Provence 2007: Crillon le Brave and Mount Ventoux

After Orange, John and took off for our hotel in the foothills of Mount Ventoux in an unbelievably charming and small village and hotel called "Crillon le Brave." The accommodations are listed in "1001 Places to go Before You Die" a book given to me by my dear friend René Rodman and we are glad we made it this place of rustic elegance with superior service. We highly recommend it as a base to explore the region.

The next morning we ascended over 6,000 feet up to what was Cézanne's muse, Mount Ventoux, which is now the muse today to serious bikers. Lance Armstrong's ascent record is in under an hour while the typical weekend warrior can do it in 3 hours. From our car we enjoyed watching several hundred biker's labor uphill and by the end were cheering them on. What a lot of hard work! Up at the top we discovered a fantastic panoramic view which extends on a clear day (which it was) to the Alps which still had snow as well as a fine view of the Luberon. Strange military lookouts peppered the top and in inspecting them further found ourselves off the designated tourist path.