Rasbro's Ramblings - No. 18

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March has brought a mixed bag weather as well as walks. The month kicked off with snow, snow, snow so read on...

We ended up staying 3 nights at Vernet les Bains as by late Thursday the rain turned to snow and did not stop falling for nearly 24 hours. We spent Friday periodically clearing snow from Hamish whilst enjoying the beauty of fresh falling snow on the surrounding cliffs, rivers and trees. On Saturday the sun came out so we were able to use the snow chains to get out of the aire and on to the cleared road. It was only a matter of about 300mt but we could not do it without the chains.

We drove to Thuir for the antiques fair which had some nice stuff but we only ended up buying a small tinted print of a Treecreeper which now graces our "living room" wall in Hamish. Our stop for the night was a France Passion site which was an olive oil producer with a well set up aire for vans. Sunday 3 March saw us visiting a collectors fair in the old town of Elne then on to the Intermarche to use the laundry then we returned to the aire at Camping Cars Rousillon for another quiet night. Monday was mild but became quite windy. We drove to Vingrau to do a lovely walk up to a rocky ridge then spent the night parked next to the local cemetery (always a quiet place to wild camp). Tuesday was wet and windy and though we tried a couple of coastal aires, both were flooded so we ended up at one next to Leucate Lake which was a bit noisy sandwiched between the lake and a busy road however needs must. Wednesday was a similar day as we tried to get to two France Passion sites with no luck due to the wet conditions so ended up at a roadside aire not far from a motorway – not the best but free ablutions (emptying and filling point) for Hamish were okay.

Thursday was a much nicer day which we spent in the old town of Pezenas. It has lots of antique shops to browse and a lovely old town centre to stroll around. Lunch in a local cafe consisted of roasted Pintade and a carafe of wine followed by a wander around the old town. We finished the day at the aire in Aniane which is pleasantly quiet. Friday we drove to St Guilhem le Desert from where we did a fabulous hike of 15km and 500mt ascent around the Cirque l’Invernet then back to the aire at Aniane for another night.

Saturday 9 March we spent the day in Montpelier which has a pedestrianised old town with lots of boutique, artisan and antique shops. Unfortunately we got back to the van to find some b####rd had stabbed our left rear tyre! Fortunately it did not take long to change the wheel then we found our way to the Petite Camargue and Domaine Montcalm, a FP site, for the night. Sunday was a bit foggy early as we aimed for Fontveille for an antique and horse fair. Bought 6 linen napkins for 12 euro (she started at 40 euro!), ate a delicious olive fougasse, sampled tasty sheeps cheeses, watched the line dancing and admired the horses. Later in the day we found a Mcdonalds to sit and research tyre places to go to on Monday.

Monday morning we found a friendly Norauto centre at Aix-le-Bains and they just happened to have one of our tyres in stock so an hour and a half later and 175 euro poorer we were on the road again. Our stop for the night was Greoux-les-Bains where the terraced aire already held about 30 mostly French vans. Tuesday we moved on to Digne-les-Bains to a free aire next to the thermal spa. Took a hike up to Crete de Feston which was only 7km and 400mt ascent but gave terrific views of the surrounding peaks and cliffs but we beat a hasty retreat as hail descended on us.

Wednesday 13 March is a momentous day as this is the day we decided to stop downhill skiing. We awoke to a gorgeous sunny day and drove 100km to Pra Loup in the Ubaye valley. By midday we were on the ski slopes enjoying some good snow and very few people to share it with. However over lunch we agreed to pack in downhill skiing and preserve our joints for lots more walking. I took a long time to get to this decision but the thrill is no longer there – must be growing up finally! So, before we left the resort we left our old skis for someone else to use (although I have kept my cross country skis....).

