1st
July 2014. The day started bright and sunny so after breakfast we set
off for Sare so we could take the Rhune train to the top of the
Pyrenees.
 |
| Deceptively steep hill!! |
Almost immediately we came across a short but very steep
hill that none of us could climb which didn't bode well for the rest
of the journey. It was a struggle to even push our bikes up and we
wondered what other hills this route had in store for us. The scenery
was absolutely stunning with the Pyrenees as a backdrop. Luckily,
although it was hilly, it was nothing too taxing and we had a very
enjoyable ride, apart from getting chased by a dog which came tearing
out of a property barking like it was going to have us for dinner.
That was a pretty scary moment but it turned out to be one of those
dogs whose bark was worse than his bite thank god. The train station
is about 3kms past Sare so we carried on until we reached a sign for
the Col St Ignace.
 |
| Stunning views |
It showed that it was 169 metres high and the road
leading to it was 3 kms long with a gradient of 4%. At this point we
realised that the train station was at the top of this road and as we
looked up we could see the road snaking backwards and forwards as it
climbed to the top. We actually discussed at this point whether we
really wanted to ride on the train and quickly agreed that we should
not back out now just because of a little hill! Peter felt it was
unlikely that they would be able to ride all the way on their tandem
and agreed to meet us at the top. Glynn set off with me following and
Peter and Carol set off after us. I just settled into a nice low gear and pedalled steadily and it actually turned out to be really
easy.
 |
| My first Col. |
There wasn't any point where I felt I was struggling or needed
to stop. Glynn is much faster than me on the hills and waited for me
halfway up to make sure I was okay. I was absolutely delighted when I
reached the peak and I stopped to take a photo of the sign showing we
had reached the top of the Col. Peter and Carol did really well and
only had to walk a short part of it so they arrived shortly after us.
The train ride was worth every penny of the €17 it cost us each.
The views as the train climbed to the peak of the Rhune were
absolutely breathtaking and I would definitely recommend this trip.
 |
| At the top of the Rhune mountain |
The clouds were starting to obscure some of the peaks and we could
see that the weather was starting to change. We spent a very
enjoyable half hour at the summit and wandered around taking photos
before deciding to catch the next train down. This turned out to be a
wise decision as the heavens opened half way down. Rain was falling
steadily when we got off the train but it was still warm and
pleasant. We took it steady going back down to Sare because of the
wet roads and then headed to St Pée Sur Nivelle as there was a
festival taking place.
 |
| The Rhune train |
By the time we arrived the rain had stopped
and we bought quiche and cake in the local boulangerie before
enjoying a beer at the beer tent. We headed back to the Aire and my
Garmin showed we had done 29.8 kms so I made Peter and Carol ride
round the Aire a couple of times so that they could say that the
first ride they'd done in over 2 years was over 30kms and included
climbing a Col on a tandem!!
We met
another English family at the Aire, Helen and Carl who were touring
Europe for 6 months with their children. They were keen paddle
boarders and when we got back from our ride they convinced me and
Glynn that we should give it a go. We had mentioned that we were
looking at getting an inflatable kayak and they were adamant that
once we tried it we would prefer it to kayaking. Not ones to miss an
opportunity we were soon down at the lake with the boards while Peter
stood ready with my camera hoping to get a shot of us falling in the
lake.
 |
| It's harder than it looks!! |
It was hilarious trying to stand up without falling overboard
but we both managed it. Glynn took to it much quicker than me and
paddled away while I was still trying to get upright. It was a great
laugh but I was glad to get back on dry land. I still think I will be
looking to get a kayak although it was good to be able to try it and
even better that that I didn't fall in!! Helen and Carl were also
keen cyclists and runners and Carl came over to look at our bikes.
Because there was still an overpowering smell of fabric softener
coming from the garage Glynn explained what had happened and Carl
laughed, commenting that he had noticed the garage smelt nice and
wondered what it was.
After
dinner we cracked open the wine and popcorn and played Trivial
Pursuit, us against Peter & Carol. It soon descended in to lots
of laughter as Peter is incapable of behaving himself or taking
anything seriously, especially after a few glasses of wine. It was a
close game but we just managed to answer the final question ahead of
them. It was a great way to end a lovely day.
2nd
July 2014. Luckily for me Carol is a hairdresser so first thing this
morning she cut my hair which was a relief as it was well overdue.
After saying goodbye to Helen and Carl who were also moving on we
drove to Espelette,
 |
| Pepper shop at Espellette |
the home of peppers. It was a beautiful clean
looking town with some very fine Basque houses. We admired the
strings of dried peppers hanging outside some of the houses and on
the shop displays. We then moved on to Cambo Les Bains as there was a
garage there selling LPG and it was finally time to learn how to fill
up with gas for the first time. After stopping for lunch and topping
up the gas in both motorhomes it was time to say goodbye to Carol and
Peter. They were heading back towards the coast before making their
way northwards and we were heading to Carcasonne. It had been good to
see them and we'd had a great laugh. Our plan was to spend the night
on a France Passion site but as we approached the village of La
Bastide Clairence our sat nav directed us up a single track road.
Glynn wasn't happy but decided to risk it. The track started to climb
very steeply and it got a bit scary. Just as we rounded a sharp bend
we came face to face with a tractor and trailer. Deep joy!! We were
on a very steep gradient in a front wheel drive 4.5 ton motorhome
with nowhere to go. After a minute of staring at us the farmer seemed
to realise we were going nowhere and managed to pull over to the side
of us so we could get past. Unfortunately we had no traction and the
back wheels were spinning on gravel. Luckily there wasn't a car
behind us as they wouldn't have been too impressed at being
pebble-dashed by us. On the second attempt Herman managed to get a
grip and we breathed a sigh of relief as we managed to pull away. The
track continued to climb and drop for another 2 or 3 miles although
it felt like 23 miles. We were dreading meeting another vehicle as
there was no room to pass. We eventually came to a junction and our
sat nav said "take the next sharp left turn". Very bloody
funny sat nav, he knows what size we are as we have programmed it in
to him so he must have known we were too big too make the turn. Glynn
looked at me and said "time for plan B" as he turned right
instead and soon had us back on a main road. The trouble is we didn't
have a plan B so while Glynn drove I quickly scanned our guides and
decided on an Aire at St Palais.
3rd
July 2014. We waited for morning rush hour to clear before we set off
from the Aire at St Palais and headed to Lourdes. As soon as we were
settled on a nice little campsite within walking distance of the town
centre we got our bikes out to go for a ride. The plan was to go and
check out another campsite south of Lourdes which, according to my
Garmin, was about 9kms away.
 |
| The river Gave de Pau |
As is so often the way our short bike
rides end up anything but!! There was a lot of traffic so when we
spotted a cycle path we dropped down on to it. Being at the base of
the Pyrenees it is quite a hilly area however the cycle paths always
seem to be fairly level which was handy. A sign showed that the cycle
path was leading in the direction we wanted so we stayed on it until
we neared the area we were heading to. Eventually, 17kms later, we
arrived at the other campsite. It was nice but not enough to warrant
moving from where we were and we decided to head back for dinner. We
could see storm clouds closing in so we set off but the heavens
opened before we had done 5kms. We stopped to get our jackets on and
then set off again. As the cycle path was empty (any sensible person
was indoors) we were able to ride flat out for quite a while before
our legs got tired. In spite of the rain it wasn't actually an
unpleasant ride, probably because it was still warm, and we were soon
back at the camp. What was supposed to be an 18km ride had become
34kms so as my Garmin was showing we had burnt off over 1200 calories
it seemed only right that we redressed the calorie deficit by opening
a nice bottle of wine to go with dinner. Purely in the interest of
saving Glynn from buying me a new wardrobe of clothes of course!!
5th
July 2014. Yesterday was spent exploring Lourdes although to be fair
it didn't take long. Undoubtedly the Basilica was stunning but the
bulk of the area seemed to be filled with shop after shop of tourist
tat.
 |
| The Basilica |
I have never seen so much religious memorabilia and plastic
containers of Lourdes water in my life. I likened it to a mini Vegas
(not that I've been) with neon signs advertising hotels, restaurants,
bars and shops. I hate to think what is must look like in the dark if
the signs are all lit up. As you can probably guess it was not to my
taste but that's not to say it isn't worth a visit. On a more serious
note in excess of 70,000 disabled people travel to Lourdes every year
in the hope of being cured and some spend their life savings in order
to pay for the journey.
