Early spring holiday, 3 March 2023

Mas Alart, Saleilles

Well, I did it! I walked all round the lake at Tournefeuille, a distance of almost 5K! This isn't much, but is huge for me, as I haven't been able to do so much since (a) having blood clots in 2017 and then, just as I was pretty much recovered, going down with Covid in March of 2020. I did use my trekking poles to help, mind, but could probably have managed without. Infuriatingly, my smartwatch stopped recording 2/3 of the way round. It has become very unreliable of late, and will be replaced when I get home! 

So after my walk - the Swan Whisperer had run the distance before breakfast, of course - we headed off towards Saleilles, stopping first of all to buy quiches and bread for lunch and then at Carcassonne to eat said quiches. We had travelled on the motorway up until then, but decided to come off and go via Limoux and Quillan, along the lovely D118 and 117. I knew we had gone along the latter about 18 months ago, but had no memory of stopping overnight at Limoux until I reread my blog for that day! It is an amazing road - there are sections cut through rocks, fast dual carriageway sections (none of them very long, though) and pretty little towns and villages along the route. Then suddenly you are in Perpignan and traffic, and then out the other side and going past roundabout and roundabout to get to Saleilles. 

The shop was open when we arrived, and we were recognised and warmly welcomed. We stocked up, needless to say! It is a lot less cold here, although very far from hot. And tomorrow we will be have to go and have a look at the Mediterranean before heading north! 

Early spring holiday, 2 March 2023

Tournefeuille, Toulouse. 

The fine weather that we have been enjoying for the past few days has abandoned us, and today has been very grey and dreich, although not exactly raining. Which is sad, because I didn't take a photo of the snow-capped Pyrenees yesterday, as I thought they might not come out, and today they were not visible to take a photo of! 

Our first port of call this morning was a Super U to buy another cube of gas and some groceries - I was pleased to find loo stuff, which we were getting low on. Also oat milk, which I had not seen here before, and which I prefer on my cereal. 

We had hoped to visit Paul this morning, but when we had parked, we realised that the car park we usually use was quite a lot nearer the station and the funicular, so we headed towards it, only to find that it was out of use due to Works, and we had no way of turning round! We couldn't find another parking space - didn't really expect to, on a weekday, so headed on a long cross-country drive, down many typical French avenues,

to Tournefeuille, a suburb of Toulouse. We have been here before, in 2019, for the SW to do a parkrun, but, sadly, parkruns have had to be stopped in France due to regulations about organised sporting activity here. Anyway, tomorrow is Friday, not Saturday! 

By the time we got here, there was just about time to have a cup of tea and a little cake before the SW had to have a meeting on Zoom, followed by another one on Teams, which he is doing in the bedroom. It is almost dark, so I am going to close up in here and think about supper! 

Early spring holiday, 1 March 2023

Rébénacq, France

Another lazy start to the day, and after breakfast and using the services we set off into Hossegor for a walk. It was okay, but I'd really have liked a chance to potter round the tourist shops in Capbreton, to the south of where we were.

We walked along the sea for awhile, wondering why it was calm where we were,

but huge breakers a little further along.

Then we turned inland and found where the E Leclerc I remember from my childhood used to be. It is still marked up as an E Leclerc, and no "to let" signs on the building.

It said it closed on 10 September, but didn't say what year, and I am wondering if it opens for the holiday season in July and August. Could well be!

Then we walked up rather a dull residential street until we got to the casino, which we walked past until we got to the canal part of the lake, which had me wishing I was able for the 7.4 km walk round it. Maybe next year...

And so back to the car park, free at this time of year. 

We set off to cross the bottom of France, along the Pyrenees, first stopping at a Super U in a town called Angresse, where I spotted and then we had lunch, and then we drove across country to this town near Pau, where we are in a delightful small aire, quite free, even including electricity beten 15:00 and 22:00. I was afraid it would be too high, as to get here we were above the snow line, but it is only about 350 metres, and not due to have too sharp a frost. The Swan Whisperer had gone for a walk, of course! Later it will be our Circuit Lent Course on Zoom. Looking forward to that. 

Early spring holiday, 28 February 2023

Hossegor-Soorts, Landes, France. 

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, so breakfast, by the time he had showered and changed, was not until 09:15. After it, we both went for a walk along the lake and round the village.

All very nice, but unfortunately I had neglected to check my smartwatch and it ran out of charge about 200m into the walk! I have been bewailing having forgotten to pack a beanie, as it is so cold, but realised this morning that I did have a pashmina, which I wore over my head, hijab-style, and crossed over my chest. That made a great deal of difference! Also, I don't think it was quite as cold this morning, although there was still a pretty brisk wind.

So it was about noon when we actually set off. We went a little back on ourselves first of all, to go to a large supermarket nearby - Intermarché, I think. While I was shopping, the SW found a nice place to stop for lunch outside the church in the village of Pontenx-Les-Forges. 

After lunch, we drove across country to the village of Hossegor where I spent a week or so with a French exchange nearly 60 years ago now. We have passed through it before, and I knew I had no way of recognising where we stayed - which I know was long since sold and quite probably pulled down. Anyway, the one place I did remember was the E Leclerc supermarket, which my host family's mother took me to at least once. It was still there last time, but, sadly, it has now given way to a bigger and better one on the outskirts of town, and the old building is abandoned. 

