Yay!!!! It was finally time to go back to my favourite place; Les Gorges du Verdon! As some people know I have worked here for a couple of years and although the weird period with COVID-19 It was so warming to see everyone again. This year both our families came and we had an awesome time together. During this week we did many amazing activities, see below for my one-week-program and my recommendations!
RELAXING at a beautiful lake (Sunday)
This lake is my most favourite lake. We bought some "Tapenade", "Crème d'ail" and goat's cheese with a traditional French baguette. With some beach towels on the ground we had the best picknick ever. After that we rode in the direction of the nearby village, to go there you need to follow a road which climbs up a mountain. Halfway you have a fantastic view over the whole lake!
Going to Route de Crètes (Monday morning)
The "Route de Crètes", with specification of belvédère "La Dent d'Aire", is probably my most favourite place in the whole region. Here you can watch the entire Grand Canyon of the Gorges du Verdon from up high. For me this place makes me realise how small our problems are and how big nature and mother earth is. From 10 to 12 and in the afternoon you can often spot vultures here. If you are patient and wait for 30/45 minutes they can come really close! After all those years visiting this please I am still in awe and bluffed away by the beauty. Because Kevin's (My boyfriend) parents also were there I of course had to show it! Afterwards we drove the whole way, which takes approximately 1 to 2 hours, depending on how much you stop. On the sides of the road there are some small parking places. Here you can park your car and watch the panoramic view around you.
Photographing vultures with my mom and dad (Tuesday morning)
Since I was about 14/15 years old I went photographing vultures with my dad. So every year we repeat this. And I love it. Even without the vultures, I enjoy the view, being their with mom and dad and of course dad's calls for the vultures "TOK TOKKK TOKKKKK, KUKELEKUUUUUU". Everyone who knows my dad can picture this I think hahaha! After that we had a nice lunch at Auberge des crêts.
Port Grimaud (Wednesday)
Port Grimaud is a little village in the South of France, close to St-Tropez and St-Maxime. It is also called Venice of France, due to the fact that the village is made up by canals, idyllic bridges and cute houses. On walking distance there is a nice beach with a great beach restaurant where you can get delicious meals! It definitely is a recommendation to go there for a day. But be aware to go early, since you need to go through some villages the roads get easily busy.
Paddle boating at Lac de Sainte Croix (Thursday)
Maybe you have seen this lake earlier on Facebook or Instagram. I believe that it is the most popular and one of the most beautiful lakes of all Europe. Which I can really imagine myself ass the lake starts in the canyon and leads out to a big lake. The water is turquoise blue and has a very nice temperature. On the sides of the lake you can hire pedal boats, electric boats and kayaks. We hired two of the pedal boats, discovered the canyon and then placed our beach towels on the side of the lake to be able to swim in the refreshing water after the intensive peddling.
Supping (Friday)
Hiring sups has been something I wanted to do for a long time. So I contacted someone I know from Aqua Verdon on Wednesday evening, and to my amazement they were still able to prepare two sups for me. I could pick them up in the morning. Great service guys! It was quite a challenge to get them in my car, as I have a fiat 500c and we were with 3 people haha! We brought them to the lake, pumped them up and put them in the lake. I LOVED IT! We went a long way, even in the direction of the small canyon, which was so beautiful! Supping is a great workout, for your shoulders and also your core as you need to stabilise. I loved it that much that I am looking into buying one myself :) If you are looking for a nice activity to do on your own. This is it! Thank you Aqua Verdon for the good and quick service!
Eating at the amazing crêperie 'Les murs des abeilles' in Rougon (Friday evening)
Les Murs des Abeilles is definitely the best crêperie in the region! And maybe even better, the view that you have from the terrace. It is just breathtaking... We came with the whole family and enjoyed a nice dinner. I had a delicious crêpe chêvre miel, which is definitely my favourite. This is a great choice if you are looking for something regional, as honey and goat's cheese are two of the local products. You can even choose which honey you'd like, I went for the Lavender honey, it has a medium sweet taste, is well balanced and has a rounded taste.
Rafting!
And last but not least, we went rafting, together with Kevin, Zoë (Kevin's sister), Yoeri (my brother), Ils (Yoeri's girlfriend) and René (Kevin's father). We went with Raoul Rafting for a half-day trip. Raoul showed us the most beautiful parts of the canyon and river, showed us fossils, took us through fast rapids and let us jump and float in currents. It was a lot of fun and Raoul is such a great guide. If you are looking for rafting, he is definitely the one who you want to be rafting with! The photo's below are made by Verdon Photo (situated in Castellane, next to the tourist office). As you know me you know how much value I have for photos. As they capture amazing memories. If you are doing an activity - Aqua Rando, Rafting, Kayaking or canyoning - mostly, there is a photographer who captures the activity. The photos are for sale, digital and printable at the shop of Verdon Photo, next to the tourist office in Castellane. A big recommendation! The photo's are sharp and give you the opportunity to look back to great moments in the future.
I hope that you loved my little one week program! We of course did not only do activities. Some activities only took place a part of the day and so the other part of the day we chilled at the river, lake or in the hammock! :) If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through Facebook or Instagram! I will be more than happy to advise you on beautiful this beautiful region :) Oh and by the way, we of course stayed at Camping Domaine Chasteuil Provence, a beautiful, local and green camping where the environment is a big focus!
Do you want to know more for staying, eating and doing activities in the Gorges du Verdon? Look at my travel blog I made a few years ago!
Xoxo Lisa
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