Back through France

Settling into our nice new campsite in Le Napoule France on a late sunny afternoon we decided to go for a healthy walk towards Cannes. It was a beautiful evening for photo taking as we walked around the seafront and we resolved the next day the catch a bus to Cannes, a train to Monaco and then return via Nice.

Returning to Wi-Fi at the camp we picked up a message from Adrian to say that Eleni was in labour.....yes!!!! It was like the world stopped still for two days. This new grandchild, otherwise known as "little bleep", was not going to arrive in this world without fanfare - from the time her entrance was activated she had us all on the edge of our seats, including the staff at the campsite. She had a free trip in utero in an ambulance with all the bells and whistles and by the time she finally made her grand entrance her parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents etc. were exhausted. To Adrian and Eleni a beautiful daughter Maya -  for me a first granddaughter to compliment my two amazing grandsons - for Gary a new granddaughter to call him Gandy (he is fortunate to have many others). Such relief that all turned out well and we cannot wait to meet her in February. Until then we will have to be satisfied with photos but she is beautiful and we love her to pieces.

So we actually did not see too much of Cannes or Nice but we had both been there before and made up for that by driving along the coastal road to our next destination which was Saint Tropez. Driving and stopping in Le Napoule, St Raphael, Frejus and other smaller villages along the way to take some amazing photos - the sea was wild and stormy that day but the sun was shining - we both reconfirmed that visiting main cities is definitely not our thing and that beauty for us lies with the sea, the sun and nature.

And so to Saint Tropez where lunch of 3 coffees, 2 baguettes and 2 cakes cost 36 euro?????? (About NZ$65) and it has rained and blown a fierce gale since we arrived. We have been stuck in Molly, apart from our sortie to Saint Tropez this morning, just making it back before this latest storm. Good thing was though we were waiting at the bus stop this morning when a really nice French man stopped and gave us a lift into the centre. The old city is very lovely once again with cobbled, narrow streets with high, old shuttered buildings like a huge maze. We love wandering these places but actually forgot that most businesses in France do not open on a Monday so it was quite deserted. The super yachts in the marina never fail to amaze, their opulence screaming elitism. We did however wander along hoping someone might offer us a job or at least a tour!!!!!!

We have made a decision tonight, based on current long term weather forecasts to pull the plug on Europe for this trip. We are heading back to UK to store Molly, visit family and friends, spend Christmas somewhere and New Year with Carol and her family, pack our bags again and head back to Thailand where we will find a place to stay with a beach and sunshine before making our way to Australia. A bucket trip elsewhere, maybe to Turkey, could feature but we need to work out timings etc. - future unknown!!!!

But back to the present and St. Tropez.........

Nestling down in Molly deciding on how to spend the rest of our time without squandering it, the wind started to pick up and shake Molly a little and the precipitation started to pick up in unison. Little to no sleep was had that night as gale force winds and torrential rain took control of our environment. Little did we know that half an hour down the road caravans had been washed away in flash floods, people were missing and lives lost. More by luck than judgement we had parked alongside a concrete wall with a hedge atop which deflected some of the wind but the car park was flooded when we finally stepped outside. We left as soon as we were able, sticking to the motorways, to Avignon. The trip took us a few hours but was nowhere near as bad as we expected.

Once in Avignon we felt safe again and found a really great campsite right by the bridge that takes you directly into the old, walled city........perfect.

Although Avignon was very cold we really enjoyed our stay here. It was so easy to walk anywhere and everywhere with such a lot to see and do and we took advantage of that. First stop....warm clothes for us both! Second stop.....flowers for our beautiful new granddaughter, Maya, and her gorgeous parents. It was all sooooo easy and affordable. Now we were ready to tackle the sites and the historic town, which were not too busy, at our leisure. Avignon, for us, had a special feeling about it although there was not a great amount to do. Just off the main square was a castle and the botanical gardens but the myriad of small streets emanating from this point could lead you anywhere and, of course, it did........straight to a most amazing, very small, Indian restaurant. It was tucked right away in a colourful part of the town but if Gary hadn't had both his eyes open we would have missed it!!!!! I had been lusting over an Indian for a while, and if truth be known Gary had too, so that made for the perfect day.

We were very fortunate to be in Avignon whilst "the tasting of the new wine" festival was on, so that was a must for us. We had seen the preparations taking place - mobile huts, lights, stage, carousel etc. - but had no clue as to what was to happen. Rugging up with ALL our new winter woollies, hats, gloves, down vests, scarves etc. we toddled off, like Michelin men, into the freezing unknown. Well, it was just sooo great! Think we were the only tourists there and where all the locals suddenly emerged from, in their hundreds, so late and on such a cold night, amazed us but it was such a happy occasion and atmosphere. After some funny French on our part,  lots of hand language, gesticulations and frantic running around by one poor lady (charades has nothing on this) and we now knew the order of events.......pay 3 euro each for a glass and a breathalyzer, get in there and taste as much free new wine as you like for the next several hours. Eat cheap food if you wish, watch a parade, witness the most colourful, elaborate light show on the castle walls and just wallow in happiness - and wine - under the prettiest Christmas lights I have seen in years. And we did. We also won - 2 really special wine glasses in their own tubes, a corker bottle opener and a pen. We bought 2 bottles of Rose wine (absolutely splendid) and finally wound our way back to Molly at a reasonable hour as we planned to leave early the next day for Toulouse.

