Category: General (Page 24 of 37)

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…….

Summer Update 2018 – Toulouse

3 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since I posted anything, but, we have been busy! Plus I have had an issue with the website, Gremlins invaded so I’ve had to change things a little; archive pages will be added but the site shows our travels going forward from the Summer of 2018.

A summary of the two months of July and August before we continued with our travels around the South of France………. we had two weeks in the Toulouse area, drove back to the UK, took a holiday, drove back down through France and rejoined our trailer and our travels!

La Romieu, Toulouse

After leaving the Biarritz area of France, we moved inland for 2 weeks to stay in the Toulouse area, in a small village called Le Romieu. In our second week we met with an old friend Louise, her three children and parents and we explored the local towns. David excelled in the BBQ area, coping with cooking for 8 people and still providing cold drinks on demand! Louise, Dylan, Tyler, Isis, Jill and Ivan were lovely company on this rural campsite, it was a brilliant week.

BBQ at Chez Samson with Jill, Ivan and Louise, Chef David is hiding!!

Cooling arrival drinks for Jill, Ivan and Dylan.

Free evening of music and fireworks!

La Romieu has it’s own history in the form of a collegiate cathedral built by a local who became a cardinal, as he realised the town was on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella in the north of Spain. He built the church and it’s surrounding buildings in SIX years, quite a feat considering the average time to build a cathedral is 70 years!

View from one of the Cathedral towers.

Grounds of La Romieu.

The grounds of the church displayed a collection of photographs of local people, this lady is a local farmer’s wife and is 101 years old!

Samson at night.

Le Romieu at night.

A local village house.

Our nearest towns were Condom (yes, really!) and Lectoure. Condom is the home to a famous resident, D’Artagnan, one of the Musketeers as well as a fabulous cathedral and a river, where we took a boat ride one sunny day.

Making friends with D’Artagnan and his pals.

Condom’s church has a complete stone quire, very rare.

Exterior of Condom church.

Lovely parents Ivan and Jill!

Boat trip on the river.

Happy days xx

Lectoure is a more traditional hilltop town, traditional local produce markets, ancient Roman remains including a natural spring fountain and beautiful narrow cobbled streets.

A traditional old house.

View from Lectoure.

We took a day trip into Toulouse and explored the city by tourist bus, the best way when it’s hot outside and time is limited.

Toulouse main square.

We also spent some time with the owner of a cognac distillery, where he explained how it was produced, showed us his private collection and let us taste his wares. We wandered around his estate to work off the effects of cognac at 11am before purchasing a bottle or two. The owner only makes a batch every 6-8 years, when the harvest is a good quality and does not sell to the commecrial sector, only private individuals and visitors to his farm. He was entertaining and informative and quite charming, well he would be after a few bevvies!! !

Sunset over the lake at Larrouleta campsite.

Francais Chaud, Hot France!

1 October 2018 / Juliet Stratton / 0 Comments

I know that England is having a heatwave, well, so are we in France!! Finally the weather has improved, not without the odd evening thunderstorm, but the temperature is up and the sun and blue skies are a more common theme these days.

France has struck us as being very English, the rolling countryside resembles the South Downs, English language and accents are common in towns and supermarket queues, lots of British people live and holiday here, the residential gardens are kept full of roses, hydrangeas and lavender, and tea is drunk here more than coffee! They have bric-a-brac markets and supermarkets are full of British products like marmalade, Tetley tea and familiar cereals. The language is easier for me than David, having sat O Level French at school some of it occasionally comes back from a tiny corner of my brain. The only difference is that British people are friendly and willing to provide a service, unlike the French!

However, before we left the coast for Gers, we visited a few local places nearby.

Urrugny

We stayed at this campsite just outside St Jean de Luz, below Biarritz, for 2 weeks. We explored the area, drove back 10kms over the border into Spain and topped up with cheaper fuel and fridge contents!

Sunset over the lake at Larrouleta campsite.

David considering the lake….

The fabulous heated pool.

The local church was an eye opener, traditional design outside, inside it was almost theatrical in design with a heavily decorated ceiling, three wooden balconies around the edges and a spectacular art deco organ added in 2000.

We visited a local chateau, where the latest generation of the family who built it still live in attached accommodation but the main house is now used as a hotel, or a museum, although the house is used for family functions. Most of the walls were decorated with old tapestries and paintings of the head of the families that had lived there. The gardens were full of herb beds as well as beautiful pink hydrangeas and roses and a perfectly manicured lawn!

The local privately owned Chateau.

The family dining table, complete with crystal glasses and one of 15 magnificent wall tapestries.

This is an original water fountain, pumped up from a well, into a lobby off the dining room.

The lounge, with Louis Vth chairs, old Piano, family portraits and another tapestry.

A portrait of the current owner’s great grandfather hangs above the fireplace. The wording engraved into the fireplace reads “We Gather, We Warm, We Cheer”.

The Trophy Room is full of local deer and antique furniture.

We visited another Chateau that was built in 1860 by a scientist with an interest in astronomy; he built himself a gothic style triangular shaped property which contained an observatory tower in one corner and a private chapel in another. As the building was perched on a hill there was no light pollution and just open skies. The day we visited was French only tours, so no point in paying out money to listen to something we did not understand!

Bayonne

This lovely riverside town was deserted on a Saturday when we visited, later in the day we realised why – everybody was in the next town Biarritz, at the beach! The riverside architecture was stunning, tall, wooden houses showed there was wealth in the area from a long time ago, and the River Nive which divided the town gave the old and new a separate feel; the old town was full of stone properties dominated by the Church; the new part was full of modern tasteful blocks of glass and metal apartments surrounded by greenery and cycle paths. On the bank of the river, we came across a beautiful old carousel, with some unusual characters as seats!

Biarritz

We revisited Biarritz, having been there September 2017, and found the beaches heaving with sun worshipers, surfers and swimmers. We sat in the same seafront bar as we did last year and had a drink, last year breakfast with fruit juice and coffee and pastries, this year a long cold drink!

San Sebastien, Spain

We also revisited San Sebastien just over the border into Spain, We had been there several times before but had not explored the tourist area around the old cathedral and “old town”. This time we meandered through the old streets admiring the cathedral, the architecture and of course, we had to stop for tapas lunch!!

Top, l to r: minced raw beef and mayo (David said it was awful!!); sardines and tomatoes; battered chicken and veg balls. Below: Mini croissant with ham; baguette with bacon and tomato; chorizo sausage in pastry; potato tortilla.