After a morning of pottering around we took the dramatically beautiful trip to Gourdon. The route runs up the valley and canyon of the Loup River with its towering rocks that overhang the road and steep side tree lined banks. The scenery inspires awe and needs a number of breaks to fully appreciate the beauty of the landscape here. Unfortunately stopping along the twisty road is easier said than done.
On the way to Gourdon we leave the road that tracks the river and turn sharply left rising towards Gourdon. It now becomes easier to stop and admire the panoramic views. I have made this journey many times and I don’t think I’ll ever become tired of the majestic mountains all around.
We arrived in the village car park and desperately looked for a parking space with some tree cover, but we had to leave the car in the baking hot sun. On our way up to Gourdon we had passed many cyclists trudging up the hills to an altitude 760 m and other sprinting down. As we left the car park to walk up to the Au Vieux Four a group of; of cyclists turned the corner and looked as fresh as if they had popped round to buy a pint of milk, when in fact they had climbed more than 500 m in baking hot temperatures. Maggi and I noticed the heat as we trudged up the hill to the village centre.
As we entered the restaurant we received a peck on the cheek as a welcome from the waitress/co-owner. We had arrived just after 12:30 and the only other customers sat outside. We thought it would be cooler to eat inside. By the time we had finished out meal every place inside had a customer and the waitress never stopped moving from one table to another. Amazingly she performs all this work with a smile and a ready laugh.
The amuse-bouche arrived, a miniature cold vegetable soup with a little pastry thing, all very tasty. Maggi and I both chose the courgette flowers with aubergine paste and green salad. Maggi murmured “I would have like it hotter”. However, what mattered about the dish was that it tasted good. My main course consisted of slices of veal on a bed of vegetables with a jus. The dessert however let the meal down a bit. We decided to share the two puddings on offer a meringue and a peach melba. The peach melba far outclassed the meringue..
Still we had a very agreeable lunch in nice surroundings with a very welcoming staff.
We made our way back down the mountain, with Maggi driving. I made the mistake of suggesting we return via the Leclerc in Vence rather than our normal Leclerc. It took much longer than either of us expected. We bought a bunch of booze, dinks and other bits for our trip to Italy where we will meet the kids on Thursday.