LIFE ON THE RIVIERA

10th September - 18th September

The site at MALLEMORT proved to be excellent. The large, shady pitches had water and drainage, facilities were very good, the town ( with a large Intermarche) was a a few kms cycle ride and had an excellent market on Saturday morning for fruit and veg. The local river is part of what appeared to be some sort of hydro-electric scheme run by EDF with a network of canals for pumping water back up to a reservoir and which allowed some nice cycle paths to be available. We stayed for 3 days and might well return in future years on the way to the coast. The opening World Cup Rugby game was fairly mundane ( NZ v. Tonga, not a great contest) and Englands opening game against Argentina was dire and embarassing. The best of the bunch was France v.Japan, a very good game and Japan putting up a terrific fight and nearly causing a magnificent upset.

Moved on Sunday to CAVALAIRE SUR MER where we shall be for the next month. Took the pretty route over Garde La Freinet much to the GF's displeasure, but it saves an hour. Last time we took this road, the Porsche Club of France were having a rally, coming from St.Tropez, and I suspect we ruined a few peoples morning and caused some unexpected changes of underwear; this time, the local Harley Davidson chapter were having a rideout and we seemed to have about 50 bikers behind us, all trying to get past on a narrow, steep,twisty road with rocky overhangs on the inside and huge unguarded drops on the outside. May have ruined their morning too.

Arrived to find Camping La Baie heaving at the seams......the weather is still awesomely hot but fortunately we had a reservation - lost count of the people being turned away. The pitch we were allocated, behind the swimming pool and handy for everything, turned out to be too close to the trees for the satellite, but we could get french tv on the digital so rugby was going to be available. However, on Monday morning I spotted a couple of people leaving, and when I explained in the office that I needed a satellite view in order to watch the rugby the boss overheard and turned out to be a rugby fan and insisted that we were accommodated......so we moved to another pitch at 9.30 and now hvae a near perfect set-up. ITV4 can be a bit iffy but we can switch to french tv for the the odd games - mainly early morning games midweek when breakfast tv takes precedence.

So a week has passed, and we have settled into a very relaxing regime of watching rugby,shopping, eating and lazing by the pool in the afternoon or cycling down to the beach. The camp is in the town and you can walk to the harbour and beach in 5-10 mins. Large market on Wednesday, plenty of shops and a Carrefour within walking distance.

On Saturday night we went to the restaurant as they had a live local Jazz band performing.... it was billed as a Soiree Boeuf, which turned out to be the french term for a jam session and was superb evening of impromptu jazz, blues and rock with some fantastic combinations of guys really enjoying themselves.

The rugby proceeds......England regain some respect but still give cause for concern over the penalty count. Ireland's win over Australia was magnificent as the aussie forwards collapsed, Wales almost come to grief with Samoa (again) South Africa look sharp and France recover from their fright with Japan.

Weather crashes spectacularly on Sunday with massive thunder storm followed by gales on monday ( a mistral) that required severe battening down of hatches..........awning retracted, everything put away or tied down but forecast predicts back to normal on Tuesday.

Have found some lovely cycle paths with great views...more in the next posting.

ANDUZE TO THE LUBERON

September 4th - 9th September

Sunday dawned cloudy but bright after the rains of Saturday, and having discovered that the Voie Verte led to a local village classified as "one of France's prettiest villages" and then to a local Gorge highly rated for scenic content, no further invitation was required. The Voie Verte was another ex railway line, spectacularly hugging the hillside over great views, with some very unrailway-like steep bits - but who cares when you have battery-power. The sun shone, the birds sang and we saw proper red squirrels, which we may never have actually seen before. They are noticeably smaller than the greys ( which is obviously why they have been wiped out in the uk) but so much cuter.
As we swept downhill into OLARGUES (Plus Beaux Village de France) we ran into rain out of nowhere. As the sun was still shining, we sheltered briefly under trees, but as the skies darkened, made a dash for the village, only to find its charm of steep,narrow,cobbled streets now running with water were not bike friendly and we had to cower under trees in the lower regions for some considerable time. We were surrounded by mountains and the outlook was bleak so at a glimmer of bright and a lessening of wet, we hightailed it back along the railway track. Sods law being present meant that 8 miles back saw bright sunshine and no evidence of rain, and the campsite, another 4 miles on was roastingly hot and required a visit to the pool when we arrived back.. so Olargues will have to be taken on hearsay as being so beautiful because we never found out.

On monday we moved ever eastwards towards Provence and stopped at ANDUZE, last visited in 2007 during the rugby world cup when we stayed overnight at the splendid aire next the old steam train station and in fact had a meal in town with Dave & Briony who had checked into a nearby hotel. Our impression on that fleeting visit had been fairly neutral, but a few days there revealed hidden charms. WE opted for Camping Castel Rose which was on the river and were not disappointed. Less than 2kms from the town, an easy walk or cycle ride and a very pleasant place with a nice market on Tuesday to replenish supplies.. great pitch on the river bank, with an abundance of bird life.... a pair of herons and a pair of Great White Egrets came to fish each morning and evening and - joy of joys - a kingfisher was much in evidence sitting on a rock. Each time we sat outside for breakfast,lunch or dinner we were besieged by a flock of Great Tits, a nuthatch and several chaffinches, all picking up the crumbs.