Today
we decided to explore the lovely cycle paths again and set off in the
direction of the Pyrenees. The scenery was absolutely stunning and as
we got closer to the mountains we could see pockets of snow on some
of the higher peaks. The path seemed to cut a route through the
mountains whilst remaining fairly flat and in no time at all we
seemed to be in the middle with peaks all around us.
 |
| Stunning views |
There is this
incredible feeling of being completely encased by the Pyrenees and
the air was the freshest I have ever breathed, so clean and pure. The
river Gave de Pau flows close to the path and provided us with some
stunning photographs. We went as far as Soulom before stopping to
have our lunch. We headed back as we were keen to catch the end of
the first stage of the Tour de France. Unbelievably, considering we
were in France, we struggled to find a bar showing the race. We went
into the the local train station bar and the old lady advised us to
come back at around 4pm and she would put it on. We enjoyed an hour
chilling in the sun before returning to watch the end of the race. We
had cycled 51kms and my Garmin was showing I had burnt off 1900
calories so I guessed I would need more than a bottle of wine to
redress the balance. Oh well it looked like I was going to have to go
the whole hog and get the bucket of popcorn out too!! After dinner we
sat outside and decided to have another game of Trivial Pursuit. As
with previous games I filled my wheel with all the colours while
Glynn still needed 3 more. I then bounced backwards and forwards
across the centre square trying to land on it. Glynn finally
completed his wheel and in no time at all he landed on the centre
square. "What compliment was Babybird's biggest hit"? Glynn
could barely contain his laughter as he said "You're gorgeous".
REMIND ME NOT TO PICK THE PINK CATEGORY AGAIN !! If only I had picked
blue, "which is the world's northernmost desert"? He didn't
know it was the Gobi desert. While I sulked Glynn packed the game
away. That means it's now 5-1 to Glynn and as he clearly couldn't
wipe the grin off his face I reminded him I am beating him 6-2 at
Rummikub!
8th
July 2014. We have spent the last 2 nights on an Aire at Cordes Sur
Ciel.
 |
| Cordes Sur Ciel perched on a hilltop |
The reason for our detour to this delightful little town was
because I had downloaded a free book on my Kindle app called "Tales
From The Hilltop" by Tony Lewis in which he described his summer
in the South of France based at Cordes where he worked for a travel
company that did cycle and walking tours. He description of the town
and the outlying areas left me in no doubt that it was a place I
would have to visit. As we approached the town I grabbed my camera
and got a photo of Cordes perched high on its hilltop. I was already
excited!
We
have spent a wonderful couple of days exploring the town on foot.
Mainly because I am only marginally happier at walking up 10%
gradients than I am trying to cycle up them.
 |
| Cobbled streets and Gothic houses |
In all seriousness I
don't know what the actual gradients were but they were steep!! The
fortified town was built in 1222 and is stunning, a beautiful town of
narrow cobbled medieval roads and Gothic houses based high on a rocky
outcrop with the most incredible views of the surrounding area. We
have seen some amazing places on this trip but this town immediately
jumped to the forefront. I think the biggest attraction was that the
whole town was like stepping back in time.
 |
| Cordes Sur Ciel |
Apart from the area around
the bottom of the town where there were some bars and a mini
supermarket it seemed largely untouched by time. Even the abundance
of artisan shops did little to detract from the beauty of the place
and in case you haven't already guessed I would definitely recommend
a visit here.
10th
July 2014. We stopped on France Passion sites the last 2 nights en
route from Cordes to Mamazet gradually working our way towards
Carcassonne for Bastille day. The first one was a vineyard so yet
again we felt it was only right that we accept their kind offer to
try their wines which ultimately resulted in us walking back to
Herman clutching our new acquisition of a fine bottle of their red
wine. We cycled in to Albi to explore the centre and luck was on our
side as we got back home literally 1 minute before a huge rain cloud
dumped its contents over the area. We decided to have another session
of Rummikub in which I beat Glynn 3-0 so the score now stands at 9-2
to me. I am determined to do better at Trivial Pursuit though and
have decided I need a female dice as I am convinced the dice we have
is male and that is why I never manage to land on the centre square
after getting all my triangles!
