Category: History (Page 14 of 20)

Lake Garda – Part 1

18 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

We arrived at our next pre-booked camp site only to found a now familiar “Italian issue” – pitches that are far too small, despite us asking for space that is at least 90 sqm! We wedged onto this pitch, to the amusement of many and stayed just one night and used to time to find another camp site around the corner which was bigger and better. We moved the next day to Camping Bella Italia, it’s huge, full of fabulous facilities and right on the edge of the lake.

Lake Garda, well, what a sight! Its huge. Its beautiful. Its blue and green at once. Its clean and clear and warm. Its paradise in disguise. The small villages are bustling with tourists, even in October, and full of reasonably priced restaurants, stylish villas, museums, hot springs, castles, forts and endless activities. The water is just a wonderful colour of turquoise and green, azure blue and dark blue.

Lake Garda at its best!

Whilst here, Samson was given a make-over, new decals imported from America. They are originals that came with the trailer. It kept the neighbours busy for a few hours, watching us!!

The walkway from our campsite to the town.

Peschiera (south coast of the Lake)

We based ourselves in Peschiera, an old Roman fortified town, divided up by old battlement walls and surrounded by “canals” within the lake. The military history is evident everywhere, although we could not understand why the town felt the need for this, and who they were defending it from.

The town also seems to be where you can find the most tourists – past the port on the opposite side of town to us are adventure parks (similar to Disney) and huge funfairs, aquariums and water parks. Thankfully they were all closed in October and only re-opening for Halloween, as I envisaged me dragging David over there!!

Our first weekend here, we watched a display of 1950 – 1960 racing boats, powered by Alfa Romeo 2 litre twin cam engines. The dozen boats were craned onto the water in the small marina and took turns to go out onto the lake 5 or 6 at a time and do ten laps of some strategically placed buoys. Sometimes the boats would not start at all. The ten laps were sufficient to smell the fumes, watch the water splashing up as they raced through the water, experience the thrills as the drivers battled with heavy steering and then were cheered by the crowds as they came back into the marina. The smells, sounds and images were truly memorable.

We face timed my Dad when one of the displays were on and he and David both agreed, they sounded as though they were running on 3 cylinders only, ropey! Nevertheless, it was more about the spectacle than the engines….

Sirmione (south)

This peninsular shaped town with its gatehouse is an island with one entry point to a fabulous magical place. The 13^th Century castle is a rare example of medieval port fortification with three corner towers built in pebbles alternating with courses of bricks. The walls of the rooms inside were finished with plaster simulating blocks of stone, what we would call ancient graffiti. The castle stands at the entrance to the peninsular, surrounded by a moat and only accessible by two drawbridges.

It has several natural hot springs coming out of the rocks, at about 65C, I can vouch for the heat!! I dipped my feet into it and it was a tad warm! The sulphuric smell is not too great but acceptable (pic below shows it emerging from the shoreline…)

There is walkway all around the coastline and at the very end the soft flat rocks head out onto the lake with just a few inches of water covering them. The area is called Jamaica Beach, spelled Giamaica!!!

Also at the end of the peninsular are the remains of a Roman Domus, an ancient villa with a cave complex below, closed the day we visited. The town was also home to the famous opera singer Maria Callas, during her Italian career, picture below.

Lazise (east)

This small fishing port is simply beautiful. Again an old Roman town, the city walls were built with three portals (doors) all fitted with both gates and drawbridges. The castle was built by the Scaliger Lords of Verona, and is currently owned and managed by a noble Italian family. The small church on the quayside (behind David to the left) has frescos on the walls inside dating back to the 14^th century but sadly it was being renovated when we visited.

Salo (west)

This lakeside town is known for having the longest promenade as the town is in a cove or inlet on the lake. The day we visited there was a small regatta of 8 man rowing boats taking place in the bay as well as a “vintage” market so we had a lovely mooch around this pretty town which is on the west coast. The image below shows how clear the water is.

