Gorge du Verdon, 4th August 2015

I got up, showered, dressed, had breakfast, reviewed my route, headed to the car hire place, got in the car and felt... Better. I'd familiarised myself well enough with Aix to easily find my way out of town and before long felt comfortable enough to put the radio on. The next song that came on was 'This Girl is on Fire'! 

The first part of the journey was straightforward and I was happily cruising along in my brand new, air conditioned Renault Scenic, comfortable on the other side of the road.

Then I realised the reason for yesterday's anxiety. Switchbacks. Single lane switchbacks in an unfamiliar car on the wrong side of the road, no manual hand break and cyclists wobbling all over the place in front. Not fun. I had to pull over at the top to calm down and only then did I realise the lake was on my left. If I had gone the right way, it would have been on my right. All that trauma and I was in the wrong place. 

Adding to the disappointment, at the top I found myself next to a lavender field, but it had been harvested. Instead of glorious purple rows, there were tufty, greyish bushes. I managed to pick a few overlooked strands to scent the rest of my journey. Happily though, next to the lavender field was a field of sunflowers, put there, surely, to cheer up the stressed motorists and knackered cyclists who'd just made it up the switchbacks.

Luckily I hadn't gone too far wrong and via a few scenic viewpoints, I was soon back on the correct route - the two-lane switchbacks here were a doddle by comparison.

At last, I made it to the road bridge across the point where the gorge meets the lake. The lake was busy with people swimming and exploring in pedaloes, so I drove a bit further on and found a quieter spot for a dip in the lake and my picnic.

From where I was sitting, I could see across to the ridge on the opposite side of the lake, the one where I went wrong earlier, and was grateful that I didn't have to take the same route home.

Was it worth it? Can you tell from this picture the effort, emotion and inner reserves that went into getting it?

The gorge and lake were certainly stunning and it is always good to test yourself, get out of the comfort zone, but if something else on this trip presents complications, I might just take the easy option. 

My drive home was good, a lot more scenic than the way there. I came down from the high ground via wide, sweeping switchbacks, with steep forested drops and marvellous views across Provence, although I barely dared to take my eyes of the road and catch a glimpse. The roads were like something out of an early James Bond car chase and my driving was like Miss Daisy. 

As I journeyed on, the wilder high ground became more maintained and lavender gave way to grapevines. Sleepy villages dozed in the afternoon heat, plane trees provided shade on the roads and Chateaux advertised their wares along the way, making me feel like I was on the set of A Good Year. On reflection, I'm glad I made the effort.