Italian detour!

We have been going up and down to Switzerland from Provence quite often this year and some months ago decided we needed to find different routes instead of the quick autoroute (with everyone else!) to Geneva. We did a few trips over the mountains to Grenoble, which is interesting but does not have anywhere to stop and eat. Just ‘Panini’  and 'Frites' stalls by the roadside.

So I had the brilliant idea of going via Italy and taking in a few places I have wanted to see… the Gorges du Verdon, the Mercantour National Park and I also thought it would take slightly shorter a time than going via Nice on the coast. It looks a straighter line on the map.

I knew there were the Alpes Maritimes but expected to be going through valleys. How wrong I was! And I couldn’t complain as it was my idea!

We first went to Moustiers Sainte Marie, which is a beautiful small village, with lots of tourists! It has one of Alain Ducasse's hotel restaurants, the Bastide de Moustiers which I have eyed for years as I like his book Provence of Alain Ducasse and one day we hope to go back and stay there! However this time we were en route!

We moved on to the Gorges du Verdon. This is a spectacular road where one needs to keep one's eyes fully on the road. Dramatic drop offs!

                                             And not much overhead clearance in parts!

When we left these gorges it was with an inward sigh of relief on my part! An experience but perhaps not to be repeated! However the road did not get too much better. Very windy and two other sets of gorges!

They were  very spectacular.....

One of a series of 12 tunnels,but I don't like tunnels too much!!

                                                
                             

It had now taken many more hours than expected!  So it was dusk when we arrived where we were staying overnight. Which was just as well as the road up was very windy and not very wide!

Viewed next morning!!

We had read about an interesting chef with an international background having set himself up in the hotel  Le Robur  in Roure.

 He had worked in Michelin star restaurants in France, Switzerland and the US, so we had decided it was an excellent place to stop. I had imagined it as being rather rural, near the Mercantor park, just 70kms inland from Nice... the arriere pays! Definitely not up a mountain! It was a pleasant surprise however, once we had arrived and found parking. The village is a pedestrian village and doesn't have a parking lot! It only has around 40 year round residents and a quite a number of 'residences secondaire'!

 And only got a road up to it about 50 years ago. Before that it must have been somewhat isolated. So we had a little trek with our bags to the hotel, but they had warned us!

 We had a fabulous meal and a very quiet night!