And next door to us was small vineyard with a notice announcing that it would be open for tasting and purchases on Wed (4-6pm) and Sat (10-12). So at 5pm on wed I popped round on the bike. At first it appeared closed ( this France, after all) but I persevered on to the farmhouse where I met the owner ( Jean Vercier) and his charming wife (Claire-Lise) who immediately accompanied me back to the Cave ( big garage really) and started pouring wine in very generous quantities. They grow mainly Merlot, with some Grenache and Chardonnay. They produce 2-3000 bottles a year of Merlot, a Merlot-Grenache blend and a small amount of white and rose. The merlot was stunning (14%), the grenache blend less so (13%) so I bought a case of the merlot at 4€ a bottle which I thought was very reasonable. They gave a me complete tour of the operation, this year's harvest having already started and the place was full of boxes of grapes. This was a real family busines because they and their 3 school-age children do the picking in the evening when the heat retreats and the kids have done their homework. He then sorted and cleaned the bunches of grapes in the morning and pressed them in the afternoon. The garage was full of vats of fermenting grapes which he insisted,with a big smile, on lifting lids so I could hear them fizzing.
I didn't get round to discovering where the wine is stored and bottled since what I bought was 2008 and there was no sign of a bottling plant. So I had a lovely time and they were very nice people.

Thursday required us to move as our present location did not give good reception on ITV which is essential for the rugby world cup. So we headed to the Luberon where there were 2 possible campsites that might offer the correct blend of shade and clear satellite views on the river Durance. We arrived at the first candidate at 12.45 which was amistake as reception was shut until 3pm. However as we walked around it became apparent that although the sign said 5 star camping, it was not actually a campsite as we know it but a mobile home holiday park. After half an hour we didn't discover any campers of any description so decided to move on and not hang around to find out otherwise. The other site was only 10km down the road and proved ideal. Lovely pitches, great shade and good views of the sky. All set till Sunday.

CASTLES AND CANALS

29th.August - 3rd.September

Monday morning dawned bright and sunny - hardly surprising after a very hot night, and having gotten within 4kms of the castle at PEYREPERTUSE it seemed silly not to go and have a look.....even if the 4 kms were almost vertical. The GF was anxious but a german next to us assured us that we would get the van another 2km up the mountain 'to where the coaches park'and then there was a path the rest of the way.. the road was fine, the parking area - which seemed to contain all the vans from the aire the night before - was fine and the path was steep,rocky and a bit of of a lung-buster but we got there and it was worth it for the views alone. The casle stretches out along a ridge with sheer drops all round and is remarkably intact. It was one of 5 built as a defense against the Spanish (the 5 sons of Carcassone) when the border with Aragon was this side of the Pyrenees,and with its visible neighbour, QUERIBUS on the next ridge, commands a series of valleys with spectacular views. It fell out of favour when the peace treaty of 12** settled the border along the centre of the Pyrenees and it lost its raison d'etre.

So from there we found a route back down the valley which avoided the road back over the highest ridges, much to the GF's relief, even if it was still a bit narrow and windy through some terrific gorges and the pretty road to CARCASSONE. Great camp site within view of the old walled city which was a 15min walk away. So good that instead of the intended 2 nights we stayed 5.
Walked into the old city on Tuesday and took a walking tour of the old walled town and the 'new' old town that was built to replace it down below, and ending on the banks of the Canal du Midi.......which made us think about cycling along it. Which is why we stayed. The tour was ok but a mite tedious as at every stop the guide gave a 10 min lecture in French and then repeated it in English and as it went on from 10am till 1.15 we got very very hot, thirsty and hungry. By the time it ended it was too late to go back for lunch so we had an excellent lunch at a brasserie under umbrellas in the main square and then returned to the site to spend the afternoon by the pool. The weather remained hot but a hot wind sprang up for 3 days which was very irritating and a short lived thunderstorm one evening. We cycled into town for more exploration......the castle is Very Touristy and there are more ways to separate the unwary from their cash than I can recall - it must be hell for people with young children.

A jolly good ride along the Canal du Midi, enlivened with the spectacle of watching a car being fished out that must have fallen in only a few minutes before we arrived. The Canal path is excellent and very well maintained and on the site we spoke to several people and families who were riding the whole length from Toulouse to Agde - an Argentinian, especially,with his wife and 4 children, aged 7-14, who had left the car in Toulouse and would be return from Agde by train after taking 5 days to cycle the complete canal. Will definitley investigate more about aires and campsites along the route.

Finally left CARCASSONE on saturday and went to MIREPOIX, a rather fine half -timbered medieval village, and then wasted a lot of time and fuel trying to find a decent aire for the night without success and so ended up at a campsite on the other side of the Black Mountains from Carcasssone having driven around 3/4 of a circle to get there. Camping Cerisiers de Jaure at St.PONS du THOUMIERS is very nice and on a Voie Verte cycle path so we shall explore a bit.