France

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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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!