
Plerguer - 27 October 2019
Last long part of the journey home today, about 4 hour drive to Plerguer. Tomorrow is just a short drive to the ferry in St Malo.
Exploring new territories and revisiting favorite places
Our second autumn tour in Dave! With a year of motorhome experience under our belts, we were ready to explore even more of Europe and revisit some of our favorite discoveries from previous trips.
September to November 2019 (approximately 3 months)
By our second autumn tour, we had become seasoned motorhomers. We knew the best routes, our favorite stopovers, and had perfected our routine for life on the road. This tour was about deepening our connection with the places we loved while still seeking out new adventures.
Last long part of the journey home today, about 4 hour drive to Plerguer. Tomorrow is just a short drive to the ferry in St Malo.
What do you when you’re on your way home, go to Decathlon,of course! Bit of diesel and gpl and a walk around a lake very close to Cholet.
Decided to visit the historic town of Parthenay once the drizzle stopped (that hadn’t been forecast). Moved on to a quiet carpark at Chiché for the night.
Kay drove for under an hour to the aire at Échiré, just moving to try and avoid most of the rain in the general direction of St Malo.
Late start today as it was raining and not much incentive to get up. Made it to Melle and had a good wander around the town and churches in brightening skies. Overnighting just down the road at Celles-sur-Belle.
Red phone box, are we in the UK, no Civray in the Charente!
Tintin drove to Dirac on a misty morning but turned out sunny in the end. With no rain due we rode into Angoulême for a look around. A pleasant ride although Google maps took us on some dirt tracks coming back.
Exciting day today, not! Kay drove through the country to Condat-sur-Vézère but the highlight was that we watched half an hour of a football match, the town were 3-0 up when we left.
Waited for the rain to stop wander around the town. Tintin drove through the country to Salignac-Eyvigues.
Had a wander around the old town in Cahors this morning once the rain had eased off. Kay drove to Rocamadour on some small winding roads at the end. We’ll leave the town visit until tomorrow.
We gave ours friends a lift back to pick up their car from Castelsarrasin, tried to pick up some spares from a Mobilvetta dealer outside Montauban and then moved on to Cahors.
We were meeting up with friends on their canal boat, they were coming from the north and us from the south. Pizza it is tonight.
Tintin drove for nearly 2 hours to a canal side parking at Le Ségala.
Decision day, which way are we going. Decided on going back through France.
Well, we didn’t think we would be spending another night here, but read on to find out why.
Not quite as exciting as yesterday, Tintin drove down the coast to a car park above Argelès-sur-Mer. Lovely view of the coast but a bit windy and dusty.
We went on safari! Well not quite, but 7 hours of animal watching left us with a smile on our faces.
Kay drove today retracing our steps a bit to Sigean. Bikes out and a hour run into Port la Nouvelle on the coast. Find out if we went for a swim, ok we did, bit chilly to get in.
We decided we needed to visit Carcassonne as we always hear people say how good it is. On a bit of a coolish, drizzly afternoon we had a wander around for an hour. We didn’t feel inclined to visit the castle. Find out how we faired looking for a place to sleep!
Kay drove for about an hour and a half to a carpark alongside the Canal du Midi at Colombiers. We intended to bike ride along the canal bank but there’s work going on so we ended up all over the place.
Tried to fault find why our neighbours batteries were going for most of the morning. Quick shop in Lidl and Tintin drove down to Frontignan Plage.
Had a dither of where to go next in the search for services for Dave, they are few and far between unless you want to pay for parking. We opted for Sommières which didn’t quite go to plan.
Managed to find parking on the roadside at the outskirts of the historic city of Nîmes. 5 hours of walking later I think we’ve seen quite a bit, read on.
Kay drove today to Vers Pont du Gard which is within walking distance of the Pont du Gard. Good walk on the GR63 for about an hour passing ruins of the viaduct. Quite a sight when you think it was built 2000 years ago.
Not a lot of interest today. Did some washing at the Intermarché at Carpentras and dried it at another Intermarché 3 miles down the road! Serviced Dave at Sarrians, it’s free and stopped briefly at Orange centre. We’re now just on the outskirts of Orange for the night.
Lots of rain overnight but clear skies this morning apart from the top of Mont Ventoux which is covered in a blanket of cloud. Kay drove for about 30 minutes to Ville-sur-Auzon so we could cycle the Gorges de la Nesque.
Well we made it to the top of Mont Ventoux on our electric bikes but it didn’t quite go as planned.
Lidl shop and then onto Bédoin. There was a market that was in the throws of packing up blocking the road that we needed to take so we parked up just outside and had some lunch. Had a wander around the town that has numerous bike shops, never realised how expensive cycling clothing was. Sat and rea
Bit of a lazy day. We stopped at the ruins of the Château at Châteauneuf-du-Pape and had a wander around the small town over lunchtime. Then onto Sarrians, mainly because there’s a service station here. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading books in the shade of the adjacent trees.
