22nd April – Day 15
We left Six Fours and continued our journey East to St Tropez. This time we didn’t take the coast road as it was too hard negotiating all the little coastal towns, so we headed inland a little through the mountains. The journey was lovely, however St Tropez was disappointing. We arrived in the rain and it just felt very touristy and not very picturesque. It is possible that we missed something but we didn’t hang around to find out. We needed to find somewhere to stop for the night and get on with dinner, as we were all hungry. We came across an Aire de Service not far from the town and stopped. It wasn’t ideal as it was right on the edge of a busy road, but it was free and convenient.
23rd April – Day 16
After a surprisingly good night’s sleep we decided we’d had enough of the South coast of France and decided to head for inland Provence. The drive back in to the mountains was fantastic and we stopped at a lovely Aire de Service, in Comps-sur-Artuby, for lunch and a break. Then we found a France Passion place to stay at for the night and headed there. It was called La Maison de Lavandin (the House of Lavender) and it really was! There were lots of lavender based products for sale and we purchased a few. Rob enquired about buying some truffles, as they grew on the farm (we saw a huge one, that cost €400!!). The site we parked in for the night had wonderful views of the mountains and had the obligatory tractor for Callum.
24th April – Day 17
Today we decided to drive to the local village – Saint Croix de Verdon - to have a wander around and get some bread. We straight away found an Aire which had magnificent views over a lake and to the mountains beyond. It was so fantastic we decided to stay for the night. We took a wander around the village (a beautiful labyrinth of houses and narrow streets, stepped and sloping – nestled into the hillside) to find the shop for the bread. The view looking from the village across the lake to the mountains was really breathtaking. Later we met an English couple (Jacqui and Dave) –the first so far encountered! They had a huge motor home and were traveling for 6 months. Callum took to them and their motor home straight away and we realized how much he’d been missing company, as had we. It is lovely spending so much time together, but is pretty intense just being the 3 of us and there is little scope for socialising with anyone else as they mainly seem to be French pensioners! So we were happy to find a couple to chat to for a couple of days.
25th April – Day 18
We awoke to the most fantastic scenery and decided to stay a further night. However, we did need to do some washing, so Rob did some hand washing and once it was hung out we headed down to the lake for a couple of hours of skimming stones, playing and relaxing. When we got back the washing had dried and we were able to cook (Rob cooked Coq au Vin) and then talk to our new English friends whilst sipping wine (Rob) and tea (me).
26th April – Day 19
After consulting the map we decided to head back west a little towards the Rhone Valley, then head up North following the Rhone for a while before going East again into the Alps. Jacqui and Dave had recommended an Aire just outside a little town called Fontaine de Vaucluses and so we headed there. Again we had a lovely drive through gloriously changing scenery and more blue skies. We arrived to find a very busy Aire (there is space for about 80 motor homes) by a crystal clear, fairly fast flowing river. We parked up and settled in. After dinner we heard a melodian player who also turned out to be English and so we had a chat with him and his wife before bed. Rob learned that one of the campers has made the Aire his semi-permanent home; an Italian traveler, who has worked out that provided you never drive out of the service area, you can stay as long as you want for just €3 – he seemed fairly content there, sat reading with his dog, although not sure I would have chosen to park right next to the toilets (they were abysmal!)
27th April – Day 20
We wake up, get dressed and eat breakfast with a bit more speed this morning and head into the town to explore. We find a pretty market square, lined by cafes, next to a stone bridge that crosses the river (again, crystal clear) and quickly learn that you can walk up to the source of the river in the mountains, which would suggest why it is so clear. We follow the footpath up, past many tourist shops and a paper-making museum (a la Wookey Hole!) through a massive gorge (a la Cheddar!) and then up to the foot of a massive cliff, where the river source is to be found; it is a little disappointing, but we are impressed by the white-water and waterfalls on our way back down.
From Fontaine, we drive up the D938 and D538 through the mountains (past quite a few determined cyclists) to a lovely campsite, Bois de Chatelas, just outside a small town called Bordeaux. The views are again spectacular and we are beginning to worry that we are being de-sensitised to amazing mountain scenery! We are practically the only people here, although the campsite and its facilities are fully staffed and very friendly. We get hooked up to electricity and make use of the wi-fi to speak to the folks. We also use the swimming pool, sauna and hammam.
28th April – Day 21
We spend another day at the camp site in Bois de Chatelas, Bordeaux to make the most of their facilities, also using their washing machine. In order to use it, you have to obtain a token, so I go over the French in my head on my way to the reception, “Je voudrais un jeton, pour la machine a laver, s.v.p” over and over… Upon reaching the reception, the lady I want to talk to is busy speaking to someone else, so I wait my turn. However, she breaks conversation and turns to me – throwing me slightly and causing me to say “Je voudrais un laver” (I would like a wash…) slightly embarrassed, I pardon myself and say what I meant to!!! She is very friendly though and again reinforces my belief that if you just try to speak the language, then the locals are more than accommodating.
29th April – Day 22
Lorraine and I go for a swim in the morning and get Suzab ready to leave. Callum does his thing and plays around, helping us and generally being fun to be with. We drive up the D538 heading for Hauterives, stopping on the way to go to a supermarket and refuel. We arrive at the Aire de Service in Hauterives about 4pm, it is basically a large graveled area next to a sports club and river. We walk into the town, going to see what it is famous for (a palace, built out of stone collected by a local postman throughout his career) but decide not to go in as it was quite expensive. Instead we tried the café next door which had lots of things for Callum to play with in the garden and it was nice to be outside after al that time in Suzab. Soon it is time to go back and make dinner and then bed.
30th April – Day 23
This morning Rob and Callum went for a walk along the river and left me to get a little more sleep. They discovered that all the noise in the night which we thought was coming from birds was actually coming from mating frogs! After breakfast we strolled back into the village for a coffee and to let Callum play for a while longer in the place we had found yesterday. Then after a quick snack in Suzab we planned our route into the Alps. After a couple of hours going further into the mountains and watching the scenery and style of houses change (becoming more Alpine in design), we stopped for lunch. We found an Aire with electricity to head for which Tom Tom said would take just under an hour to reach, up near Annecy. Back on the road, we started to climb into the mountains and then later rounded a bend to breathtaking snow-capped peaks with a huge valley below. My stomach was doing somersaults because of the steep drop, but it was worth it for the view. Finally we were told we had reached our destination but with no sign of an Aire and tummies starting to rumble we thought we had encountered our first major problem. It turned out that the co-ordinates in the Aire de Service book were wrong and that we were miles away from said Aire, actually south of Chambery. So we scrambled through our books and found a France Passion place just 5 mins away – hurrah! On arrival we were greeted by a very friendly man who also provided us with electricity; Callum found a few children’s toys and there were donkeys to say hello to and all this free of charge. Sometimes fate really does intervene. As the evening wore on, we were invited to taste some wine with the other camping car guests and Callum made friends with Chloe and Laura (the daughters of the owners), which was really cool and they played together on the farm.