Our drive to La Grave is glorious. Endless mountains, the bluest of lakes, ski chalets, snow! I’ll take a view with the lot thanks.
As beautiful as it is, there’s no denying it’s a long drive. Himself is certainly put through his paces as we climb, descend and climb again, seemingly on permanent repeat. In rainy conditions too.
Hours later, road signs flash an ominous message. Road closures ahead. Oh no, not after all this way. We’ve been diverted once already – are we stuck in an endless loop through the Alps? Google doesn’t offer much by way of explanation. The French roads site even less. We press on, hopeful, as the alternative is a 270 km diversion that takes us into Italy but further on, a very large sign indeed stops us cold. This one clearly means business. It names the towns involved but we’re none the wiser. We’re not the only ones. Another driver pulls in, just as confused as we are. I consult Maps again and conclude we might just squeak through. I vote we press ahead and we do, but we appear to be the only vehicle on the road.
11 km out from Le Graves, the picture becomes clear – a bike race. Not the Tour but a serious race none the less, covering hundreds of kilometres. Motorhomes are lined up in support and we’re soon stopped by race officials as riders zoom by. Is this it? Have we been thwarted mere kilometres from our destination after a whole day’s drive?
Incredibly, they wave us through when there’s a gap in riders. Himself sets our speed to the cyclists’ – it wouldn’t do to mess with their pace, or worse, impede them, not at these speeds. Luckily it’s downhill and they’re flying along. We cruise into Le Graves, grateful to have been let through. There’s a small glitch at the end – the turn to the campsite would mean cutting across riders, far too dangerous. But we’re here and can park elsewhere and explore. The racers meanwhile keep zooming through.
Up we go. There’s one thing all the villages in Provence have had in common – steep ascents!
The 11th century Eglise Notre Dame is of course right at the top. It has one of the prettiest cemeteries I’ve seen, strewn with flowers and snow capped mountains as a backdrop.
Lower down stone house feature with great views over the mountains. La Grave is famed for its cable car, enabling access to the Meije Glacier at the dizzying height of 3,983 metres. We’re looking forward to exploring it tomorrow.
La Grave certainly is at the top of the world – despite the inclement weather and omnipresent clouds, it’s a breathtaking setting – the mountains look close enough to touch.
The road reopens at 6 pm – we can finally cross the to the campsite. It’s a great setting under the mountains and next to a raging river – the spring melt shows no sign of easing.
Hopefully the weather will clear tomorrow. I don’t fancy riding the cable car in high winds.
Miss Baci Travels 