A few days en route to Provence… and a significant milestone!

 After dallying in the Dordogne for longer than we had planned but for less time than we could easily have stayed, we decided we really must make an effort to answer that siren call of the south. We were heading to Les Calanques, east of Marseille and (so we thought) a campsite in the national park there (more of that in a subsequent entry!).

Having lounged about for more than a bit at Camping La Plage, we clearly felt the need for a bit of culture/history and so we found ourselves heading for the famous cave paintings of Grotte de Peche-Merle in the hills above Cabrerets. These caves are unusual in that they allow visitors to see the actual paintings (via strict limits on daily numbers and only 25 people per visit) rather than replicas, as well as having an amazing range of stalactites and stalagmites, including ones shaped like discs and some tiny ones like pearls.

Tours are only allowed with an official guide and there is a strict regime of no photographs at all. The tour was entirely in French (as were the rest of the group’s participants) but we were given an English translation that enabled us to make sense of the sometimes less-than-obvious art works we were being shown. Some of the drawings though were clear even to our inexpert eyes, and it was quite breathtaking to consider the ancient peoples that had created the drawings/paintings.

Discovered by three schoolchildren in the 1920s, the caves are perhaps best known for the preserved footprint of an adolescent from some 20,000 years ago – and the tour takes you right past the route s/he would have been taking – spine chilling! And here are some images, courtesy of the interweb…

Leaving the caves mid afternoon we continued on our route in the direction of Marseilles, not sure of how far we would get but secure in the knowledge that the route was dotted with plenty of Aires. Mr B quite fancied stopping at Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a ‘bastide’ town in the Aveyron valley, having read about this style of defensive architecture and construction in one of his summer reads (Citadel by Kate Mosse). The town also boasted a free Aire a short walk from the historic centre.

The town was built as a defensive structure in 1252 as part of the royal ‘pacification’ of the south following the Cathar persecution. Although it apparently showcases one of the best bastide squares in the region, we felt the town had seen better days and it had, for us, a sad air of neglect and decay. It did have some fascinating contemporary sculpture though, making great use of up-cycled materials, combined with a great sense of humour...

Unfortunately, the Aire left a lot to be desired, downtown alongside the railway in a big dusty car park, just the sort of place where the local kids might hang out at night and do wheelies on their mopeds. We weren’t the only camper to pull in and then depart! As we always follow our initial gut instinct on whether to stay somewhere or not, we decided after our brief look around the town, to head off in search of a new stop for the night.

It’s an odd feeling as we take off on a ‘plan B’ option, never sure whether we are going to find a space in our next second choice Aire, or whether we will have to drive on even further. And even though we know we can just pull over in pretty much any French village in rural France and not be disturbed for the night, it’s a bit hard not to view every other campervan on the road in front of us as heading to our chosen spot – and tonight, we’d set ourselves a special challenge, as the Aire only had three spaces!

Luckily Mr B kept a lid on his pitch paranoia and avoided overtaking every single camper en route where possible, and, with fate clearly on our side, we pulled into the one remaining space at the municipal Aire in Rieupeyroux, still in the Aveyron department. We’d read on our Camper-contact App that this free Aire had electricity and sure enough it did, with each of the three bays boasting hook-up and a fresh water tap, with proper facilities for waste disposal a short walk away. Snuggling in between the much larger campervans either side of us, we spent a very peaceful night and slept on until the odd sound of an electronic jingle woke us from our slumbers the next morning – and then every hour or so. It turned out that the local middle school just across the road had ditched marking lesson changes with a bell over the tannoy, and replaced it with a catchy bit of electronica instead!

It’s places like this that really bring home the very different attitude to ‘camping caristes’ in France compared to the UK. And to add further grist to this particular mill, when we popped into the local tourist office to see if it was possible to pass on our thanks to the officials at the Mairie responsible for this generous approach, we were given a handbook of a network of similar Aires in the Aveyron department, all designed to encourage tourism by campervan! If only…

We set off the next day knowing that we would be revisiting an old friend of ours on trips from years gone by – the free A75 and its amazing (not free but such good value at €12.40 for a class 2 off-peak crossing) Millau bridge. And undeterred by the ‘vent fort’ signs on the approach to the bridge, we gritted our teeth and gripped whatever was to hand as were buffeted across what we think is still the tallest bridge in the world!

