Up and Down

On Saturday, we woke up to an amazing sunrise.

We decided to take a drive into the Denetelles, the jagged peaks of which we’d been seeing all week. We drove south on the D138 out of Vaison, passing Crestet (gottta save some villages for the next visit!). We turned right onto the little D90, which quickly turned into a twisting, steep road running alongside sheer drops to the left and a deep ditch to the right. But the views were stunning.

Suzette is a tiny old village surrounded by vineyards, primarily producing dark red wines, and also the sweet Muscat wines that are used as an aperitif or a dessert wine. There’s a charming old church, a restaurant, and a few places to taste wine.

We rolled on down to Beaumes-de-Venise, had a fast walk around, and then drove the short distance to find another Romanesque church, Notre Dame d’Aubune. Sadly closed up in spite what the tourist office has said, but it’s an evocative place, with herb gardens and a few stone picnic tables. There are also walking trails leading up to the ruins of, you guessed it, a chateau.

It was lunchtime, so we had a lovely long lunch at a nearby place, Dolium. It’s in a new building next to the regional tasting room, but what it lacked in weathered charm it made up in food, a wonderful waitress, and the chance to see a large extended family celebrating an anniversary, complete with kids pushing fancy appetizers around their plate and then gobbling down their chocolate moelleux. I started with pate,(don’t tell my doctor) then went to fish, then we shared a “deconstructed tiramisu”. All beautifully made and delicious.