I find myself telling this story, or at least parts, quite often. I came across some notes that I’d saved, as a holiday diary; so here goes:

Day 1- A day of mishaps. Monday 11 May 2015

Taking the 7.50 crossing on the tunnel, and get down the road to the Aire of the Baie de la Somme for a stop. Ignored Satnav at Rouen to good effect. However, managed to take the TV aerial off at a pêage. The sign for the toll, which I missed because of all the temporary works signage, said 2.00m. The caravan, mostly because of said aerial, is 2.60m. Well it was before the péage,  but not after. Then the jockey wheel decided to drop, so we had to stop on the hard shoulder. Got to Beaumont s/ Sarthe, where reception at the lovely Municipal, by the river, was lovely.

Day 2- A long journey. Tuesday 

Drove 300 odd miles to St Emilion. Autoroute fine, but tedious.  Last bit Satnav Sandra decided to take us through the middle of Libourne, down tiny streets past queues for food banks; then down country lanes past grand wine estates. Evening, and Frėderick the måitre-de at the camping restaurant talked us through their house wine: “2008 was not the best year but at least it is ready to drink.” What I love about French camping is the knowledge of the staff; and especially about food and drink.

Day 3 –  Wednesday 

Shared breakfast with Tony, Dave and Kylie the mallards. Singing zippedee-do-da with all the wild life waiting for the sun to come out. Cuckoos calling from the trees again; even the red squirrel was friendly. Time for a stock up, shopping at Carrefour Libourne. The area is full of very elegant wine establishments. FaceTime with grandson.

Day 4 – tootling out Thursday

As it’s Ascension Day, it’s a public holiday in France. Drove round and about to see the populus  disporting themselves. Went to Castillon la Bataille, to see where England finally lost the Hundred Years’ War. There was a small sign pointing to La Spectacle de Bataille, but no other indication. Went to E.Leclerc instead. Back through St.Emilion, packed with vinophiles, cars on verges for a long way round. The weather has turned.

Day 5 Migration Friday

The day starts cold after a night of rain. Looking at weather forecasts – high wind, generally miserable – we decide to head for the Med instead. Carcasonne seems in reach; halfway there we realise we could be at the municipal at Loupian by late afternoon, so we did. Dinner at the site bistro shack, run by a local oyster producer; a simple polystyrene plate of oysters, mussels and three gambas, with a bottle of local rosé. Long conversation with the guy about the wine maker. C’est bon vang!

Day 6 Un jour ensoleillé

A flash of colour on the next pitch – a hoopoe swooping across. A quick trip to Balaruc for essentials. The wind is gusty, but the sun is out and it’s warm, in the high 20s. A walk into Loupian village, which wears its ancestry without pretension. Across from the church, heavily buttressed and solid, is the foundations of a paleochristian building, and boards explaining the Via Domitia.

Day 7 – Sunday and wild flowers

Church bells, and another lazy day. Some of the pitches have wild asters; the roadsides are busy with them, along with both valerian and poppies in many shades. In the ditch I found mint and fennel,while campion is finished. Vetches and purple stuff in flower. Made a posy and stuck it in a beer bottle. Herself did a clothes wash. I finished a Terry Pratchett.

Day 8 – Monday 

Discussions about itinerary. The west side of the Pyrenees?  An hour on the beach, then lunch at Lou Labech on the harbour side at Mèze. The sea is still cold; but many fish, some quite large, swimming in the shallows. They may have been on the menu.  A conversation with a Frenchman, a ‘pied noir’ who’d bought a house locally after 45 years working in Paris.

Day 9 – Tuesday 

Overnight rain, and the weather is cooler and overcast. The wind is back too.  Shopping for fleeces as it’s set in. Lunch at Le Jardin du Mer, on a wooden terrace overlooking the oyster beds in the lagoon – oysters, bream fillets with saffron sauce and aubergine caviar. Back at the camping, Harry the hoopoe much in evidence; I’m sure I heard a Golden Oriole. More route research. Some possibilities emerge. The wifi extender is worth its weight.

Day 10 – Wednesday 

Bought wine, like 25 litres, at the Cooperative des Vignerons. Also visited a boutique grower producer ( the one recommended by our waiter friend) and got a box of rosé Muscat, among other produce. In the evening went for a seafood takeaway.

Day 11- Thursday

Rest day. Helped my new Belgian best friend move his tent to a different pitch. Dinner at the camp bistro – cassoulet de moules gratinėes. Chatted to Clive, out here for six weeks before going back home for undisclosed medical reasons. The Thompson Twins and their wife were in too. I should stop giving people names.

Day 12- Friday migrating to Spain. Over the Pyrenees, and stopping at Esponella. Receptionist very enthusiastic. We pitch. Realise it’s early in the season, and things are still in need of tidying up. Toilet block clean, but a bit of a concrete bunker. I plug in the electric, and test. No earth. Report it to reception, who tells me it’s because it’s only 6amp. No, there’s no earth. It didn’t look as if this was going to get resolved any time soon, and probably not at all. In the meantime, our Austrian neighbours, who had obviously been enjoying the sun for a while, tell us this is the nicest site they had found in Spain. This raised a concern over the standard of Spanish campsites (in retrospect, probably unjustified.) As a result, it was decided we would return to France.

Day 13- Up early, winding up the steadies by hand at 7.30 so as not to disturb the neighbours; hitch up and back over the Pyrenees. A campsite on a hillside, near Ceret. Towing the caravan up a very narrow minor road, which turned out to be the wrong one; but found a turning place and corrected ourselves. And relaxed.