Category Archives: France

To The Verdon Gorges

Saturday 21st October 2017

We moved on today to Flower Camping La Beaume, near the beautiful village of Esparron-de-Verdon. The village is located in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region. This was to be our base for visiting the Verdon Gorges.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 130 – Cumulative: 4,150

In an effort to make the transfer as calm as possible, I invested in a GPS app for iPhone, CoPilot. This enables you to enter the dimensions and weight of your caravan and it purports to keep you away from caravan unfriendly places. By & large, for this 115km move, it worked. No silences, no Scrabble defeat!

Only thing to note about the drive, apart from the mountains starting to appear on the horizon, was this amazing avenue of mature trees shot on Kim’s phone through the windscreen.

On arrival at the site, down a very steep slope, we were met by the enthusiastic and friendly owner who directed us to our pitch.
He showed us the facilities and wonderful pool and although he doesn’t speak any English he made us feel more than welcome.

The facilities on site are acceptable and clean and I think this will be a very comfortable place to stay while we investigate the Verdon Gorges. 🙂

Surprise Soirée

Friday 20th October 2017

A ride out on our bikes today didn’t take us far. Massane is located on the western side of Etang de Berre and our campsite was in a residential area with one main road.

We attempted a ride off the beaten track, in the vain hope of following the edge of the lake but it came to a dead end. Although we did pass a nice looking pizzeria, which we thought we might check out later.

We then headed off out of Massane towards the south, but soon realised that the uphill trek was only going to get tougher and there wasn’t much to see either.

Luckily the journey back was downhill most of the way, which meant a quick return to the campsite.

We decided to take the car and head out to check out one of the villages situated on the south coast, which we had passed on our train journey yesterday to Marseille.

Sausset-les-Pins is a pretty seaside resort along the CĂ´te Bleue. Our descent into the village was through delightful pine forests and Sausset-les-Pins was much larger than our perspective on the train had led us to believe.

We parked up on Avenue du Général Leclerc opposite the main beach, Plage de la Corniche. It extends for over 600 meters and is mainly made up of gravel, with some sandbanks.

The promenade along the coastline was lovely and it was possible to walk in either direction for quite some time, taking in the delights of the sea and the warmth of the sun.

The port of Sausset was delightful; full of numerous sailing vessels, and edged with a range of cafĂ©s and bars. We wandered slowly around the water’s edge, passing the area where the fisherman sell their ‘catch of the day’ and headed around the other side of the port.

We arrived at the smaller pebbled Plage du Port. The tide was on the turn and the waves were crashing on the rocky shore. Delightful!

Back at the campsite, Ray decided to ride out to the pizzeria to see if it was open, despite the fact our campsite host LĂ©o informing us that it had closed at the end of September.

Ray returned tout suite and confirmed it was open and appeared quite busy, so we got our skates on!

As we approached the restaurant, Le Macciana,  the sound of music resonated all around and the place looked lively and inviting. Wood burners and outdoor heaters lit up the venue.

As we headed towards the entrance we suddenly had a thought. Perhaps LĂ©o our host was correct; it was closed and this was a private function!

Oh well, we had got this far, what was the worst that could happen? A quiet walk back to the caravan and throw something together for supper!

We were greeted by the owner, who welcomed us and immediately proceeded to show us to a table for two and explained that tonight was a buffet â‚¬20 each. Job done!

The restaurant was very attractive and dining was on the outdoor terrace. It had an instant warm feeling.

I say warm for two reasons. One for the welcome and the setting but two, for the array of outdoor heaters strategically placed around the terrace!

Luckily for us, our host found us a table on the edge of the terrace. We left the locals to enjoy the warmth, as it was obvious that they were feeling the ‘cool’ evening air, more than we were!

The evening did not disappoint and we enjoyed the variety of local dishes, along with some delightful  Provence Chardonnay and musical accompaniment by the owners son.

Our host was fantastic. He came to check on us throughout the evening and apologised for his lack of English!

We discovered that his son, who worked for BP,  was married to an English girl and they lived in Walton on Thames! A place which he enjoyed visiting.

We left late in the evening, thanking our host and his family for a superb evening and delicious meal. We would definitely be back.

Trip to Marseille

Thursday 19th October 2017

Armed with the tickets we sourced the previous day we set off to Istres station to get the train down to Marseille, the second largest city in France. On arrival at the station, the door was firmly locked and notices posted that it was due to the strike. Luckily we noticed a local gent squeezing through a side gate onto the platform and we followed with minutes to spare for our train arrival. The train ride was smooth and, in places, had some excellent views over small towns next to the Mediterranean Sea. We arrived at Marseille-Saint-Charles station and made our way down to the Old Port, one of the things we had decided to see on our short visit.

Within minutes of leaving the station we witnessed a fist fight between a shop worker and an irate chap outside a phone shop. Making our way to the port we passed piles of rubbish in the streets. Very soon after about four or five police vehicles streamed past and surrounded another store. Not a good start to our big city visit. On reaching the Old Port the atmosphere changed and we stopped for a lovely lunch and a beer before wandering past the Town Hall to find the Petit Train.

We boarded the Petit Train to travel up to the Notre-Dame de la Garde, the city’s best-known symbol.

Notre-Dame de la Garde is a Roman Catholic basilica, completed in 1864. It towers over the city and can be seen for miles at around. The interior is stunning.

There are views of all the city from outside the basilica including the old & new ports.

After a brief 25 minute tour we hurried back to join the fun train back down to the city.

We made our way back to the station for the return rail trip to Istres. As the ride progressed it grew steadily darker and we watched a large cruise liner slowly drift off into the Mediterranean as night fell.

