At the beach and other activities

While down in the south of France we had some great days at the beach.   Emma, Steve and Rachel were always keen to spend a few hours on the beach.   I especially enjoyed being with family as often I have to go on my own.    Walter is not keen on visiting the beach.   Too much sand for him.  Although we had to drag the children along with us, they enjoyed it once there.

The inflatable floaty thing was a hit.   A unicorn shape, I think.   Not easy to get onto, or stay on, in the choppy waters but it was very popular.   And a lot of fun.

Not sure who was trying to stay on, in the photograph below.    We were at Le Faviere Beach, in front of the camping ground that was evacuated during the recent bush fires.

I spent a few hours on my own at the beach in Le Lavandou.   I first had a coffee at the beach cafe, from where I took the photograph below.

Then I put up my new umbrella with the special base that screwed into the sand so that the umbrella did not blow away.    A great invention.   It was a very small umbrella, and only shaded my head.   I should have bought a larger size.

The view from my spot on the beach, which was not too crowded either.   No worries about flicking sand into other people's eyes.   Always a problem on such closely packed beaches.

I took a 'selfie' and ended up with some terrible photographs, which I have since deleted.   There is quite an art in taking 'selfies'.   And I do not have it.   Mind you I was trying to discretely take my photograph by pretending to take a photograph of the sea.

One evening we went for a walk along the seafront at Le Lavandou, just after sunset.    There was a full moon and the setting over the sea was perfect for photographs.   We joined all the other amateur photographers trying to get the perfect shot of the catamaran sitting on the sea under the full moon.

A line up of children, Jackson, Isabel, Elliot and Emily.

New beach umbrellas, which I think one has to pay to sit underneath during the day.

There were plenty of expensive looking boats in the harbour.

The silhouettes of masts standing out against the evening sky.

And before we left we all took a photograph of the moon and its shimmering reflection on the water.   Amazingly we had a degree of success too.

We had a day at Cabasson beach, where we were able to park in the carpark that was saved from the bushfire.    When we arrived the beach was not busy but more people arrived during the day, however it did not get as busy as I remember it from a few years ago.

The view looking towards the President's holiday home on the island.   Fort de Bregancon was once that, a military fort, which became the President of France's retreat.   Now it has been opened to the public, and guided tours are available during the day.   We went on one two years ago, and it was fascinating to have a look around the very comfortable house and barracks.  A good history talk too, but we missed out on much information due to our poor grasp of French.

A view along the beach to the bush covered land at the end.   Sadly this part of the bush was destroyed by fire.   Not that it is possible to see this in the photograph below.  

There was once a restaurant at the end of the beach, with its area of sun loungers and umbrellas in front.   These sun loungers were relatively cheap to rent for the day.   We always ate our lunch at the restaurant, with our feet on the warm sand.   And most of our family and friends will remember this place, as we always went there once during our August holiday.    Sadly the owners must have decided it was not a profitable business as it has been gone for at least the past two years, if not longer.  

Emma, Steve and Jackson in deep discussion about how to fit the snorkel and goggles before taking off into deeper water.

Aah, that inflatable unicorn again.

Emma relaxing under a family sized umbrella.   My small one person, keep the head cool, blue umbrella looks a little ridiculous.

The beignet seller pushing a trolley on the firmer sand by the edge of the water.  A beignet is a solid doughnut with a filling of your choice, chocolate spread, nutella or jam.   Steve chose a chocolate spread for his beignet but the rest of us decided to be more conservative and eat ice creams instead.

Walter and I took Jackson and Isabel up to Mt Faron, high above Toulon.   Next time we will drive up as it took an hour to get onto the cable car at the bottom and we queued for more than an hour and a half to get back on once at the top.   An afternoon of queues in order to spend a ten minute journey on the cable car.

The views from the top were quite breathtaking, and the sky was beautifully clear.

We managed to have a drink at the cafe with an excellent view of Toulon.   Isabel spent most of the time waving wasps away from her pancake.   Wasps can be such pests.

Everyone else went out for an afternoon of go-karting and a day trip to Aqualand, which Walter and I were thankfully excused from participating in.   We spent both of those days relaxing at our campsite.  And listened to the stories when the family returned home.

I nearly forgot about the mini golf tournament between Emma, Steve, Jackson, Isabel and me which ended in a reasonably close score at the end.   I think Steve won, but not by much.   All great fun.

