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Thursday 21st March 2013
A warm and sunny day, great.
Walk into town, spend most of the day productively, sitting in a pavement bar in the main square, watching the world go by and drinking chilled Rose Wine. The rest of the day we wasted buying vegetables and fruit to eat in the evening.
We discover there is another part to the site, and find another English couple there, they are heading South into Spain (Valencia). Then, two more English vans arrive in the evening, and park next to us. One is heading home, the other heading south.
Friday 22nd March 2013
Fine for most of the day, but, by evening a thunderstorm rolls over with quite heavy rain.
Mundane tasks still have to be done, so, this morning is spent washing clothes and hanging them out to dry.
We also need to do a bit of shopping for essentials, ie wine. We are told by one of the English chaps we have met, there is a Carrefour supermarket, about a mile away.
After lunch we set off to find it, 1.6 miles there, according to my phone, so clearly we did not follow the shortest route. Did spot this amusing variation on "Beware of the Dog" sign.
On our return route, we encounter a Gypsy camp, all very neat and tidy, unlike those usually encountered in the UK, with a group of children who are able to beg for money, cigarettes, and sweets in three languages, very impressive. Only 1.3 mile back.
Saturday 23rd March 2013
The other two English vans next to us depart, one heading home, the other heading to Portugal, so we may encounter them again. The chap heading home is a lover of (cheap) red wine, like myself, he leaves me with a few recommendations from Lidl Portugal, chiefly one called Baron von Cega.
After a doubtful start, the day is warm and sunny, so a day of lazing in the sun. The plan in the evening is to walk into town, eat, then Kathleen is going to church.
The plan does not work, we find there is no where serving food at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. So, we have to settle for enormous sandwiches from a take away sandwich shop, which we eat sitting in the town square. This followed by beers in a pavement cafe in the town square.
There is some kind of event going on, people dressed up in black costumes and wearing red neckerchiefs are singing and playing guitars in a bandstand in the middle of the square. Not sure if it is someting to do with Easter perhaps?
After church we walk back along the cliff top in the dark, lucky we took torches!
Leave La Ville-aux-Dames, Les Acacias, just south east of Tours. Heading towards Bordeaux.
Weather is still poor.
For those who may be travelling to Europe this year, diesel prices have increased a little, but, still cheaper than the UK, needless to say.
At Supermarket garages, it is typically 1.35Euro / Litre (£1.12), on the motorway 1.44Euro (£1.19). It has increased about 10cents (8p) since last year, according to my memory.
For most of the way, we follow the N10. There has been some major money spent on this road since we last came this way, about four years ago now. It is almost all high quality dual carriageway.
We stop for the night at a place called Cadillac, east and slightly south of Bordeaux. I am not sure if there is any connection between the name of this place and the Cadillac car in America?
Cadillac Aire (N44 38.319" W000 19.011"). It is free to stay. Electricity is 2Euro for 3 hours at 5 Amps.
The aire is very near the town centre, so, be carefull when entering the satnav coordinates, our operator got it slightly wrong, and we disrupted traffic in the narrow streets of the town centre as we blundered around.
When we found the correct place on the second attempt, there was not room to park. The Aire is meant to have space for 8 vans, but, when we arrived there were five well spaced out vans occupying all of the space. As we pondered what to do, a kind hearted English couple offered to move over slightly, to make room for us to get in. In the mean time a Frenchman in overalls (who we assumed was in one of the other vans), appeared and began berating the remaining occupants about the space they were taking up. So, we caused disruption at the aire, as well as in the town! We subsequently found the Frenchman in the overalls was not in fact staying on the Aire, he was simply digging his garden nearby.
Cadillac is a "Bastide" (walled town), dating back to the 1300's, when the English held sway in this part of France (Aquitaine). A lot of the town walls and some fortified gates are still intact (amazingly), so, it is worth a walk around. Surprisingly, for such a potential tourist spot, there does not appear to be a single pleasant bar or cafe to visit.
Fingers crossed, the weather is fine and warm!
Wednesday 20th March 2013
Although it has rained over night (again!), we wake to a pleasant and dry morning, to have our breakfast.
We make our way back towards the N10, but, not before we lose another door mirror to a white van man on the narrow bridge leaving Cadillac. Why can't these people just slow down?
Fortunately, although the casing is broken, the mirror is still intact, and even the repeating indicator, although minus its cover now, is still working. I think this is will be the third new mirror we have had, in six years! and they are not cheap.
We arrive at St Jean-de-Luz, just south of Biarritz at about 13:00.
St Jean-de-Luz, La Ferme Erromardie (N43 24'20" W001 38'30"), a site from the ASCI book, 14Euro, including WiFi.
Facilities are needed, it is hair washing day (most critical day of the week!).
That means a couple of hours with a 2Kw hair dryer, followed by half an hour with the hair straighteners (and that is not for me!).
So a site with all facilities is called for.
The weather has improved, we even manage to get out for a walk.
There is a foot path along the cliff top along the coast to the town, and of course, in the town there are cafes and bars, for a beer or two and the odd glass of wine.
This may well be a good choice for a couple of days relaxing, hopefully, the weather will stay kind.
With the internet, I am able to update the blog, and check the budget back in the UK, to see if that nice Mr Osborne has taken any money off me. It would appear, for once, he has not, apart from the inevitable increase in the duty on Wine and Spirits. Just have to take enough back so we do not have to buy it in the UK!
