Diary - October 2012

1 October.  After a very cold night .....( I think hot water bottles will have to be commissioned soon ) we are spending the day driving down to the Loire near Orléans.  The Aire is very pleasant on the banks of the river, €5 including water and electricity.  We had only been there 10 minutes when the mayor arrived asking if all was OK and telling us about the cycle path that runs to the city.  We decided to do that tomorrow and I just hope my poor old bum will take it......should be ok it's only 8km.  We'll see.    We have driven 350 miles so far since Calais.

2nd October.  We made it - the cycle path was very easy and had lovely views of the river.  We must find some Wifi today as the money is running out on our Caxton card and we have only €30 cash left.  So after visiting the Tourist Office, here I am in the public gardens where they have free Wifi updating the blog and moving money about.......how wierd life has become!  Orléans is having a major make-over just now so building work all over the place but the city is very a light, relaxed and spacious city.  The trams look very majestic in their colour co-ordinated gold..... I hope us on our bikes isn't spoiling the place!

3rd October. Today we leave our site where we have spent the last two nights, La Chapell-st-Mesmin and we are continuing down the Loire towards Blois.  The weather being changeable we decided to go and see the Chateau at Chambord - such a sight from the outside but so huge so we just walked in the grounds and took a photo of Spot.  Taking on some provisions in Lidle ( liked the price of their wine) and staying overnight in Ouchamps.  Not the best of places as it was a bit too near the road but overlooked a pretty lake. Quite a lot of noise in the night from twigs from the overhead trees falling onto the roof of the van in the strong wind.

4^th and 5^th October.   After taking time out to get some Wifi and shopping near Tours we came down to a lovely spot on the Cher river near the Chateau of Villandry.  The next  morning we visited the Chateau and it’s gardens.  Luckily the weather kept dry and the sun even came out so we could admire the gardens designed in the French Style with box hedges in geometric patterns.  Lots of colourful  vegetables, flowers and herbs.   After lunch we took the cycle along the riverside for around 10 miles, joining in with some French cyclists who showed us the way when the route had collapsed. 

Villandry

The cycling along the Loire is a lovely way to spend a few days and seems very popular with various types of cyclist, cycling for softies or the camping sort.

6th October.  What a lovely day poodling around the Chateau region.  We made first for Azay-Le-Rideau as we had been there before about 15 years ago.  It was just as nice but seemed to have become much more touristy.  I am just loving this gentle weather with no wind – even in the rain it’s not like home.  Along the route we then came to Ussé the Chateau in the forest which gave the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty and a really lovely place Candes-St-Martin a white stone village on the river – we stopped for tea.   Our overnight stop at Turquant – a former troglodyte  village with loads of quiet history.  We walked up to the Artisan shops in the caves just above our Aire.  Arrived here a bit worried as it was next to the church....would the bells keep us awake??  No, the bells were silent but the few merry revellers at night and ‘crack of dawn’ walking  group (not like us)  arrival the next day made up for it!  We do tend to forget that the rest of the world isn’t retired like us !

7^th October.  A bit overcast today so we backtracked a couple of miles to Montsoreau where the market was on.  After taking in the historic walk around the town we spent the afternoon in the Chateau at Saumur and later taking a degustation at the local wine cave.  Of course we came out with a bottle – a small price to pay for our free night at Dampierre-sur- Loire.

8^th October.   The morning started off rainy so we did some shopping then into Saumur town to see if any Wifi.  No luck there so on to the Museé de Champignon to hopefully buy some exotics.  With purchase made and a couple of aborted missions to find our overnight stop we decided to head south a bit to Montreuil- Bellay.  What a gorgeous spot right near the Chateau and gardens, and a very friendly English chap to chat to for a change.  Mushroom omelette consumed..... let's hope we are still here tomorrow.  

9^th – 10^th October.    Still rainy, so making our way towards to coast at La Rochelle stopping inland for a couple of nights.  Have now entered the Vendée  and staying beside a lovely fishing lake near Les Herbiers.  Les is attempting to have a go at fly fishing here as I write this, but I notice he is still practising on the grassy bank….don’t think I will put the frying pan on yet!  What this space.  Yes, he did progress to the lake but alas, no fish tonight.

11^th October.   OMG ! What a thunder storm early this morning;  quite scary when you only have a thin sheet of metal between you and the elements.   After sleeping in late, the weather had cleared enough for a 2km walk around the lake before lunch.  Grebes and other water birds having a whale of a time here and loads of wild mushrooms under the trees.  A photo of the most magnificent  is below….  Oh! and we noticed that we should have paid 5€ for the fishing for the day, tant pis!