And there were the usual trips to the market, and the hypermarkets in Hyeres and Toulon.   A little bit of shopping is always a great distraction when it is very hot.  And we all like to spend our holiday money on items to take home with us.

Another lovely holiday.

A spot of fitness at Camping Manjastre

We all did very well this year, regarding keeping fit.   This did mean getting up early before the sun rose over the hills, otherwise it became too hot.   And we noticed there were many people from the campsite out walking, running or cycling, which was very encouraging to see.   Keeping fit certainly seems to be catching on.

Emma and Steve went out running most mornings, for quite some distance too.   One day Steve started out following a track, which led into another one, and then ended up without any track at all.  He finished off completing a cross country run amongst undergrowth.   He returned after one and a half hours with scratched legs.   Luckily Google Earth maps helped him find his way home again,.

Rachel tried running but gave up and walked instead, although she got lost on her first day, when she followed a track through the grape vines, and ended up somewhere high up on a hill.  Luckily she used her running app, which had a map attached to it.   

Emma and Steve swam laps in the pool too, very seriously and at great speed.  In between the Dutch women who leisurely swam breaststroke as they chatted among themselves.   I have always admired these swimmers, as I was never taught breaststroke, and cannot talk and swim at the same time.   I managed to swim a few laps, slowly, and I think I increased my laps to 8.

Walter and I kept up our morning walks.   My favourite was a loop walk, half on a track through the bush, and half on the back road, where Walter met me.   He kept to the back road as it was easier on his knee.

The end of the track met a fire track, which was probably used by the pig hunters' vehicles.

A pile of cork bark beside the track.   There was a considerable amount of undergrowth in the bush, left over from a wet spring.  Definitely a fire hazard as it was very dry looking, as there had been no rain since May.

The vineyards beside the back road.

When the sun comes over this hill in the morning, the back road becomes very hot and quite unpleasant.

The family of donkeys. mum, dad, older brother and the new baby.   Such a cute baby too, and very fluffy.  A very well loved family.

Early one morning Emma, Rachel and I clambered up the hill opposite the camping ground.

We walked along the ridge.   One morning Emma and Steve went for a run along this track and found a family of pigs, mum, dad, and piglets, who run off quickly into the trees.

Part of the walk was on the road which leads to Bormes-les-Mimosa, but early in the morning we came across only one cyclist.   We then crossed over the D98, which runs from Toulon to St Tropez.   A very busy road.   We quickly crossed the road, and started walking down the fire track into the valley.

Emma and Rachel striding quickly along the valley track towards the camping ground.    This track is a very popular walking area in the morning as it stays cool until about 8.30 a.m.

The children, being young, just kept moving, and swimming and generally being busy.  But I think even they increased their fitness levels somewhat.   And for the rest of us, we certainly found the morning running, walking and swimming a great way to maintain our fitness levels in a different type of environment.

And believe it or not, it was also fun.

Camping Manjastre in August

As I sit here to write this blog for the third time, I realise that technology is great as long as it works.   However it is totally frustrating when it plays up.   I

It all started when my new Chromebook refused to charge.   I spent most of Saturday trying to work out the reason why.  Walter even changed the fuse in the plug, just in case.   In the end I decided that Asus had supplied me with a cheap charger so I bought another one online at a cost of £50.  Very expensive, but it came with a guarantee so it must be an excellent charger!.  In the meantime I went back to my trusty old laptop, which had to spend time updating first due to sitting idle for three weeks.  And last night, for a reason I cannot fathom, Google decided that it would wipe out the first blog, and then not save the second blog.   I can assure you it was not my fault.   It never is,

But all was not lost.   I discovered that the first part of the lead on my laptop charger has the same connection as the first part of the Chromebook charger, and when I swapped them over, the Chromebook started to charge.   Success.   Did I inadvertently switch leads?  But both leads work for the laptop but not for the Chromebook.   It is all too much of a mystery for me.   All I know is that my super Chromebook is back in business again.   And I will soon have two chargers for it, one with a guarantee.

It has hard to believe that it is more than three weeks since we arrived in Camping Manjastre and set up our campsite, behind the restaurant and bar.   Very convenient.    It was great to be there and to see friends again, plus receive the usual friendly welcome from the owners.

It was extremely hot, and putting up the awning and setting up the caravan made us perspire so much we thought we would completely melt.   Luckily Isabel helped Walter with the awning, which saved our marriage.   

We were also joined by Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel plus Steve's sister, Rachel and her two children, Elliot and Emily.   They were camped in their caravan and tents a few minutes walk away from us.   We joined together for lunch and dinner, which was great, especially as we had turns cooking dinner at night.   There was plenty of variety in our menus, all very delicious.   We ate well.