11th
July 2014. Last night we stopped on a lovely Aire right beside the
Lac de Montagne at Mamazet, halfway up the Montagne Noire.
 |
| Lac de Montagne |
The lake
was surrounded by trees with a mountain backdrop and a small man made
beach and was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately the day was slightly
marred by strong winds and the weather alternated between glorious
sunshine and rain making it difficult to decide what to do. We opted
for a walk around the lake and spent the rest of the day relaxing and
reading. We checked the weather forecast and as it seemed that the
weather south of the mountains was much better we decided to get to
Carcassonne a day ahead of schedule in search of the sun. We were
unsure how busy the Aire at Carcassonne would get with it being a
bank holiday weekend and with the huge firework extravaganza that
takes place there every Bastille day.
 |
| Carcassonne |
We left bright and early and
were in Carcassonne by 10am. In addition to the festivities planned
for Monday Carcassonne was in the middle of a festival that ran from
19th June until the 2nd August and included concerts, theatre, opera
and dance. There were numerous acts both free and paid for, from
local french entertainers to the likes of Elton John. Glynn would
have loved to see him perform live but luckily for my budget the
tickets, which ranged from €85 to €130 each were sold out. The
Aire is in a fabulous location within eyesight of the medieval walled
city and our decision to arrive a day early turned out to be a wise
one as there was a steady stream of motorhomes arriving all day and
soon the Aire was full.
 |
| The Medieval Cité |
We strolled in to town after dinner to the
Place Carnot, a lively square where a stage had been set up for some
of the acts to perform. We sat at one of the outside bars and ordered
a beer each and spent a very relaxing hour enjoying the music. This
was what it was all about, a beautiful warm evening, sitting outside,
drinking a beer whilst being serenaded by France's answer to Julio
Inglesias! So the music wasn't entirely to our taste but you can't
have everything!!
14th
July 2014. The last 4 days we have spent at Carcassonne have been an
absolute delight culminating in one of the most spectacular firework
displays I have ever seen.
 |
| Quaint streets |
We explored the Medieval Cité, cycled the
Canal du Midi and watched some of the concerts that were on as part
of the musical festival. The Medieval Cité was a surprise as I
thought it was simply a tourist attraction of an old ruined city, not
realising that the perimeter walls hid a thriving metropolis of
cafés, restaurants and tourist shops full of plastic swords and all
manor of Carcassonne themed memorabilia all located throughout the
quaint streets full of houses that could tell a story or two!!
 |
| Canal du Midi |
From
the perimeter walls the unrestricted views across the town and
towards the Montagne Noire were stunning. As the Aire is also the
coach park we had witnessed the huge number of tourist buses that
arrived throughout the day so we decided to do a visit at 8.30am so
we were able to take some good photos unspoilt by thousands of
tourists blocking the view.
We set
off on a ride and when we discovered the cycle path along the Canal
du Midi where it meandered through the centre of town we dropped down
on to it and followed it as far as Trebés. We cycled past several
locks and stopped to watch barges pass through them as lock gates
were closed to allow for the water to adjust its depth so the barges
could continue their journey.
 |
| Incredible view from the perimeter wall |
There were numerous people fishing, not
just men but whole families enjoying the leisurely pastime on the
banks of the canal. The following morning Glynn opened the garage and
turned to me with a huge grin on his face "guess who's got a
puncture?" "You" I replied. "No it's you" he
said, clearly delighted that it wasn't him for once and he didn't
stop smiling the entire time it took him to repair it.
We had
another game of Trivial Pursuit one evening and again I had filled
all of my triangles when Glynn only had 3. I joked that I would still
be bouncing over the centre square long after he had finished but
luck was on my side for once and I soon landed on the centre square.
After getting the answer wrong I thought was destined to keep passing
over it again while Glynn quickly caught me up but in no time at all
I was back on the centre square again. Glynn opted for green and
grinned as he read the question, confident that I knew the answer
"What 1980's toys metamorphosed from vehicles into robots?"
"Transformers" I replied, absolutely delighted that I had
finally broken the jinx of the 'male' dice! The score is now 5-2 to
Glynn so I still have a way to go to catch him up.
There
was a delightful French couple in the Motorhome next to us, both in
their early sixties, who travel to Carcassonne for Bastille day every
year. We spent a delightful few hours conversing, us in our pigeon French and she in her pigeon English while her husband continued to
talk to Glynn in rapid-fire French completely oblivious that he
couldn't understand a word he was saying. It was great to put into
practice all the French I had been practising and even Glynn
surprised himself at how much he could understand.
 |
| Special effects! |
They insisted we
follow them to watch the fireworks as they said they knew the best
place to stand. We had witnessed thousands of vehicles pouring in to
Carcassonne all day in readiness for the Bastille day celebrations
and people started to line the bridges and the banks of the river,
claiming their spot, from late afternoon even though the display
didn't start until 10.30pm. We headed down to find our spot at 8.30pm
as the french lady advised it would take a while to squeeze through
the crowds. I wondered what she had planned when she advised me to
just say "sorry, I don't understand" if anyone said
anything.
 |
| Dousing the flames? |
I had never seen so many people and it took us 45 minutes
to reach the bridge. As this was the best viewing point it had filled
up early. We squeezed our way through the crowds, apologising for all
the toes we stepped on. When we got to the middle of the bridge the
french lady indicated that this was the best place and promptly
manoeuvred into a gap and sat down much to the annoyance of the
people that had been there for hours. It turned out to be an
excellent viewing point and once the display started everyone stood
up so there was actually lots of room.
 |
| Fireworks |
The display lasted for 30
minutes and it was spectacular. It appeared to tell a story of a
battle, illuminating the medieval city to look like it was on fire
followed by more fireworks that looked like a waterfall dousing the
flames. At least that was my interpretation of it! After it was over
we were caught up in the mass exodus of bodies heading to the car
parks and it was a slow walk back to the Aire. It was a relief that
we didn't need to drive anywhere as all the exit roads were quickly
jammed with vehicles. We sat and enjoyed a nice glass of wine when we
got back while we waited for the tourist buses to fill up and depart
with their noisy occupants.
15th
July 2014. We left Carcassonne at 7.45am to avoid rush hour and set
off for the Mediterranean coast which was only an hour away. The view
as we drove through Narbonne and headed down towards Narbonne Plage
was incredible as we got our first view of the Mediterranean Sea.
 |
| Narbonne Plage Aire |
The
weather was glorious with a clear blue sky and the sea was a gorgeous
shade of blue/green. There were several Aires in the area so we
headed to the first one we had picked which was directly adjacent to
the beach. As soon as we had levelled Herman and had breakfast we
went for a quick stroll on the beach which was a beautiful wide
expanse of lovely clean sand with very few people on it as it was
away from the main touristy end of town. We then got the bikes out
and set off to explore. It was already scorching hot but cycling
created a cool breeze. There was an excellent network of cycle paths
and we spent a very enjoyable morning exploring the area before
heading back for lunch. We then spent an hour on the beach until the
heat got the better of us and forced us in to the shade where we sat
and read. With the 30kms we cycled today we have now exceeded 1000kms
since we arrived in May.
16th
July 2014. Today we headed to Gruissan on the bikes as the Aire we
were on limited you to 2 days at a time.
 |
| Gruissan Port |
We checked out the Aire at
Gruissan Plage which was full but didn't look very appealing. We
then checked out the Aire at Gruissan Port which looked nice so we
agreed that this is where we would head in the morning. There was a
large market on and there was a great selection of really good fruit
and vegetables but we were unable to carry much on the bikes so we
just browsed. As with all the other markets we have seen there is
always a stall with enormous paella pans selling paella and other
dishes at around €10 per kilo and we decided we must try some one
day.
 |
| Giant paellas |
We carried on exploring and were cycling down a quiet path close
to a river when something large and furry suddenly crossed in front
of us followed by 2 babies. It happened so quick I didn't have time to get the camera out
as I was busy doing an emergency stop to prevent crashing in to Glynn
who had braked to avoid them. The mother was the size of a small dog
and looked a bit like a beaver. When we returned down the path on our
way back we saw the babies on the bank and I managed to get a few
photos.
 |
| Qu'est-ce que c'est? |
I could see the babies had tails like a rodent and a
Frenchman stopped to look and told us what they were but we couldn't
understand him. Anyone reading this that knows please message me and
I will update the blog with what they are.
18th
July 2014. Yesterday we moved to Gruissan Port and after exploring
the port area on our bikes we did some washing and spent an hour or
so on the beach. It was much more crowded than the beach at Narbonne
Plage but was still lovely. We noticed the whole area, both Narbonne
and Gruissan, seem to have had a lot of money spent on them which was
evident in the newly tarmaced pathways and clearly marked cycle
paths. Everything looked very clean and new and the whole area was
appealing in a touristy way.
 |
| Gruissan Plage |
We
woke up this morning to strong winds and an overcast sky, not good
for the sunbathers but fantastic for our sheets which had dried
overnight on the rotary line. We had met a lovely couple, Deb and
David, at Narbonne Plage Aire and they had now moved to Gruissan Port
too. Unfortunately for them their day had not started well when they
lost the use of reverse gear which is never a good thing in vehicles
this big! Glynn went over to see if he could help David find out what
was wrong but they were unable to fix it. We had a leaflet which had
been left on our window by a mobile Motorhome service engineer so we
gave it to them to see if he could help. He came out very quickly and
after seeking advice from a local Fiat garage it became clear it
needed to be seen by a mechanic and with his help they were booked in
to the garage at Narbonne for Monday which was only 3 days away.
After lunch we decided to try one of the VTT cycle routes.
 |
| Before my run-in with the sprocket!! |
There were
6 routes in total ranging from very easy to very difficult and from
10.7kms to 31.5kms. We opted to start with Route 5 which was classed
as difficult and 22.9kms long with a cumulative climb of 348 metres. We would save Route 6 for tomorrow! As we set off the sun came out
raising the temperature by about 10 degrees making it very hot. We
assumed the ride would be on cycle paths like the ones we had been
using so far. Wrong!! Within 2 kms we left the path and were
following a gravelly route between 2 waterways before re-joining the
mainland and heading into the hilly areas that backed the coastline
in this area. As we progressed so the quality of the path beneath us
diminished. What followed was 2 hours of hard slog as we travelled
over sand, dirt, gravel, tree roots, stones and rocks with only the
occasional bit of Tarmac as we climbed and descended through stunning
areas of the countryside scattered with vineyards, farms and
woodland. On a particularly steep corner Glynn's wheel caught in a
tree root throwing him off. As I caught him up I saw him laying on
his back but he scrambled up quickly before I even had chance to
think 'camera'!! I was tempted to ask him to lay back down but I
already guessed what his answer would be!!
 |
| More stunning views |
After dusting him off we
carried on and only a short distance later it was my turn to come
off. As I was climbing over some loose rocks the back wheel swung out
throwing me sideways. As I put my left foot down to prevent myself
falling my right ankle came down hard on a sharp point of the front
sprocket. I spent a few minutes practising my newly acquired French but quickly realised I could vent my feelings much more effectively
in English. It felt like I had sprained my ankle but I knew it was
just the bruise from metal bashing bone and after a few minutes we
set off again as my sock turned crimson from the blood running in to
my shoe. Now I don't want to sound overly dramatic here, it was only
a small cut but it was deep and it bled a lot so a certain amount of
sympathy is warranted. It was hard going and when we got back just
over 2 hours later we were exhausted but exhilarated. We agreed that
we probably wouldn't tackle Route 6 tomorrow but we were really glad
we had done Route 5 and it showed how much our fitness had increased
as we hadn't felt any need to stop for a break. Neither of us had
ever cycled that kind of terrain before and probably won't again.
Deb and David joined us for the evening and we sat drinking wine and
chatting, chuckling when Deb teased David for failing to sort any
breakdown and recovery insurance before they left the UK, not quite
ready yet to forgive his oversight. Luckily the Aire was big enough
to manoeuvre without the need to reverse so they just needed to make
it to the garage on Monday without any wrong turns or dead ends!! They gave us a lovely bottle of wine to thank us for our help and a can of Heinz baked beans. Now anyone who has tried French baked beans will understand how wonderful and welcome this gift was!! The evening flew by and before we knew it it was midnight and all the
other motorhomes seemed to be in darkness.
21st
July 2014. Yesterday we set off early for Le Mas D'Azil which was on
the route of stage 16 of the Tour De France and the home of our next
stopover.
 |
| Fields of sunflowers lining the road |
The scenery was stunning as we left the Montagne D'Alaric
behind and headed back towards the Pyrenees with beautiful fields
full of sunflowers raising their heads towards the sun, in stark contrast to the orderly and regimental lines of the vines at the adjacent
vineyards. No sooner had we arrived than the bikes were unloaded and
we set off to explore the town and the Grotto. The main street was a
beautiful collection of typically French houses and the road up
towards the Grotto benefitted from its new layer of lovely black
tarmac in preparation for the race. The road passes through the
Grotto which is the only cave in Europe that can be driven through
and the temperature dropped noticeably within the confines of the
cave, rising again immediately as we passed through the other side.
 |
| The cave at Le Mas D'Azil |
Today
we set off towards Gabre and no sooner had we arrived at the lake
there than the heavens opened. The ground beneath us turned to mud
and we tried to shelter under a tree to ward off the worst of the
rain. My ankle was still painful from its impact with the sprocket
and trying to ride through the mud was too much for me so we decided
to head back. The sun reappeared after lunch so we chilled out by the
pool for the rest of the day.
22nd
July 2014. The weather was glorious today and we set off after
breakfast to choose our spot to watch the race.
 |
| Waiting for the riders to appear! |
The top of the Main
Street afforded a clear view to the bottom of the town so we decided
to stay there. The atmosphere was incredible and we enjoyed a lovely
morning exchanging comments with people of all nationalities united
by our love of cycling. When the caravan of advertising vehicles
passed we were inundated with the freebies that they throw at the you
and then the sound of a helicopter overhead indicated that the Tour
was about to arrive.
 |
| Nibali wearing le Maillot Jaune! |
We were really excited to see 2 Sky riders in
3rd and 4th place in the lead
group ahead of the Peleton. All too soon the last rider had passed
and we headed back to spend a relaxing afternoon sunbathing.
24th
July 2014. Yesterday we left Le Mas D'Azil and stopped to have lunch
at Montpezat-de-Quercy, a lovely town with some interested
half-timbered houses. We then headed to the Aire at St Cirq Lapopie
which was situated next to the river Lot with its small man-made
beach and opportunities for canoeing.
 |
| Climbing towards the top of St Cirq Lapopie |
It was a stunning medieval
village that appeared to be clinging to the side of a cliff and no
sooner had we arrived than we set off on foot to explore. It was a
steep but steady climb to the village and the views across the valley
were breathtaking. This was one of the most remarkable places we had
visited so far and I nearly flattened the camera battery in my
excitement as I snapped away at the incredible buildings and stunning
views across the valley.
We
awoke early today and the valley was shrouded in fog. We dressed
appropriately for the cool morning and shortly before 9am we set off
to explore.
 |
| Beautiful medieval street |
As we cycled along a lovely quiet tarmaced path we were
delighted to see 2 deer leap across the road ahead of us, too quickly
for me to get a picture. We rode close to the river with a rocky
overhang above us before venturing further into the countryside. The
fog quickly disappeared and the temperature rose sharply.
 |
| Lovely ride along the river edge. |
After an
hour of exploring the local villages we headed back and the mountain
road climbed to 380 metres with stunning views of the valley before
we descended back down to the Aire.
It had been an incredible ride
and after a leisurely lunch we set off for Rocamadour, another town
that appeared to have been built in to the edge of a cliff. We
enjoyed the afternoon exploring the Cité before heading to the Aire
at Uzreche.
 |
| Rocamadour |
25th
July 2014. After a quiet night at the Aire at Uzreche we set off for
Parc Verger a lovely small campsite situated at Champagnac La Rivière
owned by Bob and Di who were fellow members of Motorhome Fun. We
planned on spending a couple of days relaxing before we were due to
meet some very dear friends from our home village that were coming
over to France on holiday.
28th
July 2014. The last 2 days have flown by. Yesterday we received a
text from our friends advising us of the address they would be
staying at but sadly when we checked the map their location turned
out to be almost 4 hours south of our campsite which meant it wasn't
feasible to meet up with them so we would have to wait until our
return to the UK before we could get together again. We were invited
to brunch with a couple that were staying at Parc Verger, Penny and
Dave, and then we walked to Oradour with Ken and Steph to watch the
carnival.
There was a great turn out and we enjoyed a beer in the sun
as we watched all the floats go by.
 |
| Asterix |
We then enjoyed some cheese and
wine with Penny and Dave in the evening, siting outside to enjoy the
lovely warm evening.
Today
Ken and Steph took us to Brantôme, a beautiful town about an hour
from Parc Verger that is known as Little Venice. What a delightful
place it was and I was annoyed with myself that I had forgotten my
camera but I took a couple of photos using my phone. As the weather
was a bit overcast we spent the rest of the day draughting a rough
route of where we planned to visit over then next couple of weeks.
29th
July 2014. We left Parc Verger, promising to return another day, and
headed for Oradour Sur Glane. This is the town where 642 people were
massacred on the 10th June 1944 and the remains of the original town
serve as a permanent memorial to those that died. It seemed somehow
appropriate that the day was overcast and dull as it didn't seem
right for the sun to shine on a place of such sadness.
 |
| Oradour-Sur-Glane |
It was
incredibly moving exploring the town which looked almost like a film
set from a WW2 movie. We then moved on to an Aire at Javerdat and as
it was raining on and off Glynn suggested a game of Rummikub. He put
up a valiant battle but the result was 3-0 to me making the total so
far 12-2. I promised him we would play Trivial Pursuit next time!
31st
July 2014. Only mad dogs and Englishmen.......Yesterday we moved on
to a fabulous little Aire at Martizay which is situated right next to
the river Claise. Offering free water and electricity and just a
donation requested for using the Aire this seemed an ideal base for 2
or 3 days to explore the area which included the Brenne Regional
Natural Park. By the time we had parked up and were ready to explore
it was midday but in spite of the heat we set off. 54kms later we
arrived back, hot, sweaty and knackered. I can see why the French
shut down everywhere at 12.30pm and don't re-open for 2 or 3 hours!!
 |
| French countryside |
We had enjoyed a great ride around the area, the highlight for me
being when Glynn spotted a Sparrowhawk overhead and just as he
pointed it out it dropped its catch which barely missed landing on
Glynn's head as it hit the road with a loud thump beside us. In spite
of some of the terrain being quite stony Glynn again managed to
survive without a puncture much to his delight. It almost seemed like
the arrival of the new puncture proof inner tubes had changed his
luck so if he wanted to use them it was looking like he was just
going to have to change them without waiting for another puncture!
Today
we decided to set off at a more sensible time and left just after
9am. We cycled 10kms to the next village to pick up a marked cycle
route that would take us along many of the lakes that filled the area
of the nature reserve. There were several hides along the lakes as
the area was blessed with a great variety of birds as well as the
European pond turtle. We didn't spot any turtles but saw a lot of
different birds including a Heron sitting majestically on a dead
branch.
 |
| One of the many lakes |
Unfortunately the squeal of my brakes alerted him to our presence and he flew off before I had even got my camera out of the case. We saw many more sparrowhawks circling above the fields as
the farmers were harvesting and there were numerous photographers taking pictures with huge lenses that made them look like papparazzi. We did a respectable 51kms and arrived
back lunchtime just as the heat was getting unbearable. After lunch
we decided to sit by the river to catch the breeze. There was an old French couple fishing on the opposite bank and it amused us for an hour watching their antics. The lady seemed to have no concept of
keeping an eye on her float and as she gazed around looking
everywhere except at the water her float was bouncing up and down as
a fish was clearly taking the bait. A few minutes later she decided
to lift her line to take a look and seemed surprised when a small
silver fish was dangling from her hook. Once she had removed it and
re-baited she did the same thing again except the next fish was lucky
enough to take the bait without being hooked. The next time she lifted her line to look her bait had gone. Her husband
was quite the opposite, not taking his eyes off his float but he
barely gave the fish a chance to take his bait as he lifted the line
out every minute to check it was still there. Bizarrely the woman
then swapped her rod for a long stick with a line attached and
proceeded to try and fish with it, she didn't seem to realise that
she was actually very successful with her rod if only she had kept an
eye on her float!!
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| Oooh heck, how tall is Herman??? |
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