12^th October.  We are now on the coast near Les Sables-d’Olonne.  The sun is out and although there is a strong wind we are feeling very summery.  We have parked up on a new Aire from which we can see the Ornithological reserve on the saline marshes.  We will go tomorrow to check this out if the weather stays good. Our French neighbours here have borrowed our water hose adapter we purchased yesterday after finding most water outlets have been converted to this new push-fit….  Oh yes, we are feeling quite experienced now!

We plan to meander down this coast sampling the various fishy delights as we go.  

13^th October.  Very heavy clouds today and the forecast is not good for the next few days.  It did break for a time so we visited the ornithological viewing point for a quick look and then went on towards Talmont-St Hilaire, stopping at Port-Bourgenay.  In blustery weather we walked down to the sea following a path through the pines.  We could hear the sea before we came to it, even in this weather it looked marvellously wild and beautiful.  Hopefully fish supper tomorrow.

14^th October.  This is definitely a duvet day!  It seemed we were awake nearly all night with heavy rain pounding the roof of the van and as it’s Sunday, we are having a very late breakfast in bed and re-reading the papers we brought with us, accompanied by radio 4.  The afternoon brightening we chanced a walk to the marina about a mile away, much larger than we thought and quite attractive. Stayed here for another night as we are too lazy to find anywhere else.

15^th October.  The weather seems more settled today and we are slowly tracking the coast towards Jard-sur-mer.  Such lovely, deserted, golden beaches in the now brightening sunshine and a Vendéen windmill at the port. We relaxed with a coffee in the only café open at this time of the year before discovering another lovely beach at St Vincent-sur-Jard a couple of miles further on and our stop for the night. Binoculars out, we have parked with a  lake on one side, packed with birds, and the beach just over the road. 

16^th October.  Famous last words about the weather above, ensured that we were again hit by strong winds and rain in the night.  That, coupled with the roar of the sea at high water, made for an interesting night…….not.  Anyway, all cleared up by 11am as we arrived at La Tranche- sur- Mer lighthouse and beach.  The carpark was full – why?  All became clear when we walked over to the beach and saw lots of people searching for coquillages (shell fish) on the rocks at low tide…..something you just don’t see at home.  An old lady showed us how to remove the limpets with a hammer and chisel.  A good lunch at perhaps the only open café in town in the sun, and we had forgotten all about the rough night.  Ahhh!

17^th October.  We had stayed in the Aire at Aiguillon-sur-Mer overlooking the sailing school lake – all seemed very quiet until about 8pm when the wind became very strong.  Les decided it was too rough to put up the TV dish for fear of losing it so to be sure of a good night’s sleep I looked out the ear plugs from deep within the medical bag. Next I knew it was 8am !  We are now on the outskirts of La Rochelle and planning to take the Navette bus (included in the overnight price) into town tomorrow.  

 

18^th October.  Up early and out on the navette to make the most of the sight-seeing.  We had been to La Rochelle one summer many years ago and then it was hot and very busy.  Today, although overcast, the streets were quiet and we had time to take notice of the interesting buildings near the port.  A “moulles frites” lunch later we were back on the bus and travelling further south.  At the fuel station, a few miles out of town an English guy stopped us and asked for  advice regarding places to stay in LR.  He had hired a Motorhome for a two week trial after many years of sailing out of Southampton water and was considering buying one. We were happy to assist, again feeling quite the seasoned travellers. Our overnight stop this time was overlooking the sand dunes and the bridge to Ile d’Oléron. 

           

19^th and 20^th October.  Very rainy days so we have spent some time shopping in Decathlon.  Me for shoes and Les a sweatshirt. Of course, I can’t wear the shoes until it stops raining…..got to keep them for best!  We are now on fresh territory again, south of Marennes and very impressed with the beaches and towns along the coast.  You can see why the French holiday here instead of the overpriced Mediterranean. 

21 and 22nd October.  Having called in at historical Talmont-sur-Gironde and St Seurin d’Uzet an important Sturgeon fishing port on the way, we arrived at Mortagne-sur-Gironde and intend to spend a night or two here.  This is a lovely marina and port with the town high up on the cliffs.  We have electricity and internet so we are living in luxury here no wonder we were almost adopted by a little kitten who insisted upon coming in to see us.  It’s a pity we didn’t have our bird book with us when we walked further out to a viewing point overlooking the estuary with our binoculars. When we got back to check, it seemed we had seen perhaps, stonechats and whinchats.  Either that, or we need a new bird book .... all lovely anyway!   

                                                                         

          

  

            

    

     

  

23 October.  Leaving Mortagne we trundled along the coast road via Blaye via the Citadel (complete with campsite inside! ) to Bourg-en-Gironde the countryside reminding us of Dorset, but with vineyards.  It is very attractive here so sampling the local wine “Côtes de Bourg” is a must…. and very nice too. We are parked next to the Dordogne river watching the sun go down, beautiful.

