After returning from our National Science Foundation workshop in Portland (on Saturday), I left Texas on Tuesday, July 25 for France via Heathrow. I had a 5 hour layover in Heathrow before the next leg to Marseille. I also had to switch from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 at Heathrow. This isn't hard to do, but allow a minimum of 3 hours—4 hours if you know your flight will be delayed. Fortunately, the departure lounge in Terminal 3 is well stocked with stores and restaurants.
British Airways is okay, but not nearly as good as KLM or Air France. I upgraded to World Traveller Plus (AKA Premium Economy) on the Houston to Heathrow leg. It was well worth the price—better seats, better food, better service, and generally a better class of people. We had some minor delays getting out of Houston and there was no gate available for us at Heathrow. When we landed, we had to be bussed to the terminal, and we had to wait for the buses. It's a good thing that I did not have a tight connection.
I picked up my leased car in Marseille and drove an hour to Manosque, where I spent the night in an air conditioned hotel. In general, the car works great but there is no spare tire. Instead I have an inflation kit. Of course, the low tire pressure warning light went on when I was driving to Serre des Ormes on Saturday. I found a compressor at a gas station and checked the pressure in all four tires. It was 2.5 bar in each tire—about 36 psi. I have no idea what the problem is/was—maybe the heat. In any case the car will be parked at Serre des Ormes all week. There is a way to reset the low tire pressure indicator, which I will do as soon as I can figure out the instructions (in French of course). On Thursday, I drove to Castellane via Valensole (to see the lavender fields) and Digne-les-Bains (to buy some necessities for the next 7 weeks).
Castellane is a beautiful little town about 100 km inland from Nice and surrounded mountains. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the town is Notre-Dame du Roc (The Chapel of Our Lady of the Rock). The church sits atop rock which dominates the city, rising to 930 metres (3,051 feet) (over 200 metres (656 feet) above the Verdon). Castellane has a rather violent history. It was invaded by the Moors in 812, the city was traded back and forth between various members of the nobility over several centuries (usually this was not peaceful), and the Black Death arrived in 1348. Things didn't begin to calm down until the last century. Even then, an internment camp was built during World War II in Chaudanne, a small village near Castellane that you pass through on the way from Digne. Seventeen Jews were arrested in Castellane and deported.
I stayed at Ma Petit Auberge, a small hotel facing the town square. Breakfasts were adequate, dinners were very good, and there was a secure place to store my bicycle—no air conditioning however. After breakfast on Friday morning, I set out on my first ride—a loop south of Castellane over Côte de Saint-Thyrs, Col de Siron, and Col de Luens with a few significant bumps in between the cols (https://www.relive.cc/view/2486949139). I left early to beat the heat but I had to stop 200 meters below the summit of the last col and find some shade. It was 103 degrees.
I drove to Serre des Ormes on Saturday morning. Serre des Ormes is a little village northeast of Mont Ventoux, but that's the next blog post.
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