Stormy Provence

Thank goodness we arrived early at the donkey sanctuary yesterday, a storm with bells on arrived late afternoon which would have been horrific to cycle in.

Once the storm had passed, it was a beautiful evening in an idyllic location which even had puddytats to make it perfect.

The weather forecast predicted storms from 1pm so I left early and pedalled as fast as I could up yet more hills, saying aurevoir to the eeyores on the way out.

The tree trunks are getting back into hill climbing but today’s was another mini monster.

I was expecting the col sign reward but this one just had a pretty plateau.

I could see the storm clouds gathering so was pedalling as fast as I could but then as if by magic, the Support Crew arrived and rescued me from another drenching. As a reward, I dragged him out for a walk once we had checked into the hotel, via a rather fabulous refuelling.

A few hours and vins rose later, we plodded up into Moustiers-Sainte-Marie which is simply spectacular. The star you can see hanging between the rocks was apparently put there by a knight returning from the Crusades, as you do.

The storm was coming back and Le Fuss was on the march to avoid it...

We stocked up on wine, cheese and bread on the way back to the hotel and watched the incredibly dramatic storm from the hotel room.