France
The France leg of our epic journey was due to be a bit of a social whirl. We planned first to meet up with Annette, a friend who has recently moved to Langadoc for her 40th birthday celebrations, then on to Lena's Aunty and Uncle near Lodeve for a week. Nick unfortunately had to go home to do some more work for three weeks at this point. Aunty Beth planned to meet us at Joan and Brian's place and hang out there for a few days before the travelling continues and we head off via the south coast to Italy.
Our first destination was Quarante,the appropriately named venue of Annette's celebrations. We camped near here for 3 nights and had a great time going for a picnic and evening meal at the Le Bar Quarante. We arrived the day before the celebrations and stumbled across a Bull Run in the town of Quarante; this area of France has a very Spanish feel. The whole town seemed to be there to watch the young men chase bulls and try to bring them to the ground. The bulls' run through the street was slowed by a group of skilled horsemen and women who rode in a V formation with the bull inbetween. The young men chased from behind. There is no doubt in my mind why some of the best rugby players in the world come from this region.
Our last day in Quarante was Nicks last day on the trip for three weeks so we went on a family day out to the walled city of Carcassone. We were expecting a few snippets of wall here and there but discovered that the walls were almost totally intact and lots of the medieval city remained. It was brill despite the large number of tacky gift shops selling chain mail and swords. On the way back we went to a vinyard, sampled and bought some wine..it was very exciting.
At Aunty Joans we enjoyed real luxury in the forests near Lodeve. They run a holiday let where we were allowed to stay and enjoy the nightingales singing, the swimming pool, the orchids in the woods and the peace and tranquility. It was really magic after our hectic drive across Spain and gave us the oportunity to visit local markets, go on walks and generally get a feel for the region. When Beth flew in we picked her up from Bezier and took a detour on the way home to visit the Montpellier aquarium to see a fantastic array of sealife.
After a lovely BBQ on our last day at Lake Salagou where we admired the local flowers and geology we set off for the Pont du Garde, a Roman Aquaduct near Nimes, on our way to Lavandou near St Tropez where we camped. The journey was successful both in velocity and enjoyment of stop offs and scenery but when we returned to the car after paying to camp it would not start up again. IT was a bit of a fright but we noticed that the car clock had stoppped too and realised that one of the battery connections was loose. A quick waggle did the job and we went down to the pitch and ut pup the tent. Phew.
We stayed a couple of days to ensure that the children didnt forget how to swim (the beach looked so inviting) before heading for Italy along the coast through St Tropez, Cannes and past Monacco. The children enjoyed trying to spot celebs as it was the time of the film festival. We saw a few swanky cars but nobody that we recognised. too many darkened windows.
France in Pictures
The France leg started with a bit of a knees up to celebrate Annettes birthday
at which we were treated to a rather fab cake
The following day we visited Carcassonne, a mediaeval walled city
on the way home from which we popped into a vinyard, had a look round and bought some wine (all in french of course)
Our next stop was to stay with Lena's Aunt and Uncle Joan. Libby was persuaded to ride their pet warthog
In the Lodeve region we visited some beautiful villages and buildings
we also visited the market at Lodeve
Later when we picked up Beth we all went along to the Montpellier aquarium which was magical
and most days we took the oportunity to have a dip in Brian and Joan's very peaceful (except when we were there) pool.
But we couldnt rest for long, after a little over a week we headed off again to the south coast, en-route visiting this roman aquaduct near Nimes
Where we saw some really old graffiti!
There were really big dandilion clocks in the undergrowth.
After that little break we headed on towards the coast near St Tropez
Abi felt a bit up to her neck in it
but Libby felt there was plenty of time for a construction project
Mais Oui, this is france, even the lizards eat well
