A Ride to Provence in Late November (18 - 23 November 2014)

After nearly 2 months in and around Ardèche and the neighboring departments, we finally made a move to the south of France; in other words, Provence.  People have been telling us for weeks: head to Provence, even when it's cold there, it's a "warm" cold.  Not like the rest of France.  We had 200 km to do, at least 4 if not 5 days of riding for us in this season of early nightfall.  With the ground wet and night temperatures a bit on the cold side, we decided to avoid camping and so we arranged Warm Showers stays every night of this ride, something we would usually never do (lots of organization; directions and house-finding; hours to arrive and to leave by; etc.).  However, we met some lovely people as we went, who inspired us through travel stories and travel plans, often over home-cooked meals...

 

Leaving Meyras, we chose the Route Panoramique to descend back to the Rhone...

... needless to say, this was a great option!  Tournon spreads out below as we approach.

Our first stop was a brief visit to say goodbye to Eegi and Patrick in Tain.  Jeff with their young son Gabriel.

Eegi and Elsa gettin' silly.

Gabriel and Bo hanging out.

Dusk colors over the Rhone near Bourg-les-Valence.

In Valence we stayed with Charlotte and Olivier, a WS host with two sons.  These guys inspired us with their stories of bike travels and their years living as expats in Mayotte and in New Caledonia. 

Charlotte makes furniture out of cardboard, like this bookshelf above. 

Stopping off at one of our favorite boulangeries in Valence for some croissants d'amande (almond croissants). 



Cormorant on the Rhone.

A good day for flying.

Crossing the Rhone at La Voulte sur Rhone.

Our destination, Loriol-sur-Drome, marked our departure from the ViaRhona.

The Drome River, seen here to the right of Katy, immediately attracted us by its natural attributes.

In Loriol we stayed with Maud and Lionel, who have two twin daughters (5 y.o.), Sofia and Maelle, and a son named Lucas about Bodhi's age. 

Maud and Lionel are kind of our heroes: when their daughters were 21 months old, they embarked on a 6-month cycle trip from the Black Sea to the Atlantic including riding the entire EuroVelo 6.  They showed us picture books of their entire trip, above which is the volume through Romania.

Bathtub fun with the boys, Bo and Lucas.

Bo has a wander about... lavender fields!  A little south of Montelimar, as we navigated low-trafficked country roads through the department of Drome, the climate and the ecosystem changed suddenly: it was warmer, drier and the air smelled different... Mediterranean climate!

Who is this???

Provence is well-known for its hilltop villages, like this one.

Not too far from St. Paul 3 Chateaux, in a village called St. Restitut, we stayed with this young couple, Alex and Jordane, and their daughter, Lily.  These two were very generous with their time and their sharing of local culture: here we tried calissons and morue (salted cod spread) for the first time.  

St. Restitut's hexagonal chapel, in early Gothic style, dates back to the 16th century.

Bo having a look about St. Restitut.

We borrowed Lily's bike for a tour of the backyard.  This is the house that Alex and Jordane have had restored.



Descending from St. Restitut we hit some nice scenery.

Entering Suze-la-Rousse, complete with hilltop chateau.

You know you're in Provence when you cycle past olive orchards on one side...

... and vineyards to the other.

These folks take wine production seriously around here. (near Suze)

A warm enough day to ride on his bikeseat, the first in awhile.  

A gorgeous view towards two of Provence's well-known landmarks: Mt. Ventoux (left, summit clouded over) and the Dentelles de Montmirail (right). 

 

In Sorgues we were invited to stay by yet another WS host with kids: Cyril and Sarah.

 

Jeff bumrushed by boys. 

 

Here we all are.

Leaving Sorgues, while looking for a supermarket, we mistakenly entered Hell (otherwise known as Avignon Nord) a giant endless boxstore nightmare that gave our fascination with France a serious test.  After months of stunning landscapes and architectural beauty and charming villages and towns, this was like turning left into New Jersey or Southern California.  Bored uninspired people with too much money driving around buying ugly useless crap.  We later found out that southern Provence has followed a very American-like development model: it has the greatest percentage of commercial real estate in France.  Repulsive.

Fleeing Sorgues, we had a small picnic.  Pictured here is a sport that we are gradually developing: Nappy Tossing.  Katy is the reigning champion (notorious distinction).  It generally involves a nappy and a wastebin and a variable distance between the two, as well as local twists.  (In this case, Bodhi laying on a bench watching his dirty nappy flying over his head, surely thinking, "my parents are fun and have a sense of humor!")  The winner is whoever lands the nappy in the bin in the least number of shots, clearly. 

Riding through the village of Le Thor.  Heading southeast through the department of Vaucluse.

This is our fifth consecutive day of cycling followed by Warm Showers hosting.  This was a magic moment: Antoine unveiled a soprano AND a baritone ukulele, to which we added our tenor, and suddenly we had a ukulele orchestra. 

Francois, Bo with Lou, and Antoine.  A great WS stay in Cheval Blanc. 

Vineyards at the foot of the Luberon, the striking low-elevation mountain range that dominates this area.

The Durance River is the other natural feature that defines this part of Vaucluse.

The dramatically-situated village of Lauris.

Our next destination: the floodplains of the Durance, perfect for growing vegetables...