We also found a road that went up a mountainside, called Via Panoramica! Stopped once or twice to take some scenic photos of Isola del Garda, an island on the Lake.

Bardolino (east)

Bardolino, a Roman fishing village with first recorded activity dating back to 1000, is a comb shaped village, houses are built one behind the other starting on the shoreline. This was popular with fishing villages, the perpendicularity of the street to the coast offered fishermen easy and safe transportation of the boats in front of houses.

Oil and wine production also flourished and soon the ruby red wine from this area took the same name. The town is home to a Wine and Oil Museum.

This villa was built by a man from Verona who in 1860, came here on holiday. He loved the place so much that he spent all his time here building the villa. After 13 years of being away from home, his wife turned up, only to find he was running the villa as a guest house and was building a second villa next door. She was so angry that she promptly installed both mothers to run the guest house and she helped the husband in the bigger hotel next door. The grandmothers gained fame quickly due to their fabulous cooking so they were promoted to chefs at the Hotel next door, hence the Hotel Riviera was created, still a Hotel to this day and run by grandchildren of the same family.

And into Italy we go…….

17 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

We left France and drove just over 4 hours into Italy to our next stop, along the coastal road before turning inland towards Milan. The landscape along the coast was as we had imagined, hilly and high up on mountain sides, the road was sometimes dangling above the towns below, lots of tunnels (something like 77) and bridges but as we turned off at Genova, the landscape flattened out to a point where we could have been in Ansterdam, or the fens of Cambridgeshire!!

Leaving our French site, a tight exit!

The Italian border.

At one point, our plans to visit Italy were almost put on hold as too many people told us about terrible roads, dangerous drivers and a severe lack of camp sites, but we pushed on though and decided to do a “recce” and spend 4 weeks venturing into Italy before heading back to Spain for the winter.

We plotted a route from the Cannes area up through and over the Maritime Alps mountains to Cuneo (famous for its Barolo wines) then over to Asti and Alba (famous for its fizz) and then over to Lake Garda, but the Jane (our sat nav goddess) said a BIG NO!!! With a 7 tonnes vehicles that’s 3.5m high, you cannot head over the mountains to Cuneo……unless you go to Asti first then drive back 100kms to Cuneo, then drive back to Asti, so sadly we had to cut out the Cuneo stop.

A view of the drop to the coast along the road from France into Italy.

The area between Cuneo and Asti is a huge vineyard as far as the eye can see, rows and rows of vines headed by a rosebush (to announce and protect against grape pests) and/or willows, traditionally used to support young plants. Reds, whites, sweet and sparkling wines come from this region, with a particular success in ageing red wines, such as Barolo and Barbera, one of which has always been my favourite!! I was first introduced to Barolo in about 1995, when a contractor took me to dinner at a waterside restaurant in London Bridge and I chose the most expensive red on the menu!!! I had no idea what it was but we fell in love……

A Lesson In Viniculture (wine growing to you and me!)

A bit of technical info – the main grapes grown in the Piedmonte area are: Barbera (red) and white Moscato (for the Asti Spumante) and Nebiolo (for aged wines such as Barolo and Barberesco). The Nebiolo grape was first mentioned in 1200 and continued to the 1500s when it was used

Barolo (the Wine of Kings and the King of Wines) is produced by 11 regions in the area, originally it was a sweeter wine but ecological changes made in its production around 1850 by the Marquis Falletti of Barolo, it turned it into a dry deep red – these methods were then adopted by all other growers at that time and are still used today.

Barberesco is a wine with ancient origins, produced in only 4 regions, whose name derives from the wine given to barbarian hordes of Romans that slaughtered Italians before and after the fall of Rome. Professor Domizio Cavazzi, a famous winemaker, described it as “fine, soft, generous” and in 1890 founded a wine co-operative for its exclusive production.

Barbera D’Asti and Barbera of Monferrato are two of the regions wines from the Barbera grape. The Barbera is amongst the most exported national and international wines from the Piedmonte area of Italy, initially to the American market in 1819 and was much appreciated after the production crisis after the first and second world Wars.

