Col de la Bonette France

Travelled:115km
Visited:Serre Ponçon Dam, St.Vincent, Méolans, Barcelonnette, Col de la Bonette
Stay:free parking at lake near the Col GPS N44°20.5512' E6°47.0088'

We had a beautiful day. We began by driving along Lake Serre Ponçon and stopped at the dam wall for breakfast. We had wonderful views of the lake and the surrounding valley and mountains. 

As we were driving to Barcelonnette we spotted a tower on top of a hill so we decided to drive up and have a look. We ended up in the little village of St.Vincent les Forts. On the way in there was a designated Camping Car parking and so we stopped there and walked up to the Vauban fort (which we could not visit) and a tower which we did walk to and enjoyed the view. 

Further along the road at Meolans, we walked along the Ubaye River and up to the clock tower.

 Next was Barcelonnette, the last shopping stop before Italy. We managed to find a 'lavoir automatique' to do our washing and an Italian street directory. 

So having completed our mission and after having checked the weather report, we thought it best to go to the Col Bonette 2860m on the highest road in Europe. What a beautiful drive and the col looked spectacular. The views from the lookout were fantastic. 

On the way back down, Mark couldn't resist exploring one of the WW1 bunkers. 

We also saw a marmotte on the side of the road. We then found a spot next to a lovely little lake. We could see and hear the marmottes whistling. Just before dinner a shepard and his dog came up with his 1700 sheep and goats! What an amazing sight and sound (bells and sheep bleating).  Before darkness fell we were altogether 3 motorhomes and 1 tent!

Chorges

Travelled:0km
Visited and stayed in Chorges a 2nd night

After chatting to Tom and Claire, we went to the weekly market that took up the length of the main street through town. It was very popular with cars and people everywhere. Luckily we could walk there from Bluey. We enjoyed looking at the variety of products for sale and bought some fruit, Beaufort cheese, local filled parcels called Tourtons and a yummy roast chicken. We decided to stay in our spot for the day as it was a sunny Sunday on a public holiday weekend and we could just imagine the roads and places to visit being super busy. So we spent the afternoon reading and went for a lovely walk around the outskirts of the village. Fully rested for the week ahead.

Lots of knives!

Very fresh honey 

As you come in to some towns they warn you on the number of pedestrian crossings or bumps 

This has to be the smallest ever Motorhome appropriately named Bambi

The view from Bluey

Timeout day

Travelled: 18km
Visited:Chorges
Stay:Chorges-aire, free parking and toilets GPS N44°32.750' E6°16.800'

Mark spent a nervous morning listening to the Bombers footy match and was relieved when they were in front on the final siren. I spent the time catching up on the bookwork. We then went in search of a laundry mat. 'Murphy's law'- you can never find one when you need it! So we set off for the next town with an aire. We had passed through Chorges before and thought it would be a good place to go for today. We promptly got our washing done, the old fashion way and read whilst waiting for it to dry. We then went for a walk in the village and of course had to have a look at the 12th century church. The surrounding buildings were in various conditions, some all done up while others were ready to be pulled down. By the time we got back, the aire was full. In the holiday season it is necessary to arrive early to secure a spot. We enjoyed yummy lamb chops on the cadac and a nice bottle of Brouilly.

The letter box is a replica of the house!

From Chichilianne to Gap

Travelled:83km
Visited:surrounds of Chichilianne
Stay: Gap-aire, free parking and services GPS N44°34.1850' E6'6.1440'

It was a fresh start to the day and unfortunately the clouds were covering Mont Aiguille.

 Never the less we set off on a 2 hour walk taking us through lovely forest and over the hill into the next valley and pretty little hamlets. 

This is a communal oven found in the little hamlets.

Upon our return to Bluey we recieved some sad news that Mark's godfather was not well. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. These are the times that are difficult being so far away from our loved ones. As the internet coverage here has been quite poor we decided to go to Gap, the next big town. We spent part of the afternoon in McD and then after some shopping we parked Bluey in an aire on the outskirts of town. Funny enough opposite another McD! But the internet was not working very well here either. One of those days. Any way we could not resist some comfort food...