La Drôme et l'Ardèche (April 2016)

11-15 April 2016:  Mary returned to Mirmande, in the Drôme, for another stage in her continuing massage course, and this time I accompanied her.  We stayed at the excellent chambres d'hôtes, Les Fougères.  While Mary participated in her stage, I explored the Drôme and the neighboring department, the Ardèche.  I joined the massage stagières and the owners of Les Fougères each evening for delicious, convivial dinners.

Les Fougères is a large, old farm building outside the village of Mirmande that has been converted into a comfortable inn:

Here are a few photos taken during my tourist excursions around the area.

Crest, with views of and from its imposing château:

Views of the Château de Grignan, famous as the residence of Madame de Sévigné's daughter, to whom Mme de Sévigné wrote many letters...

The snow-capped mountain in the background is Mont Ventoux, a famous finishing point in many Tour de France stages.

The Château de Suze-la-Rousse, which now houses an interesting museum and a University of Wine:

For my final day of tourism, I crossed the Rhone River and visited the Caverne du Pont-d'Arc, a recently-constructed replica of the "Grotte Chauvet" and its extraordinary prehistoric wall paintings (older, even, than those of the world-renowned Lascaux cave):

For my return to Mirmande, I followed the dramatic road above the Gorges de l'Ardèche: