Metz to Provence

Sunday 20 April. Metz to Annecy - 328 miles.

Got an early start as we had a long drive ahead of us.  We are staying at a pretty site called La Solitaire Du Lac close to the shore of Lake Annecy.   There are 180 good sized pitches but they are mainly empty.  The site is virtually deserted with ourselves and Dutch and three French caravans. 

Once again we are the only Brits on site. The down side of the site is that the toilet block has no end walls so having a shower on an April evening is not the most pleasant of experiences and the experience of a heated floor is but a distant memory.

Monday 21 April. Annecy.

It was Sarah’s birthday today.  She had brought a number of cards with her but I also had more which had come during the days before we left. I found them all the night before but could not find mine. I emptied the car and every cupboard before I found it safely tucked away in a red folder.  During the day she had several texts and emails wishing her a Happy Birthday.   The cards are all lined up in the window of the caravan.  Unfortunately, it is has been a rather grey and rainy day so that hampered our activities somewhat.  We went into Annecy town – it wasn’t quite as pretty as we remembered from our previous visit here.   Perhaps it was because it was grey and wet but it was a little disappointing.   However, we compensated by buying cream cake. The picture below was taken in Annecy and yes it is an 'Organ Grinder' with a twist - instead of a monkey he has a cat. 

In the evening we had planned to go to a restaurant we had seen on a wander the previous evening.  It had a sign in the window saying it was shut on Sunday evening.  Naturally this led us to believe it would be open on Monday evening.  How wrong you can be – it was still closed!   There was only one restaurant open out of about 9 in the immediate area so we went there and had a good steak and chips.

Tuesday 22 April. Annecy

Bright blue sky this morning so set out to walk along the lake.  We walked as far as a pretty village called Duignt which has a small chateau jutting out into the lake on a small peninsula; stopping for coffee and a chat with the owner of another campsite along the way.

We then returned via the cycle path – about 7 miles in all.

In the afternoon we went in search of a camping accessories store as we appear to have developed a gas leak from somewhere.  We got what we needed and purchased a French gas cylinder as our Spanish gas has nearly run out.  

I am in the process of curating a collection of European gas cylinders. So far I have the French ‘Le Cube and the Spanish ‘K6’ butane cylinder. Plus of course the collection of regulators I need to connect to them. If only the EU could do something useful standardise gas cylinders so you don’t need to buy a different one in every country. But then again that would be a bit too practical for the bureaucrats.

Wednesday 23 April Annecy to Apt - 248 miles

Moved on to Le Luberon (West Provence) today.  The site is near the town of Apt.   Weather sunny and definitely getting warmer.

No matter how often you stay on a Mediterranean site you are never quite prepared for what meets you. So far on this tour we have camped on grass. The current site is dry and arid with no sign of a blade of grass. It looks like the Australian outback just as the trees have started growing after a severe forest fire. 

The pitches are of differing sizes and shapes. Some are just about big enough to get a 7ft x 4 ft tent on. Manoeuvring the caravan through the site was a challenge with sharp turns and overhanging trees. Sarah went ahead and performed her impression of one of those chaps who guides a plan into a position at the airport. I’ll have to buy her some yellow overalls and a couple of bright orange paddles.

Upon arrival we are depressed but soon get used to it.

Thursday 24 April

The shorts came out for the first time today.   Taking advantage of the sunshine Sarah set about doing 3 loads of washing at the princely sum of 4 Euros a wash.   I put up the sun canopy.  Now we have the table and chairs out and washing on the line it feels like home; especially as we had our first croissants for breakfast with strawberry jam courtesy of Sarah’s Dad – delicious! 

Friday 25 April

It was looking rather dull this morning so we decided to go to Avignon about 30 miles away. Travelled through vineyards and cherry orchards.   I hadn’t realised that the world needed so many cherries – they are everywhere.  Avignon is walled town on the River Rhone, perhaps best known for the song “Sur la pont d’Avignon”. Sadly it looked as if they never got round to finishing it.

Pleasant town with an imposing Popes Palace and said bridge.   It is in fact only about a quarter of the original bridge as the rest was washed away by a flood in 1668, but at one time it was the only bridge to cross the Rhone between Lyon and the Med.

After lunch we drove up to a hilltop village with a difference called Les Baux de Provence.

We soon discovered that the small village was occupied by the sponsors if ITV mystery drama – Viking River Cruises. We knew it was them because they were all wearing ID badges and they looked mysterious as if trying to find the body in every nik nak shop. Their luxury cruise barge was docked in Avignon and they had been allowed out for good behaviour.

