France 99 - Frejus - the paddy fields of Italy , the south of France and heading home

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We left the comfort blanket that is Italy through its paddy fields. An odd landscape. At odds a touch with its environment. Paddy fields in Asia feel right. Paddy fields in Italy look odd. Instead of acres of green fields or ripening corn there are acres of wet mud, acres of water . Small banks of dried mud surround the field keeping the water in. Sluice gates made of plastic can be opened to let in or let out the water. Some fields were green as the rice had been planted and was in a various stage of growth. Herons were everywhere. They stood in each field guarding their own water filled field. There must have been rich pickings for them in the water. Snakes, lizards who knows what is in the water. From Biella to Pavia, vast stretches of land had been flooded by the fast flowing Sesia River creating a huge patchwork of square, sky-reflecting ponds. This is where the round and short-gained Carnaroli and Arborio rice for Italian risotto are produced. The rice that makes up one of my favourite Italian dishes.

We were trying to outrun the rain. Impossible it seems as the grey skies just followed us everywhere we turned. A Chinese proverb says that a clever person turns great troubles in to little ones and little ones into none at all. So what we were trying to do was make the big trouble the heavy rain into something that wasn't going to bother us any more. Easier said than done. The rain seems to have set in fast. France - surely there must be some sun in the south of France. The rich and famous live in glorious sunshine. Surely we cannot be denied a bit of that. We set Sally sat nag to take us to Frejus. Roman remains , the sunny skies, the blue Med . Oh yes we were heading for the sun or so we thought. Leaving the dull rain of Italy we set off watery field following watery field. The sun did break out now and again but it was shortlived. We suffered the wind near to Genoa on the high roads that hug the hillside corniche. We vowed never to drive Suzy this way again but yet we found ourselves being buffeted by the wind again. It was not quite as bad as last time but still not a pleasant drive.

The villages lay below us . It seemed as if there was some edict that demanded all the houses be roofed with the same red tiles. The house colours ranged from pink through to salmon; from cream to rust red. Although each village or town looked pretty the colours did become slightly monotonous after a while . There was the sameness about them.

We arrived at Frejus at Camping Le Barque. The blurb in the ACSI book said that the site was close to the beach. It was within walking distance 500 metres of the twin towns of St Raphael and Frejus. We walked to reception and booked in. The place was empty . We could park up where we liked. There was no hardstanding but the grass was relatively hard despite the rain. As we parked we started to speak to neighbours a couple with a caravan. They were from Huddersfield and were on their way home by the long route. 6 weeks to get from here to home. They told us the campsite was lovely, it was quiet and that Walter would help out whenever he can. We sat for a while and enjoyed the peace and solitude . Glenn picked cherries from the tree behind us. Fresh cherries plucked from the tree are a real treat. I walked to the beach through the muddle of chalets. The beach didnt quite turn out to be a beach but the shore of the Argens river. The town was too far to walk to. We were told that we could ring Walter who would taxi us into town. So the plan was to have a meal that night and go into town tomorrow.

The restaurant was empty apart from one local family. We ordered a pork dish which was served with a the best chips I have ever tasted . Caramelised onions completed the meal. For a provincial campsite restaurant this one ticked every box.

We slept well and got ready to set off for town . I shouldnt think you need to guess too hard what happened next. It poured down. It continued to pour down . Walking to Frejus was not a possibility . I have no idea what Frejus looks like at all. We saw nothing of it apart from our excellent campsite and the first site we picked which had closed. It's another place that will have to go on the list of to do places on another trip.

By now we were getting a touch fed up with the weather . We are heading home. We can get to the Ardeche by tomorrow .

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Comments

[jackieandchris2011]

Dont want to rub Salt into Wounds....But......
the UK has been having some lovely weather! Dry, sunny, and quite warm - if you wear jeans and fleece!!! Bu I would rather be travelling.......Stay safe

[JenGog]

dont rub salt
Already rubbed . we have arrived home and Chesterfield is bathed in sunshine. We have had no rain since we got home. Still where would I rather be ? Not sitting here . My neighbour has family in Spain and he said he spoke to them last week and the weather was awful. When I went swimming yesterday the receptionist had been for two weeks to south of Spain - rain and we have been following Our Tour blog and they are still getting awful weather . Our friend woolly mammoth is in Albania and guess what RAIN . Where are you from ? We try to read all sorts of blogs especially those with motorhomes . Gives us ideas.

[D MJ Binkley]

France & Italy
Never enough food photos.