Early Spring Holiday, 8 March 2026

Bellerive-sur-Allier, Allier

Today made a lovely change from the wet days we've been having recently.  It was very cold overnight, and I rather wished, after I'd got up to use the loo, that I'd had a hot-water bottle!  And my clock said it was only 10°C when my alarm went off!  But it soon warmed up, and today has actually been a lovely warm, sunny day!

The Swan Whisperer went into the town before breakfast and bought a baguette and some Sunday patisserie (pear tarts, which I found slightly disappointing - too sweet, and not enough pear flavour).   We actually had ordinary toast for breakfast, as it was boiled eggs, and you can't make soldiers out of a baguette!

After breakfast, we visited the services and then drove into Maissiac, where we found a car park very near the centre, and had a lovely wander round.  The town is so very pretty - just the sort of mediaeval village I love, with just enough modern buildings and so on to keep it interesting and relevant.  There was a lovely modern complex with the Mairie and the schools - an elementary school and a "maternelle" (nursery school), at any rate; I don't know where the older children go.

Photospam on Facebook!  When we had finished our walk, we called in at a different patisserie and bought a couple of quiches for our lunch, which were very good.  We then went back to the motor home and had coffee, and by the time we had had that, it was time to watch our church service on livestream.  When that was pretty much finishing, we had our lunch - including the disappointing tarts - and then we set off to come here, which is on the outskirts of Vichy.  Last time we were here, it was very disappointing as the park was being renovated (which the French always amuse me by calling "relooking"), and there was very little to see.  The Swan Whisperer says it isn't finished yet - he went on an explore - but most of it is looking very grand.  

It was a lovely afternoon, and, along with many other people in this aire, we sat out for a bit.  The SW said that there were simply no parking places anywhere along the river - but on the first fine and warm Sunday afternoon of the year, what do you expect?  However, it cooled down, of course, and I was just moving back into the WoMo when the SW returned, so he put the chairs and table away - and just as he came in to sit down, it started to rain!  Only a very brief shower, but of course the other motorhomes here were rushing about to put their tables and chairs in.... We felt smug that we'd got ours in in time!  This place isn't a Camping-Car park, for once (I think the SW feels about CCPs like he used to about Ibis hotels - you always know what you're going to get), but it is in many ways even nicer.  Well, nicer than some - they do vary!  And, like the CCPs, we have electricity, and allegedly WiFi (which basically doesn't really work unless you are parked up absolutely snug to the router), and of course all services.

Early Spring Holiday, 7 March 2026

Massiac, Cantal

Another very wet morning.  The Swan Whisperer went for a walk round La Cavalerie, but my eyes are still slightly playing sillybuggers after the bites, and I decided to stay in the dry!

We had some discussion about where to spend the night.  Originally I had planned to spend last night at St-Hippolyte-du-Fort, but then changed it to La Cavalerie, which is actually a lot further from St-Hippolyte-du-Fort than I thought it was!  So where we had planned to spend tonight was rather too near.  So the Swan Whisperer discovered this Camping-Car Park in this little town of Massiac, just off the A75.  It's the kind that is a campsite in the summer, and a motorhome aire in the off-season.  I think we are the only people here, despite the fact that it is so  near the motorway, and has over 80 pitches!  It actually has usable WiFi, which makes a change - we are making the most of it!

However, I think we made a bit of a nonsense of today's journey!  Had we been going straight from St-Hippolyte-du-Fort to the motorway, it would have made sense to have shopped in the Auchan in Millau first.  However, what I hadn't realised was that the SW wanted to drive under the viaduct, and to do that first, rather than shop first and then go under the viaduct!  So in fact it would have made more sense to have shopped at the E Leclerc or similar - we had lunch in its car-park once - rather than go all the way to Auchan.  However,  it did mean a rather lovely drive through Millau, and we were in no real rush.

Except that I should have liked to have stopped at the aire du Garabit-Viaduc Eiffel, where we could probably have bought sandwiches for lunch and maybe even patisseries.  However, it was too late for that, but we did stop in an aire - forget which one - that sold local produce and got bread and also some cheese.  Not Roquefort  - we already have some of that, although only the rather industrial "Société"  This is a "Brique" made from sheep's milk, and 'M looking forward to trying it, as I do love briques made from both cows' and goats' milk!  I'd been really fancying a "jambon beurre" and had bought ham in Auchan, so that's what I had (and half an avocado and half a tomato) and very good it was, too.

We drove on up the A75, fortunately now out of the rain although you couldn't exactly call the weather very nice, stopping near Lorzac for the SW to have coffee and some fresh air.  We debated stopping at the Viaduc Eiffel, but you can see it from the road, so we decided honour was satisfied!  I didn't have time to take a photo, though, so today's photos are all rather bad ones of the Millau viaduct.

Maissac looks like a lovely small town, and I hope to explore in the morning, if the weather behaves (I think it will); the SW did go for a walk round and says it is as lovely as it looks.

