Au revoir France

Here it comes again, the time when one adventure ends and another one begins. Our main trip to France has finished although we will come back briefly in the summer to attempt to climb Mont Blanc.

After our second wine tasting experience in Bordeaux, we headed back to the coast to continue the drive south towards Spain.

It took us a good three hours to get to the aire at St. Eulalie en Born, a tiny costal village only one hour north of Bayonne. We didn’t reach the aire until 21.00. This was the second aire we had visited, the first having a queue outside the entrance, the gate would not open. The second aire had no gate. It was completely dark, all motorhomes were already asleep, so we managed to park as quietly as possible in the nearest spot available, under the trees. It seemed such a good idea at the time.

Whilst we were having dinner, we started to hear some noises above us, as if someone was throwing stones at Dora. The noises were so robust. Maybe pinecones were falling out of the trees, or we were under  attack from angry squirrels upset we were below their tree.

By the time we got to bed the noises were becoming stronger and more frequent. We thought of moving somewhere else but it was already midnight and we didn’t want to awake anybody. So we closed the roof light in case a squirrel was tempted to get in. We put our ear plugs in and hoped to get some sleep.

The next morning we found out what had caused the noises the night before. They were actually acorns rather than pinecones. We were sloshing them around the roof as we drove Dora to the water point. It would have been quite embarrassing if they had hit anyone. There must have been dozens stuck up there under the solar panel as they continued to fall off over the next couple of hours.

Our drive along the coast was lovely. It was another very hot day, nearly 30 degrees. We stopped to delight ourselves with the stunning views of the French beaches one more time.

These villages had no charm or character at all. Sprawling suburbs of villas and apartments, generally closed down now that the season was at its end. What a waste. Why do they have to be so featureless just because they are for tourists? Also what a waste of resource, all that building used only for a couple of months a year. Surely we could find other ways to extend the seasons so we could get more use out of them. GDR

We continued to drive a bit further down and had lunch at Leon, another coastal village forty minutes north of Bayonne.

The hot and bright day inland was contrasted with the hazy and rather chilly coast. It is amazing how quickly the weather can change within a few hundred metres.

The waves were strident. We sat there for a good half an hour, watching a group of young girls jumping about, being pushed by powerful waves. The eldest girls seemed to gradually go farther away from the shore, looking for more challenging waves, unaware of the youngest who were following. We feared for them.

We continued south.

And that was the end of our trip to France, one hour later we were crossing the border into Spain.

Although we had travelled around the UK for five weeks, it was only when we arrived in France that it felt our year trip around Europe had really started.

Our trip around France has lasted twenty four days, during which we have learnt much more about the country, the people, the traditions and culture. Our overall experience has been absolutely amazing.

French people have the reputation of being rather aloof and arrogant. This was totally different from our impressions over the last three weeks. They love their country and they are very protective of it.

They have amazing cuisine and wine and they know it. They have been very good at selling the French brand all over the world as an icon of sophistication and uniqueness.

They are very passionate about what they do. This became really obvious when partaking in the wine tasting in Bordeaux. Talking through the process of making wine, the owners of the vineyards sounded really proud of the techniques they used and the reason why they use them. They were equally enthusiastic about sharing them with us. I love talking to people who care so much about what they do, the conversation becomes much more engaging.

I had never really considered France to be a major part of the trip just a means of getting to Spain. Its impact on us has been significant and I cannot wait to return to visit the south, on our way to Italy and yet again the east, when we attempt to climb Mont Blanc. GDR

Here are some other memories we have of our French travel adventures:

The Fall

Autumn is my favourite season of the year. After experiencing the season for so many years in the UK, I was intrigued to know what it would be  like in another country. Gary was sceptical about autumn here being that the country is at a different latitude. However, it has been absolutely stunning. The colours were incredibly vibrant and intense. With the red being the predominant one. It contrasted beautifully with the greens and the browns.

The patisseries

French patisseries are delightful and incredibly dangerous to the waist. I have not seen cakes as attractive and tempting as French cakes. But we have not eaten any of them. We have preferred to go for healthier stuff instead, like cheese .

Speak for yourself on this one, I would have loved to have tried, maybe on our return! GDR

+

A closer shot to appreciate them better. All different sorts of flavours and shapes. French imagination with cakes is endless.

The baguette

A classical image in the mornings across the country, people with a baguette in their hands. Even if there is nothing else to get, a French person will pop in every morning at the nearest boulangerie or supermarket to get the bread. French lunches are not the same without a baguette. We will miss them.

Gary, as always, trying hard to fit in with the locals. Did he get away with it, do you think?

Some curiosities about French towns and villages

Some of the facilities in towns and villages exist no matter how big the towns are. Even in small villages, where there are not enough people for a school or a GP, there is always a Boulangerie – Pattiserie, to buy of course your baguette.

One pharmacie, sometimes two, three or four…

And a multitude of hairdressers to keep the style.

The scale of the country

The scale of the country is absolutely incredible. We have driven along wide and straight roads for as long as thirty minutes. The road didn’t seem to come to an end.

We have only covered the west of the country. France is much bigger than the UK, with a broadly similar population and yet the density of towns and villages seems much greater. As you leave one, you are entering another. We have much larger cities in the UK, whereas France just has the one large city, Paris. There must also be parts we have yet to visit which are sparsely populated. GDR

Although we have crossed the border, it feels we have not left France yet. A bit of Camembert continues to make Dora’s fridge to stink

SM.