Grasse, Route Napoleon and Sisteron - Day 11

The next morning we left Cannes and went on the Route Napoleon to Lyons. Our first stop was at Grasse, the perfume capital of France. We dropped into one of the many perfume factories, Fragonard. There were old chemistry instrument on display and we toured the modern laboratory.

Checking your fragrant bar of soap and the nicely packaged perfume for your wife or girl friend at the shop. Or both!

We were on the Route Napoleon. This was the route that Napoleon took on his escape from the island of Elba back to Paris. It was a scenic hilly drive into the Alps. The first rest stop was at Castellane. Long queue at the public WC with the chapel atop a cliff keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.the Gorges du Verdon as backdrop.

Castellane is the starting point for those visiting the Gorges du Verdon. The town has a certain charm.

We continued on the Route Napoleon where Simeon gave us a history lesson on Napoleon. Nice scenery along the route, it makes one wonder how this feat of building the road through the mountains was done.

The lunch break was at Sisteron, a town famous for its sheep. So guess what we had for lunch? Lamb, of course. It was tender, tasty and cheap as the set meal of the day.

The town church and its interior.

Colourful stained glass.

The town square.

Other shots of the pleasant town.

Our next rest stop was at a meadow where we had our group photo taken.

Our careful driver and our clowning tour manager for rememberance.

We reached Lyon in the evening and had our dinner at the hotel. It was out of town and there were no outing tonight after a long bus ride.

Ronald Kwok