be relieved to see this!

 

A View on the Way to Provence

Our cottage