Moscato means “perfumed” and was declared a fine wine variety as far back as 1200 with Canelli and Asti becoming perfect areas for its cultivation, with the city of Canelli being known as an “underground cathedral” because of its immense underground factories that extend under the city. The first sparkling Asti Spumante was made in Canelli in 1860, adapted from the champagne method and includes a second fermentation in the bottle in order to obtain the sweetness.

Grignolino was mentioned in the 16th century as a “claret”, drunk during fish banquets. In the early 1900s it was described as a “delicate variety” so was mixed with a Barbera and production to this date is decreasing despite its popularity and excellent quality.

The Annual Processes – in Italy, in October, they spread fertiliser between the rows to help it over the snow laden winter; in January to March they prune (but superstition says it’s not to be done on nights when there is a full moon) and April and May is dedicated to “suckering” the baby shoots onto new supports. End of August is usually when the owner decides the date the grapes will be at their best and harvesting begins during the month of September. Once it begins, it cannot be stopped, to ensure the quality of the grapes remain consistent for that year’s crop. Italy is the first place where we have been told that they fertilise the soil and also the first place where they look forward to the snow!

Back to our travels…….

Our first stop was at a small town called Agliano Terme, home to a small natural thermal spring that was only accessible if you have a “recipe from the doctor” in other words “visit by prescription only”. We spent a day touring the small towns of Asti and Alba whilst Samson was parked in the camp site’s car park; we were too big for their terraced plots despite us emailing ahead, with a picture and dimensions! This must have been a regular occurrence as the car park with kitted out with a water, power and drain point! A few nights were fine, we just had to put up with the camp site visitors emptying their bins near us at ungodly hours!!

My parents were very proud that we have experienced our first night ever “camping in a car park”!!

When in Italy………

Starters were……. local pork ham with a blue cheese; cooked chicken with another type of cheese; (centre) was a pancake filled with ricotta and topped with grated truffle; beef carpaccio (which I did try) and filo pastry stuffed with a pate concoction! Delicious….

Mains….pizza with asparagus; lamb chops with grilled veg and potatoes.

And of course, home made Tiramisu!

Alba is the second largest town in the area after Cuneo, founded by the Romans in 190BC, sitting on a hill above the banks of the River Tanaro. The gothic style cathedral was built on the ruins of a Roman temple, it is beside the Town Hall which is attached to old Roman walls. It was known as the city of a hundred towers, only a few remain now as many were lowered to the roof levels or incorporated into buildings. Alba is also home to the white truffle, a festival is held in the truffle’s honour in October, and yes, we did get to try some! A very strong mushroom flavour…..

The Town Hall in Alba

Alba’s cathedral

Asti was also built by the Romans, in the middle ages it became a “free town”, one that due to its trade throughout Europe, earned the right to “coin money”. It is a city rich in red brick towers, palatial houses and crypts under the churches and buildings. And the churches…….they are so ornate. Frescos on the ceilings, columns painted to look like they have been carved, and such beautiful colours everywhere.

Asti may be famous for its sparkling wine, but it’s also famous for its “palio” – over several days a display of horsemanship culminating in bareback mounted horse races. A food and wine festival takes place just before the Palio, in September every year, with over 40 businesses hosting thousands of visitors who want to taste their wares. Sadly, we missed this!

After three days here we moved onto a totally different area, Lake Garda!

Frejus, San Tropez, Cannes & Super Yachts!

12 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 2 Comments

Frejus

We moved along the coast to a town called Frejus, just between San Tropez and Cannes. We used this as a base to explore these famous towns, to hopefully do some “celeb spotting” but ended up disappointed! No celebs to be seen anywhere! However, we did see lots of mind blowing boats, beautiful coastlines (perfect for open topped sport cars or motorbikes) and several fancy cars, as well as the usual high rise glossy apartments and hotels!

Frejus is a large town with lots of Roman history, a lovely modern seafront and lots of pedestrianised walkways and cycle paths. We took the tourist train one day and saw everything in one hit, the perfect way to do things!