24^th October.    Hooray!... The bikes are out, sunglasses are on and it’s 26°C.  We are now at the Basin d’Arcachon west of Bordeaux which reminds us of Chichester harbour with it’s small harbour mouth out to the sea, but warm, even at the back end of October . We are cycling from Taussat to Andernos-le Bains via small inlet harbours.  After searching for an ice cream, what a surprise we had at this up-market resort.  If you can imagine Aldwick Bay estate with bijou shops and cafés by a small marina, much like the Med -  it was buzzing. On the way back Mr M spotted “Moule & Co.” about 2 minutes from our overnight stop, best of all they do “take-away’s” (à emporter) so that will do us tonight. Apéro sitting by the sea then Moules in the van….. bliss.   

      

       25^th October.  A strange day…...we are woken by erratic gunshot sounds!  Is it a lunatic on the loose in the village or maybe just the beginning of the shooting season?   We decided to opt for the latter and relax hoping there would be some birds left for us to see in the Ornithological park tomorrow.  Then the rain sets in again while we trundle towards the northern point of the harbour mouth at Cap Ferrat.  The area is very pretty and the Atlantic beach on the other side enormous, but the rain prevents us from fully enjoying it so we find our overnight spot at Andernos le Bains. There are about 10 vans here and at dusk, the local police check up on tickets, we scuttle off to buy ours whilst a French man enjoys a lengthy argument with the police with arms waving, we don’t know if her ever purchased his but we did hear someone leaving in the dark at 7.30am???

26^th October.  A lovely afternoon spent in the Ornithological park near Arcachon town, we just got out before the closing time at 6pm.  There were loads of birds to see, many of which we had never seen before including Spoonbills, Pintails, Shovelers, a Treecreeper, Ringed Plovers and many other wading birds. Luckily we can stay overnight in their grassy car-park where three or four other vans have arrived to do the same thing.   

27^th October.  A trip today to the Dune de Pilat just south of Arcachon.  Luckily the sun is shining and what a sight! Nothing can prepare you as to the size of this thing you just have to see for yourself and of course the photo’s just don’t do it justice.  The dune rises out of the pine forest next to the sea and is about 6 kms long, you can almost see it encroaching on the forest and house nearby.  You have to climb a long staircase to the top and then walk around, it feels like you are in the Sahara.  Apparently, it changes shape all the time as the winds blow in from the Atlantic. Not sure we would feel happy living so close by this.

28^th October.  We came  down yesterday to the lovely lakeside marina at Gastes and have stayed overnight.  There are several lakes in a chain south of Arcachon and luckily this one has cycle paths around it.  Somehow the temperature this morning plummeted to 6°C - bearing in mind that only 3 days ago it was 26°C, how did we suddenly loose 20°?  Les is being very brave and showering first thing ……..me, being such a coward, has decided to wait until pm, …… I think I have made the right choice.   After a 7 mile cycle around the toy-town  harbour inlets with their white sandy beaches around here we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the sun with the van cunningly positioned as our windbreak.

29th October.  Ooch! Our coldest night yet, woke to a bit of a frost and 3° outside.  Soon the sun was up and we set off to take a look at Mimizan just a few miles to the south.  It was OK… ish but not as nice as St Elualie en Born which we had seen yesterday on our cycle ride so back we went.  Mr M spent the afternoon in the sun practising his Ukulele.  I went to take some photos of the lake deciding not to bother with the various hides out on the lake complete with decoy ducks to lure the prey for the hunters.  I suppose there will be early morning shooting again tomorrow.

30^th October.  Ooops ! a little toilet accident !!  No, not what you are expecting but, while emptying the toilet cassette, the screw-on cap slid off the ceramic tile surround and disappeared down the drain hole…..  We now have a temporary cap in place consisting of a plastic bag and tightly wound rubber band. Hope it holds.

We are now looking forward to settling into our gite near Duras with a proper toilet that works without the need of a plastic bag.  Making our way north, we had thought we would stay in the Aire in Cadillac but after walking around this bastide town we decided against it.  It might have been something to do with the other English folk already set up there and that one of the “motorhomes” was in fact a 7.5 ton lorry with a 1.3 metre satelite dish hanging off one side and a 3m by 2m solar panel resting on the ground and chained to the front bumper -  letting the side down as usual.  Instead we moved on to Sauternes and set up amongst the vines.

31 October.  Our last day in the van until after Xmas.  We trundled along to Fontet an Aire at the canal basin on the Canal du Midi.  It seems quite cold today so we are pleased to be hooked up to electricity at this lovely spot with time to veg out watching TV or strolling around the basin.