While on the campsite we spent our time talking to friends, reading, visiting the local areas, and generally relaxing.   Altogether a really great two weeks.

The swimming pool is always a great attraction, and there is nothing better than floating on the water, while looking out over the bush covered hills.   A well sited swimming pool for sure.   And the water is always crystal clear, and cold.

On the day the photograph was taken it was very quiet with plenty of vacant sun loungers, which was most unusual in August.

Our crew relaxing by the pool.   A lovely warm spot, in which to develop a sun tan, and read peacefully.   The joys of having older children.   it means one can relax in the grown up end of the pool.   The shallow end of the pool is always very busy, with families and their young children.

Drinks and snack time, after a busy day being out and about or just doing nothing.  

We loved our games of Uno.   And we were a very competitive lot too, with lots of laughter and noise.  The game was made all the more challenging by the poor light which made it difficult to work out if one had blue or green cards.   We had one little lamp, which Jackson was using in the photograph below.   The reason why he looks so ghostly.   Walter was observing the game, due to having a very sore neck.   We reckoned it was due to his aggressive card playing.

After ten days of extremely hot weather it suddenly cooled down during the nights, and the mornings were a little nippy.   Time to put on fleeces, except for Emma who was determined to stay in hot weather clothes.   The photograph was taken so we could send it to Rachel, who had returned to a wet and cold Britain.

We arrived a few days after the terrible bush fires which spread through the peninsula behind La Faviere and La Londe.   We went for a drive to have a look at the damage and were greatly impressed with the excellent work of the fire service.   Although it was sad to see so much bushland burnt out, they managed to save most of the houses, all the camping grounds, the village and carpark at Cabasson, and all the vineyards.   The fire came right to the edge of the gardens and many of the vineyards were scorched on the edges, but all were saved.   Fantastic work by the fire service.

Sadly one business was burnt it.   We thought the fire had jumped the road, and burnt the caravan business, but apparently it was a separate fire which was lit by some young people.   All the caravans stored there were destroyed, as well as the workshops and caravan shop, and the owner's house.   We bought our caravan there, and have gone back most years in order to buy caravan and awning bits and pieces.   

A holiday photograph, taken by the beach at Le Lavandou.

It would appear I have written this blog, and managed to save it, so now I can publish it.   Then onto the next chapter of our holiday in the south of France.

A tour through the French countryside

We have returned from two weeks at Camping Manjastre.   We had a lovely holiday, with plenty to write about, but no time for blog writing.  But now that we are home, I have time to catch up.  

However I have needed to prioritise my time a little.   First to unpack, then washing all our linen and clothes, and then tackle the overripe plums on the tree, and the huge bag of rhubarb from Emma and Steve.

The plum jam has now been made, together with stewing some of them, and freezing, for future use.   I can assure anyone eating the jam or stewed fruit that were were no worms in any of the plums.  The small proportion of the plums that were affected by worms were put directly into the rubbish bin.  

After my rhubarb collapsed from lack of water in April, I have been nurturing the new spindly stalks with plenty of compost and chicken manure.   How do Emma and Steve manage to produce such huge stalks of rhubarb as they do nothing to their patch, except harvest the rhubarb.   No fertiliser or compost.    The only answer  that I can give, is that the roots are attached to an underground spring.   I am so envious of their continuous crop.

But back to our four day tour from the south of France.   We decided to take this tour in order to avoid the dreadful traffic problems on the A7 from Toulon to Lyon.   Changeover Saturday or Black Saturday, results in a huge exodus of people driving home or heading down to the Mediterranean for their holidays.   Even though most cars are airconditioned, it is miserable sitting in a slow moving car, in the hot sun, for hours on end.

Our slow progress down to the south of France at the end of July.

After packing up our caravan in extremely windy weather, we set off feeling very wind burnt and dishevelled.   That is after we drank a much needed cup of coffee with Emma and Steve, in the restaurant at the campsite.     

Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel were driving to Digne-les-Bains for two nights before catching the plane from Marseille.   Interestingly we had separately decided to include Digne-les-Bains in our tour, although we stayed in a small village about 15 kms south of the town.  

We decided that we would drive there by different routes rather than have the stress of trying to follow one another by car.    This was just as well, as we had to turn around quite a few times when we took the wrong road, as we meandered across the hills in Provence, mostly on narrow winding roads, between the two motorways, A57 and the A8 which lead to Nice and beyond.  

