Blogs from Auch, Midi-Pyrénées, France, Europe

Woken in the night by the sound of acorns pinging down onto the roof of a nearby chalet. Woken next by the unwanted but expected sound of rain on Tandy’s roof. Exactly as forecast it rained almost all day. Every now and then we got a lull so dived outside to stretch our legs and managed to fit this in well between the heavy showers. Even managed a walk round the campsite lake which is an astonishingly lovely spot, the other side of the lake being quite secluded and ‘back to nature’ while our side has the pool, swimming and canoe lake and the bar/ restaurant. We didn’t use the pool. Second time the rain stopped I wandered down to it and considered reading on a lounger instead of stuck inside Tandy as the sun was ... read more

Up and off by 9am as drive of well over 200 miles to get us to within spitting distance of the Pyrenees. Bypassed La Rochelle using main roads but after that used far quieter roads including bypassing Bordeaux and crossing the Dordogne. Bob had let Tina TomTom plan her own route after instructing her to keep off the main roads and she did well. OK some roads were a wee bit on the small side but most were straight, pretty empty and heading due south. We pulled into a carpark at St Emilion to have lunch as had failed to find a reasonable stopping spot by the side of the road. Of course as soon as we set off we found some lovely lunch spots including one by the river. Today we must have driven past ... read more

Friday March 11th 2011 After phoning ahead to the campsite, we set off on a beautiful drive alongside the Pyrenees. They really looked majestic and we enjoyed having them in our sights for most of the journey. Around lunchtime we were passing close to Lourdes, so we decided to stop there for a picnic. Although we didn’t visit the holy sites, the evidence of mass pilgrimages there were evident, with a constant stream of visitors coming in by road and plane. When we arrived at our campsite destination – St. Bertram de Comminges – the campsite was closed ! Luckily the owner’s son was doing some maintenance work just outside and he opened up the facilities for us to stay the night. Our accommodation secured, we walked up the steep hillside to the centre of the ... read more

July 14 was Bastille Day and we went to Auch to see the local parade. They honored soldiers returning from Afganistan, local firefighters, police, and other dignitaries. Then we went to Le Chateau de Caumont. It was built in 1535 by a renound French architect in the Italian Paladian style. Henry IV slept there as a baby. Robin finally drove home from this chateau as it was a holiday and there was not much traffic. Driving a stick is like riding a bike .... except for the rotaries!... read more