Marseille brought home to us that we are not really big city fans. You can only ever brush the surface of what there is to see, and quite often you get to see and feel the darker side of the city in the surrounding streets. I don’t think we’ll be rushing back.

Martigues

Wednesday 18th October 2017

We needed to check out the locality of the train station, to take Le Train CĂ´te Bleue into Marseille, as well as parking facilities. Our host at the camp had suggested we use Istres station, which was just a little north of our site.

We had read that there was a train strike on 18th & 19th October with limited journey times, so thought best to check out our options.

French rail network is very susceptible to strikes, delays and cancellations, so always check your travel arrangements prior to departure.

Using our Franglais we managed to purchase our tickets for Thursday. (Timed tickets for each journey).

Tickets sorted, we made our way to Martigues. We had read that due to the charm of its canals, bridges and islands, it is also known as the Venise Provençale.

Using our trusty Google map app, we found a car park and started to walk towards one of the quays. We hadn’t gone far, when two fire tenders, with sirens blaring, pulled up at one of the buildings.

The traffic wasn’t going anywhere, especially as a large coach now had no possible way of passing the emergency vehicles and was holding up all the lunch time traffic! The noise of car horns was deafening and the lengthy queue of traffic just appeared to mushroom in all directions. Axe in hand, a fireman made his way up one of the ladders and began hacking at the window shutters. Time to make a hasty retreat.

Boy, were we glad we had made it into the car park when we did!

We began by walking along the Quai des Girondins. In the distance we could make out the rather towering sight of the Viaduc de Martigues. It is the autoroute A55.

Along the quay side were numerous restaurants which made choosing one for lunch challenging. Each was advertising a wonderful ‘menu du jour’, on typical chalkboards.

We had taken to using Trip Advisor to help with our decision making, and went with  Les TerrassesA nice table for two in the sun. Perfect!

Stuffed ravioli to start and entrecĂ´te steak with Roquefort sauce & frites for Ray. Squid in aioli & mussels for me. Yum! We were not disappointed.

Our only plan following lunch was to take a stroll in the late autumn sun,  along the quays and waterways, through the cobbled streets and squares.

Leaving the quay on the north of the island known as  Ferrières we made our way onto the central island (L’ĂŽle). We wandered down the Rue de la Republique pausing briefly to peek inside the large open L’Eglise de Sainte Madeleine. Neither of us are religious, but we are always in awe of the interiors and exteriors of the many churches we encounter.

Leaving the church we passed over the Canal Saint Sebastien and spotted a most picturesque quarter, known as Le  Miroir aux oiseaux.

Here were quaint pastel coloured dwellings, former houses of the local fishermen, with a variety of pavement cafés, bars and restaurants. Truly a peaceful and picturesque spot.

We then followed the quai des Anglais, where many anglers were hoping for a catch and the large palms graced the pavements. We watched the local shuttle boat pass by and head towards the south of the town, JonquiĂ©res.

We then looped back around L’ĂŽle, admiring even more boats and imagined dining at one of the quayside restaurants in the evening.

Whilst we were walking we spotted an incredibly large jellyfish in the clear waters near the bank and were thankful we were not bathing at the time.

Later we made our way over the drawbridge towards JonquiĂ©res as we were here. There was a very large car park and lots of markets and shops in a maze of streets and pedestrian zones, if you enjoy that sort of thing.

A Simple Moving Day – Not!

Tuesday 17th October 2017

Today the plan was simple, to move on from the Campsite Lou Vincen in Vallabrègues to Campsite Le Neptune in Saint-Mitres-Les-Ramparts. This is another Camping Card Site and is  €15 a night and was chosen as a base to visit Marseille. It is a trip of 61km, easy.

We had really enjoyed our stay at Lou Vincen. We intended staying four nights, to visit Avignon & Nimes, and stayed eleven nights. The welcome we got from the owners, Hélène & Myriam, and the friendliness of everyone we met there and in the nearby village made it an easy place not to move on from.

We had taken down the awning the previous night so preparation for the move was rapid and we were ready , after saying our goodbye to the girls, to move by 10:30. The route was put into the Ford GPS and as usual Kim monitors the route on Google Maps. All went well for about 7km until we entered the town of Tarascon. Ford said right, Kim said left. Doh! It was too late to take the left so over the bridge to Beaucaire we went. I turned right into a street with the idea of turning around but this was impossible in the narrow street. Then we faced a very narrow bridge with a sharp left turn after to get back to the main road. Not fun.

We managed to weave our way through this then came up behind a truck unloading outside a bar. No way to get by, we watch him unload for 15 minutes before being able to proceed. This is the point where the drivers sense of humour failure occurred.

Another 15 minutes meandering through the tight roundabouts of the town brought us onto wider roads and progress was being made, albeit in silence.

Towing Kilometres – Today: 61 – Cumulative: 4,020

After 30 or so kilometres, we stopped for a coffee break. Kim, sensing my stress, and the chance of a win, set up a game of Scrabble in the van. Her plan worked a charm. She won, and the silence was broken 🙂

After the break we made good progress without navigation problems to Campsite Le Neptune. Job done, I thought.

The reception was closed until 17:30 and it was only 15:00 so I wandered around the site while Kim waited with the van. I have to admit I wasn’t much impressed with the location of the site and went back to Kim to break the news. Kim noticed there was another site just down the road. With time to spare we went to investigate this.

We travelled down the very narrow road to the site gate, only to find that the site closed for the year 2 days previously. I now had the prospect of a half kilometre reverse with the caravan back down the street.

Just before sense of humour failure could occur again, a lovely lady opened her large garden gate enabling us to separate the caravan and motormove it out of the way and turn the car around. Very kind, and very lucky.

We went back to Campsite Le Neptune and reception had opened early and we were greeted by a very friendly chap who directed us to a pitch and returned later to check all was well