midday
It is an ascent always -- follows La Tourette , a fortified village high above the road on the right . Then the road becomes dangerous . There are places between Levens and St. Jean de la Rivière where to make a false step is to fall a thousand feet . One hears the Vesubie roaring far below , but the river is invisible -- it is dark even at midday . The great cliffs are unbroken by a tree or a pathway . This is the Col du Dragon , a great height . In descending one passes through a long tunnel cut in the rock , and that is half-way .