Saoû & Département Drôme - Avril/Mai 2023

In April 2023 we traveled to Saoû, France to visit Nate (our son), Arielle, Eloïse & Luca. Our first stop was Paris, to recover from jet-lag, flânerie (stroll) & enjoy.

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We had a difficult time at the Paris-Gare-de-Lyon finding our train car & seat. We found the car & the seats were on the second level. A lovely Frenchman assisted us in getting our bags up the stairs. Once seated & underway it was a swift, comfortable ride of about two hours…

,,,to Valence where Nate was awaiting us for the 45 minute drive to Saoû.

We had prepared for our visit to Vallée De La Drôme having read this book given to us by the Moreaus. Our friend Caryn had also recommended Bruno, Chief of Police: A Novel of the French Countryside by Martin Walker. We were ready.

Most roundabouts in the Vallée De La Drôme have some decoration. In this case, Tin Tin’s rocket ship. This roundabout appeared two times in past versions of the Tour de France.

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On the way to Saoû from the TGV station in Valence, we stopped at the organic Artisanal Brewery of the Full Moon (Brasserie Artisanale de la Pleine Lune - Bar & Boutique), Chabeuil, to taste some brews.

Next stop was Brins de Terroir - Vente directe produits du terroir. "‘Things’ of the Region (Land)" "Direct sale of local products" to pick up some condiments for the house & our gîte (our lodging). Walnuts & almonds abound in this region.

As do chestnuts. They were not in season but the confiture châtaigne nature (plain chestnut jam) was delicious on our morning baguette & even in my tea. A Nate suggestion.

And check out the special porte clés (key ring) you can purchase here.

Look carefully.

Rocks. More on this later but there are plenty to encounter around here.

See arrow below.

It’s worthwhile to take the time to read these two pages for orientation to the remainder of the blog.

Gîtes de Chantebise, Saoû where our gîte was.

Formerly, “The marbles ball factory.”

VIew from our door.

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.15 mile stroll, past two donkeys & two horses on the left & a lavender field on the right down Route du Roc to Maison Libela where Nate, Arielle, Eloïse & Luca are living. You can see it peeking out behind the trees at the end of Rue Roc on the left.

Approaching “downtown” Saoû. theses buildings are 12th, 13th century…

Entrance to one of those buildings on Rue de l'Houme. This one is dated on the lentil 1367.

Rue de l'Houme.

Bike shop on Rue de l'Houme where one can rent an e bike.

River Verbe.

Town hall & behind it is the school that Eloïse & Luca attend.

Market day & walking tour of Saoû led by Eloïse.

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ANTIQUÉS - BROCANTE ANTIQUÉS - BROCANTE Achat - Vente (Purchase - Sale).

They were enjoying conversing with Eloïse in French. This was the first & only the 2nd man in France that I noticed wearing a beret. That was a lot different from my first experience in 1967.

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"GREVE GENERAL!" General strike!

Note the war years are different than what we learn in the USA. We entered WW I in 1917 & WW II in 1941.

Many, many cigarette smokers in France & many are using hand rolled cigarettes.

Pointed out to us by Eloïse.

“Le gendarme, the firebug, Pyrrhocoris apterus. They can be seen in tandem formation when mating which can take from 12 hours up to 7 days.” T’was the season. We observed this often.

From the front yard of Maison Libela.

View of the château from the back of Gîtes de Chantebise.

Lavender, & as you’ll see later canola, are major crops in this area.

Forêt de Saou.

Approaching the Auberge des Dauphins. (See 20, below.) “ in the heart of the forest of Saoû in the Drôme,…”

“… is a space dedicated to scientific, historical and environmental research.”

There’s also a restaurant where we had lunch.

Saoû, in orange, near entrance to the Forêt.

“The Saoû forest …(pronounced “sou” [su] is a mountain range and a forest massif made up of a perched syncline renowned as one of the highest in Europe.”

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Château de Grignen.

Grignen.

Grignen. We never had fried potatoes like this before.

Climbing the steps to the Château de Grignen.

Château de Grignen. Gorgeous ironwork.

Château de Grignen.

It’s good to be king!

His royal highness’ bed chamber.

Château de Grignen.

Grignen.

Exquisite roads for bicycle touring.

As we returned to Saoû; syncline of the "Forêt de Saou."

Maison Libela, Route du Roc.

Always bread available in Maison Libela.

View from Maison Libela of le Château.

.15 miles from Maison Libela to our gîte in Gîtes de Chantebise.

Rue de l'Houme.

L'épicerie de Saoû (l’ episiree)

L' ÉPICERIE.

