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EASTER 2003 SOUTHERN FRANCE
This year we have taken advantage of a beautiful initiative of the Committee Regional Piedmont of the IMF for spend a different Easter from the usual one!
In reality we have participated to a motion-concentration unwound in the frame of the hinterland of the Blue Coast toward the mountains of the tall Provenza, more precisely in the beautiful town of Puget-Théniers, a country not certain "metropolitan" but very beautiful and pleasant!
The Italian organization, supported to the French friends has been impeccable and efficient, and she has allowed us of to spend the weekend of Easter in different and happy way, and even if it has rained she has been one however beautiful experience.
Pressing on the colored lines of the map you will find a small description of the single days.
Transfer in France: Bagnolo - Puget-Théniers
220 km.
Has finally arrived the day of the departure, let's load the motorbikes and street! Discarded the idea to cut from the hill of the Lombarda and to reach Puget from north, because of the recent snowfalls, we decide to pass from the sea and from the beautiful Blue Coast, that we reach through the piercing of the Tenda and her always beautiful val Roya.
The road is always the usual one: up to Wedge through the lowland of the saluzzese and then of the chief town, after Suburb St. Dalmazzo he takes to to climb for the val Vermenagna, crossing Roccavione, Vernante and Lemon, thin to reach the Tenda, where we take four drops of rain that put us in alarm!
Then he goes down! We cross the val Roya reaching before Tenda, reached Breil we divert for Ventimiglia and we return in Italy from where we continue for the waterfront.
From Ventimiglia we cross the border and trail Mentone we aim toward Nice managing ourselves in the traffic of this bridge Easter that, helped by a pale sun (for now!), has made to move quite a lot people.
Behind Montecarlo we decide to abandon the waterfront and we aim verse her Turbie, the road of the hinterland it is very faster in how much the traffic is almost entirely absent and in little time we are behind Nice from where we take for Tourrette-Levens (to back very happy choice not!) trying to get away from the chaos and with a lot of curves and tornanti we go down to Castagniers or on the fund valley of the Var from where we reach her Roquette and our Hotel.
After being us recorded and placed the baggages we think about reaching the organization to Puget, then resumption her motion we cross the last 40 kms. of the day, and unfortunately we find the rain that accompanies us for all her evening up to the return in room in night.
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83 km.
The day is not born under the best auspices! Rain!
We don't want to leave us to discourage, departs then the same, but being us recorded yesterday we are able to arrive with calm, the main point is to be you introduce to the regard of the mayor.
We are welcomed in common and after a brief discourse and the customary what is suitable we pass to craves him (from some!) refreshment, as if 40 were not enough already km. of rain!
Later we go to the saloon of the parties where we consume a good meal served by the organization and by the friends French.
It is customary then to move himself to the cafe for the coffee and to decide the to make himself: stubbornly we don't want to make the mold behind to a table, then harnessed of all point we depart for making the anticipated turn, even if under adverse conditions.
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Equipped of maps we take for Entrevaux beautiful town characterized from his/her protected medieval suburb, from the river Var and from his castle, gone beyond we have diverted it since national 202 and we take for Guillames, crossing even if, under the rain, the stupendous and unusual Gorgeses de Daluis, or of the throats and of the canyons dug by the rivers in the calcareous rock and from the almost violet color.
Be a really fascinating show, and deserves to take the rain! After Guillames we begin to climb toward the tallest point of our turn, that is the hill of Valberg to 1850 m.s.ms. that we find under a very beautiful snowfall, that accompanies us for the whole line after Valberg up to the country of Beuil.
Numbed out by this cold it programs we continue toward the second anticipated throats from the run or the Gorges du Cians, also them fascinating as the preceding ones, the cold cove and we can drive without having the snow on the visor! Happy for ours “undertaken” we have returned by now on the fund valley from where we reach, satisfied, Puget.
Making the commuters for the usual 40 kms, we take us a warm shower to take back us and then we reach ours new friends for the supper.
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Push HERE for the printable version of the map
129 km.
Luckily today the sun is with us and can depart suits an a little lighter!
Greeted the friends of these two days and with the loaded motorbikes, we prepare there on the road of the return following her indications of the trip of Pasquetta that unfortunately is jumped for the ugly time.
We return to Entrevaux, with his strong and the museum of the motorcycle, and old-fashioned, we follow the national 202 in direction of Annot, that however don't reach in how much we turn first for the lake of Castillon where we come through the hill de Toutes Aures.
We enter so in the beautiful town of Saint André, that ago him, that we leave the tall valley of the Verdon to enter nell tall valley of the aces, goes up again again for the small hill des Robines, we let the national 202 to take the 85 what it brings us up to the thermal town of Digne les Bains.
Anchors a tear and we leave the valleys a few solitary but surely very fascinating and characteristics for the overcrowding of the valley of the Durance that brings us up to Sisteron and his beautiful castle.
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230 km.
After having left Sisteron and his tourism, let's continue goes up again of the national 85 that, thanks to the her ampleness and to ours irresponsibility, allows us of the notable averages, up to her town of Tallard where the road returns “normal.”
Tabulated in the traffic of Pasquetta we follow for the lake of Serre Ponçon that we reach just in time for the lunch, consumed a lot “romantically” in a restaurant in shore to the it sand-blasts that the lake, almost completely in low water it has, left!
With calm we eat, thinking about the weekend departed and to the job that draws near unfortunately, and day-dreaming for the next bridges! After a rests we also leave again because we see that the clouds he is doing again under, we aim Briançon and we devour the kms that separate us not exaggerating too much for the traffic of the reentry,; arrived in the city we continue for the pass of the Monginevro that come to know have reopened only in forenoon, and are again in Italy!
The road by now it is the usual one of our turns: tabulated for the val Chisone we follow the vacationers and we reenter satisfied to house with the beauty of 923 kms. on the shoulders in few more than two days!
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