We met the tour group as well as one of our two guides at the Avignon train station. There are 16 hikers – 4 Canadians and 12 from the USA comprising a real mixture of ages and hiking experiences.
Today’s hike was a bit of a warm up comprising just over 12 Kms. But first we bussed to Lacoste, a hill top village 45 minutes east of Avignon. A delicious lunch awaited us in an outdoor restaurant overlooking a portion of the Luberon Valley.
From there we walked up into the town proper.
Narrow cobblestone streets and ancient buildings everywhere one looked. The climb to the top was quite steep and we shedded clothes as we went given the hot sunny weather.
At the summit were the remains of the castle once occupied by the Marquis de Sade, the 18th century writer who spent many years in prison for his deviant and corrupt writings.
Then we began our walk/hike to Menerbes and beyond to our hotel.
The trail was a mix of gravel roads beside farmer’s fields and the odd vineyard along with the occasional stretch of roadway.
Then there was a steep climb up into Menerbes. There the roads were crazy narrow yet cars could ascend most of the way into the town.
The view out over the Luberon valley was breathtaking as we wended our way down the back side of the hill/mountain to our hotel.
A very nice dinner as a group with plenty of the local wine capped off the day. Hopefully the remaining days of this portion of the trip are of the meandering type that we experienced today although tomorrow’s schedule is a bit more robust with two segments totaling 27 Kms.
The Bennetts On Tour 