Thursday 12th May 2022 – Die, France

 

A peaceful night only slightly disturbed by the clock in the church tower in the village that struck the hour twice, on the hour and about 4 or 5 minutes after the hour. I am not totally convinced of this but it couldn’t have been any other clock tower as the village only has one and we were too far from any other village to hear theirs.
Immediately after we left the aire, we started the serious ascent into the mountains with a series of hairpin bends. Great scenery was the reward for the slow climb. The road levelled off for the pass where we also crossed the border into France. Soon afterwards, we came to a queue of traffic. They had closed the road for roadworks and it was going to be another hour before it was reopened. Time for coffee. The lovely views helped the time pass quickly and we were soon on our way again on the long descent. We stopped for lunch with a view over the Lac de Serre Poncon before we descended further to Gap. Here we headed west to stop for the night at the historic town of Die. Parking at the aire (€10 for 24 hours) we strolled into the town for a quick look.
Die is an interesting town – a mixture of interesting buildings and rundown ones. There is obviously some poverty here, even though it is in the heart of a well-known wine-producing area. We asked in the tourist information office about places to eat as we wanted a typical French meal. They explained that most of the traditional restaurants would involve a drive but gave us a couple of options in the town centre.
Die is surrounded by a Roman wall and we walked along a section to the eastern gate – the Porte Saint Marcel – and found it very impressive. Partially 2^nd century but extensively remodelled in the 4^th century, it is remarkably intact and was added to in the Mediaeval period. We found that one of the recommended restaurants was closed on Thursdays but the other was open. The meal was acceptable but rather overpriced and not up to the standard that we expect in France. We did try some of the Clairette de Die, the famous wine of the area but, although the flavour was good, it was too sweet for our taste.

Photos: A typical view as we climbed just after leaving the aire; Queuing for the roadworks; View from the lunch spot looking over Le Lac de Serre Poncon; The well preserved Roman gate with Mediaeval additions.