10-11/07/2014 : Le Lac Du Sainte Croix

Today (Thursday) was a good day. Not a great night’s sleep as we were so close to the road and it was noisy, so we were up and on the road by 8.00am. We stopped in a McDonald’s car park to try and hook up to their free wi-fi with limited success. We got a message from Jack in America via Facebook Messenger, which was nice.

We drove through the lavender fields to get to Sainte Croix De Verdon. In the years we have been coming here Jo has always missed the lavender in full bloom, so this was really special for her. It did look amazing! 

We arrived at the aire, more in hope than expectation, at about midday. There were a few spaces left at the back so we counted ourselves lucky – and then as we manoeuvred, the occupants of a German van waved us into the space that they were vacating, with pole position, nose onto the lake, AMAZING VIEW!! We couldn’t believe our luck.

Lac Du Sainte Croix - As seen through Frank's windscreen!

After we had settled in and had a bite to eat we walked down to the lake and around the town. Later we went for a swim in the lake – cold at first but great when you got used to it. It brought back so many happy memories of holidays with Amelia and Jack. We had supper overlooking the lake congratulating ourselves on our decision to buy Frank and take the plunge. Three weeks will not be long enough – it will have to be longer next year!!

Gordes to Sainte Croix De Verdon : 63 miles

Aire : €6.50

Friday – We were disturbed in the middle of the night by a car arriving and squeezing into the gap next to us – much slamming of doors and pitching a tent in front of us on the path. We got up to find two adults asleep in the car and two teenagers in the tent. The rest of the tribe were in a motorhome abandoned in the middle of the aire. No matter – nothing can spoil our good mood!

Jo went for a run and I went for a cycle followed aby a leisurely morning reading and drinking coffee. After lunch we both cycled along the side of the lake as far as we could looking for our Robinson Crusoe beach. We found a really quiet spot which was beautiful – just spoiled every now and then by other humans walking past. We swam in the lake looking up at the mountains – glorious.

Back at the van we watched locals playing Boules, but decided not to embarrass ourselves by getting our set out!

Dinner was planned for the evening but in the event we ended up joining John and Sarah who were parked just along from us in ‘Hector’ their iconic old Hymer. It was a great looking van and lovely inside, and with a Vespa on the back which got me thinking. Anyway we sat drinking wine and chatting until it got dark. They were really nice people who seemed to be doing exactly the same as us, and for all the same reasons. We were having such a lovely time that we missed dinner altogether!

No miles travelled (Nice)

Aire : €6.50   

09/07/2014 : Provence and sunshine – here we come.

Wednesday

The plan was to reach Provence today – just not sure by which route. Jo went for a run whilst I made use of the shower facilities at the aire. This was a great stopover and we both had a good night’s sleep.

In the end we decided to head via Lyon, Valence and Orange along the N7 which runs parallel to the A7 ‘Autoroute Du Soleil’ and the Rhone. My aversion to paying tolls remains! It was a leisurely drive, but slow and as a result we didn’t reach Sainte Croix. We had identified what looked like a lovely aire at Fontaine De Vaucluse (No. 141 – Mediterranean in the ‘All The Aires France’) only to find a 2.2m height barrier and no sign of any facilities – motorhomes obviously no longer welcome.

Plan B took us to Gordes. I thought the town sounded familiar even though I was sure we hadn’t been there, and when we got there the views that greeted us were ones that adorn thousands of Provencale postcards. We parked up in glorious sunshine and cracked open a bottle of wine to celebrate our first night in Provence with Frank!

Gordes - Beautiful but a bit soul-less

We had a really pleasant walk into the town, took the obligatory photos of what is a heart wrenchingly beautiful town – but it was hellish expensive – and a bit soulless. It felt like it exists purely for tourist photo opportunites and reminded us a bit of places like Collioure and Tourtour, pretty, but not really France. Shame !

Gordes 2 Aire 

Louhans to Gordes : 252 miles

Aire : No cost

08/07/2014 : Bruyeres et Montberault to Louhans (via Decathlon - As usual!)

Tuesday

I wandered into town looking for milk whilst Jo got herself sorted out. UHT only so made do without! We had a leisurely breakfast before hitting the road.

We decided that today, instead of heading for a specific overnight stop, we would plan the route to Sainte Croix and decide on our overnighter depending on how far we got. This was a much better plan as it made for a more relaxing drive. 

We wanted to find a Decathlon somewhere to buy some walking shoes and bits, so we stopped in St. Dizier, got what we needed, had coffee and moved on.

Decathlon always gets a visit - now for some walking!

We drove through some pretty shocking weather as it poured with rain, but by late afternoon it was much brighter. We stopped for a break and put the kettle on at about 5.30pm and identified an aire for the night at Louhans, about half an hour south of Dijon. Got there at about 7.30pm and found a lovely spot by the river. We got settled and went for a walk discovering a nice town. Dinner back at the van, chilled, bed. 

Really nice Aire at Louhans

Bruyeres et Montberault to Louhans : 280 miles

Aire €6.40

07/07/2014 : Off we go!

