Leaving Torre la Sal in
bright sunlight, we headed off on the last part of the journey through Spain,
intending to stop in France at a wine-producing region we love in the Cathar
country. Sated with campsite luxury for a bit, we aimed for an Aire de Camping
Cars near the town of Maury, in an area that makes some of our favourite wines.
Last time, we’d stayed in an Aire nestled under a mountain with a Cathar castle
above; Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, which had been shrouded in a mysterious mist.
We arrived just as darkness fell, under clear skies, very much hoping to catch
sight of the castle above in the morning.
As we were settling in for
the night we heard a knock at the door – pretty unusual, so armed with our
hefty Maglite torch, I opened the door, to be greeted by Glawdys from the
nearby Pizza joint touting her wares! Taking a menu from her, and remembering
that she had leafleted campervans when we were here before, we decided to give
it a try. Just 200m from the van, and based in an old Peugeot van jacked up on
bricks in Glawdys and Franck’s back garden, was an amazing wood fired pizza
oven serving take-away customers.
Open only on Fridays, we
chuckled at our good luck in only being here twice and both times on a Friday,
and ordered a ‘Royale’ to go. Watching Franck assemble and then cook in the
pretty small but very efficient oven was as close to food poetry as I’ve been
in a while, and before long, the delightful aroma of pizza ‘au feu de bois’ was
wafting around the van as we tucked in. Probably the best pizza we’ve had
outside Sicily, we settled in for a very quiet and cold night, with the
temperature dropping to 3c overnight.
Luckily, our diesel heater
didn’t let us down this time, and we woke to a misty morning, bemoaning the
fact that yet again we’d miss a view of the castle! However, benefitting from not being the most speedy of
campers to get ready and depart, just as we were about to leave, the mist
burned off and we were treated to some amazing views of the castle and the
scenery as we wound our way down the mountain to the winery we had come to
visit. It’s amazing how quickly the weather can change up here, as you can see
in the first two photos, about 5 minutes apart!
Unfortunately, the winery
was closed (just like last time) and although we tried telephoning the owners,
after getting just an answerphone, we headed off to the nearby cooperative that
had filled our wine space last time we were here, with some lush and great
value local wines.
After stocking up, we headed
off to a site we had chosen north of Montauban, hoping to arrive in daylight
with time to explore the local village of Septfonds. The weather had other
ideas however, and as we left Toulouse, a proper old pea-souper drifted in and
we made very slow progress, arriving at the campsite in the dark. Greeted by
the friendly Dutch owner who told us to pitch wherever we fancied and do the
paperwork in the morning, we plugged in and prepared for what we could see was
going to be a cold night, glad we could use our little electric greenhouse
heater to stay warm! And indeed it was a cold night outside, dropping below 0c
and only warming to 5c by the time we left at midday, heading for Cahors for a
wander, having been rained off last time we passed through. The campsite, Bois
de Redon was a classic quiet, rural and well spaced out site and at €17 plus €1
tax, one we’re sure to return to.
Arriving at the same Aire we
had used on the journey down, where the diesel heater had failed and the
incessant rain postponed a visit to Cahors, we were chuffed to begin our walk
in dry and pleasant weather. Not having a huge amount of time before we needed
to get back on the road to get to our next stop near Payrac, we strolled along
the river to the famous Pont Valentré, built in the 14c and still sporting its
defensive towers. Although the sky had turned cloudy by the time we got there,
the bridge remained both impressive and photogenic. Wandering over it and
appreciating its mediaeval dimensions, we were amazed to read that it had only
been closed to traffic in 1995!
We couldn’t resist the
temptation to visit the city’s drinking water pumping station on the other side
of the river either, which draws water from a spring, even though it is
adjacent to the river. Marvelling at the clarity of the water and the recent
discovery of Roman coins from the Augustan period in the spring, we headed off
to explore the older historic quarter of the city, saving the larger centre
itself for another visit.
We loved the approach to
Xmas decorations in this quarter, where there was no sign of the more glitzy
civic street lighting and instead, a quirky approach that combined recycled
plastic containers and home made ‘presents’ that set an alternative feel.
Stopping briefly to admire
the Cahors water clock on the way back to the van, we decided to head off after
a late lunch to Camping Panoramic, another Dutch-run site that we had visited a
few years back, opting for a leisurely Sunday and saving the longer drive for
Monday instead – a much more fun way to amble northwards toward la Manche and
our ferry, now only 48 hours away…
S.
Some classic french scenes in that last post, love the bridge especially. Those pizzas look good too!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the weather here when you get back might actually be a tad warmer (at least at night) than you've had of late. Trade-off, natch, has been some dreary dank grey days - not many of those blue skies around.
Looking forward to seeing you both in just over a week!