The scenery was beautiful, and serene, and the traffic that we encountered was heading towards the motorway rather than in our direction.  Great we thought.   But toilet stops had to include trees, as there were no service stations or aires on the roads that we took.   The joys of cross country travel. 

We headed towards the Parc du Verdon, no time for a drive along the gorge this time, or a stop at the lake at the head of the gorge.   However the rocky outcrops, and spiky trees were very interesting.   We realised that we were continually climbing, which was understandable as we were heading for the lower mountains.

Our stop for lunch was at a small town, called Riez, which was on the crossroads in the national park.   There were heaps of very busy restaurants, plus a market, so we assumed the town was in the middle of a popular holiday area.   

We chose a large restaurant, and sat out on the patio, and ate our huge and delicious salads.  Very relaxing.   I wished we had arrived a little earlier, so that we could have spent some money at the market.   Lots of interesting goods for sale.

Finally we arrived at our hotel, a very French village hotel, Hotel de la Place, in the village of Mezel, which has stood unchanged for decades I think.   So much atmosphere.

The photograph below shows the bar/cafe at the front of the hotel.   The bar opened on a Sunday afternoon, but the cafe part was open every morning for the prerequisite morning coffee, plus a pastry from the patisserie next door.  Mind you, some of the local characters chose to start their morning with a stronger drink, a glass of wine or pastis.   

The hotel had been modernised, thank goodness, with a bathroom in the corner of the bedroom.   The bed was also very comfortable, which was a relief.   Past memories of terrible beds came into our minds as we made our way up to our room.   The floors were tiled and highly polished.

The hallway had many interesting objects on show on the walls.   The owners of this hotel were collectors of memorability I think.   A very friendly couple too.

We walked down the road to the local bar/restaurant for an evening drink, a very pleasant red wine for me but no non alcoholic beer for Walter, who could not even get his favourite sparkling water, Perrier, either.   It was very pleasant sitting under the grape vines in the early evening sun.

There was a road between the bar and the terrace, which the staff had to cross, with drinks on trays or food orders.   Health and Safety not a great priority.   We decided to add to their safety by eating cheese and biscuits in our room.

We went for a walk around the village, with its narrow streets.   I loved the green shutters on this house.

I can see why a wide bypass road was made around the edge of the village.   Very narrow streets, with very high houses.

Walter posing in between the high houses.

The next day we drove the 15 kms to Digne-les-Bains, which was the capital of the Department of Alpes de Haute-Provence.   The town was also on the Route Napoleon, which Napoleon Bonaparte used after his imprisonment on the island of Elba.   The area was very interesting geographically, as there were large outcrops of rocky cliffs, and vertical rock stratas.   The cliff faces change often due to landslides and earthquakes.   There was also the accompanying hot water springs.   A great place for people who like walking and rock climbing.    

A view of the river, which ran through the town.

We met Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel, who all looked a little dazed after a sleepless night on uncomfortable beds.   They were staying in a very English static caravan at the local camping ground.     

Some caffeinated drinks at a local cafe helped considerably; strong coffee for Emma and Steve, and Coca Cola for Jackson and Isabel.    It was lovely to catch up with them, and we had plenty to talk about.  

The caffeine gave us all a burst of energy so we went for a walk around the streets, where there were plenty of lovely old buildings set in tree lined streets.   

Both Emma and Jackson took our photos, but I must confess that Jackson's photo was the more flattering one, as he knelt on the ground in order to get the perspective right.

We reluctantly left Emma, Steve, Jackson and Isabel, who spent the day walking around a lake, swimming and generally discovering much about the local area.  That night they all slept on mattresses in the lounge room in the caravan and had a more restful night.

We started on our journey to Grenoble.   We decided to take the lower road, rather than Route Napoleon which we had travelled on last April.   We called the road the Route de Motorhomes as there was a constant stream of motorhomes travelling in  both directions.   I guess they, like us were avoiding the busy motorways.   It also saved the drivers of the motorhomes a considerable amount of money travelling on this road.  No tolls. We can remember doing the same when we had a motorhome.

The road was actually called the D1075 and it meandered through a very scenic valley below the higher alps.   However, we were still fairly high up as there was steep descent down to Grenoble.   There were also a number of cars travelling on the road, but it all went very smoothly.    Only one hold up, due to work on the railings of a bridge.

