Hilary and Stan in Europe 2011 - Day 8 - Les Tuillières to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux

 ... or, Day Four of Hilary and Stan's "Tour de France!!"

Strongly motivated by the recent memory of our hot ride yesterday, we made it downstairs at 7 am for an early breakfast with Hermann, our gracious host at Les Tuillières.  After saying goodbye, we were on our way to Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.

Along the way, we passed by several picturesque villages (including one that wasn't on the route.... opps, a wrong turn!),

between which were long fields of sunflowers,

corn....

... vinyards...

and Lavender.

Along the way, we found beautiful churches, plazas and quiet village streets that were at least two hundred years old.  Although this was a week day, streets were often very quiet, causing me to wonder 'where did everyone go?'  Cycling through these villages was a wonderful way to travel, giving us time to take in the still beauty around us.

Medieval gate at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux

At last we reached our destination, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux.
















 

We found ourselves exploring a larger town, with interesting stores and sidewalk cafes.

Here we got about as close to the Tour de France as well ever get this holiday - the Tour arrives here on July 18th!

Unfortunately we'll be in Britain by then, however, even now shop windows have been dressed for the occasion, with bikes, cycling jerseys and drawings.  Here's a few photos... more can be found in the link below!








We had a wonderful dinner that night at one of the sidewalk cafes in the town's main plaza.  Then it was off to bed, turning in early for another day of cycling.  Tomorrow we will be going to our first town in Provence, the ancient Roman city of Orange.