The last dregs of summer, 4 October 2022

It appears to be summer between the hours of 10:00 and 19:00 or thereabouts. Before and after, it can be very cold, and this morning it was very foggy. 

However, after breakfast we set off to the highlight of today, the Cirque de Navacelles, which my brother-in-law said was well worth seeing. The fog had lifted en route, and he was not wrong!

The photos simply don't do it justice. I found I could only look over for a few seconds at a time, or I got very dizzy, and the Swan Whisperer didn't help by practically climbing the retaining wall (he says he was perfectly safe, but then he would say that, wouldn't he?) to see if he could see the others, who had decided to walk down! Sooner them than me, and the SW wasn't able for a long walk today as he had had two in recent days and done his tendon a lot of no good. 

We had a drink in the Café there, but that was a bit of a failure as we ordered the very special home-made lemonade. The SW ordered plain and I ordered lemon/lavender, but honestly, all you could taste was sugar! It was appallingly sweet, quite revolting. At least it meant we weren't hungry, so we decided to drive on towards Bellegarde, where we are spending the night. 

It was awful, the first two hours of the drive. Firstly we drove down and down, hairpin after hairpin, horribly scary and sick-making, and when! we had gone about 20 km, the road turned out to be blocked, so we had to turn round. The Satnav did suggest a fairly sensible-looking diversion but the SW said he didn't like the look of it, so we had to go up a different set of hairpins, horrendously narrow, much worse than the first! I was so terrified I regret to say I screamed most of the way up and was thankful I'd had no lunch! I And as soon as we got to the top, we the SW said should we stop and have lunch?! It was a good 30 minutes before I could even think of eating anything...

However, after that it was a very pleasant drive along the D999 and then past Nîmes to this Camping-car park in Bellegard. Which is by a marina, rather nice! We don't think we'll meet up with the others again but you never know! 

The last dregs of summer, 3 October 2022

This evening finds us still at Nant. We had been going to move on, but it didn't happen!

This morning, the SW and the others went for a walk up to Le Roc de Nant.

Sooner them than me, is all I will say about that! I, meanwhile, had a glorious morning doing absolutely nothing!

When the others got home, it was lunch time and past, so we had our lunch and then sat around chatting and putting the world to rights. It was a lovely summer afternoon - I do wish I'd packed shorts - and by about 16:00, we all decided it was too late, and we were too comfortable, to move! 

I had had no exercise, so the SW kindly accompanied me into the town for a brief wander round the Old Town and then a beer in the old market halls. Tomorrow is market day here and the men were putting up barriers to do people parking in the Square. 

Then back to the WoMo and eventually I cooked a cauliflower cheese which was lovely.  And we will have to move on tomorrow! 

The last dregs of summer, 2 October 2022

It was much milder this morning, and I don't think the heating needed to come on at all. The SW went into the village to buy bread, and after breakfast we used the services before heading on. 

Today's drive was down the A75, such a lovely road, as far as Millau.

We listened to our church service en route which was a bit surreal! At Millau, we came off the motorway and drove cross country through the Gorges de la Tarn and past La Cavalerie - there was a French Foreign Legion barracks and also a military firing range, and like Salisbury Plain - to this little village called Nant, where we met up with the SW's brother and his wife. 

We had lunch sitting outside, because it was so lovely. The SW changed into shorts, but I haven't packed any. After lunch, the others all went for some long, healthy uphill walk to some chapel or other - local beauty spot, anyway - and I went for a potter around the mediaeval old town centre, complete with resident ginger monster! I wonder whether all mediaeval French towns have ginger cats.... 

Back at the WoMo, I read until it was time to get supper, and then fed everybody on chicken and vegetable stew with couscous and Moroccan seasonings. And very good it was, too - a pleasant evening in good company. 

The last dregs of summer, 1 October 2022

It was exactly 7 years ago that we set off in our then motor home on our first ever motorhome adventure, the Eleanor of Aquitaine tour. We have learnt a lot since then!

Meanwhile, it was not so cold this morning, although the heating still came on. There was an artisan bakery just around the corner from the campsite, and the SW popped up there for a baguette and croissants for breakfast. I had had another bad night, although my cold is very definitely almost over, and fell fast asleep after breakfast, but when I woke up, we went back to the bakery for some patisseries for lunch pudding!

Then we went into Nevers; we had hoped to park up by the Loire and have a quick look at the Cathedral but the parking was a bit full and not really suitable for motor homes, so we came away and I did a massive shop at an Intermarché and now won't need to get anything other than bread, and possibly milk, before Tuesday!

Then a very pleasant drive down the N7, A71, A79 and A75 to this Camping-car park at a place called Brassac-les-Mines. I did book, but it wasn't necessary

as I think there is only one other motor home there. The Swan Whisperer went out for a leg-stretch, and I watched videos, and now he is cooking our Saturday night sausages! 

The last dregs of summer, 30 September 2022

Stupid, stupid, stupid me! I forgot that the "nighttime" decongestant tablets really don't suit me, and took them. The net result was that I lay awake most of the night with a mouth so dry it merited its own hosepipe ban, and very restless. Dozed a bit, but woke every hour on the hour, so felt like chewed string this morning. No walks for me today, although I did pop into a supermarket for some necessities.

We had a very pleasant drive once we got away from the Paris area, mostly down the A77 (we decided it was worth paying tolls) to Nevers, where we have parked up in a small, free aire in a suburb called Marzy. Nice view, but I really didn't feel up to a walk, so read and dozed while the SW explored.  I did cook supper, which was mushroom omelettes. No photos today, so here is one from yestetday. 

The last dregs of summer, 29 September 2022

I slept really well last night, the first good night's sleep I have had since starting this cold! But we awoke to the sound of rain on the roof, and it was cold enough that we needed to turn the heating on while we dressed. The rain was away before we were, though, and we only met one brief, although sharp, shower en route. 

We told the Satnav that we didn't want to pay tolls as far as Abbéville, where I visited a Super U, but forgot to buy tea, which must be remedied tomorrow. By which time, the Swan Whisperer decided he liked the look of the non-toll route and it was, he said, only half an hour longer, so we went via Rouen and Evreux here to Sceaux. We are parked in the free car park for the Chateau de Sceaux (which the Satnav amused us by pronouncing it "Skucks"), and after a cup of tea we went for a rather slow walk around the Parc de Sceaux, which was absolutely gorgeous! More photos on Facebook, of course.

By the way, if you want a map of our travels and stops, do follow me on Polarsteps. Link on Facebook. 

The last dregs of summer, 28 September 2022

Back at the end of February, we went off down to the South of France to try to find the spring. This time we are going to try to salvage the last dregs of summer.. Although we don't know exactly where we are going after the first few days as we plan to meet up with the Swan Whisperer brother and his wife, who are touring in their motor home. 

My mother and sister have been on a cruise to the Norwegian fjords, and they returned today, so we all met up at no 6, we arrived about 5 minutes before they did. They unpacked their stuff while we loaded the van, and then they went to pick up the dog, who was staying with my sister's partner, and we headed off. 

Uneventful drive and crossing, and then a further hour to this Camping-Car park where we are spending the night. Supper was a German ready-meal that was edible, although not as nice as it looks on the packet!