Well, well! We did get into France no problem! I really don’t see what all the problems were about last year. Same credit card. Same payage lane, (I’m pretty sure). Five seconds and we were through. Well, maybe twenty! Not even enough time to renew friendships with the border guards who were still indifferently poking their mirrors and cameras on sticks under vehicles as they emerged from the barriers.
Anyway it’s now May 31. We notice that it’s forecast to be a bit breezy! But that’s OK. We are in France not the UK!
Our trip out of Spain was, truthfully, a bit tedious. No exciting wind or rain. Just sunshine. Oh, and difficulties with the navigator’s back (for “back” read neck, shoulders, back, hips and knee). What we really needed was a sensible doctor’s appointment before we left home to diagnose bursitis (already identified by the osteopath at home) and give a cortisone injection. That was what should have happened. In the event she was offered an appointment ten days after we arrived in Spain. I was going to witter on about the failings of the NHS and our doctors’ practice in particular. However, as a response to our telephoned “comments” on the usefulness of that late appointment, we have today, out of the blue, received notification of a new “face-to-face” meeting with a doctor a week after we get home. So there is a glimmer of hope there. Still, I bet there will then need to be a MRI scan (two months wait???) and then a hospital appointment (another three months in limbo???). We could be back in Australia before the process wends it’s way to a conclusion. So I can witter! A second call postponed the appointment! Although only for 30 minutes!
As a result of the difficulties of travelling long distance by car, we failed to reach our target campsite. We just hauled into the nearest available place. It had three things going for it. It was close to our route, the owners were very friendly and the swimming pool was lovely and warm! Enough said!
The-windy-day-forecast-for-the-UK saw us complete our journey to Gondrin and the Camping La Brouquère. We have pitch 13 for 9 days. Excellent.
It took three hours to put the awning up. And that was with help from Henk-the-Dutchman on the pitch behind us. The access point on the caravan track is way too narrow for comfort – and certainly too narrow to get the awning bead into! It took ages. Millimetre by millimetre. Well, we are in France and they don’t use inches – or twelfths of inches – here. Management decided that it was a waste of time putting the awning up. But Henk and I knew better! The bloody thing WAS going up – and that was that. The compromise agreed was that when it came down it was staying down for the rest of the trip!
Following several treatments at Glenda’s osteopath in Paignton and a long and tedious car trip, we decided that a visit to the local practitioner was called for.
Two trips to Esther van Ballegoouen about 5 km from camp may have, or may not have, done some good. At least she agrees with the bursitis diagnosis. So that was something.
John and Freda are staying at La Romieu a few kilometres NE of Condom. Not a million miles away. They came over for coffee at the caravan followed by lunch at the Falène Bleue in Lannepax. Really nice food. Exceptional presentation. Lovely ambience. Sadly, about to close for several weeks of holiday.
The notice on the mixed toilets is sending out confusing messages! Not sure whether that’s an instruction or a warning! Oh well, whatever!
The campsite is on a very alkaline soil. Neat limestone under a few inches of very poor soil. Just right for orchiculture. There are purple and pyramid as well as lizard and bee orchids. To name but a few. All on the property.
There were also lots of (probably) heart shaped tongue orchids. But the flowers were finished and not photographed!
The problem with limestone areas is that the local drinking water is very hard. And the problem with that is that kettles fur up. And, in our case, switch off before boiling point – and stay switched off till everything cools down. So we need a remedy. My “I-need-something-to-remove-the-calcium-stuff-from-my-thing-that-boils-water” took some understanding by the supermarket duty manager. But eventually, against my manager’s advice I did purchase enough liquid to do the job several times over. Glenda wanted to invest about the same money to buy a new kettle! So far my remedy has been used four times. Once on John and Freda’s kettle in return for it’s short term loan and three times on ours. Lucky I bought the big bottle! Bargain!
Over the nine days at La Brouquère, the pool got progressively warmer. To be fair it started at an interestingly nippy level which kept all but the most enthusiastic at bay. After nine days it remained a bit of a challenge to get submerged but was very swimmable once in.
In the area there are really a lot of places at which to eat. To be fair, we did try most of them!
Le Florida in Castèra-Verdusan presented lovely and interesting food, but you had to count on eating another meal later!
The Auberge in Forcès (France’s only circular bastide) produced a limited menu for the Sunday brocante market day.
Still good value and packed out. Lucky we remembered to book! We met Jackie and Robert, two long-term, Scottish residents of the campsite there. When I say long-term, they had been there for two months when we arrived and won’t leave till mid-September. (At La Brouquère, not the Auberge de Forcès, obviously!). In Montréal, the nearest village, the Auberge de St Jaques started each meal with a tureen of local, traditional soup. Always tasty, and in this case good value. We went three times, just to make sure! But, possibly the best meal all round for food content, price and ambience was delivered at the Restaurante Pas Pareil in Vic Fezensac.
It was here, on our second visit, that we ran into two French reprobates. As one of them is (allegedly) being sought by Interpol, we will just refer to them by their aliases. Benedict and Benjamin. We shared a happy hour after our meal with these two excellent English speakers. We got two half life stories, but very limited information about the crimes that may have been committed – or not, as the case may be! Well Ben and Ben, if you are reading this, and you are both still free men, it was a pleasure meeting you. Keep in touch and we will visit you in your soon-to-be new residence. Just let us know whether it’s La Santé, Fleury-Mérogis, (the largest prison in Europe) Fresnes, (the second largest in France), or the ultra-high-security prisons in Vendin-le-Vieil and Condé-sur-Sarthe, designed to isolate dangerous offenders.
It did transpire that they are both in the hospitality industry, but were unable to supply us with any untested (by us) restaurants to try out!
We had failed to dine at Angeline’s in La Romieu last year. We had managed to secure a booking for lunch on a Wednesday (the only day of the week that they are CLOSED!) This year we tried a Friday with John and Freda. More successful. However, as La Romieu has been “gentrified ” over the years, so have the restaurant prices! We did get a great view of the pélegrins walking the Camino Trail which passes the front door. There were dozens of them.
Talking of pilgrims, while ambling around Montréal another day, we met two Australian hikers. From Melbourne. They might have been called Bruce and Sheila. Or not! They told us that they had just completed 500 kms from Le-Puy-en-Velay. Leaving just another 250 km of the 750 km route to go to reach their target of St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The Via Podiensis or the Le Puy Route is one of the four routes through France on the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. You may have heard the song “These boots were made for walkin”, originally sung by Nancy Sinatra in1966. There is now a new version… “These SOCKS are made for hikin”…
I wouldn’t like to have told them that they still have about 350 km to go. I think they must have taken a wrong turning somewhere. We may come back to wrong turnings later!!!
There are numerous tiny villages scattered about the countryside, hereabouts. Often on top of a hill. Almost always with a magnificent church (mostly unlocked). Usually with free to use toilets and carparks. Generally, there is little or no sign of residential activity – but they all have a defibrillator station!
This is Roques about 15 minutes drive SE of Gondin. It meets all the “village criteria”. This one comes with an added feature – a balcony walk with magical views of the surrounding countryside. And there are soooo many places like this in the area.
It transpires that France has an extensive history of religious architecture, including approximately 45,000 Catholic parish churches and chapels.
It’s well past time to finish this episode. We’ve got another 44,975 churches to visit – and we have only got four more days in France (as i write this)!