San Tropez

The day we arrived in San Tropez, the sun was shining but it was very windy. The 45 minute drive from Frejus was lovely, a single file coastal road that gave plenty of opportunities to stop and admire the stunning views. The town was heaving, parking was at a premium but we luckily found a spot down by the port, and then realised why it was so busy. The port was full of sailing boats, a regatta was due to start that same day but was delayed due to the high winds. As the afternoon wore on, the rains arrived, then the thunder and finally as we left at about 7pm, the skies and clouds changed to the most amazing colours and shapes.

The larger yachts were moored out of the marina, at a glance we didn’t realise how large they were, until we saw them up close a few days later in Cannes!

The regatta boats were beautiful; long and sleek, wood and steel, brass and chrome listened in the afternoon sun. The ethereal sound of the hundreds of masts being whipped by their ropes was something special.

San Tropez Harbour

It was sooooo windy!

We came across the odd Harley or two!!

A few modern yachts in San Tropez, together with the obligatory new BMWs for sale.

We were surprised at how small San Tropez marina and town is, a few restaurants line the harbour and the small narrow streets were full of small versions of named expensive brand shops; everyone (except us) was wearing obligatory sailing gear – cotton trousers, sweaters or shirts branded with their boat’s name, and loafer shoes!

On our way back to the campsite, the heavens opened and provided us with a beautiful sunset, the cloud formations changing colour every ten mintues.

Prices (excluding motorways services)

Fuel, beer and wine here seemed to have shot up in price, this is generally a guide for David’s wallet. In Spain, Cadiz, we were paying €1.09 for a litre of diesel, €1.50 for a large glass of wine and €4 for a pint of lager. Portugal it crept up to €1.50 for diesel, €4 for wine and €5 for a beer. In France it went even higher, but in Frejus we hit the limit – €1.74 for diesel and we saw prices of €8 and €9 for a 500cl beer, just over a pint! We did not indulge!!!

This cotton outfit will set you back a few hundred euros!

So, you cannot complain about fuel prices in the UK again!!!

We had expected prices to rise in Cannes, but they were very reasonable, €7.50 for a beer and €4.50 for a large wine!

Mandelieu & Once Upon A Time

The coastal road between Frejus and Cannes is amazing, about 20 miles of narrow and winding road with several areas to stop and admire the azure blue sea, beautiful coves and houses and the coastline. I understand why they call it the Cote D’Azur (Blue Coast), I have never seen blue like it before.

We stopped just outside Cannes for a lunch break in a town called Mandelieu and found a castle open to the public so we decided to pay a visit. Chateau de La Napoule was a real eye opener, the medieval fortress had been privately owned since the 1920s by an artist and his wife, who restored it to provide a ‘fantasy and satirical’ home and, following their departure, a museum and a gallery for his works, as well as an ongoing art school for other artists. The owners were Henry and Marie Clews, who spent 17 years restoring the fortress called “Once Upon A Time” and a neighbouring house. Henry built a tower with one entrance/exit, and windows high above, overlooking the sea, where he built a crypt for him and his wife to be laid to rest. The crypts are open, exposing the coffins inside, as Henry expressed a wish that following their deaths, their spirits would visit each other…..

Henry’s tower.

View from the gardens.

View of the front of the fortress.

Some of Henry Clews’s works.

His wife in bronze.

Henry’s open crypt waiting for his wife……

Inside the dining area of the house.

View of the fortress walls and gardens.

The adjoining house, also renovated by M & Mme Clews.

Cannes, Cote D’Azur

Cannes itself is huge, a long seafront parade peppered with dazzling high rise apartment blocks, expensive hotels (The Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Radisson Blu and Marriott to name a few….), very posh cars and even posher boats. I know I was blown away by the boats in San Tropez but these were different – more modern, bigger, huger, gigantic, super yachts, with price tags in the millions!! We look up some on a site called “Superyacht owners”, it lists the features of the yachts (X many bedrooms, x many staff rooms, pool and jaccuzzi on deck, how many tenders and jet skis….) as well as the year it was built and it’s sale price at the time!

