In search of spring, 4 March 2022

As soon as I stepped out of the motor home this morning to empty the hot-water-bottles, I grew I could be nowhere else but the South of France! I don't know if it was the light, or the air, or the rosemary hedges that marked out the camping bays... But it was glorious!

As was the rest of the morning. We visited the Pont du Gard,

first calling in at the visitor centre where there was a museum. I thought at first that it would be underwhelming, but in fact it was much bigger than it appeared with a terrific overview of Roman civilisation, especially plumbing! They had really sophisticated pipes, taps, etc. There was also a brilliant fly-over of the whole route of the aqueduct, of which the Pont de Gard is only a tiny bit.

After that, we walked down to the bridge itself, and half way across it,

taking loads of photos, before coming back and having coffee in the visitor centre. 

Our next destination, not counting a supermarket, was Orange, where the Swan Whisperer had found the ideal car park, he thought, nice and near the Arc de Triomphe there.

It would have been nice, but it was full to overflowing! Fortunately there was a Lidl a few hundred metres down the road, so we pulled in there and ate lunch in its car park (I popped in and bought some bananas, which I had a coupon for). We found we could drive  round the arch, so did so before saying a sad farewell to the South and heading north, via a very pretty town called  Bourg-Saint-Andéol,

and going via the Gorges de l'Ardèche

and the Pont d'Arc

to this town which is called Ruoms. The aire is overlooking the Ardèche.

As always, more photos on Facebook. 

In search of spring, 3 March 2022

The sun is out again, and we are still in the South of France!

A delightful drive this morning, although parts of the area are very industrialised. We saw ships (behind the groyne) ,

factories

and goods trains

before arriving in Avignon. We had hoped to go into the town, but sadly, the Park&Ride didn't allow motorhomes, and although I'm sure we could have found a paying car park nearer the historic centre, the free one we found that did take motor homes was just that much too far. But we had great views of the eponymous bridge

and the Papal Palace, shrouded in scaffolding 

and it's not as if we haven't been here before - a winter holiday that was not a success as I had flu, the hotel was horrible, the euro, at that time, was practically at parity with the pound so everything was expensive and it snowed! But the sun was out today!

After lunch we drove on to this aire near the Pont de Gard, which is very nice with electricity and services included, although a very nice woman warned us on the way in that the water pressure is very low so it takes ages to fill the tank!

The Swan Whisperer has been for a long walk, and I have had a quiet afternoon, mostly snoozing. Tomorrow we hope to be able to visit the aqueduct and the associated museum. 

In search of spring, 2 March 2022

Carro, Martigues

Today is Ash Wednesday. It didn't start very well, although the Swan Whisperer bought croissants and the most heavenly warm-from-the-oven baguette for breakfast, but when we tried to get to the nearest Super U for today's shopping, we went the wrong way and it took about three times as long to get there as it should have done. 

However, we got there in the end, and I shopped while the SW got diesel and had his coffee. He has now taken over the route planning for the rest of this trip and is, I think, beginning to realise quite what a job it is! However, neither of us wants to go north just yet, so we are rethinking our plans. 

It has been overcast and cloudy all day, and a bit of rain this morning, so we basically just drove around the Camargue, crossing the Rhone on the Bac du Barcarin

(which we have done before) and heading down to this aire at Carro, where we stayed a few years ago.

There is the local fish market in the morning, which I shall definitely look at, but probably not buy anything as fish guts and a motorhome really don't mix, especially as we don't have any newspaper to wrap them in. 

For tonight's supper I have bought something called tielles Sétoises;

I think they are octopus and/or squid in a tomato and garlic sauce, encased in some sort of pastry. They sound nice, but who knows? 

In search of spring, 1 March 2022

Murviel-lès-Béziers, Shrove Tuesday and St David's day. 

Not such a lovely day today, as it has been cloudy and windy all day. No rain, though. 

We had a nice lazy morning as the wine merchants doesn't open until 10, so there was no rush. We bought quite a lot of wine - not more than our allowance, though. It is horrible having to think about the amount one can buy to bring home. Apparently there is a strike at - I'm not sure whether she meant the bottling plant or the bottle factory, so we had to buy a 3 litre wine box of the rosé I love. But the Swan Whisperer bought two bottles of red for himself, and four of white for me (two dry and two sweet) as well as the 3 litres of rosé and a bottle of red wine vinegar, as I wanted to make a vinaigrette for our leeks tonight. 

First port of call was Lidl, and then we drove up here, to this village north of Béziers, which is a fortified village with quite a steep walk up to the church, Mairie and chateau (now a guest house) at the top of the hill. We enjoyed it, although it was not just as glorious as we had hoped. 

