A Day in Donzère and Viviers

Time for another France flashback! This is a huge photo filled post about the things we did, saw and ate on our first day in the beautiful Ardèche-Drôme. Sorry for the long post, but #sorrynotsorry. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

When we arrived at La Devinière, we had already figured out that both of us had forgotten to bring our toothbrushes. Yeah, that's what happens when you think you've thought of EVERYTHING. But this had a positive consequence as well: the first morning revolved around exploring Donzère, the town we were staying in, and a search for dental hygiene. We allowed our search to take us wherever, and in the end we explored all of Donzère and kept following the road long after finding what we were looking for. The day brought us from Donzère to the Faucet bridge over the river Rhône, through sunflower fields to a neighbouring town called Viviers. At the end of the afternoon, we were completely head over heels with the Ardèche-Drôme.

Donzère: winding roads, cobblestone everything, mediterranean foliage and a couple of friendly cats.

On me: & Other Stories floral dress, Oakley Frogskin mirrored sunglasses, Quechua hiking sandals. On him: Zara Hawaiian shirt, H&M linnen trousers

Onwards to the Rhône, the Faucet bridge, sunflowers and the first taste of the Ardèche, which was just across the river.

The river banks were calm, sunny, extremely windy and awash with the sound of cicadas: perfect for a little stroll.

A short drive after crossing the river, we encountered Viviers and thought it was too pretty to pass without stopping. So we parked our car and climbed the hill towards the old cathedral, which came with some lovely views and a lot of wind.

At this time, it was already late afternoon and we decided to make our way back to the BnB to prepare for dinner (aka put on our hats). We ended up following the lead of one of our fellow guests, who recommended pizzeria Des Remparts in Chateauneuf du Rhône. We called to make reservations, but when we arrived we felt completely ridiculous since the pizzeria was basically a small, cheap take away venue with ramshackle plastic chairs and tables. However, we were very hungry and in a totally glass-half-full mood after a lovely day of sun, sights and the wind in our hair, so we sat down and ordered two pizzas using our best French. My boyfriend went with the Caraïbes pizza (cream with seafood), I picked the Végétarienne. Turns out, this was probably the best fucking pizza place in the entire south of France. I'm quite picky when it comes to pizza and this one was absolutely fingerlicking good. Just the right amount of perfectly seasoned vegetables on a moist yet crispy base. I'll forever remember that pizza.

The host sort of pressured us into ordering more wine than we had planned to consume, but this also made the evening ridiculously funny as both of us were definitely at a stage beyond giddy after we finished our plates. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. A perfect day filled with small adventures.

You can read my other France posts here: 
- La Devinière
- Marché Provençale de Nyons and le Mont Ventoux
- Balazuc and the Ardèche