I had a headache by the end of the day, reading and absorbing the values and understanding the owners of these gob smacking towns on floats! Plus of course, the brand new BMWs and Range Rovers with blacked out windows on the docks adding to the value…….

If I ever win the lottery……………..you know where to find me……..

Initial view of Cannes beach, with a cruise liner docked.

A building’s hoarding that caught my eye!

The famous Palm Beach in Cannes. The Hotel at the end was popular in the 60s but closed and is now a casino.

Beautiful buildings everywhere.

And now for the Super Yachts……drool on…………

Lets start with this one, owned by the Saudi Royal Family, $80 million worth of yacht!!!

Narbonne Visitors

11 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

La Nautique campsite is in Narbonne, on the edge of a salt water lake, created by the natural movement of sand, very common around this part of France. The lakes are used for non motorised water sports only, offer endless cycling and walking paths and are home to migrating birds, especially egrets, herons and flamingoes. And the dreaded mosquitos!!!!!!!!!!

A new extension to Samson, the bug free conservatoire.

Narbonne Cathedral.

Narbonne cathedral, home to Europe’s highest organ, 23m high! On the left you can see two trumpet players on a platform, we had the pleasure of listening to a concert with them and just the organ! Fabulous!!

Narbonne’s famously wonky red carpet!! David was dying to straighten it.

This made me giggle!!!

The city of Narbonne is about 5 miles away, full of character and charm, it has a daily indoor market selling every type of produce you can imagine as well as food bars, pizza, baguettes and even an oyster and champagne bar! An external market is held twice a week, supported by local artisans selling lavender, honey products, olives, wine and duck products. Honey, olives and duck feature highly on every menu, duck breats, duck pate, olive tapenades, honey added to anything and everything…..

The city centre has a lovely old stone cathdral, an adjoining Bishops Palace (home to the Mayor), roman road remains and the lovely Canal Robine which eventually meets up with the Canal Du Midi but gives the town a lovely feel of calm, sophistication and age without the modernity taking over.

The Canal du Robine in Narbonne centre.

Views over the salt lakes and natural inlets.

We stopped at a private vineyard, where the owner took us down into his cellars, after a tasting of course!

This deconsecrated church is now a museum to over 2000 stones found locally that are full of Latin carvings and etchings.

View of Gruissan port.

Beziers

Beziers is a nearby city, full of character, perched on a hill. It has a cathedral where one (yes, we have done it!) can climb over 200 steps up a spiral staircase to the top of a tower for views over the surrounding landscape. The main square comes to life every night with lit waterfalls that dance to music, surrounded by pretty cafes and restaurants and terraced tropical gardens. Just outside the town is an amazing feature of the Canal du Midi, a terraced set of locks which rise/fall over 21.5 metres and are 300m in length.

The Fonserranne lock (built in 1850) consists of eight ovoid-shaped lock chambers and nine gates, the flight was originally built as an 8-rise, which together with the ninth lock (the écluse de Notre-Dame, 710 metres (0.44 mi) to the north-east) allowed boats to cross the Orb river on a level and reenter the canal further downstream. The “9 locks” name dates from this time.

Diagram of the locks and gates, showing the numbering of the chambers and the six in use at the present day.

However, in 1858 an aqueduct was built to replace the crossing of the Orb. Boats now enter and leave the lower end of the flight through the side of chamber seven, which is permanently kept at its upper water level. The flight is therefore effectively made up of six locks. The lower gates of the seventh chamber are now permanently closed; the eighth chamber and the ninth lock, the pre-1858 route descending to the Orb, are disused.

View from the top of the locks.

View from the bottom lock looking upwards.

Visit by Caitlin & Emma

We had been back in Narbonne just over a week when we had visitors, Caitlin and her friend Emma. They camped in a tent on our pitch and we showed them the sights, out every day! On the day they arrived, we stayed on the site, they set up the tent (which was a laugh for us!!), went in the pools, had a BBQ and devised a travel plan.