So we drove around the town a bit, and then we stopped along a huge length of sand dunes, 

and the SW climbed up to see the see, along with at least one family with small children and and another with a dog! And when he came back, we drove to this aire where we stayed last time we were here. Back then, it was half-price in the off season, but still provided everything one might need in the way of services, electricity, WiFi, etc. Of course, it has now been taken over by the ubiquitous Camping-Car parks and no reduction! Still we do have electricity and more than 10 minutes free WiFi! I resented, last night, paying €11 for no more (except 10 minutes' free WiFi) than I had got for free the previous two nights. 

Early spring holiday, 27 February 2023

Gastes, Landes, France. 

When the alarm went off this morning, Google kindly told us that the temperature was hovering around zero and the wind-chill factor made it feel like -6! Needless to say, we decided to postpone going for a walk. A pity really, as I should have liked to have seen round Cartelègue, it looked like a pretty little village. 

However, this was not to be. We didn't really hurry over breakfast and tidying up, and it was past 10:00 before we headed on. We drove into Blaye and first went to an E Leclerc for diesel and fresh milk - Lidl and Aldi don't sell that here, only long-life, which the Swan Whisperer won't touch. However, I wanted to go to Lidl, as the coupons here looked nice, and I wanted to see what they had. Needless to say, only 3 of the advertised offers appeared to be available, and one of them didn't seem worth it, but I did get two of them. I also got some other bits and bobs we needed, and two sweaters - I had stupidly brought only cardigans that don't do up, and keep getting draughts down my front. Even with sweaters, I'm cold, and am sitting wrapped in two rugs and seriously debating filling my hot-water bottle! I could, I suppose, turn on the heating, but the SW is out for a walk and I don't quite like to when he isn't there. 

Anyway, we then drove into Blaye and had a lovely walk round the Citadelle

there, stopping for lunch in a random creperie. The crepes were okay - slightly under-seasoned, and the presentation could have been better, but the helpings were huge and good value for money. After that, we were stuffed, so the SW made himself a coffee before we headed south again to this village called Gastes beside the Lac de Biscarosse. The aire is very nice, and quite empty so far, but would be nicer if the electricity worked! 

Early spring holiday, 26 February 2023

Cartelègue, Gironde

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, the weather having cleared up overnight. Sadly, no croissants - the nearest bakeries didn't open on Sundays. While he was doing that, I got up, tidied the bedroom and did a bit of qi gong warm-up. It was extremely cold outside though, and there really isn't room to do anything like that in the WoMo, so I was glad when the SW came back and I could legitimately finish! While he was showering and changing, I got breakfast, and once we were ready, we headed on. 

The Satnav was being a real nuisance today about not going the way we wanted! The first part of the journey was on the A83, but we came off at Junction 7 and took the D137 and then the D10A/D9. We stopped at a place called Charron to listen to our church service - we couldn't actually watch it as the livestream was sideways; but it came over very clearly on the radio, which has speakers in the bedroom, so we lay on the bed and listened. 

When it was over we had lunch, and then continued on more minor roads to this aire in a place called Cartelègue, outside Blaye. The aire is very nice, clean, free, and everything provided, including picnic tables under shelter,

but, of course, it is too cold to even think about eating out of doors! The Swan Whisperer has gone for a walk (he is just back), but I am having a rest day today and hope to explore the village tomorrow before we head on. 

Early spring holiday, 25 February 2023

La-Chapelle-sur-Erdre, Nantes. 

One of the nicest things about a motorhome holiday is that one can change plans on the fly! We had a long drive ahead of us today, and had planned to set off fairly soon after breakfast, but my brother said that while we were in the area, we should visit Crepon, where our father's regiment (not sure which one he was in) had mustered after landing in Normandy, and also the place where he did land. Not on D-day itself, I believe, but a couple of days afterwards. 

So we did. We were a bit later setting off than we would have liked, as we didn't really wake until 07:30 and for some reason the hot water hadn't come on properly. And I was a bit slow about getting up, so it was about 10 before we got away, if not later. And I needed to shop so we went via a large Carrefour, which further delayed us. 

Crepon was lovely, a very pretty village (photos on Facebook), and there was a memorial, presumably at the muster point.

We enjoyed a rather cold walk around the village (Idiot me forgot to record it!), and then headed north up the road Daddy would have come south on, to the place where he landed. "I told you it was bleak," said my brother when I sent him a photo.

All the same, I doubt it was sleeting that June day so long ago, although I do know it was rough and Daddy had been seasick! 

We then drove on to Arromanches, and parked up looking out over the sea at the remains of the Mulberry harbour, which you couldn't see as much of as you could in December 2014 when we were last there, probably because the tide was in.

By the time we had had lunch it was going to be well after 18:00 before we arrived at the place where we had planned to spend the night, so we retrenched a bit and are now just outside Nantes in a very nice aire by a cemetery. We are the only people here, it is free, and the services are not locked out of use for the winter! They are also free. Brilliant! However, this does mean a long drive tomorrow, but we plan to get away early and stop by noon for church (on livestream) and lunch, and then drive again in the afternoon. I don't need to shop tomorrow, although if there is a bakery in reasonable running distance I might make the SW get croissants!