After leaving Valensole, I was heading in the direction of the Gorges du Verdon. I wanted to be there first thing in the morning so set about finding a campsite near to there. The site I picked, mostly because it looked cheap and decent enough, was one of the biggest surprises of my whole trip - I found a most beautiful village tucked in amongst mountains, called Moustiers-Sainte-Marie.
I left Valensole and drove along a few roads with lavender and some with another purple plant called Salvia, but it was getting less and less as I headed towards the mountains. Then all of a sudden I was driving down roads through these mountains! They'd looked so far away!
I got to the campsite and went to see if they had a spot available - it was really busy! But I was in luck and I parked up, barely taking my eyes off the amazing view before me. I hopped out of the camper, locked up and walked into the village, with this view the entire time...
Honestly, Moustiers was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Not only did it have the big mountains, but it had a gold star strung between them which had been hanging there since the 10th century. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, that's just the story they tell. The current star is about 50 years old. On top of that, there is a mountain river running down through the village which makes the entire place seem a little surreal - too pretty to be true. So here is the proof:
I walked to the opposite end of the village to where most of the tourists were in order to walk up to the church on the mountain. I was on a much more rugged path which suited me fine! It was an amazing walk up to the church, with views over the valley below and all the red rooftops of Moustiers.
Once I'd made it back down again, I had another wander around as the sun was starting to make an appearance and everything was looking pretty!
I made my way back to the campsite and my camper. This was taken in the campsite - still can't get over that view!
After I'd made and eaten dinner, I went to wash up but hurried back to the camper again after I'd seen the view. I went back to dump off my washing up and grab my camera and tripod, as the village of Moustiers was glowing with lights in the evening light. It's not the best photo ever, because it started to rain and I couldn't really see what I was doing (rookie mistake not to bring my phone or torch with me...). But this was taken from the campsite that evening.
I then did the washing up, set my alarm for early the next day, and went to sleep.
Campsite: Camping Saint Jean
Rating: 8.5 - clean and tidy campsite with lots of hedges. Great view and easy, if steep, walk into the village. Loses marks because of the key system, which you have to leave a deposit for just to save 5 mins walking (needless to say, I didn't pay it and walked the extra).