Caity practising on the slide!!

Saturday we drove the 100kms into Spain, to purchase cheap tobacco and cigarettes for the girls and their friends back in the UK. We stopped at a lovely town called Roses and had lunch, strolled along the beach front and did some shopping, stocking up on the Spanish milk that we like, chorizo sausages and Manchego cheese!

We took a day out to the beautiful walled city of Carcassonne, a fully enclosed medieval city, had a picnic in the grounds and learned about the city’s decoration, to commemmorate the 20th anniversary of it gaining its UNESCO status. It was an ever increasing circle, painted onto a metal that stuck (temporarily) to the walls. In a different location, the view was only of bits of yellow, you had to stand in a certain position to gain the full effect.

We took the girls to Bezier, took a short boat ride up the canal, took the tourist train around the town, and walked up the famous seven locks on the Canal du Midi.

Joan of Arc Version 1 and 2!

We agreed to a day at a water park, where we all came away with cuts, bruises, aches and pains, we decided that David and I are far too old for water parks now! The girls enjoyed themselves!!

We visited Gruissan and climbed to the ruins of the castle on the top of the hill, spent a few hours on Gruissan Plage, our nearest decent beach, and taught the girls how to snorkle in the freezing med waters! They wanted to jet ski but didnt have ID with them, shame…… Getting to Gruissan meant going through another area of natural salt and fresh water lakes, home to hundreds of migrating birds.

An artists impression of Gruissan and it’s ruined tower.

Top of the tower.

Visit from Keith & Jean

We also spent three days with Keith and Jean Perry, our old neighbours from the campsite in Cambridge; they were on their way down through France to Spain so it was a short break in their journey for them.

We took them to Gruissan and Narbonne as well as heading south down the coast one day to Port Le Nouvelle. This is a lovely seaside town with a long sandy beach lined with restaurants. We took an afternoon stroll along the seawall watching the fishing boats arriving with their catch.

David and Keith joined the “Old Mans Club” on Port Le Nouvelle seafront 🙂

We watched several fishing boats coming back into the harbour, they were throwing their dead fish overboard so were swarming with sea gulls.

We visited an old gypsum mine that was closed and sold to local farmers for just one French Franc. The farming co-operative now store their wine here, it’s maturing process assisted by the mine’s perfect ambient temperatures. We were treated to a wonderful light and sound show before exploring the tunnels.

Steps into the main chambers.

Part of the colourful light show.

We were also shown the history of mining, from using man made tools, to horse and cart, and finally old vehicles; included tools and working conditions.

A view of the stored barrels.

Summer Update – Blighty and Beyond

3 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

Back to the UK

We put Samson into storage in Bezier (South of France) and took three days to drive the 1050kms up to the UK for my mother’s significant birthday, she had organised a lovely long weekend of food, drinks, fun and a gathering of friends and family for a BBQ.

The boys! Brother Dean, David, brother Neil, Dad Michael.

The girls! Camilla, Mum, Shawna and me.

Very drunk parents at the end of the night!!

Neil and Camilla.

Shawna, me and Dean.

A drunk, end of the night, selfie….

We broke the journey with overnight stops in Orleans just below Paris and Saint Omer on the coast before getting the ferry at Calais in the morning. I can proudly say that I drove “through Paris” without stress or accident!

We took this opportunity to perform practical matters; dentist, doctors, MOT the truck, purchase toiletries from Superdrug that are too expensive abroad and purchased goods from Tesco that we cannot get in Europe! Tins of my favourite instant coffee filled a carrier bag, the checkout girl looked at us with an enquiring eye that day…….yes, OK, I confess I have a Millicano addiction…….

We took a surprise trip to South Wales to visit mother-in-law Rosemary, now aged 90 but still healthy, took her shopping, to her favourite meal out – KFC and did some odd jobs around the house that she needed doing! Managed so much in the 36 hours we were there, it wore us out!!

