Aviation Tour - Maps on www.bankleft.com

What exactly is going on here? We randomly stumbled across this Chateaux with a collection of presumably exmilitary planes. There is no runway or airfield in sight.

Conditions were sweltering upon arrival at Avignon. The dry brown landscape if Provence was a stark contrast after Annecy. I'm wearing my beanie to justify having brought it (along with other typical London clothes that were never worn).

Avignon was the centre of Catholicism while 5 popes resided there in the 13th Centurary (typical church vs state troubles in Rome at the time). Along with a medieval walled city, there is a spectacular palace that the popes built on a hill within the city walls;

Pont d'Avignon:

Gigondas - brutal steep terrain, we wandered around the village and dropped in on Domaine le Boussiere and Chateua de St Cosme;

Chateauneuf du Pape - summer house for the popes while they were at Avignon. The large white stones that are typical of the area increase the thermal mass of the soil. We only visited one winery here, domaine de Christia which is run by a lady our age who has lived in Melbourne. The wines were mind bending. We tasted some that Parker rated 96 and 98.

Rasteau - just north of Gigondas and Chateauneuf du Pape, we checked Domaine de la Soumade and Coteaux de Travers before driving the hire car up through the bell tower at the top of the village;