Barcelonnette

Yeah, you are right, we are off the trail. We got into Larche after a difficult downhill and the next morning it was raining and we did not want to chance a wet hike on steep crumbly trails and there is not much in Larch, so we got a ride here.



Barcelonnette is very interesting. It is situated in the Ubaye River Valley and is on the auto grand tour of the Alps. Lots of bicyclists taking advantage of a place where they can do seven big passes and just stay in one town. So it is very busy here, but also very historic. The town is all narrow streets and cobblestones.



There is a big Mexican influence on the area because when Mexico was a colony of France many people from this valley moved to Mexico to start a Mexican textile industry. So they have Mexican style villas, Mexican food, a street named after Porfirio Diaz, a plaque comemorating the Mexican soldiers who died fighting for France in WW I, and even a Mexican souvenir shop.



The weather is changing back to sunshine so we will be back on the trail again tomorrow for the last push to Nice. We even started looking for a place to stay there today.



Here are a few photos:



That is the knife edge Crete des Gittes.

View of the mountains from the deck at Refuge La Presset.

The kitchen at Refuge les Presset. The cook produced crudities, carbonara, fresh pears with chocolatre sauce with wine cheese and bread for 11 people who ate in the same room. By the end of the evening there were 20 people staying at the refuge all sleeping in a single room.

On the deck at i re Magi Refuge.

The three Magi on the ridge above the refuge.

View from Col de Thurs.

Lac Mirrior

Col de Mallemort, and contemplating sore feet going down.

Looking back at the Col Mallemort on the way down to Larche.