And it was not long after negotiating the bridge that we had an on-board party and we raised a toast (OK, swig of water) to Eva the Iveco campervan’s 100,000^th mile – 52,000 of them with us as a campervan!

As the miles rolled by we knew we’d run out of free motorway just east of Montpellier, and our experience of the lateral coastal roads in this part of France has taught us to make no assumptions about journey time at this time of the year. And as we’d only ever seen the Camargue in the wet, we decided to head for a site just inside the national park near St Gilles, with perhaps some time for a bit of exploration before settling in for the night. Unfortunately, the traffic was true to form and by the time we hauled ourselves onto our odd emplacement at camping Crin Blanc (complete with strange wooden gazebo) we had run out of time to do much else other than wonder why anyone had thought these structures a good idea for putting campervans next to! Luckily, it had become too windy for us to get the awning out…

With the wind still blowing strong enough to flay the shell off a tortoise (as an old Rough Guide once described the Mistral) and continuing our newly acquired love of trying to drive in a straight line whilst enjoying the buffeting wind, we set off eastwards, knowing that those Calanques were not too far away…

S&J

Nantes Elephant video - uploaded!

For anyone who wants to see the short video we made of the giant mechanical elephant in Nantes, we have now managed to upload it! 
You should find it at the end of the photos of the elephant in the Nantes entry.
And thank you to Pass'Étapes for the free WiFi on our first stop on one of their Aires at La Couronne - better bandwidth than any of the campsites we've stayed at so far!
S

Dallying in the Dordogne

Our route southeast towards the Med would take us through the Dordogne, somewhere we’d stayed before on Aires a couple of times overnight, but never really stopped to take in the lushness of the river and the nearby attractions, of which there are so many! 

Enjoying some baking hot weather as we drove, Mrs B had suggested a visit to the Marqueyssac gardens near La Roque Gageac, where we’d stopped overnight at the riverside Aire some years ago. With campsites a-plenty in the area, we lucked out with one right on the river, Camping La Plage, right at the foot of the gardens, located on the bluff, 130m above us.

With one of the Pass’Étapes Aires right at the entrance (heaving and right by the road) and near full occupancy on the site (we arrived late afternoon on a Friday), we were lucky to nab a pitch with plenty of shade and spectacular views towards the small village of Beynac and within site of the river racing past in full flood! This explained the crazy speed of the normally languid gabares tourist boats as they plied their trade on the section of river.

We were told we could move to a riverside plot if we wanted when one became vacant, but after the first night of serenading by some particularly vocal frogs, decided we liked it just where we were!

And as we settled down for that first evening, watching the sun arc through the sky towards the gardens, we were treated to some hot air balloons from the nearby Montgolfier centre drifting towards us and over the gardens! (We were not quite so appreciative at dawn the next day however, as the roar of the gas burners overhead woke us from our post frog-song slumbers!).

With a lovely pool on site, we somehow managed to delay our trip to the gardens until Sunday, when we fancied a slow stroll across the nearby farmland rather than traipse along the main road. The fields were chock full of insect life with loads of butterflies (a bit too nimble for Mr B to capture on film!) and we wondered whether the particular farmer had a more eco-friendly approach to insecticides than much of the farmland near us back at home. The track ran pretty much parallel to the gardens above us and when we paused to look up, we could see tiny people looking down at us from the viewpoints…

…it took us a good 45 minutes before we were able to become a couple of those tiny people ourselves, and with temperatures hovering around 30c, we were glad of the garden’s shade!

Based in the grounds of an old Château and dominating the bluff for several kilometres, the gardens are a fascinating mixture of very formal settings, with neatly clipped box hedging, relaxing into a less formal layout with some lovely quirky ‘installations’, as well as spectacular views (including looking down on our campsite!) In the same family since 1692, but only opened to the public in 1996 we were fortunate to be able to wander round with only a few other people. When we got to the end though, we saw that, it being a Sunday and lunchtime, the locals were better organised and had just started their visit early, leaving their tables as we arrived. Lucky for us then, or we would have had lunch standing up!