“Picodon de Chevre is a goat's milk cheese produced in the mountains of the Ardeche and Drôme regions of France. Since 1983, it has been protected by Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status, which requires the cheese to be made only in the area extending from the Canton of Bariac in the Gard to Valreas in Vaucluse.”

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Bounty from the Boulangerie L'Atelier du Pain for petit-déjeuner, breakfast.

Hike with Luca.

Canola field.

Some, of many mountain bikers we saw along Rue Roc, returning from a ride. We were about to depart on one.

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Canola up close.

Tour de Crest (cray), Tower of Crest, the tallest keep in France.

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Déjeuner (lunch) - at Maison Moreau, Saint-Marcel-lès-Valence.

As we entered the Valley of the Drôme River, canola & lavender fields changed to vineyards. This is in Tain-l'Hermitage, across the street…

…from the la Cité du Chocolat, VALRHONA where we took a chocolate tour.

La rivière Drôme.

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Return to canola.

Saoû - La Fontaine Minerale Restaurant -woman with dangling cigarette. She soon went outside to light up.

Saoû - La Fontaine Minerale Restaurant.

Grands Magasins (Department Store) Delclaux - Dieulefit en Drôme Provençale.

Grands Magasins Delclaux.

Dieulefit en Drôme Provençale.

One of many Citroën 2CV’s seen in France. They were in production from 1948 until 1991.

Dieulefit en Drôme Provençale.

Dieulefit en Drôme Provençale. This is where I fell off a curb & my Fujifilm X30 camera was damaged. After a visit to my now patron saint San Salvatore’s church, Chiesa del S.S. Salvatore in Caltigirone, Sicily, Italy, it magically got repaired. More later.

Dieulefit en Drôme Provençale.

Le Poet-Laval - Medieval village -

We wandered through while it was raining. Nothing was open.

Picnic & hike in Le Forét de Saoû.

Picnic & hike in Le Forét de Saoû. The clouds kept moving & putting on a show.

Hike in Le Forét de Saoû.

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Hike in Le Forét de Saoû.

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Luca & Eloïse's music teacher, Mikki, lives here. How old is the building I inquired?

11th-12th century Mikki responded...

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Gîte Donjon de Lastic near the entrance to Le Forét de Saoû.

Entering Le Forét de Saoû on our way to les Arbres La Forêt S'Anime.

“On April 22 and 23, the Department invites you to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the acquisition of the Saoû forest and…”

“…the renovation of the Auberge des Dauphins during a great festive weekend.”

Les Clarines - Cie Transe Express.

Le piano perché.

She was singing in English, “I wanna be loved by you.” Folks were singing along.

Members of the troupe from Le piano perché.

Equi baila.

The white is the outline of what was the original Auberge des Dauphins.

Local products to be sampled.

The fellow with the white shock of hair was the 2nd from the right in the troupe Cie Transe Express.

It was nice that the performers mingled with the crowd post performance.

Le Saint Thiers Café-Brunch-Boutique.

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We spent a lot of time visiting L'ÉPICERIE.

"On June 30, 1944, the village of Saoû was devastated by a bombardment by the Nazi air force. 15 people were killed. For it’s participation in the Resistance, Saoû received the Croix de guerre."

Église romanesque.

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Gasoline Alley, Saoû.

We saw members of the troupe Equi baila here &…

...the mayor. He spoke to Eloïse's class about local government & Nate had picked grapes with him back in September. Small village living.

Sunday morning - Owner Thiery outside l'Oiseau sur sa branche: Restaurant à Saoû. Maison Familiale deouis 1865.

So many activities here.

Rock climbing.

Motorcycling, etc.

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Le Saint Thiers Café-Brunch-Boutique.

La brasserie MARKUS le précurseur de la bière artisanale dans la Drôme.

Brewery MARKUS the pioneer of craft beer in the Drôme is no longer in Saoû but still nearby.

Le Saint Thiers Café-Brunch-Boutique.

Owner Mylene Gilles.

Le Saint Thiers Café-Brunch-Boutique.

Mylene gave Nate his leftovers on a plate that he would bring back..

What we saw from the high point of our hike.

See photo below.

From Nate, showing the hike Nomi & I took with Eloïse & Luca.

What was found.

At our high point.

I finally saw a Citroën Traction Avant en situ.

This thirsty bike rider's water bottle was empty & try as he might, the water faucet had no water.

Sunset in Saoû.

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Thiery’s l'Oiseau sur sa branche: Restaurant à Saoû.

We were asked to guess the olive oil content. The kids did the best guessing.

The cheese course, of course.

Valence TGV Rhone-alpes Sud where we departed to Chas. de Gaulle airport.

The station supervisor, in the middle, was most helpful. He allowed Nate to join us on the platform, to find our car, seats & help us with our bags. Wow! Nate’s knowledge of the French language & culture paid off.