Summer Holidays: Moustiers Sainte Marie

Wednesday morning we packed our things, ate breakfast, and bid farewell to our hostess. On the way out of Saint Chamas we stopped to check out an ancient Roman bridge at the side of the road. It's amazing, the bits of history one sees in Europe, in mundane places that the locals breeze by every day without hardly noticing.

We drove northeast into the mountains, stopping on the outskirts of a small town built into a mountainside, Moustier Saint Marie. This town was my favorite on the trip, although David will tell you it was too touristy. Granted, the town was overrun with tourists, but being the off season, we didn't feel too crowded.

One of the first things one notices in Moustier Sainte Marie is the chapel. Built even higher up the mountainside then the rest of the town, the chapel was perched on the edge of a cliff far above our heads. Even further up, hanging between the two mountains, was an iron star, barely a speck in the sky seen from the ground.

According to our tourist map, the iron star was hung there by a knight returning from captivity during the crusades. Every century or so the star falls and has to be replaced, but the design is the same as the original.

Back in town, Moustier Sainte Marie is a town of winding stone streets and charming restaurants, all with the same great view. Through the middle of town runs an impressive waterfall, tumbling town the mountainside.

We ate a quick lunch at a cafe, then I promptly started bugging David to hike up to the chapel with me. He relented, and we set off for the climb. The path up to the church was made of square stone pieces which, after years of weather and tourists, turned out to be pretty slippery. After a few near falls, I started clinging to the rope banister with the rest of the wimps.

Way up at the foot of the chapel, we had a stunning view of the town and valley below. Even from up there, the hanging iron star was little more than a spot in the sky. How did a knight, without modern climbing gear, get up there to hang a wire and a star? In my imagination I see a knight in suit of armor, awkwardly clamboring up the side of the mountain, but I guess that's a bit silly.

After descending from the church, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon scouting out our destination for the next day - the gorges of Verdon. We followed signs from Moustiers Sainte Marie toward the gorges, winding along those mountain roads that David is so fond of driving on. From the mountains we had a stunning view of Lake Saint Croix at the mouth of the gorge, so bright and blue it seemed unnatural.

We continued up the mountain, with the gorges well below us. Finally we came upon a hiking trail, and parked the car to follow the footpath to a scenic point overlooking the gorge. That's where we're going to be tomorrow!

On our way back to Moustiers, we stopped at the lake to look into boat rentals. We noted prices and opening times, then passed the rest of the late afternoon on the rocky shore of the lake. I took a swim in the lake - at this point I was on a daily swimming streak - and David perched on his towel with a book.

Finally we returned to Moustiers Saint Marie for dinner in one of those restaurants with a panoramic view, then checked into our chambre d'hote. The bed and breakfast was located at the foot of the mountains, in the middle of golden fields, with a few giant trees offering shade. It was lcoated in the most idylic spot, and immediately became our favorite B&B. We had a quiet private room at the end of the house, with our own entrance. The hosts were friendly but not too forthcoming, and we looked forward to a peaceful stay.