Firstly sorry for the delay in this first blog but we have
been waiting to get some decent wifi in order to get everything sorted and
uploaded.
So we started in the wee hours of Monday morning – 12.30 to
be precise - and drove from Crowborough to Dover. We managed to get there
earlier than planned and get on the ferry early but had to land in Calais
instead of Dunkirk. We then started our drive though France in the dark and on
the wrong side of the road which was testing but Rich soon adjusted and we
managed to drive via Dunkirk all the way to Reims on day one but it was a long
day. We stopped at a National forest called Scarpe – escate for a 3 km walk to
stretch our legs in the morning and also found a boulengaire for our first
French pastries... they were lovely and fresh. We continued to drive to Reims
and got used to the various noises and quirks of the van – now named Pierre. Once
we arrived at the Aires in Chamery, just
outside Reims, for the night we quickly discovered that it was not functioning
(lesson 1 – Aires seem to break frequently and therefore be prepared to try
different stops) and therefore had no water so we retraced out steps back to
Reims to get all the necessities and went back to Chamery as it appeared to be
a quiet little village in the heart of the champagne region, while doing this
we also learnt lesson 2– make sure everything in the van is closed properly
otherwise it pops open while driving.
Next thing we learnt about France is Lesson
3 – quiet villages can be more than quiet – they can be dead. After realising
that the village had nothing but a couple of local champagne cellars (all shut
by 5) we decided to cook in the van and get an early night as we hadn’t slept
for 24 hours.
The following morning we walked around the dead town and
managed to see some champagne farming and buy some very nice champagne. Before
leaving the van we learnt lesson 4 – the hot water is enough for one shower,
not 2 – cue Cat having a cold shower. We
then jumped in the car and headed south to our next destination – Dijon. The
drive was nice and smooth - and we managed to find our campsite with ease but then
came more lessons – lesson 5 – don’t unscrew the hose end too much otherwise it
shoots down the water pipe in the van
and you have to spend 30 minutes working out how to get it out. But all is well
with Pierre and he was soon in full working order again. We then decided to
walk into the city, have a bit of a shop, try way too many mustards, see
cathedrals, retrace our steps multiple times getting lost and finishing the day
off with a nice dinner and some wine. When in France you have to try the local delicacies
so Rich had snails and beef tartar followed by crème Brule. I was boring and
had a lamb shank but it was a lovely meal.
Our next day we did a long drive from Dijon to just outside
Grenoble which took about 6 hours down winding roads in the Alps. It was the
hottest day so far (30 degrees all day) and we were thankful for the
air-conditioning in the van. We stayed in an Aires with no working services
again but luckily we were somewhat prepared as it was the middle of nowhere.
The surroundings to the camper stop were beautiful as it is a ski village in
winter and some of the mountains still had some snow on them.
We persevered down south the next day so we could spend more
of our time down in Gorge de Verdon so we got moving again and landed in a
beautiful town called Castellane which was recommended to us. The road here was
very mountainous but traced the gorge which has a beautiful green glow caused
by the fluoride and little green seaweed. This was our favourite stop so far as the town
was very rustic with its inviting narrow side streets. After parking directly
below what we later discovered was the Notre-dame cathedral in Castellane we
watched as a few brave people crept into the gorge on kayak’s directly in front
of where we were parked. The current here was too strong for us to get explore
in our inflatable kayak and we soon learned you had to book a tour with a guide
if you wanted to ride the white water near us. We did however find a 2km
stretch of the gorge which was calm enough for us to kayak for the next morning
so we decided to take a “quick and easy” hike following the sign posts to the Notre-dame
cathedral. Not so quick and easy in our running trainers! We soon realised that
the Notre-dame cathedral was in fact the cathedral at the very top of the
massive cliff we parked under. Had we had known this beforehand we would have
given the walk a 2nd thought – or at least some walking boots.
However all in all considering how high it looked it wasn’t too bad and the
views were worth it despite the cathedral being closed for renovation. We met a
Welsh man called Gary at the top who was quick to start conversation with us
when he heard us speaking English. He was on his penultimate day of a 2 week
bike ride through France. The distances they had travelled were crazy and
knowing how steep some of the hills had been to drive we were amazed how he had
the energy to walk up the mountain after 60 miles of hills. He soon ran back
down the mountain and we slowly followed after spotting our motorhome and
getting a few photos of the whole town and the old ruins. After eating outside
our camper next to the gorge we wondered back into town for a beer and a crepe.
