We hit the road to our first stop of the day which was a tiny parking area at Le Thor. Here there are ruins of a fortified abbey perched on top of a hill. We had coffee to prepare us for the climb before setting out.
We clambered up the rough path until we came to the abbey. Despite being a ruin there is still quite a lot remaining. There were two or three sets of defensive walls which had high towers to protect them. Inside was a church and the remains of the monks accommodation and living areas. The view from the top was quite impressive - to the south we could see the Luberon mountain range which we drove around yesterday.
Returning to Kiki we continued northwards to the tiny walled town of Gigondas. The scenery along the route is mainly vineyards which fill every valley and south facing slope. Arriving at Gigondas we had lunch before climbing another hill up to the town. We climbed up the winding streets and a rough path until we reached the church at the top. The town walls which ran up the hillside on either side of the town were very impressive. In places the houses were built right against the wall clinging to the steeply rising ground. We made our way back down to Kiki and continued our journey.
Our stopping place for tonight in an Aire de Camping Car at Mirabel aux Baronnies. When we arrived we filled our water tank before parking up. We took a walk around this fortified hilltop town before our evening meal. There were several old water fountains around the town which has remarkably clear water. The other quirky things were lots of archways, either between buildings or seemingly randomly in the walls. This is a very picturesque place and Emma was busy with the camera.
We returned to Kiki via a roundabout route and had our supper before settling down for the evening.
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