Day 3: Dentelles de Montmirail - Sablet to Séguret, September 1st

Our first assignment for the day was to climb down all those stairs again and visit market day in the small town of Vaison La Romaine. It was the usual “farmer’s market” magnified times three.  Herbs, fresh produce, jewelry, soaps, table cloths, clothes, and lavender sachets in typical Provencal patterns were all offered. 

After visiting the marketplace and buying an item or two, we headed up the stone steps again to the hotels to grab our packs and head out for the hike of the day.

We took a van ride to our trail head in the Dentelles. Just south of Vaison-la-Romaine, the Dentelles de Montmirail  ("lace") are a fringe of jagged rock rising abruptly above the valley below. 

We began our hike in the tiny ville (town) of Sablet where we came across outdoor laundries used by the village women to scrub and clean their clothes. There were two pools of water - one for washing, one for rinsing.

We meandered through this small town and then began our trek uphill towards the ancient walled city of Séguret, one of the official "most beautiful villages in France".

This took most of the morning and we experienced a smattering of rain on the way. Once we reached the city itself, we wandered along the streets until we came to Restaurant Côté Terrasse. We had an enjoyable lunch of fresh salads and wine at this gorgeous terrace restaurant overlooking the cliffs below.

After lunch we hiked back to Sabalat and the vans. Next we were off to Gigondas to visit Les Vignerons De Gigonda – another winery where we spent a lazy warm summer afternoon sipping wines. 

  

We eventually returned to our hotels where I took a quick shower before yet again hiking down the grand stone stairway towards our dinner destination -- Auberge de La Bartavelle. This was Anne-Charlotte’s favorite restaurant, and a 5-star restaurant at that!

Before dinner, we visited the local Roman ruins which were incredible.   

I was particularly fascinated with the population of feral cats among these ruins! I took a short video of the cats which had clearly chosen the Roman remains as their own private abode. Although one can't tell from the video, there were literally hundreds of felines in this area.  

After the ruins we attended yet another 3-hour dinner beginning with an egg souffle and truffles. Very impressive!

We were also served a delicious pâté de foie gras with a condensed basalmic jam and an assortment of fruit on top. Dessert was a choice of chocolate cake or cheese plate.  All in all, an excellent meal. At the end the day we again climbed those steep stone stairs for the very last time and fell into bed.