After a quiet couple of days poking around Puy-en-Valet it was time to head for the Ardeche – a different shape of countryside and different “Plus Beau Villages de France” to see. Our plan was to have a lunch-picnic at the top of a local mountain, Mont Gerbier-du-Jonc, which was on the route to our next B&B (as the crow flies).
It was a rainy morning though, so we thought that we might end up skipping the climb and the picnic, and just see what we could see of the view from the car, before continuing.
As soon as we actually got moving, though, even that plan seemed overly optimistic: it started to snow…
Ed: I’ve tried one of the “gallery” features here, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet. If you click on the first image, below, you will get to a photo-gallery thing with large images and helpful “next” links. Just what I wanted. Problem is that it also has some images that don’t belong to this post and some that do belong don’t show up below. I’m sure I’ll figure it out eventually. Any WordPress experts with suggestions?
Eventually we got down below the snow-line and the snow turned into rain. We stopped at Thueyts for lunch and then up through Val-les-Bains to our B&B near Antraigues-sur-Volane.
Of course it wasn’t quite as simple as that: the B&B had provided GPS coordinates, which was helpful, but when she (the Garmin, AKA “the navigatrix”, to rhyme with “dominatrix”) said “arriving at Destination, on Right”, there was nothing to be seen. So we pressed on to Antraigues-sur-Volane, looking for signposts, and didn’t find any. We left the village via a different route, and just as we saw the “not in Antraigues” sign, we also saw a little sign pointing to L’Angelot, down a tight right-hand hairpin off the side of the road. We followed, and then another arrow, across a little bridge, and another arrow, up a steep grade, and finally we pulled up to a small car-park near the house, on exactly the opposite side of the valley from the spot where the GPS had originally claimed that we were “there”. Lesson: if the destination isn’t on a road known to the GPS, then it will assume that you meant the closest point on one of the roads that it does know about. Do not panic, just look carefully for the way in…
Comments
One response to “To the Ardeche via snow”
Ooooooo…..I don’t envy you the snowy mountain driving! Especially with your navigatrix! (he he)…..You seem to be enjoying your trip very much — is there art where you are? And where, oh where, are you off to next?