drove to the Hautes-Alpes (90min from Aix) for my first Tour de France experience outside of Paris…read more- Stage 17 from Gap to Pinerolo, a 179km climb from the Pyrénées up alpine steeps, one of the most grueling legs of this race. sure seemed like the entire town turned up with fans from all over the world, Norwegians very visible, out to support countryman Edvald Hagen who went on to win the stage finish in Italy. another highlight of the day was a meal at this bar à vin where we had loads of local stuff like charcuterie, cheeses, brochettes d'agneau and very yummy basil ice cream.

Disclaimer: this is a review for the absolutely terrible service I received from the owner/manager…read moreof the restaurant. The food was good, not great but good. The ambiance was also good. Last night I ordered the beef and I asked for it to be cooked medium. This was probably my first mistake, I admit, but historically for my taste I have found that medium rare is usually a bit too bloody for me. Regardless, medium does not equal well done. When I received my plate the meat was completely well done, no signs of pink and hard and chewy. Multiple people at my table confirmed this and in not wanting to pay almost 40euro for a beef rock, I sent it back. A few minutes later, the owner came out and scolded me in French that I had no idea what I was talking about and that the chef had cooked it perfectly. She preceded to say other things in which I could not decipher and caused a whole scene for our table and the others around us. I just asked that she bring me a different menu item then...instead of the beef and left it at that. My other plate came out half plated and definitely not as nice as the other plates of the same order but by that point I just ate it. When it came time for our check, they had decided to charge me for both plates despite the fact that no one mentioned this to us. Again, the owner was very defensive and argumentative with us when we asked about our check, causing another very uncomfortable scene. My take home...is that she is a terrible representation of the rest of her restaurant and she seriously needs to take a lesson in customer service. If you come here, order, get what you get and don't complain or it will be a very uncomfortable event for everyone in the building.