Provence
It is often called the Giant of Provence. The official name is Mont Ventoux. It is 1912 meters high – Ventoux means windy. It can gust up to 193 mph. Tour de France enthusiasts know all about it, for the race has ascended Ventoux thirteen times since 1951; there is a memorial to the great British rider Tom Simpson who died on the peak from heat exhaustion in 1967.
Associated with the Mont is the dentelles de Montmirail, a curious rock-structure (best viewed from the tiny village of Suzette) which resembles lace, hence the name. But this is a country that merits so much more than mere sightseeing. For here is the centre of the Provençal herb legend where the earth is blue for miles around, thanks to a famous wild shrub: Sault is the biggest lavender market in the world, and all the dry, special, herbs intrinsic to French country cooking are at their best and most sought-after here. And it was here, in the heart of the Drôme, as the area is also known, that Gilbert Ducros founded his spice business which quickly grew into a national cult, thanks to his telegenic genius.