Monday

We had our breakfast sat in the pub garden and then went for a nice walk. There were some lovely houses, but were all pretty much backing onto the M20. The noise from traffic was unbelievable, and as nice as the houses were they must be pretty much unsellable.

We had a 15 minute drive to Dover via Tesco at Cheriton for fuel, and checked in for the ferry nice and early. DFDS again, £49.00 out, £59.00 return.

Goodbye Dover

Hello Calais

We arrived at Calais 2.45pm local time and then had a very tiring drive to put some distance between us and the Channel. It was like Whacky Races surrounded by articulated lorries, but once an hour or so away from Calais it calmed down. We had planned a first overnight stop in France at Laon. We found the aire in the shadow of a very impressive cathedral / castle but it was full. Five minutes further on at a small town called Bruyeres at Montberault we bagged the last space on a very pleasant little aire. We chatted with a guy who was on his way home, having been in France since the last week in May on a Rally with his Rotary Club. Nice supper of cold meat and tomato, courtesy of Lidl of all places, but we did also pick up some wine, which was really cheap. I managed to down half a bottle of Motagne St. Emilion, which was really rather good – but at €1.95 a bottle I wouldn’t have minded what it tasted like!

Chilled in the van for the evening planning tomorrow’s route.

Drum Inn, Stanford, Kent to Bruyeres et Montberault : 185 miles

Aire : No cost

06/07/2014 : Preparations for the big trip 2014

Here at last. It has only been five weeks since we got back from the last trip to France, but we have been counting down the days to this one.

Three weeks abroad with a very loose plan to head to Le Lac De Sainte Croix for a week and then across to the Italian Lakes Maggiore and Orta. However, checked the weather forecast yesterday and it seems there is the potential for a week of thunderstorms. The itinerary may therefore be as flexible as the weather and we may decide to follow the sun.

First few days we will be running a day ahead of Le Tour De France. Tempting to hang about to catch some of it, but after Mark Cavendish's disastrous day yesterday my interest has waned somewhat. Haven't seen the news today but I can't believe he will be involved any more this year!

Frank is prepped and just about packed. We are heading to a stop at a pub called The Drum tonight, about fifteen minutes from Dover so that we can have a stress free and easy morning tomorrow and get some decent miles under the wheels in France tomorrow.

Will update the blog as and when we can access wi-fi (as my EuropaSim hasn't arrived!).

Excited? Oh Yeah!!!!!

Departed home to our overnight stop at The Drum Inn near Dover. This proved to be a good stop for ferries out of Dover, only 20 minutes away from the port. Far less stress than a 5am start and doing battle with the M40 and M25 on a Monday morning to get to a ferry. We will definitely use this stopover again. It was a good site and a decent pub if you want a meal.

Drum Inn £15.00

30/05/2014 : Back to Dieppe for ferry home :(

Friday

Departed Honfleur after Jo had been for a run and I had done the bicycle trip to a boulangerie. Jo wanted to buy some new running shoes so we planned to track down the Decathlon store on the outskirts of Dieppe.

We had noticed that water was pouring out of the back of the van whenever we negotiated a left turn. I tracked it down to the grey waste overflow and it only happened when the tank was more than half full. We weren't sure if this was normal but I wanted to stop at an aire to empty the tank. We found a lovely one by the river at St. Nicholas De Bliquetuit but unfortunately the service points were all closed. Had coffee there though before pushing on.

Found Decathlon easily for once. Purchased shoes - much cheaper than home!

We drove down to the port and had lunch parked at the beachfront aire before going to the boat. Very sad that our first foreign adventure with Frank was coming to an end!!

Dieppe - Beachside Aire

Boat journey home, drive from Newhaven to Winchcombe, very tired, dull dull dull. Got home about 0115, straight to bed.

Our ferry home

Once the disappointment of the road trip ending subsided, we did realise what a fantastic place we live in - it was nice to be home! 

Next Jo Mark and Frank adventure only 5 weeks away!

Honfleur - Dieppe 87 miles

Newhaven - Home 156 miles

29/05/2014 : Honfleur

Thursday

Plans changed again mainly because it was chucking it down when we awoke this morning. We had planned to go to an aire we visited last year in a lovely beachside location, but its loveliness really relied upon decent weather. So we decided to go to Honfleur. Again, somewhere we visited last year, but a bustling town with lots to do. When we got to the aire it was packed and was a case of one out one in, however after a short wait we got a decent spot with a view across the water and boats. 

We had lunch, Jo went for a run, I went for a cycle and Amelia read her book. Feet up for a bit with a cuppa before heading into town for a mooch round. It was very busy, but on the harbourside we stumbled across a great band playing, and spent a while watching a strange bunch of middle aged musicians hamming it up for the tourists.

Decided that although it is a very attractive town it is massively over commercialised and in fact a bit of a rip off (€8.00 for a large beer on the harbourside!). The aire was completely rammed to the point where people were struggling to get out, and the waiting time to access the service point was over an hour! We think we have seen enough of Honfleur now and don't think we will need to visit again!
  
Aire €10.00 
113 miles.