This was an impressive rocky outcrop.    Huge, stark and a sheer drop on one side, due to a landslip.   Amazing rock formations in this part of France.   I wish I knew more about rocks!

We stayed in a hotel chain called B&B, in  Grenoble.    Very stark, but very clean and comfortable.   Grenoble was so quiet, and no traffic, both when we arrived and when we left the next day.   Most unusual, as Grenoble was known for its confusing motorways running this way and that, and sprawling suburbs and commercial parks.   Getting lost, or being caught in traffic around Grenoble was not uncommon.

Dinner that night was at a restaurant chain, and although our hamburgers were very good, the service was deplorable, which spoilt the experience completely.   We should have known.

After a good nights sleep, and breakfast in our room, muesli plus rolls saved from dinner the night before, we set off again, on the next part of our tour.

We chose to drive on country roads again, and all was quiet, with most shops and factories closed.  People were taking advantage of the day between Sunday and a public holiday on Tuesday, in order to have a very long weekend.  Again Walter navigated and I drove.

Our first stop was in a town called Voiron, south west of Chambery.   The beautiful Cathedral of Saint-Bruno de Voiron, caught our eye as we drove through and we knew we needed to stop and have a look.

A photo of Walter standing in front of the huge doors.

The inside of the cathedral was also impressive.  A much loved church.  In fact the cathedral was only built between 1864-1873, but it felt much older.

The buildings in Voiron were very well maintained.   Quite a prosperous town.

Time for coffee!  We chose the cafe/bar that was frequented by all the early morning drinkers of wine and pastis.  How do people manage to drink alcohol so early in the morning!  The coffee was very strong, and black.   No Cafe Creme in this place.   Fascinating.   The more conservative cafe was further along the road, but we missed it.   Still I am sure the cafe we chose had more interesting customers.

We drove on, very slowly, passing through many towns and villages.   So much to see.   Finally we came to our lunch stop, at Bourg-en-Bresse, where every shop was closed, with all the workers enjoying the lovely long weekend.   Luckily there was a takeaway chicken shop opposite the place where we parked the car.   Not that I felt like overcooked takeaway chicken, but they also served yummy chips and hamburgers.

Another church, the Church of Notre-Dame, with a facade built during the Renaissance, with other parts of the church being Gothic.

The very ornate Theatre De Bourg En Bresse.

The entrance to the town.

We wandered around the narrow deserted streets, admiring the beautiful buildings.  Unfortunately we did not first take note of the street we were parked on, or in fact even the area.   So we became lost in a mire of streets seemingly going in different directions.   Google maps cannot find a car when you do not know where it was parked, or a chicken shop either.  All we could remember was that the car was parked beside a stream.  Luckily we found a map on a board and were able to locate the stream. Phew. That was close.

Once back at the car, we looked at the next destination, our hotel for the night, and realised that we needed to drive there on the motorway, otherwise we would be spending the night slowly travelling along country roads.  We took the A40, then the A39, via Dole and our not so favourite city, Dijon, until we turned off the motorway towards a little village called Orges, out in the green rolling hills.   Beautiful lush farmland.

This was quite a find, a wonderfully quiet and small hotel, run by a friendly couple who have restored the buildings around the house.    As well as the beautiful old house, in the photograph below, they have converted a building into two flats, renovated an old barn which was now used for weddings, and other functions.  The most fascinating renovation was the old mill, which had a working water wheel, plus old machinery which was still being used by the wife to make artificial flowers for Haute Couture in France:  theatres, Chanel, Dior etc.    If anyone is interested in looking for more information, the address is www.moulin-de-la-fleuristerie.com.

We had a lovely room, with a huge bed, and a large open window with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.  We slept very soundly, and ate a delicious breakfast in the morning.   Such a spread.

I forgot to say we ate a very reasonable dinner the night we arrived, at the motorway services, three kms from the house.   We parked at the back of the services, in the carpark used by the staff and local residents, walked through the gate, and made our way to the restaurant which was part of the services.   

On the final day, we drove on a very quiet motorway, past Troyes, Reims, and onto Calais, where we caught the ferry to Dover.   A very uneventful day, but still very pleasant.

We were very fortunate as there were hardly any trucks on the road on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, due to the ban on trucks on Sundays and public holidays (Tuesday).  As we were not towing a caravan we felt a sense of freedom.   However we missed not being able to cook our own meals as it can be so hit and miss restaurant wise, when travelling by car and staying in hotels.

Altogether it was a very pleasant four day journey and great to reminisce as I wrote this blog.