I have said before that once in a while everything falls well into place and you feel comfortable and at home....so you stay longer and enjoy.

Not so our next stop - Toulouse. Because our kms between stops as we head towards UK have increased we treated ourselves to a paid motorway trip!!!!!! 36 Euro later???????

Anyway this campsite was dismal so because of that and several other factors one night was sufficient here and next morning we were on our way again this time to L'Estuaire in Charentes - again on the AutoRoute. 33euro later (double for NZ$) and that's our daily budget almost over without petrol or campsite fees. No more motorways for us.

Again this campsite was dismal, it was in the middle of nowhere - literally - and everything on site was closed. The bathrooms stunk, no one was in attendance, but they still wanted our money. In summer I imagine it would be a great place with a pool and leisure centre etc. but right now? --- Bad, very bad.

Once again we reflected on what we should do, how sunshine plays such a big part in motorhome life and whether we are doing the correct thing returning to UK etc. We think we were always a month behind where we should have been throughout Europe, weather-wise, but we learn from our mistakes and next trip we will be so much wiser.

So now we are in Nantes. We had a great trip here - no motorways - in brilliant sunshine although still very cold through the French countryside. The campsite is eco-friendly, modern, clean and well looked after. The staff is young, helpful and just great. We have caught up with all our washing, drying and jobs today,  bought a tram/boat ticket to discover Nantes tomorrow and may even stay another night to go for a good bike ride. We have the free use of a heated indoor swimming pool and all you can eat Wi-Fi for 1euro per machine. If the sun would come back out = perfect.

Nantes. This is another town/city that is very easy to fall in love with especially at this time of year. Crisp and cold and everywhere geared up for Christmas. Once again there is so much history here with quaint streets and beautiful old shops looking like something from the Dickens era only much more opulent. Little cabins decorated with Christmas lights have been set up in the square and are full of different things to buy for Christmas presents - there is a really nice happy feeling about Nantes.

We took a tram from the campsite, having to disembark, walk two stops and embark again because there was a huge demonstration happening, blocking the road and tramlines. There were no grumbles or complaints from anyone and the walk along the river was absolutely beautiful.

Our first stop though had to be a decent coffee so espying a cafe we ambled in and sat down in the window, beside another couple, to watch the world go by. Typical of us we opened a conversation with them and Gary is still amazed to this day re the outcome - they were English and lived 3 villages away from Cray’s Hill Billericay where my family and I lived!!!!. If I said Little Woking I could be wrong but the next village on from Ramsden Heath anyway. They had come to Nantes to oversee their boat build and we chatted for a good long while and once again will stay in touch. This is turning out to be quite a regular occurrence.

Having enjoyed our coffee and chat we headed to the ferry which would take us to a little fishing village across the water with brightly coloured houses along the fore shore. Sadly it was really cold and windy so a quick walk along the front was all we managed before jumping back onto the ferry and back to the mainland where we espied an Afghan restaurant offering a formula meal for a few Euros. Having no idea what Afghans ate, and definitely not understanding    the written menu we jumped in boots and all. (We also needed the loo). The meal was curry oriented which suited us     just fine as we were frozen to the core and was delicious. Feeling satiated we set off to explore all the Christmas shops and stalls. We discovered Georges Gautier a famous Confiseur and were spellbound just by the smells - the chocs were   too expensive for us to buy - and the interior of the premises were, as I said earlier, absolutely gorgeous and architecturally  so French!!!!!

So that was our day in Nantes and next day we left early to find our way to a Camperstop site just north of Paris via the back roads of France through the Dordogne. It was a long trip through wine and agricultural countryside but finally Kate told us, after a final right hand turn, that we had " reached our destination". Err don't think so Kate we are virtually in a muddy farmyard and pictures of the site show lots of green grass. Recalculating Kate it appeared we had another 8.5km to go so off we set along narrow, hair raising, dirty farm tracks, up hills, through forests, back into the village, in what turned out to be an 8.5 circle back to where we started but...........without the final right hand turn. Omit that instruction, travel another 100meters and we were there. The original destination was just the other side of the farmhouse driveway?????? This was where we picked up a new type of friend - a cockerel - who was obsessed with us and followed us everywhere and yes..........4am he was awake and in fine voice.

Thank goodness this was only a one night stop-over as today we booked our ferry crossing from Calais to Dover for Saturday 30th November. We will go and stay a few days with Kirstie and her family in theTonbridge/Mayfield/Kent area. So, off to Calais where we have chosen to stay quayside and will be able to watch the ferries go in and out of the harbour. Sounds awesome eh?

Arriving in Calais I am amazed at how clever we have become finding intricate places without GPS -successfully. How we have learned to understand the different anomalies thrown up by a Kate and don't allow her to catch us out. So yes we found our car park stopover no worries. It was quite good really but there was a downside to it - well a few actually!!!! The crazy woman in the camper parked 6inches away from us; the inability to stand upright outside of Molly, the toilets closed because of a wedding????, and the noise of the endless ferries constantly coming and going. Positives: it was free and close to the ferry terminal. We also got to try our gas central heating system for the first time. It was really efficient, but probably heavy on gas and condensation was an issue.

Next morning we were up and onto the ferry saying our farewells to France and our hellos to Great Britain!