Thursday was another lovely day although very chilly. Brian awoke with the makings of a bad cold so we found ourselves a lovely parking place in the village of Sellonet with views of the snow capped peaks all around. Spent the day doing housework whilst Brian rested. The next day we walked to the nearby town of Seyne les Alpes where it was market day. We tasted and bought some local produce, had a coffee in the local bar, used the free wifi at the TI then walked back to Sellonet. Saturday we awoke to -9C and sunshine but the forecast was for more rain and snow so we headed down from the heights and spent another night on the aire at Digne-les-Bains. Sunday we found a vide-grenier (boot sale) in town where I bought an old quilt and a linen pillow case to add to my collection. Our next stop was Castellane on the north western end of the Gorges de Verdon. To get there we had to negotiate a snow covered pass which we were not expecting. However we managed to get over the top without having to resort to the snow chains (thought we gave up the snow a few days ago!)

On Monday 18 March we drove through the Gorges des Verdon (we were last here 6 years ago) and there was no snow despite all the dire warnings about roads being impassable. However it was cold and wet so we did not stop for too much sightseeing in this magnificent area. The next few days were spent pootling around the Provencal countryside with me taking the odd walk whilst Brian continued to suffer with a bad cold. We found some lovely places such as Sallins de Cascade with a roaring waterfall; Abbey le Thoronet – an 11^th century Cistercian monastery; Domaine de Cantarelle – a friendly France Passion winery; Gorges de Oppodette and a scary cliff side walk.

Friday 22 March we spent an enjoyable day at the Avignon Motor Festival, a 3 day extravaganza of all things veteran, vintage, sporty and utility on wheels. There were names I had never heard of before such as Renault Alpine (very big in European racing over many years); Salmson who produced cars in France for the best part of a century but are virtually unknown anywhere else and Panhard?? The displays of old tractors and old trucks were also very interesting. We finished the day at Fontaine de Vaucluse amongst 20 or so other motorhomes. This is an interesting gorge where the river Sorgue emerges from under the mountain not as a trickle but as a full on cascade, especially at this time of year when it is in full flood.

Both of us are suffering colds now, Brian has had the worst couple of weeks and I have just come in at the tail end. The rainy weather doesn’t help either. We get one good day then three or four of rain. However, no one can accuse us of not making the most of every day. If it doesn’t rain we go for a long hike through beautiful, rugged countryside. If it does rain we explore ancient villages, shopping centres, and other sites of interest. This region is blessed with lots of brocante and vide-grenier (antique fairs and boot sales to us). Isle-sur-Sorgue is one of the major antique towns in France which we have visited many times. This time we got to join in with the dealers for the launch of this years guide (well we were just there for the free food and drink really). On this rainy Sunday we also managed to visit Pernes and Carpentras where the usually large Brocante was much reduced due to the inclement weather.

Monday 25 March we drove along the fabulous Gorges de Ardeche where the road weaves along the rocky heights and you have stop every now and then to stare down at the raging river below. This is canoist heaven and judging by the number of canoes and campsites along the river it must be a zoo in holiday time. We spent the next few nights at a free aire in St Alban de Auriolles (great Boulangerie) from where we ventured out for walks to the Gorges le Beaume and drives to nearby towns. At Barjac they were setting up for the annual six day antique fair as we drove in on Wednesday so we proceeded to spend the best part of two days strolling the stands. Felt a bit sorry for them on Thursday as the rain did not stop, but dealers were quite willing to drop the price quite a lot just to be rid of stuff rather than have it get soaked. Amazing how few of them were prepared for inclement weather.

Friday 29 March was a bit disconcerting as we thought it would be a public holiday (Good Friday) however in France they only celebrate on Monday. We had this confirmed when we got to Ruoms to find all the shops open and a big market in full swing. The helpful lady in the TI explained it to us. By the end of the day we found ourselves in yet another motorhome aire in yet another gorgeous medieval village set above a gorgeous gorge on the river Ardeche at Balazuc. On Saturday we found a lovely walk through small gorges, over rocky ridges, past flowing cascades just north of Balazuc then drove a scenic route through the Ligne Gorge back to St Albans for a fifth night! Our last day of March has been spent perched on a rocky outcrop between the church and the cemetery of Banne, a hilltop village and ruined fortress. We enjoyed a lovely hike around the nearby hills and are sitting here sipping a lovely Luberon Rouge wine enjoying the sunset of the first day of daylight saving (but we did not realise until the church clock struck 2pm and our clocks still said 1pm!

More next month, mon amis.

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