 

 

Alas, this would be our last cycling section of 2014: from here, Katy and Bodhi flew back to England for the month of December and shortly thereafter Jeff travelled to the States... with a reunion in Marseilles planned for 11 January, and a forward continuation of our travels.

Farmhouse Restoration and Enchanted Landscapes above the Rhône Valley, Tournon-sur-Rhône, Ardèche (6 - 18 November 2014)

At an elevation of over 450 meters, on a plateau above the Rhône River, our next stop would be at an old farmhouse called Meyras.  We would get to know an engaging and well-cultured family, their history and horses, and the extent of their restoration and renovation of an intriguing old farmhouse.  All of this set amidst a staggering landscape that sits near the top of our list thus far in France... views as far as the eye can see towards the east, taking in the Rhône valley and the Vercors Mountains, and the High Alps beyond that...

 

THE PEOPLE:

 

 

Bodhi with Garance, one of two daughters that live on the property.

Playing with Isadora, the other daughter at Meyras (and youngest of four). 



After learning some tricks from Isadora, Bo sets out to develop his own style. (photo: Pascale Bernard)

The tireless Sylvain, dedicated to the complete renovation of the farmhouse. 

Pascale, busy at work in her art studio.  She leads art courses in Lyon once a week.

 

Right, just pull this lever and presto...

 



Strolling in nearby Tain with friend Eegi and her children. 



Bo with Pascale.

Dinner at the Bernard's.  (L-R: Jeff, Katy, Bo, Sylvain, Pascale, Isadora)



The wet and cold can't stop Bo from stomping about the place.

Lastly, one must mention the other characters seen about Meyras!

 

THE PLACE:

 

 

This sign points the way to Meyras, buried in fog.

 

 

A view of Meyras from the plateau.

 

The other side of the house.  Note the (new) yurt to the right of the house; Garance lives here with her partner.  Also note the horses grazing in the foreground.

 

The house dates back to the 1600's.

 

Bo has a run about the place.

 



 

Formerly a hay-filled barn, this is now the family room, crowned with this stunning clay painting by Pascale.  The family has lived in the house since 2011.

Original artwork by Pascale.

 



 

Sylvain is a lifelong horse enthusiast, and has begun breeding Kabardin horses here.  Kabardians are more common in eastern Europe and Russia; they were bred for stony and mountainous terrain and are known for high endurance and adaptability to difficult environments.

 

In addition to the six Kabardins, there is Baxter, the large Comtois pictured here.

Bo found the horses a curious sight.

Katy saddled up for a ride.

Sylvain, who practices natural horsemanship (popularly known as horse whispering).

... and off they go.

Katy, horse training in the fog.

Jeff has a go, bareback.  (First time on a horse in 35 years!)



 THE LANDSCAPES:

 

 

Although we often had cool and rainy weather in our two weeks at Meyras, it must be said that we also witnessed some of the most beautiful and dramatic landscape views that we have yet to see in France.  The changes in light seen from this location are beyond words...

 

 

Full moon rising over the Rhone Valley.

 

 

Morning graze backed by the French Alps (with a new mantle of snow).

Le Mont Blanc.  Highest point in western Europe at 4810m, and clearly visible from here.

The French Alps stretching out to the south of Mt. Blanc.



Fog blankets the Rhone Valley.

The Vercors Mountains rising beyond the Rhone.

 

Sunset from Meyras.
 

 

THE WORK:

 

 

The majority of the work to be performed was the renovation of an old room to be used afterwards as part of a gite (self-contained bed and breakfast). 

 

 

Slyvain faced with a daunting task: the removal of 12 tons of earthen material that have sat for over 200 years in the subfloor cavity of this room, compromising the structural beam beneath.


 

Jeff, poised to bash out the chimney.

 

Katy finds an ending place for all this fill: the driveway. (photo: Pascale Bernard)

 

After evacuating the fill, we rebuilt the floor platform and insulated with chanvre, or hemp used for insulation.

Look who wants to help out!

Hauling sand...

 

...and installing beton chanvre, or hempcrete (a wet mix of hemp, lime, sand, cement and water used for insulating).

Jeff and Sylvain packing the partition wall with beton chanvre.

Bo checks out the finished product.

 

 OUT AND ABOUT IN THE REGION:

 

 

Dayhiking in the gorges above the Doux.



On a splendid fall day, Bo wanders past apricot orchards.

Time out for a snack.

The fantastic viewpoint above the Rhone valley, looking down on Tournon-sur-Rhone and Tain L'Hermitage.

... descending down to the Rhone through woodland...



... vineyards blanket the slopes on the far side of the river.  This is very famous wine, Val du Rhone.



The old bridge across the Rhone connecting Tournon and Tain.

Nearby buc, or billy-goat.



Collecting wild mushrooms in the forest.  Sylvain taught us some of the edibles to be found here.

 

Bo stretches his legs out...



... and even starts climbing out of the gorge.

 



Sylvain, Jeff + Bo, and Pascale at Les Cuves du Duzon.

 

For more information please see www.lesterresdemeyras.over-blog.com, a fantastic blog compiled by the Bernards that includes photographs of the evolution of their renovation projects at Meyras from the beginning, with a lot of participation from WWOOFers and friends along the way.