We spent time with Robin and Charlotte, and Caitlin, and David’s brother in Bournemouth as well as friends in Somerset, Devon and Kent. We felt we were sofa surfing for about 10 days!

Wendy & I after a few glasses/bottles of wine…..usual!

David & Carlos’s usual pose after a few beers.

David and Misty admiring the view from our Teignmouth guest house!

My favourite Teignmouth girls!

We then decided to book a holiday (yes, I hear you laughing!!!) for two reasons – it was cheaper than the hugely increased nightly rates on French camp sites and to get away from the massive influx of noisy French children! Do all French families really have 3 or 4 children each, it would seem so!!! We were used to paying €19 per night, not €59!!

We would like to confirm that we are not on holiday, as most people think – we live this life and it’s our daily routine, so a fortnight in an adults only environment was booked at the last minute – we booked and flew 2 days later!! The only downside to this was the lack of availability, we were given two options and decided to go somewhere we have not been before, Cape Verde, off the coast of west Africa.

Boa Vista in Cape Verde

Boa Vista in Portuguese means “lovely view” and Cape Verde conjures up images of lush, tropical, green islands – sadly nothing like the reality. Dry, rocky, moon like earth, jagged mountain outcrops and a backward living was more correct. The island was mainly inhabited at the top part where there are some farms and greenery created by the high water table and three “towns”, the capital is a run down shamble of half built buildings and a few large modern beach side hotels. The whole island is only 19 miles from top to bottom but the journey from the airport (quarter of the way down) to our hotel in the totally uninhabited South took 40 minutes, as the roads were simply rutted dirt tracks. The “locals” were wild horses, donkeys and goats, a remnant from pre 4×4 days and the only way to get around nowadays – by quad bike or hire an expensive 4×4 jeep, adjusted to take up to 8 people in the open back! The sea and beaches were beautifully open and lush but totally unswimmable; the Atlantic Ocean was so strong that swimming in it was forbidden unless you were in a cove or a bay, which we weren’t.

Sadly, we cannot recommend this island as an ideal holiday destination, unless you like to sit by the pool all day long and do nothing!

This is the brochure image of the No 1 thing to visit on the island, an old ship wreck.

This is the reality!!!!

No 2 thing to do was to visit an old lighthouse. Hell of a hike to the top…

This was the view from the top, which ok, was stunning…..

This is the view from the top…..

This is the reality…….

Sooooo windy!

Another view from the top.

We did fit in some swimming, off a boat, water was cold but clear. We managed 20 minutes of snorkelling, gave up as the sea was void of all life!

Looks idyllic??? It’s not really…

In reality, Route 66 is a cobbled stone road, built about 80 years ago, full of pot holes and not much more!

We posed on what the locals call Route 66, a road right through the middle of the island.

The was the best of the Capital, Sal Rei.

Our local beach with its huge waves.

Every day was windy and cloudy, despite being a constant 28C.

The moon like landscape.

A local woman in the town of Sal Rei.

Colourful school children waiting for a bus.

I did make one friend…..a stray cat 🙂

Back to Blighty and France

We returned to the UK for 2 days before heading to Dover to catch our ferry back to France. We did the same on the way back, broke the journey twice by stopping off at Troyes and Lyon.

Troyes….now, there is a place I could recommend! Quirky, friendly, tall, full of olde worlde narrow wooden buildings mixed into modern fountains, bistros and bars. It was said that Cats used to rule Troyes, as the buildings were so close together, the roofs almost touching, that the cats would catch mice in the wooden beams and then run across the rooftops with their prey, out of reach of man.

Troyes at night.

Narrow alley ways.

In Lyon we chose to stay in a modern hotel overnight, guaranteeing a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. We swam in the hotel’s pool, ate dinner out locally and slept in a spacious, comfortable air conditioned room before driving back to Bezier to collect Samson. We then drove another half an hour back to Narbonne where we booked into a large water side site for 4 weeks.

Lonely Samson….

Back on the travel trails soon…….