Provencal villages and purple fields - day 21

When we were staying at Graveson (my fav B&B Le Cadran Solaire), Jean Claude learned that we were heading to Sault and told us about Gorges de la Nesque. The Nesque river valleys and gorges cut through Mont Ventoux and the plateaus of Vaucluse and is a popular hiking and cycling destination. Lydie also provided us with a useful map of the region and encouraged us to explore the gorges. 

impromptu itinerary for the day

Starting from Sault following road D1/D942 along la nesque river, you will first approach the lake next to the town of Monieux which is a popular chill out spot for the locals and where the Sunday market is held.

Monieux itself is a small hillside town in the foothills of the Nesque gorges and with old houses that dates as long back as the middle ages!

12th century look out tower at the top of the village

Continuing from Monieux along the D942 road you will come to view of the Nesque gorges. It is possible to continue driving to Villes-sur-Auzon which is 20km away but we decided to stop at a scenic lookout point and just enjoy the view. 

Look out point

can you spot the nesque river

You can see a cyclist on the right!

lovely view of the gorges

As we were there over the weekend, we decided to visit the local Sunday market around the lake back at Moniuex. There were pony rides for the kids, zip-lining from one of the cliff across the lakes and many stalls set up selling locally produced items. One of the stalls was selling handmade bird houses. 

view of lake from road back from the gorges

sunday handicraft and farmers market

pony rides were available for kids

You can zip-line down from a cliff top across the lake

We ordered chips and wine from the food stall and ended up dog-sitting for the afternoon.

There was also a local brass band playing oldies across the food area and free wine and jamon offered to passer-by by the village council stall. Life is good I must say.  

on the spot BBQ

a donkey visited over lunch

the dog that keeps coming over to our table to play with the husband

and so we played tug and fetch with her for over an hour over wine and chips

After bumming around by the lake for a whole afternoon, we went to visit some of the other villages recommended by Lydie. Following the D542 road, you first arrive at the village of Aurel. 

Passing Aurel, you will cross over from Vaucluse to Drome region and next up is Montbrun-les-Bains

narrow streets from medieval days

 

lovely view up here

napping next to yellow flowers

And of course being in Sault, it was a photo galour of purple fields throughout the journey. I'll let the pictures do the talking :)

Warning: overdose of flower pictures!

After a day of chilling by the lake and village hopping, it was back to Sault to look for dinner @ la promenade! (see previous post)

Drive map of the day: