Hermanville-Sur-Mer

 Friday 30/09/22

Although the aire we stayed in seemed to be in the middle of nowhere we were joined by two French motorhomes and had a very peaceful night's sleep.

We set off quite early as the aires near ferry terminals can get busy so we wanted to make sure we got a space.  It meant we started off in very misty conditions, but were treated to very pretty sights as the morning wore on and the sun broke through.

We stopped off on the Caen périphérique (orbital or ring road) to fill Bokkie's tanks (with diesel) as fuel is still much cheaper in France than the UK.  We found the aire and, although it is a bit busier than we would normally choose, the priority is to be close to the ferry terminal.

The Channel is looking calm, for now...

The small village is surprisingly busy

We'll have an early start in the morning, the weather overnight looks quite grim and the crossing may be a little more choppy than we would like.  Although we love the calm, quick, smooth Eurotunnel crossings, going from Ouistreham saves us around 600km driving so it makes sense this time.

For now, it's a quick supper and early to bed for us - our last night on the Continent before 3 months back in England, time seems to have passed very quickly!

Saint-Loup-du-Gast

 Thursday 29/09/22

We woke up to a lovely morning so decided to head off for a walk around the village before breakfast.  The church bells chime loudly at 0700 and, as we are still on Portuguese / UK time, it feels like 0600, so there is no chance of sleeping late.  

We haven't really acclimatised to the cooler weather yet and should probably have dressed a little warmer, however it was a fantastic time to be out an about.

The perfect morning for a walk.

We are really taken by Vivonne and the surrounding area.  Many of these villages  put so much effort into their appearance and facilities; it makes visiting them a absolute pleasure!

A rather clever rail for pushing bikes up and down the steps

It wasn't too long and it was time to head off again, quite a lot of cross country driving as many of the freeways here are toll roads but it really is worth it to go off the beaten track.  

We had a lovely coffee break at a picnic aire along the road but our lunch stop was a little less inspiring - a supermarket car park 😆.  All the roadside parking we saw around lunchtime were a little close to the main road and we hate being buffeted by trucks as we take a break.

Typical picnic spots along the way

As we approached our destination we found ourselves more and more off the beaten track, eventually travelling down a single lane farm road for about 2km - I probably should have checked the route more carefully!  It was fine as we encountered no other traffic.

A pretty village, the name's a mouthful, though!

Memorial to the fallen villagers in WWII

We've done almost 2,000km now and are fairly close to our final stop before we catch the ferry on Saturday morning.  Even though we could technically still stay in the EU for 10 days, we need to get back so that we can re-enter early in the new year.  Besides, with the current (de-)value of the Pound, I am happy to stop spending Euros for a while!

Vivonne

 Wednesday 29/09/22

A day with very little to report; we've been having intermittent rain since last night which doesn't make for fun driving conditions but we've pushed on regardless.

Conditions rather autumnal at the moment.

Vivonne

We're slowly chewing up the distance to our ferry and enjoying visiting areas we haven't seen or stopped in before.  Today's overnight stop is in a medium sized village with a lovely aire in the middle of town.  

We've settled into a fairly relaxed travel mode but aren't really getting much sightseeing in (apart from the city stops we made) as we have quite a lot of ground to cover and the weather hasn't been great.

We couldn't resist trying a regional delicacy - similar to a Basque cheese cake.
This was made with goats' cheese and was yummy!

It is nice being back in France, it has become comfortingly familiar to us.  

We were reminiscing in Bokkie during the drive, and chatting about the long road (metaphorically) to get us to where we are today, as well as the work we put in once we'd made the decision to change our lifestyle.  We can't believe we've been travelling for almost four years now and have visited so many interesting places.

Long may it continue!

Day trip into Bordeaux

 Tuesday 27/09/22

As predicted, there was some rain overnight and it was still drizzly when we woke up.  Luckily, by the time we set off, it was clearing up a bit.

Very pleased with ourselves having managed to negotiate the public transport into town.

We took a short walk to the bus stop, practiced our French with the bus driver and set off on a very squeaky bendy-bus.  We then changed to a tram along the route which was luckily much quieter and this took us right into the city, which was perfect.

The magnificent gothic Bordeaux Cathedral

The magnificent entrance to the cathedral

We had a lovely walk along the Garonne during a brief period of sunshine and then stopped for 'un café et croissant' at the local market - very French.

Unfortunately the mirror pool was empty but the Place de la Bourse was still stunning

Hotel de Ville, the town hall.

Porte Cailhau, which used to be the main entrance to the city

Lots of winding alleys, you're never sure when a car or van will suddenly appear!

Inside the Basilica of Saint Michel

The commercial sections livened up as the day wore on.

We had to try the local delicacy, Canelé, lovely doughy balls with a rum flavour.  Yum!

The stunning sculpture 'Sanna' by Catalan artist, Jaume Plensa

It really is a lovely city, small enough that one can see most of the sights on foot - assuming you like walking!  We had a lovely day out and managed to get back to Bokkie just before the rain set in again. 

Tomorrow we move further north.

Bordeaux

 Monday 26/09/22

Not too much to report today; we had a disturbed night's sleep in spite of the fact that the town turned into a ghost town once the border shoppers left.  

Unfortunately, the (we think, rather drunk) couple in a neighbouring motorhome had a blazing row in the middle of the night which, when you live in a motorhome, gets shared with all those around you.  We assume too much duty-free alcohol was the main culprit as we saw them drinking earlier but apart from the noise, it didn't affect us.

Relic of a pre-EU period, a border crossing in the middle of town.

We left quite early and took a relatively boring drive to the campsite south of Bordeaux, once you've seen your first 100 pine trees next to a motorway, you've seen them all!  

The campsite is tiny and nestled in the suburbs but it is 500m away from the bus stop that we need to get into the city so suits us perfectly.

We prefer the safety of a campsite when visiting cities

We've had a long walk around the area, done our laundry and ablutions and are getting ready for our Bordeaux city trip tomorrow.  

Dantxarinea

 Sunday 25/09/22

We had a lovely, restful night next to the cemetery and headed off refreshed this morning.  We had planned on visiting San Sebastian but with rain forecast there for two days we decided instead to find a route around the rain.  

We were also keen to travel a different route into France as we have barrelled up the A63 many times before, which is usually very busy and not particularly scenic.

The result is that our new route took us along the Pyrenees, where we stopped on the outskirts of Pamplona for lunch and then headed straight into the mountains.

We love the vastness of Spain and the good roads.

Heading for one of the tunnels through the mountains.

Bokkie performed magnificently up hills, down into valleys, through tunnels and around multiple hair-pin bends, not putting a foot (or tyre) wrong.  

We were smiling the whole way as the views were just spectacular.  The architecture is completely different so far north; we can't pronounce any of the Basque village names and it feels as though we have entered a new country.

The cows are going home...

We could even see the sea, 17km away.

Luckily the roads were very quiet so we could take our time, enjoying the scenery.  We were expecting the village we were aiming for to be as quiet as all the others we had passed, but were shocked to find huge shopping centres with bustling car parks and many people milling about.  We are on the border of Spain and France, with this village being the 'final frontier' of Spain.

When we got to the aire it was completely full of French motorhomes but we waited for a while and luckily one left after a short time.  We have since found out that the town offers cigarettes, booze and petrol cheaper than in France so the French stream across to stock up.  

We went for a walk and both commented that it was as though we had entered the largest airport duty-free section in the world.  People were buying like mad and weren't restricted to carry-on luggage so had trolleys full of booty.  Very funny to watch!

Expecting a small mountain village, we were somewhat surprised at how busy
it was on a Sunday.

This was a mix between Duty Free and Vegas!

There is something for every vice here.

Tempting???

Tomorrow we think we'll head to Bordeaux, another city we always motor past but haven't visited yet.

Torquemada with a stop in Salamanca

 Saturday 24/09/22

Although most travellers who overnight in aires, where you are often parked very close together, are usually quite considerate, the Spanish couple who arrived noisily at 1am, wasn't!  

Oh well, that's one of the hazards when using the free accommodation option -  we still had a lovely stay in the aire, just not a very peaceful night.

The impressive skyline of Salamanca

We decided to stop in Salamanca today which was on our way north, as we always passed it by on previous trips.  We found safe parking half and hour's walk from the Old Town and headed off on foot to see some of the sights.  We were lucky as we had arrived during siesta time so, apart from loads of Spanish tourists around the main sights, the rest of the town was wonderfully quiet.

Apparently the Old City of Salamanca was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, and has been around since 3rd century BC.

Convento de San Esteban

We had a leisurely stroll around, in awe of the amazing buildings.  They are very ornate and, as space in the city is limited, it is quite difficult to do the sights justice with our photos.

It really is a beautiful city with a lovely relaxed feel and lots of walking and cycling paths, so popular in Spanish cities and towns. It seems the Spanish lead a very outdoors life - probably due to the wonderful weather they have most of the year.

Even a dilapidated water tower can be beautiful.

Is it a bird or is it a staircase?  Clever street art.

We're stopped in a small town about two hours north of Salamanca.  It is quite chilly which we're not used to and looks like there will be more rain tomorrow.  We need to look at the weather and decide which way to head.  For now it's supper, a Bokkie shower and then bed - let's hope we don't have the night-owls coming in late again!

Bokkie in the aire, outside the cemetery.