Early Spring Holiday, 6 March 2006

La Cavalerie, Aveyron

Last night, when I was practising tai chi outside the van, I was tormented and distracted by flying insects.  I had, unfortunately, taken off my spectacles and left them in the motor home, only to discover, some hours later, that I have an insect bite on my right eyebrow- and just underneath my left one!  And two eyes that are nearly swollen shut, and very uncomfortable - and me not feeling very great.

Plus the price of diesel has gone up by 30 cents a litre since the attacks on Iran.  And it is raining, and it is cold.

All of which sounds very pessimistic, and I must admit, I've had better days!

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and after breakfast we headed along the D999, stopping at a random Carrefour en route for a little shopping, including a decent citrus press - the one we have has too small a dome to be comfortable juicing oranges, and the nicer one is at home!  Also some more blood oranges, which are much cheaper here than they are at home.

We stopped in St Hippolyte-du-Fort to have our lunch, noticing the turnoff to Monoblet, where a friend has a house. but she's still in the UK just now.  It was still raining, so we didn't explore, but it looks like a town that would be worth exploring, as would various others along the route.  One town, Quissac, I think, even had a very promising-looking mediaeval centre.  We arrived up at La Cavalerie mid-afternoon; I promptly collapsed on the bed and went to sleep - I don't know whether the Swan Whisperer went for a walk or not.  If the weather is not significantly better in the morning we won't be doing our usual trek round the ramparts!  Or I won't be, anyway!  We plan to shop in Millau, which is only a few kilometres away, and maybe stop for lunch in the aire du Garabit, with the lovely railway viaduct.  If their visitor centre is open, we can get lunch there.

This photo is of the view from my bedroom window today - note the leaves on the trees, despite being at about 800 metres!

Early Spring Holiday, 5 March 2026

Bellegarde, Gard

Winter decided it wasn't quite ready to depart just yet, and today was very wintry!  It started off wet, and pretty much stayed that way.  The SW didn't want to go for a run, as it was so wet, but did get a 15-minute leg-stretch before breakfast and between showers!

{Antique-looking tractor in the barn at Mas Alart. The Swan Whisperer was fascinated!) 

We are a day ahead of ourselves, and spent a long time this morning trying to work out where we would like to spend the night before heading up to La Cavallerie tomorrow and getting back on track. Eventually we gave up, and went into the shop to say goodbye to Madame, who was on duty.  She showed us the relief map of the area which we hadn't really seen before, and pointed out that their particular area of France - they are between Perpignan and the coast - was once an independent Catalonia, but was divided between France and Spain in the 17th century.  I hadn't realised it came so far north!  The French Catalans, if Madame is typical, are proud of being Catalan, but quite happy to belong to France as well, unlike their Spanish cohorts, who would really rather be independent.

(Vines and olive tree at Mas Alart) 

Anyway, once we had made our farewells, we headed off to the local Lidl, where I did a shopping (we always go to that Lidl when we go to Mas Alart, it's one of our things!) while the SW had coffee, and when I came out, he said he had asked the Satnav to take us to the coast where we could park up, have lunch and make a final decision.  I was not very impressed by the sight of the Mediterranean today - all grey and very rough! 

We ummed and aahed - lots of places we would have liked to have gone, but this one was too expensive, especially as it didn't offer electricity; that one was much too expensive in the off-season; the other one was either full or closed.... Finally we settled on Bellegarde, where we have been before - the aire is beside the river port, and really rather pleasant, although nowhere to go for a walk without having to come back on yourself.  

We arrived about 17:30, and had a cup of tea, and then the SW went for a walk and I did a tai chi practice (my usual habit if I haven't had enough exercise), and then I made a butternut squash and mushroom risotto for supper, and very good it was, too!

Early Spring Holiday 4 March 2026

Mas Alart, Pyrenees-Orientales

The Swan Whisperer went over to the convenience store across the road first thing and bought croissants for breakfast, which were nice.  After breakfast, I went over and got what we needed for the day, and then the SW went for a walk, which he enjoyed.  We decided to drive to Quillan and have lunch there, and a walk round the town.  But oh, it is such a sad little town.  It is very pretty, with a river running through it - and a notice for anglers explaining where the town beat was, which fish were in season when, and that it was catch-and-release exclusively.  Apparently the river was used to float logs down to the mills - we saw several of the lorries that now perform this function during our day.

Anyway, the sad thing about Quillan was that almost all the shops were empty.  I saw a convenience store, a pharmacy (of course), whose window display made me smile,

a second-hand shop and an English bookshop, the latter only opening two hours a day.  Later I did see a post office and a gendarmerie, but where we walked was empty shop after empty shop, so sad, so depressing!

So we came away, and drove up to Atax, where there is a little railway that you can hire pedal-powered machines to go on.  The Swan Whisperer would have quite liked to, but the first free slot wasn't until tomorrow, so we didn't.  Instead, we drove along the lovely D117 to Perpignan, and then to Mas Alart.  They do seem to have partly, at least, built the faster road to the coast, and the poor Satnav had serious indigestion about it!  It is so new that not all the signs are up yet, and we did turn left where we arguably should have turned right, but ended up in Cabestany, although we had missed most of the roundabouts!  