The far end of the gardens is given over to a more relaxed layout, with avenues of trees and some interesting art…

Lunch in the Château proved to be a test of resisting temptation, as one of the specialities was an enormous range of alcohol-infused ice creams… Sticking to a regional take on cheese on toast (with lardons and potato) we enjoyed our view out of the window over the plains to the north, girding our loins for the trek home.

We had read that the Château had an unusually steep roof, weighing 500 tonnes, but it was only when we wandered out after lunch to the north side, that we could appreciate just how steep, and given that it is made up of layers of cut stone, why it weighed in so heavy! And Mr B finally got his turn with the parasol…

The walk back took us past some interesting plants we’d not seen before…

and with the sun now casting a different light, allowed us to see the barley/wheat fields in (literally) a different light.

Back at the site we had time to unwind and watch the last gabares of the day labour their way back against the strong current as they returned to La Roque Gageac. We’d taken a ride on one of these years ago, never anticipating that one day we’d be snapping them from a riverside campsite!

With the frogs choosing not to serenade us every night (apparently they are largely responsible for the good mosquito control at the site, so deserved some time off!) it was with some reluctance that we headed off after a few days, under yet another blazing sun and blue sky.

Was this maybe the beginning of an unusual endless summer in la belle France?

S&J

Of bread and circuses

Having saved some of the WW2 sites near Nantes for another visit, Mr B was keen to visit the Roman amphitheatre at Saintes to feed his historical bent. Once the provincial capital of Santionge under Roman occupation, our Rough Guide described it as ‘one of the finest in France’ and expectation levels were high!

We camped up on a lovely municipal site just a short cycle ride away from the centre and were pleased to be able to get a pitch right next to the river Charente. This location is another good example of how well positioned some municipal sites can be – and good value too.

With mixed weather overhead we saddled up ready for a Roman adventure. The cycle route (courtesy of Google) was a little odd and took us through some small back lanes and passages in the outskirts…

…where, completely unexpectedly, the massive arena of the amphitheatre nestles in a valley, now surrounded by houses!

What the site might lack in completeness (most of the external walls were taken town as a source of building materials after the Romans left) it more than makes up for in the scale of the arena and seating that still survives – as well as the totally bizarre location! Dated from about 40AD and with a capacity of around 15,000, it has now joined Mr B’s list of ancient monuments that continue to remind us of the sheer scale and sophistication of Roman society – and the crude but effective means of keeping control over their subjects as they slowly ‘Romanised’ them, by offering regular, often brutal spectacles of combat, as well as a steady supply of bread to keep the population subdued and less inclined to criticise their rulers!

We also visited the Arc de Germanicus on the river bank, built on the orders of a local dignitary in 19AD to celebrate the life of Germanicus Ceasar and the emperor Tiberius. It used to stand on the main route into Saintes until it was dismantled in the 19^th Century to make way for road improvements. Luckily, it was rebuilt by a local French dignitary, just along the river from where it once stood. And when we visited, it was draped in a strange web of ropes that we think was part of a contemporary art installation. Mr B would of course have preferred it undraped, but it still conveyed a sense of what the Roman world must have been like all those centuries ago.

Despite the loungers on the riverbank that the local council had installed calling us to put our feet up and rest awhile, we decided to head back to camp and get going to our next stopover as we drift south towards the Mediterranean…

S&J

Posting problems!

A quick note to say we are having a few problems finding decent wifi in this part of France (currently near the coast in Provence)! The blog will of course make slow but steady progress - but there may be some more gaps!
Happy reading!
S&J

Nantes – wow!

 Mrs B had suggested we stop by in Nantes for a mini ‘city-break’, as she’d read about the fascinating ‘Machines de L’île’, a sort of steam punk centre of engineering creativity, and in particular, its enormous mechanical elephant. It turned out that Nantes is a city that has so much more to offer, and although we managed to get round a fair bit in one day, we’d certainly return given half an excuse, especially as there is also so much to see at night, including some fabulous artistic light installations!

