17. May, 2016

17. May, 2016

MONDAY 16-05-16

Today we were making for Orange, about 30km north of us. We had spent far too long at the Aire in Chusclan. Normally when I plan a journey between two locations I will also identify a plan B location enroute should we need to cut the journey short for any reason. That is what Chusclan was meant to be, a plan B. We paused there  because of the weather and the fact that it was yet another Public Holiday weekend, the last one being just last weekend. My thinking was that as I could only identify one campsite at Orange, if it were full with weekenders we would have been stuck. The most frustrating thing of all is that when we arrived here at Camping Manon (GPS: N44.146820º E4.795433º), it was really quiet, they could have accommodated us here earlier with no problem. If only we had a crystal ball.

The campsite is a bit tired, but it has all we need for just €14 a night plus electricity. The Wi-Fi is free, and that's probably because it's almost non-existent.

After parking up we hooked up to mains electricity, put the cameras in my backpack and headed off for town. Needless to say we walked the long way round, doing two sides of a triangle. We had to take it a bit steady as The Chef has a sore back today, she thinks from bad posturing sitting in her seat in the evenings.

Having found the Tourist Office which was closed, it being a public holiday, we helped ourselves to a fee map of the town and set out to find the Roman Theatre www.theatreantique.com  which dates from the 1st-century AD reign of Augustus. This well preserved theatre, a UNESCO site has perfect acoustics, and is still used for theatre performances and concerts.

The Chef didn't feel up to going in and climbing up and down all the steps, and so I went in by myself. I have to say it was a very impressive structure. The SLR camera has a fairly adaptable zoom lens but there was no way I could fit it all in one picture. Hopefully the video camera will help capture it.

Having sat and enjoyed a double-scoop ice cream we decided to make our way back, this time via the Arc de Triomphe which we could see in the distance from a side road. This proved to be a  much shorter route and we were back in twenty minutes as opposed to the 40 minutes of confusion it had taken us to get there.

Taking advantage of the electrical hook-up we decided to have baked potatoes cooked in the small fan oven we carry in the rear locker, together with salad and a cheese omelette.

The weather has been lovely today, and the wind has dropped to something nearing normality. Perhaps with the weather picking up at last and there being no more National Holidays looming our trip can get in to gear. We've been over here for two weeks now and it's felt more like hard work than pleasure.

17. May, 2016

17. May, 2016

16. May, 2016

SUNDAY 15-05-16

The wind bounced us around again during the night here in rural Chusclan, but at least we didn't hear the rhythmical sound of frogs or whatever, from the river which can't be too far away. On past nights it has sounded like a Louissiana swamp.

We awoke to the sound of amplified music and a chap on a tannoy not too far away, turned out it was from the sports stadium across the adjacent field. The plan today was to scrub up then pop in to the village just in case the boulangerie was open, buy a baguette, get back, make up a picnic then have a nice walk around the vineyards on the marked trails.

Well firstly the boulangerie was closed, so no fresh crusty bread today, and to top it all the 'walk through the vineyards' was in fact a race for the super-fit with nothing better to do on a Sunday morning.

To help fill the day we'd take the cameras out with us and take a closer look at the event.

There they were, running their little hearts out through vineyards and village and along the local roads. I was not best pleased. These people had ruined what could have been a really nice day out for us. There were two trails, 13km and 26km. We wandered down to the Finish Line to see some of the slightly mad from the 13km trail arrive back having set off at 09:00. Later, the completely barking mad who set off on the 26km trail at 09:45 were being rounded up at the finish by people in white coats holding very large butterfly nets.

Those finishing the course were able to help themselves to a free glass of beer and a pastry, we then regretted not having come out wearing shorts and 'T' shirts, we might just have got away with collecting a free beer and cake.

I don't know who won the race, but I hope when they collect the first prize of something like a tofu, broccoli and seaweed salad, they choke on it. They cost us a much anticipated walk in the vineyards.

Having wandered through the village on the way back we came across a mum and her very young daughter selling punnets of cherries by the roadside. We'd seen a chap picking them from the adjacent trees when we popped down for the baguette earlier. The Chef suggested we buy some, at least we knew where they came from, and they did deserve some reward for not being closed for lunch.

In the absence of a fresh baguette, lunch today was a selection of cheeses, including Cheddar and Red Leicester, bought along with us because the French don't/won't sell it, accompanied by various savoury biscuits washed down with some 'Coat Door Own'. This was followed by the traditional nap in the glorious sunshine, marred only by this incessant cool, often strong,  gusty wind coming from the northwest. Perhaps one of my old meteorological shipmates can tell me what it's called, it won't ease our suffering of course, but sometimes it's nice to know.

This evenings meal has been a ham salad without the lovely crisp, crusty baguette, though it has been thoughtfully substituted by the crumbly bits from the bottom of a large bag of 'Lays' crisps, just to give the meal a bit of crunch.

Dessert for The Chef was a small handful of washed cherries, for me two handfuls of unwashed cherries, cut in half to remove the stones and then covered in good old Carnation Evaporated Milk. I do so hope that cherry picker chap washed his hands before he started.

Tomorrow we are back on the road heading north on a fairly short journey to Orange. My thinking is that if French motorhomer's have come away for the Bank Holiday weekend then they will be vacating the campsite before we arrive.