All four seasons in one day.

Bloody hell !!! I exclaim as I open the blind in the rear window of the van,  **** says Jo where did that come from ? we both stare open mouthed at the scene that greets us this November morning in the south of France.

that's a picture looking out of the rear window of the van

At least three inches of snow has fallen overnight, which if I have to say wasn’t the best nights sleep I’ve had by a long way. After waking at 3:00am to visit the little room at the front of the van, it took ages to drift off again, largely due to some very strange noises outside which have now become apparent on seeing the snow. One of the noises I heard was snow falling off the roof onto the bikes on the rack attached to the rear of the van, another noise was obviously now a snow plough going up and down the main road, and the other more persistent noise was the snow on the roof thawing and dripping onto the bikes on the rack. It’s just like a WINTERs day

Anyway enough of that.

Following breakfast we go for a wander round town and a visit to the boulangerie not only provides us with bread but vital information as to which roads are clear, quite a crowd has gathered in the only shop open, all discussing the events of the evening which seem to have caught everybody out as no-one was expecting it at all.

Armed with our bread and road information we plan our route and its 10:30 before we finally leave the town by now the roads have cleared considerably and we wind our way upwards towards the Gorge de Verdon.

The roads aren’t as bad as we expected and we arrive at the highest point of our journey 1064m and the snow has nearly all disappeared. A little further on and the sun pokes through, the clouds part and no snow at all other than on the highest of peaks. The gorge which is called the Grand Canyon of Europe due to it being the biggest canyon in Europe is truly stunning, the snowy peaks and blue skies add to the scene.

We stop for lunch as the gorge widens and the lake of Ste Croix is beneath us, wow, what a view. This has to be one of the best views of the trip and the weathers like a SUMMERs day.

Continuing through Provencal countryside we see lambs leaping in the fields and rows of fresh young lavender plants the weather has now taken on a SPRING like feel to it.

Moving on further west towards Avignon the hills plateau out and we pass through vineyards with their ancient chateau,small villages with typical stone cottages and their blue painted shutters and doors, the leaves havn’t yet fallen from the trees here, they are however amazing shades of golds, reds and browns and the whole place has that early AUTUMNal feel to it.

We arrive at the auto route just before Avignon and head north, our little southern adventure at an end. We stop for the night in a motorway aire just north of Lyon after a very memorable day.