Weather forecast not required!

Friday 29th September 2017 - Beaurecueil.

We did one thing today.  Climbed Mont Sainte Victoire to the Croix de Provence.  Just short of 1000m.  We cycled to the starting point of a footpath and headed up in glorious sunshine.  The man at the site had reassured us that we didn't need to check the weather ahead.  

You can just see the cross on the top.  When we set off from the car park a French man told us to stick to the yellow marked path that was the easiest but from the moment we started we never saw a yellow marked path.  We stuck to the red path, which later became blue?  We don't understand any of it but the paths were marked with regular painted marks on rocks.  We thought the system could be used in the UK as it didn't need wooden posts or other signage.  Janice is usually keen to carry our bikes up crazy, steep, rocky paths but on this occasion I managed to talk her out of it!

We worked up a good sweat up the mountain (over 3000ft).  It is made famous by Cezanne's many paintings of it.  The views were spectacular......I will now bore you with some of them.

Only half way up.

A chapel near the top.  I think it is Aix en Provence in the distance.

Surprisingly, we met a man wearing an England Rugby Shirt at the cross - I immediately spoke to him in English thinking we would have plenty in common but he was actually a French man?  He didn't understand a word I said. It is very unusual for a French person to wear an England shirt....I think. NHS daughter took this photo for us and this was the only way she could fit us in, with our heads just showing. The cross is little when looking from the bottom but big when you get to the top.

The drop is nearly 500m!!

We managed to get back to the camping site by early afternoon and had a nice quiet sit and read.  We settled down to our Friday routine of G & T at 5pm with aperros of sliced Saussison Noix (cured sausage with nuts in it) and olives.  We read our new acquisition.....a Provence guide book.....

We have managed without any guide for over 2 weeks but seemed to have survived.  The good news is that many of the places we have already visited have been highly featured, so we must have been well advised.

Tonight we are ready for Ken Bruce on Radio 2 with 'Friday Night is Music Night'.  I remember my parents playing that programme on the radio when we were away in the caravan as a youngster.  Actually, we won't be listening tonight without wifi, its not my favourite anyway!

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