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Published: January 2nd 2012
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We set off from Levanto in good spirits but a little pressure was on as we had lost all our xmas bookings in Austria and all the campsites were closing but we made a quick websearch of the timeshares and there was one in Hyeres near Toulon for a week on the 22nd.We stayed in San remo one night and that was amazing ..that town,Nice and monte Carlo are all very chic and expensive..Denis was hoping to get to the Casino but sadly( thank god for that) we had to continue.Hyeres is a gorgeous medieval town with a port also and our studio was looking over the marina..the temp down here is about 14 degrees with sunny days .We have even sat on the beach.We drove St Tropez where bridgit bardot lived for years and that too is a quaint fishing village but now overun by the rich and famous...and us!!!We had a breton galette stuffed with eggs and ham for lunch ..the patrons were all drinking cider with theirs !!!We had a roast dinner xmas day on our balcony...we have loved it here .We go to the boulangerie every day for croissants or bagette after a big walk around the
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Christmas in Levanto marina.In the afternoons we drive to visit the little villages around.We got picked up in a cafe by an english couple that invited us to their party..it was great fun french and english people that live in Hyeres.They found Denis extremely amusing..he had had a few drinks an insulted their xmas tree!!!Newyears was quiet with a bouilliabase in a nearby restaurant......2012 is going to be magnificent...when we get home we have no furniture,no jobs...but lots of boring stories for you folks ......off to Marseille and Aix on thursday.Aix is a cultured place with a boulevard like the champs-elysees..its great to have english movies at the cinema and all the papers again. We love just sitting and watching people.A lady came up to me today and asked for money her creditcards had been stopped she was from Canada with 2 kids..I gave her 20 euros...I did believe her and what an awful situation...succer???? TodaY WAS THE SAT MARKET AND i WISH WE HAD THEM IN AUST LIKE THAT THEY ARE SO LIVELY AND EVERYTHING FRESH...our markets seem to be full of shit made in china!!!! We bought some veg for another rissotto..cant get enough of them and the one pot is
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View from our balcony... Hyeres Prvence France great in the van.Very sad about Molly Meldrum..denis says he is permanently damaged and he knows about brain injury!!!
Had agreat day at Marseille for Denis birthday today...we had a huge bowl of molluscs and crustaceans..including sea anemones and whelks that had a rather rubbery foot that we really couldnt swallow..thinking it might cling to the gullet on the way down ..eeek!!! Marseille is full of dark mysterious people from tunisia,algeria and all those other seedy countries that the french colonized for some reason???Its only half an hour from Aix but its sooo different..abit like sydney and melb...you know melb being the cultured one??? Denis enjoyed it enormously and has cashed in on the 34 hour birthday realizing it actually starts in melb time,soooo I have to continue at his beck and call tomorrow.Check out the photos of marseille.We met some Aussies today the had driven up thru Afrika and I was reminded what a lovely race of people we are ..very friendly,warm and not ignorant of the world despite our isolation unlike those dumb Americans that are still voting against the pill and abortion and think australia is next to Germany!!!God I love Julia Gillard!!
Going to
see Carnage the movie today I dont think its released yet but Aix has this amazing international cinema that shows latest releases from around the world and there is often one in english.After that we will sit on the boulevard for hours watching the french go by and eat something yummy.We might have to go back to Marseille tomorrow its so tantalising..feels more like Afrika than france .
In Nimes on our way down to spain..this town has a full fledged collosseum and better then Rome.I have noticed they kiss each other 3 times here..Aix was twice on the cheek but here its 3..nice to see the men do it to each other.The sat market was a ripper lots of spanish food too which is unusual.The cassoulet is the food of this region so we will have to have one of them ..rabbit perhaps!!!
.tomoro we go to the PONT DU GARD which is a roman aqueduct. I have never seen an aqueduct in such good order it was so majestic and stunning spanning the river gorge..of course trapsing around there made Denis sooo hungary so we drove on to Uzes and it was the annual truffle festival
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Dog... Christmas shopping which was HUGE..all the restaurants did things with truffles..and they showed us how the sniffer dogs and pigs were trained to root them out.We had a splendid steak in truffle sauce with dauphinois and a crisp rose...followed by a tarte tatin and cafe!!! What more could one ask for ...the town itself isa medieval village with some gorgeous french shops....after Uzes we headed to Narbonne and stayed in a weird site in the bush very basic but peaceful..with all this eating of cakes etc ..you may have noticed!!!!We do get up and walk briskly for 30mins each day and this had some great walks thru the vineyards.Carcasonne was a let down...the medieval part is not really a city more a disneyland and the other part of town they rave about has little charm.The best thing in this area is the Cassoulet..ajuicy casserole of white beans and glorious duck.Denis had one each day.We drove south on to Perpignan but found a little gem called by the coast called Colliure..it has a medieval harbour .We notice now the food becoming more Catalan ..with tapas etc appearing on the menus. It had the quaintest little market and the honey stall was ran by
a man looking like corporal clinger of MASH sporting a beard,a head scalf and a blue house dress over his trousers!!!!!
We are in Ceret at a camp that overlooks the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees...but its 17 degrees hear and the thermals have been packed away hopefully for good.After we have uploaded the photos the next blog will be of Spain.
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Lee
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Hello!!
Hello Jill and denise I have finally worked out how to look at your bolg and it all looks amazing like post cards I am envious! we'r only down to boring old Anglesea as usual lovely to see it all mis u heaps keep blogging xxxx