We chose to stay at an ACSI campsite on the outskirts, Nantes Camping, as it was close to public transport and we always feel more comfortable leaving the camper on a site if we can when we have a city day out. We’d completely underestimated the popularity of the site so early in the season though, and we arrived to find no ACSI pitches left. When we were offered (with an additional fee!) a choice of ‘comfort’ pitches we were immediately sceptical that we were just being up-sold, as can happen. So we opted for a non-electric pitch as we have plenty of capacity, expecting a ‘normal’ ACSI one to become suddenly vacant – but it turned out that there really were no ACSI pitches left, no doubt due to the site’s very generous policy of allowing a 3.00pm departure!

And a very happy two nights we spent off grid in Nantes, discovering (amongst many other things!) that it used to be the ancient capital of Brittany, before being absorbed in the Loire-Atlantique region.

After pitching up and successfully shucking and scoffing our Oysters (with no ill effects or injuries!) we spent the evening planning our day in the city. With cheap go-anywhere (including a boat ride on the west of the city) 24-hour tram ticket that left from just outside the site, it looked to be a doddle.

And so it turned out, with a 20 minute tram ride delivering us right into the heart of the city, we quickly came across a French naval three-masted training ship that we had been told was due to sail that very day. We missed the impressive cannonade as it made its way to the sea, but did get sight of it just before it headed off.

Heading to the area that the Machines are based in, we were reminded of the city (and this part in particular)’s role as a major industrial port and shipbuilding centre. Dotted around the area were reminders of the once proud workforce, their work, and their many struggles for fair treatment. With the docks closed down in the 80s, we were sure that a city that still boasted a ‘Boulevard Stalingrad’ had an interesting legacy in such a highly skilled and politicised workforce of tens of thousands.

And that is what apparently led to the creation of the ‘Machine de L’île’ concept where the city’s skilled and industrialised past could be given a new lease of life. Other than the giant elephant, we weren’t that sure of what else we would see, until we rounded a corner and were faced with an enormous take on a Victorian style carousel, celebrating the sea and the marine world. We didn’t get a chance to go on it this visit, but it’s certainly impressive!

In the background, you can see the one remaining yellow dock crane, preserved as a reminder of the shipbuilding industry.

It was as we headed over to the ‘gallery’ of machines that we came across the giant elephant, only just loaded with its next batch of passengers. And it’s a credit to the designers and operating company that although you pay to ride on it, all the local citizens and visitors get to see and admire it for free as it trumpets its way around the former dockyard, liberally wetting anyone daring to get close!

Our steam-punk appetites whetted, we spent some time in the large warehouse and workshop/creative hub of the île, displaying both past projects and those yet to come, including the next major construction, an enormous (35m high) steel tree; the ‘Heron Tree’, topped by two herons, due to be completed in 2022, with aerial walkways and ride under the herons’ wings. We were able to walk on a prototype branch as part of the warehouse tour, and we will most definitely be back in the future to see the finished project!

Buoyed up from our visit to the gallery and its creative energy, we decided to cross the river and step back into a murkier side of the city; its role as the largest port and hub for the French slave trade. The city has tackled this in a sobering underground gallery with a haunting combination of facts and figures on the global slave trade, and the slow journey to emancipation, told as a linear display. Accompanied along the gallery by audio extracts from both slaves and emancipators, we were both shocked to see how recently slavery was banned in some countries late in the 20^th century, particularly in the Gulf. Finishing with a reminder that slavery is still with us in Europe in a pernicious and modern way, we surfaced ready for something to re-charge our faith in humanity…

…and what better way than to amble down the river to admire the amazing and iconic tower of the ‘Lulu’ biscuit factory (we have eaten a good few of theirs over the years on our travels through France!)…

and to visit the Château des Ducs de Bretagne (again free to visitors to walk the impressive ramparts) …

and finally a visit to the quirky Jardins des Plantes, and a sit down to rest our aching feet …

With plenty of space to chill out, admire the well-labelled trees and plants, we had to chuckle at the sense of humour that pervades parts of the park, especially the children’s play area!

We couldn’t finish our blog on Nantes without a quick shout for Hazel and Mick from Bedford who introduced us to the ‘Pass’Étapes’ network of Aires which, in spite of our extensive travels across France in over 30 years, was new to us. We’ll update on our views once we’ve tried one, but they look very good value and are in some interesting places. If you’d like to know more, here’s a picture of the card with website details!

S&J