Claviers

I returned to Berlin at 11:00pm last Saturday. I was ‘over-tired’ and had difficulty to sleep. My body was in Berlin, but my head was still in Claviers.

Silsdeners may be asking where this is. Open a map of France and find Paris at the top in the middle. Go right down with your finger towards a large blue area. This is the Mediterranean Sea. Your finger should be on the coast around Montpellier. Move it to the right and you will find Nice.

Not far away is the Italian border. You may also find Cannes which is close by. Now move finger up a bit and you will see a district called La Var. Near the middle you will find a town called Draguignan. Up a bit more and Claviers is waiting for you!

It has all of 680 inhabitants and was built in the early middle ages on top of a rocky hill. Later additions were roads, water, drainage and electricity. Hannelore and Peter bought a house there in the mid-1990s and modernised it.

They retired there and I visited them four years ago. I planned to visit two years ago but had an accident and had to cancel at the last minute. It was great to see them again and enjoy seeing more of the area with them.

Here are a few photos of Claviers. One is of the market square with tables and chairs under three trees to keep you cool. One view is of the top of the hill where you can find a very old small church. It is next to a bench offering shade as you relax and look down the valley towards the coast.

Others are of the village from an approach road, and of a deep gorge a short drive away. I shall work on more photos and posts to share with you. Give me couple of days to do that.