2018 Bike Trip - Day 4

We all four rode for a while after leaving Manosque, then we once again split into pairs so that Tom and I could avoid some of the steeper hills.  We passed through farming areas with very green hills and fields.  One village we passed was setting up for a sort of Renaissance Fair, something the French love to participate in. The odd thing is that Roger and Gérard, on their route, also passed through a village with a Renaissance fair.

Heading up the hill after splitting up

 We had to backtrack a mile or so at one point as we had missed our turn.  We then found ourselves on a road that had once been a railroad right-of-way, so there were no hills for a while.  As it got towards noon we looked around for a town to have lunch in.  The nearest one was St-Michel L’Observatoire, which was actually on our original route.  We headed for it and discovered we had a 3km uphill climb to reach it.  I managed to bike a large portion of it, so got ahead of Tom.

Near the town, which is atop a hill, is a government astronomical observatory on an adjacent hill, hence the name.  As I waited for Tom just below the town, a man came by carrying several baguettes.  I asked him if there was a restaurant up in the town, and he said there was.  I then watched a large tour bus disgorge about 40 people who headed up to the town, presumably for lunch. Tom then appeared, and we headed up to the town square.   I was a bit worried that the restaurant would not have room for us, but they found us a table.

We apologetically were asked to change tables after we arrived as they had a big family group they wanted to set up for.  No problem – we moved to nearby table and ordered lunch.  Really excellent pork that had been cooked for several hours with a delicious honey-mustard sauce.  Also had a nice bit of rosé to go with it.  We spent a very leisurely lunch, about 2 hours and 40 minutes!  Below are pictures of our plats - note the fabulous presentation in this very small village!

 

David's Plat

 

Tom's Plat

 Two charming efficient women, along with one man appeared to be handling all the tables with 60+ people. 

After lunch, we walked around the square with its World War I monument inscribed with the names of the village’s many dead.  We noticed that the buildings around the square all appeared to be in excellent repair so the village is apparently very prosperous – tourists and the observatory.  There is a great view over the surrounding countryside from the edge of the square.

Most of the rest of our ride to Céreste was easy, much of it downhill - at one point my speedometer recorded 46km/hour!  On arrival in Céreste we were surprised to find Gérard and Roger already there.  It turned out they had also taken a shortcut after leaving Forcalquier, which Tom and I had bypassed before lunch.  Tom and I had covered 42km, Roger and Gérard a bit more.

I thought the hotel was a nice little place – a bit warm with no A/C – but found out later that Roger and company’s room smelled of cigarette smoke.  When they talked to the manager about it, they did not receive a very service-oriented response.

Hotel in Céreste

I did my usual exploration of the town with the help of a map from the nice lady at the tourist office.  The town was a Roman town, on the Via Domitia that linked several Roman towns in the area.  A flood in the river through town a few years ago uncovered the foundations of an original Roman bridge.  There are also several old buildings from the Middle Ages.

Information about the Roman Road

Close-up of the map

Old Town Gate in Céreste

Medieval House in Céreste

For dinner we went to nearby restaurant.  I was not very hungry after all that food at lunch but had a great entrée of a mushroom-ravioli soup that was delicious.  Tom and I split a fish dish for the plat that was quite good, with another excellent rosé chosen by our serveur.  For dessert – always necessary, I had a very nice moelleux au chocolat with vanilla ice cream.

Dinner in Céreste

Excellent local rosé

Next door was a jazz venue with a small combo – two saxes and a drummer - that we adjourned to after dinner, along with wine and beer while we listened.