In addition to the usual tourist shops selling Artisan honey, wine, chocolates, soap, tea towels, ceramics, salamis, cheese, jewellery, nougat etc etc there are two main tourist attractions. The castle which overlooks the valleys and a quarry. Now, how can you make money from a quarry when the limestone has run out or no one can afford to buy what’s left. You turn it into a Son et Lumieres. The only problem being that the summer days are quite long so your opportunity for taking the cash is diminished. So, the French have addressed this issue by putting a concrete roof across it. This means that they can take 10 euros from visitors between 9am and 6pm. Actually it was not so much a ‘Son et Lumier’ more of a 1970’s disco experience. A bit like those coloured oil wheels which projected colours onto the wall. Well, things have moved on. 

They have taken bits from very famous paintings and made a collage out of them. The result is a 10 minute show of ‘Impressionist’ art. 

Neither Sarah or I can claim to be art enthusiasts but even I had to admit it was quite good.

Saturday 26 April

The guidebook said that the Saturday market in Apt was not to be missed as in addition to the stalls there are barrel organs, jazz musicians and stand up comics.    It was a good market; Sarah bought yet more veg, but not much sign of the said entertainment.

This region is known for its hilltop villages and this afternoon we did a walk from Apt up the hill about 1000ft to the village of Saignon.   Very pretty with winding narrow streets and typical Provencal houses.  There were excellent views all round of the surrounding countryside.  We then wound our way back to Apt.  

I wasn’t feeling great as am I am full of cold so Sarah went into the local Pharmacy to get something like Day Nurse and was quite concerned how she was going to explain what she wanted.   She came out feeling rather ashamed as the pharmacist spoke excellent English and on asking my symptoms made a recommendation of capsules just like Day Nurse but the name is French.

It was been 23 degrees today but the forecast is for strong wind so I have been out adding extra pegs and ropes to the canopy to ensure it doesn't  take off in the night.

Sunday 27 April

Beautiful but windy day.   Still feeling rather rubbish so having a day on the site; allowing Sarah to do some more washing! Well – she likes it.

During a walk around the site I took this snap of one of the holiday dwellings. 

These are dotted around the site and are a bit like a very strong PVC tent on a wooden base. I don’t know if you rent these for a holiday or are committed to them after being found guilty of some heinous crime. The thought of being cooped up in one of these for two weeks with temperatures into the 90’s does not appeal to me.

Monday 28 April to Friday 2 May 2014

We have written about the week as a whole so as not to bore with too many descriptions of walks and villages.

We returned from our travels on Wednesday to find that we were surrounded by French families with very loud children. Only about 10% of the pitches are occupied yet they decided to strike camp right next to us. Why does this always happen to us?

Villages we have visited include Rousillon, Gordes, Bonnieux, Lacoste (not where Lacoste clothing comes from), Goult and Vioux.

Over the past five days we have done a number of excellent walks from various hilltop villages, walking through woodland, vineyards, cherry orchards, olive groves and lavender fields.    Le Luberon has mountains and hills on all sides but in the middle is a vast, fairly flat plain; so you can see why they built the villages where they did as they provide an excellent vantage point to spot approaching attackers.

This area has been extensively quarried in the past.  The ochre they mined was used to make paper, cement and fabric dye and you can see all the many colours in the rock (from white, through yellows and orange to red and purples) reflected in the render on the outside of the houses.  Other houses are built of light stone (saw one we liked 4,300 000 euros!!).

The villages are built into the side of and on top of the hills.   They all have maze of very pretty narrow streets, often cobbled winding up the hillside.  All the houses have shutters and one village in particular (Goult) was particularly pretty and the doors and shutters were painted in colours straight out of a ‘Farrow and Ball’ paint chart (says Sarah)

We also visited a town called Isle de Sorgue which is divided by various branches of the River Sorgue.   The River is a gorgeous emerald green colour and is crossed by a number of bridges and on display are a number of water wheels that used to drive the local industry.   It is now more famous for its antiques markets and shops.    In one shop you could buy a 10ft model of a giraffe for 3,200 euros.   After this we went to the Fontaine de Vacluse which is large spring at the head of a gorge and forms the start of the River Sorgue.   It is rather over commercialised but the walk up to spring is lovely with water varying in colour from icy blue to emerald green.

For a bit of excitement I slipped on the path on the way down and in an effort to ensure my camera was not damaged I ended up on my back with my legs and arms in the air doing some sort of break dance move.  No major damage to me or the camera but embarrassing nonetheless.  Falling in front of a lot of foreigners.

On our last day in Provence we decided that we would climb ‘La Falaise de la Madeleine’. Basically it’s a big limestone outcrop a bit like Curbar Edge in the Peak District. It was a bit breezy at the bottom but at the top we both felt the power of a gale force wind. Later we found out that a force 8 had been forecast. Shan’t be doing that again.