Next morning we set out to our kayaking spot which was a
white knuckle ride around the mountains. We stopped at one point high up and
could see a bridge across the gorge where all the pedalos were parked up. We
carried on down and parked up and wondered across the bridge wondering why
no-one was out on the water. We decided to take lead and prepped our inflatable
kayak just next to the water. Soon after we saw a few people out on the water
and so we went. After a few minutes we had got used to the kayak and the calm
water was easy enough to glide down. We knew we had about a 2km stretch and
soon enough we hit some yellow buoys and a stop sign which signalled our return
back to the campervan. It was no doubt and experience worth the travels and we
made plans to get on the water again the next day on one of the largest lakes
fed by the gorge which was 2km wide. We made our way to our next camperstop in
a village called sainte croix which had amazing views of the lake. We sat
outside for the evening to eat steak and drinking wine and chatted to fellow
motorhomers. Currently every park we go to we find we are the only English
surrounded by the French, Italians, some Dutch and some Germans. We are also
the youngest by about 30 years!
We were up nice and early and inflated the kayak in record
time which was no surprise given its was our 2nd attempt. The lake
was far choppier but could still only be considered as calm waters all in all.
We powered the 2km over to the other side resting on the beach a while before
heading back. The way back seemed a lot more strenuous with little time to rest
but again the views were amazing and the lake was empty.
We ended up staying
at another free camperstop, in Salernes,
this night which could have been the focus of a channel four programme
gypsy wedding and we cooked and sat out watching the stream until the wind and
other guests became too much for us and we retreated to bed for the evening.
The next day we drove to sainte Maxine where we met up with Karen and David
(Rich’s parents) for a week staying in a villa for a little holiday in the sun.
So staying in the villa was very nice, we got to use the
bathroom whenever we wanted, sleep in a real bed, cook in a kitchen bigger than
a postage stamp (whenever David would let us in there). However we did miss Pierre
and his querks! We rested and explored the local town for a couple of days,
went to Monaco and went to Saint Tropez for the day. We had planned to go to
Monaco at the end of the week but we soon found out that the grand prix was on
at the weekend so we went earlier in the week. It was great to walk around and
see everyone setting up for the race but it did mean the city was very busy. As
Rich was leading the way we walked miles around the city including up to the
old city. We walked over 15,000 steps but did get some great views of the city,
with the required drink breaks. We walked around the harbour as well and marvelled
at the boats, they were huge and had everything you could ever need including
helicopters, hot tubs, gyms and were fully staffed. After a day walking around
the city we thought we should stop and have a little gamble in the casino... as
when in Monte Carlo you must. Rich and I had a few goes on roulette and left
when we were up. David decided not to gamble as with his luck he would lose it
all.
We did cook some food ourselves and eat out a couple of
nights which was nice and has been a rarity while travelling. There was some
nice Asian inspired food, some nice burgers and ...... when we ate in we had
“English” (as David called it) BBQs which were nice and one even involved a 20
euro tart... which rich couldn’t get over but he did enjoy it.
The following day we headed to Saint Tropez for another day
trip. It started as a cloudy day but by lunch time the sun was in full force
and it was 31 degrees. As Rich was leading the way we had to walk to the top of
another hill but that gave us great views of the city and the huge private
mansions. We saw some more impressive boats here and decided to have a beer on
the front and watch the people come and go with the hope of spotting some
celebs but I don’t think any of us would have actually recognised any one any
way. As it was our last full and proper day we headed to Saint Maxime for a
full 3 course dinner which was very nice and was rounded off with free shots of
lemoncello.
So for our last day we are heading into town and trying to get David to kayak in the sea with Rich, go shopping in the italian market and have a final swim in the unheated pool. Then it will be a dinner in before an early night as David and Karen have an early flight to catch tomorrow.
I will post another blog with the photos as its easier that way when you have this many photos to go through!