I don't know whether the Belmas' are away at the moment, but it was the son who welcomed us and who sold us our wine.  For once, we are the only outfit here, which is nice.  We decided we would stay here for the night, and although the SW did shake out the fidgets, we have been here ever since.  I had to frog a bit of my knitting (not too disastrously), so have been trying to catch up on that, and also reading.  I made shakshuka for supper, which I hadn't made for awhile, and it was delicious.  In a bit, it will be time for our Lent Bible Study.  We are a day ahead of ourselves, and not quite sure where we will fit in another day, but I expect we'll find something.  France is such a lovely country, and we can either revisit places we know we like, or try new ones!  Or, indeed, a mix of both.

Early spring holiday, 3 March 2026

Bélesta, Ariège

A much better day!  I don't know what the Swan Whisperer did to either the burner or the hab door, but both are now behaving themselves!

He went for a run this morning, although I think it was a bit muddy.  I  got up and got breakfast - scrambled eggs today, only I put a little too much salt in them.  After breakfast, we drove the short distance into Moissac.  Last time we were there, almost exactly two years ago, it was a Monday, and everything was closed.  Today, however, is Tuesday, and things were open, especially the Abbey church.  It still celebrates Lauds and Vespers every day, as well as Mass, so I wonder if there is still a Community there.  Unfortunately, the museum that would have told us about it doesn't open until 13:30 at this time of year, and we wanted to be away by then.

Anyway, we had a most enjoyable walk, and then drove to the nearest Intermarché so I could shop. 

I had said I was not so sure about going to Carcassonne this evening, lovely town though it is, as I would have to pay €13.30 - about the same as I've been paying in the Camping-Car parks so far - and we would not have electricity.  The Swan Whisperer said that the CCP was even more expensive - I think he said >€17, and what do you expect in a tourist area? - so we decided to give it a miss.  The SW thought this place, Bélesta, might be nice - it is on the road towards Quillan and Perpignan, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, but not so high that we are at a great risk of frost.  I think we are about 436 metres above sea level.  It was rather a dreary drive, though, as the SW decided to go non-toll, and for a lot of the way it was roundabout after roundabout.  Once we got past Toulouse, which was very busy, it was much better, and the main road was very nice.  And lovely views of snow-covered mountains!

We are still a day ahead of ourselves, so I am not quite sure what we will do tomorrow.  We won't want to head straight to Mas Alart, as, lovely though it is, there isn't much to do there other than relax, once you have bought your wine.  Still, this little village may or may not be worth exploring in the morning.  Usefully, this CCP is just across the road from a small supermarket, which opens at 08:00, so we can get fresh bread and maybe even croissants for breakfast tomorrow.  Unlike last night, we have company, but only one other WoMo.

Early Spring Holiday, 2 March 2026

Saint Nicolas de la Gave, Tarn-et-Garonne

Not the world's best day!  We had decided to visit a highly-recommended motorhome repair place, about an hour's run in the wrong direction.  It was a very lovely drive, though, cross-country, through lovely countryside and loads of pretty villages and so on.  But when we got there, nobody was at home - I think it is a sole trader, rather than a dealer.  The neighbour said they had gone to Spain for 3 weeks.  Wouldn't you have thought they would have put it on Google maps, as other businesses do?

There was nothing for it but to come away.  And we drove more cross-country, stopping to buy bread, and then again in a supermarket car park for lunch in the town of Sauveterre!  Yes, of course I thought of Fabrice, who wouldn't?!  Anyway, I didn't actually need anything as I'd got bread, so didn't go in, and they were the kind of supermarket that has solar-panelled roofs over the parking spaces, so we were in the shade - necessary, as the main skylight has broken.  This machine is ten years old, and is showing its age!  The bedroom door has also broken again.  And then the gas on one of the burners turned itself off and wouldn't stay lit.  At which point, I said we would have to call it a holiday and go home, as I couldn't possibly cook on just one burner - fortunately the Swan Whisperer found how to fix it, and has!  He now says it isn't working again - I am not prepared to put up with it, so we'll have to come home if we can't get it fixed!

Anyway, this was after we had removed the Satnav's prohibition on toll roads, and driven down the A62 (I think - I slept most of the way) and more minor roads down here to Saint Nicolas de la Gave, which is near Moissac - a town I know and love from a French Exchange here back in 1970!  I hope we can fix the gas burner and carry on with the holiday!  There is another repair place not far away, so if the SW can't fix it, they might be able to.

But what he has, finally, fixed is the hab door lock!  I don't think he knows quite what he did, but all of a sudden it started working.  Something to do with a solenoid, whatever that is.  Anyway, it's working, which is the main thing - we won't have to barricade it with the steering lock.  

Today's photo is of the pollarded trees around the aire.  I haven't had a walk today, but I did practice tai chi while the SW was having a leg-stretch.  

Supper is ready....