We are parked up in another Camping-Car Park; the Swan Whisperer loves them, but I have serious reservations. They are talking over a great many municipal campsites, as well as formerly free aires, and although yo are guaranteed water and services all year round, and there is electricity, caravans and tents are no longer allowed, any sanitary facilities that used to be provided (showers, loos, etc) are no longer in use, there is no reception and no little shop. Okay, so they are cheaper than a campsite, but quite dear if they have taken over a formerly free aire. 

Anyway, we are here now, and may well use others, especially when we need services. But there are alternatives - they haven't yet taken over quite all of France! 

In search of spring, 28 February 2022

Mas Alart, Saleilles, France.

Well, you knew we would end up here didn't you? Got to buy some of the nicest wine in France! 

However, we started off by needing services, so we drove to what we thought was the Intermarche in Latour-bas-Elne, which had them. However, although it had all the other things it was supposed to have, no services. On enquiry, we discovered we were, in fact, at the Intermarché in Elne, not in Latour-bas-Elne. 

So a few minutes drive rectified that problem, and I shopped while the Swan Whisperer did the necessary, and then we headed on to St-Cyprien-Plage for lunch, and a look at the Med - as wonderful as ever, and as blue as ever!

After which, the SW suggested going to a "Village des Pecheurs" on the Etang du Canet Saint-Nazaire

that he had seen on the map, and which intrigued him. I wasn't too sure, when we arrived, that it wasn't a holiday let, but quite the reverse, as it turned out to be a collection of former fishermen's cottages built of reeds, and a nature reserve. 

We didn't see many birds except seagulls, which were beginning to pair off and courting rituals going full blast. There was a tiny museum, but it was obviously closed on a Monday. 

After a short walk, we realised the rather small car park was getting very full indeed, so we decided to head on more-or-less straight to Mas Alart, where we are parked up with windows and skylights open and enjoying not having to be wrapped up warm. As last time, the place is crowded, but we will be able to buy wine in the morning when the shop opens at 10.

In search of spring, 27 February 2022

What a lovely day! We didn't hurry out of bed, although the Swan Whisperer went for a short run - he has had an injury and this was his first run for a few weeks. After breakfast, he went on an explore, and then came back for coffee, during which he looked at the habitation door again, and appears to have fixed the lock, at any rate for the time being. It seems to have been a to matter of a spring that had got stuck, or something. 

At noon, it was time for church, and we logged on to the livestream from Brixton Hill; unlike other times, we could actually hear what was going on. Then a quick lunch, and then the main reason we hurried to get here - the Yellow Train!

This goes from Villefranche Vernet-les-Bains right up to La Carol Latour high in the Pyrenees. We only took it half way, though, as far as Font-Remeu. 

It was not the most comfortable of trains,

but certainly one of the most scenic, cutting through the mountains in tunnels and over bridges and viaducts and finally coming out on a wide plateau. The train stopped for several minutes at many of the stations, and and for half an hour at Fort-Romeu before starting its downward journey again. 

This train has been on my bucket list for awhile now, and I'm so glad we did it. Today was the last day of service for a couple of months as they are going to do track works, and it was also the last day of the winter fares - €5 per person each way (although nobody checked our return tickets; we could have got away without buying them!). 

Once back in the motor home, I got supper ready and then it was time for Bible Study (our church hosts a Zoom study each month). After that, supper, and now I am catching up and will then go and watch videos in bed! We don't think our leisure batteries would really like us to cast them to the TV when we don't have external electricity. 

There are (rather too many) more photos on Facebook. 

In search of spring, 26 February 2022

Another bitterly cold morning - this photo shows the frost clearing away from the bedroom skylight while I was getting up. 

Our first port of call was to the supermarket for diesel and groceries, and and then we drove down to the Garabit viaduct. I have posted pictures of it before, taken from the aire on the A75, but this was the first time I had seen it from the other side. It is really rather spectacular! 

More photos on Facebook. We continued down the A75 and stopped for lunch before Millau (we had hoped to stop there, but time was getting on). The habitation door lock now seems completely buggered, so matter how often we clean the contacts, but the Swan Whisperer had a brain-waggle and has used the steering lock to keep it closed from the inside! Easily removed when I need to get in or out, and we can get the lock fixed in Sussex when we go home. 

We went over the Millau viaduct. It is more spectacular seen from below, but we wanted to get to our overnight stop before dark so the SW could have a walk. And it is pretty good seen from on it, although you can't see over the restraining walls (just as well, perhaps). 

And on, and on, and on, down the A75 and the A9, past Perpignan and Prades to Villefranche-de-Conflent where we will be spending two nights for reasons which will be revealed tomorrow. The SW has had his walk and will be cooking our Saturday sausage and mash - only the mash will be Aligot, which I rather extravagantly treated us to - we were in the area; it would have been rude not to, really! 

We are definitely seeing signs of spring here - there were speedwells in the aire where we stopped for lunch, crocuses in the one where we stopped for tea, and many of the trees are showing green. This seems to be a fruit-growing area, and many of the trees were in blossom.