Gorges de Verdon

Posted by Analyse at 9:29 PM

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I had been wanting to update this blog since our last leg of adventure but there are other priorities in life that needed to be addressed.. with higher priority! It had been a challenge lately to find equilibrium between work and family - knowing that the balance tended to tilt on the work side and not on the family side. Not a good tendency, really. There were several weeks where I worked like crazy, bringing my laptop to work at home till midnight, during weekends, and even during our vacation. But that crazy period is almost over. I could go back to my normal mode soon.

So, Gorges du Verdon. The Grand Canyon of France. I think I fell in love with the place - by its beauty and the diversity of activities it propose. There are a LOT of activities to do in this place - trekking, canyoning, biking, canöeing and kayaking to name a few. For us, it was simply heaven.

So how does a family of four, with two young girls, could enjoy such adventures?

Well, simple. Frenchguy would bike in the morning with some other bakasyonistas while the girls and I sleep till I-don't-know-what-time. After breakfast, we either play at the playground or swim at the pool. We will then start our family activity in the afternoon, after the nap, when the sun is less dangerous. We once rented a boat, a pedalo, to visit the gorges. We hiked several times - once at 3 hours with a 300m elevation change with Louna as the guide (I was too proud of her!). She walked, picked some flowers and followed the yellow trail without a lot of complaining. One of the hikes led us to a tunnel, 600m long where a flashlight was a must. Louna was afraid at first but enjoyed it nevertheless. Now, she knows what a tunnel is. It's dark inside!

Aside from the different activities to busy our day, appreciating Verdon's beautiful landscape was also part of the voyage. My camera never stopped clicking.

Lavander farm.

A picturesque hotel where we did not stay hehe.

Typical village in Verdon.

Lac de Ste Croix. The turquoise water was too inviting, too bad the temperature was way too low to my tolerance level, lol.