Today was provence village hopping day - we'd looked at some one day tour itineraries for the region and the villages they visited and thought we'd try that as a diy approach .
So we plugged them into our navigation app and headed off.
We arrived at the first village and tried to get to the parking area we had identified -
the navigation app that up until now had been pretty good, tried to take us under a 2m bridge (the camper van is over 3.2m high). Good thing there was plenty of signage and a side street to turn into.
Couldn't be the apps fault thought the driver - the navigator must have changed settings, but no - the height was still correctly set, definitely the apps mistake (phew!).
We tried to get to an alternative parking site, got there successfully but it was only suitable for cars we found out - after we had pulled in. Navigator now on traffic control as we had to reverse out of the car park back on to the narrow street.
By now we were all testy and the driver decided he'd had enough so we left without seeing the village - via a rough road that didn't improve our spirits at all.
We duly plugged in the next location hoping for better.
Fortunately the next village Fontaine was just what we needed. Situated on a river that came out an opening in the mountainside, with a short bush walk to the source. It felt a bit like a nz bush trail (though the limestone path was a lot more tourist friendly) - nice and soothing and good to calm the driver who is well and truly over driving in France (thank goodness there are only 2 driving days to go). Fontaine also had an old water wheel which was still in use on the river, and near the waterwheel a set of rapids and a slalom course, with some young children having a go - neat to watch.

The next stop on the list was Gordes - a provincial town on the side of a hill- fantastic views, lovely cobbled streets and an abundance of walls and buildings made of stone. Very pretty. Great for wandering around - parking was easier and the roads reasonable width despite the altitude of the location.

We headed off for our next stop but a reroute was in place, Further down the road an alternative route was also deviated, and then also a third option. Finally we found a road that was open -
we drove past lavender fields (these must look stunning when they are in flower),olive groves and grape vines - but there was much more wooded areas than expected. There were also lots of apple orchards in some areas which we werent expecting and a patch we drove through also had lots of bamboo, which was a big odd.

Having seen enough villages we ended up in a camping ground in another little village Moustiers St Marie further down the line - but not before encountering yet another closed road. A vehicle is a necessity for seeing this part of france and the campervan has been good but we're definitely looking forward to getting back onto public transport in a few days.
An after dinner walk through the village as the sun set was a nice ending to the day.

Darryl: Moustiers St Marie is lovely in the evening.
The provence countryside is very pretty.
April: Dad couldnt see Mum outside when she was trying to direct him and was getting even grumpier.
Sarah: The waterwheel was interesting - part of it was covered in moss, and it almost stopped each time it went round as the heavy bit got to the top. It was fun watching the kids go down the Rapids.
Scott: I liked watching the kayaking.