Last nights sleep was fine, not disturbed at all. Shortish drive to Avignon and parked up well outside the city. Afternoon was bike ride, look at all the sights and ride back. Avignon has a lot to offer the tourist but it does cost a lot. We contented ourselves with the views and the ambience. Jus
Busy day today. Walk along the nature trail at Paul Ricard this morning, first thing, saw a coypu and lots of pink flamingos. Kay drove down to Sainte-Marie’s-de-la-Mer, visited a market, saw the church, shopped a bit and went swimming. Then off to Arles, saw the two Roman amphitheatres and various
Drove through a large industrial area with petroleum chemical and fuel industries and a container port to catch the 4 minute ferry across the Rhône into the Camargue region. Had lunch at the 6km Plage de Piémanson, viewed the salt lakes and then onto the Paul Ricard, Domaine de Méjanes for the night
Early start as we had to leave the carpark by 0830 (or pay more money) and thus hit the traffic through Aix. Made it back to the coast at Cap Couronne and waited for the weather to improve. A good walk around the coast to Carro and a lovely swim to cool us down.
Kay drove today to Aix-en-Provence via some services that we found. The first carpark we had selected was full so we moved onto a paid one that was quite close to the centre. Aix has a pleasant vibe with street cafes throughout the whole centre. After 3 hours of walking the streets we both were fe
Tintin drove just over an hour to a parking spot just outside Cassis as there isn’t anything closer. Bikes out and a ride into Cassis and onto the Calanques de Port-Miou and de Port Pin. A bit tough on the bikes and us as the paths were steep gravel tracks up and down. Ended the afternoon with a sw
After yesterday’s reading books in the rain, today we have walked, cycled and swam and visited Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer, Sanary-sur-Mer and Bandol. Also we have facedtimed Jamie,Bel and Jack and Grannie. Sounds like a busy day, time to put our feet up and write this blog.
Forecast today was rain, heavy at times, from 1100. So the main aim today was to find somewhere decent to park up and drink tea/coffee. Topped up with GPL and serviced Dave at a free station (not many of those in the South of France) and then parked at the top of a hill at a cemetery carpark. Book
A visit to Hyères today. Parked up a few minutes walk from the centre after a failed attempt to fill up with gas, they had run out. We found the tourist office and followed their guided tour of the old town. The old town is basically up until you reach the top and then back down. Interesting afte
We finally left the beach after an early morning swim. Washing day today, found an InterMarche laundrette about 20km away plus a service point for Dave in the same town, bonus. Then up into the hills to Bormes-Les-Mimosas to an official carpark with very steep hills.
Talked ourselves into another day on the beach.
Decided a day at the beach was required after some research of where to go next turned up a blank. Lovely clear and warm water, reminds us of Greece.
Cycle ride to check out St Tropez this morning. I’m sure it was beautiful before all the tourists and rich kids arrived, but I do like boat watching. Quick swim when we got back to cool off and then Kay drove for about an hour to Le Canadel. Parked up in a church car park just a few hundred metres
Had a swim before breakfast and came to find a film crew wanted the carpark. We finally ended up in a paid aire very close to the beach at Ramatuelle. The beach is about 2 miles long and is used by Saint Tropez, we were at the poor end by the look of the boats moored.
Topped up with fuel and food at a Casino supermarket just after Cannes after wading through the traffic for an hour. I don’t think we have ever done such a slow journey. We’re now parked up at a hilltop carpark with the Med before us. The carpark is busy with people stopping to take photos and the
Had a walk around Mougins, art and restaurants and then visited Les Jardins du MIP, botanical gardens for the perfume industry. Drove down to Antibes and parked up in the lee of the lighthouse. Bikes out and first swim in the Med, lovely.
Bikes out today and on the Route des Crêtes to view the Gorge du Verdon. Steep climb up but the electric bikes coped brilliantly. Superb views from the belvederes, kayakers in the gorge, griffon vultures soaring above and below us and some daredevil rock climbers plus a scary bike ride down a 11%
Visited the Citadel at Sisteron for 3 hours this morning, huge place with fantastic views. Quick lunch and then we were off to the Gorges of Verdun. Again fantastic views and some very tight roads with no safety barriers in sight.
Kay drove through the Gorges de la Bourne and on to Vassieux-en-Vercors for lunch. It’s cold and wet today so we decided to drive on to Sisteron dropping down 1200m in one go with lots of hairpins.
We’re up in the hills again, high enough to have skiing in the winter. Strenuous walk virtually straight up until we found a track to come down, aching muscles again. Noticeably fresh clean mountain air here.
A slow start to today, getting out of bed and deciding our course of action. Our aim was to get to the Grenoble area but there are loads of different routes, so which way do we go? In the end we went very much cross country, with long ups and downs, but with beautiful scenery.
About a 4 hour drive to Puy de Dôme, near Clermont-Ferrand. We arrived at 1530 and started the ascent straight away. Very steep in the latter stages but we made it in 90 minutes. Arrived back in Dave after 3 hours pretty tired, could do with a bath to soak those muscles!
We drove just over 400km to get to Oradour-sur-Glane at about 1630. Here, 642 villagers were massacred by the Waffen SS in WW2 on 10 June 1944. The village was abandoned and has remained so to this day, very poignant.
Back on our travels, leaving St Peter Port and sailing to St Malo on Condor Rapide. A quick run down the dual carriageway and we’re parked up close to the 11 locks at Hédé for the night. The evening sun is out but there’s a definite nip in the air, time to go south for a while.