France again. Autumn 2024

[Ingwe]

Arles is famous for being the town where Van Gogh lived and scenes of which feature in many of his paintings. Strangely, we found very few signs of his having lived there. We stayed in an ACSI site L’Arlesienne, which boasted of a pool (closed) and hot water in the showers etc. Barely warm and the showers were effectively outdoor being placed under a high galvanised iron roof. This didn’t invite staying long in the shower!
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Anyway, there is a bakery about five minutes walk from the campsite and across the road from the boulangerie is the bus stop for the twenty minute ride into Arles. The wind had blown all night but we were spared the promised showers so we took the bus into town and enjoyed a relatively wind-free day.

At the tourist info office, we bought two passes of €15 each which entitled us to visit four museums or places of interest. After two places, we we were up on the deal so what seems like quite a heavy outlay, is actually a bargain. Because there is a lot to see in Arles. Not as much as in Aix but it is a lot smaller. There are lots of twisty, medieval streets and loads of tree lined squares, mostly surrounded by cafés.
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At one of them, nearby the Café Van Gogh (which he frequented) now closed, we had lunch of tartiflette ( potatoes, cheese, lardons and garlic) which was yummy served with a salad for €19 each plus drinks. We sat next to an elderly Canadian couple who had cycled there from Rotterdam and were cycling, on conventional i.e. not e-bikes, around France for another month or so! Puts us to shame.
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After lunch we visited the Cloister of St Triomphime. This was the first of our paid-for visits and justified, in my view, the whole of the €15 price of the ticket on its own. The Cloisters were commenced in the 12th century and completed in the 14th. As a place of contemplation they were lovely.

From the Cloisters, we went to the Amphitheatre where these days they hold bull-fights but in Roman times there were gladiatorial contests and man vs beast fights. Judging by world events, we haven’t moved much further forward. It was easy to imagine what would have been one of the last sights for some as they entered the arena!

The main Van Gogh museum that we wanted to visit was unfortunately closed for building work so we walked to the river, The Grande Rhône, to spots where apparently Vincent chose for some of his perspectives. Quite an impressive river and again, more of the narrow streets.

There was barely a mention of Van Gogh and we didn’t find a statue of him though there could of course be many of them that we missed. We saw some street art that is less Banksie and more wan*sie…….

By now, we were a little footsore so we visited the Ratteau museum, not an artist either of us has heard of and we were a little disappointed to see so few paintings by other artists, although there were a few Picassos. So I’m carping really.

Anyway, before heading back to the bus stop for the return trip to the site, we visited Roman warm baths at Thermes de Constantine. No water anymore but it was interesting, none the less. Apparently, bathing was in the nude with men and women having different nights though it was possible to have mixed bathing on certain days.

All in all, we very much enjoyed Arles. The campsite was adequate and we had another night of horrendous wind. We are going to Ispagnac about 120 miles away where we hope to be away from the mistral.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Arles was our favourite when we were in France back in June.

 

[Ingwe]

Although we are still in the south of France, we are away from the coast and everything feels less ‘en vacance’ than before. I quite like that, but the thought of no more sea swims until next year, is a bit depressing. After leaving Arles, we drove to Ispagnac through some some lovely scenery in the Gorges du Tarn. Here we booked into a small family-run campsite which was all but closed despite being open until the end of October.

There had clearly been a lot of rain and everything was wet and a bit muddy. There was only one sanitaire open that had three toilets (no paper) two showers, one of which was an access type shower that was slightly bizarre. Within that shower cubicle, were three individual showers but only one door. There was one hand wash cubicle and one hand basin, not in a cubicle that had cold water only, but it did have soap. Ah well, you can’t have everything! The heated pool was closed as per usual and there was a tiny bar that stayed open to 7pm. We only saw the family members in there. The few (mostly German) campers stayed like us, in our cans. (Freudian slip).

Anyway, the wind dropped and the rain stopped and the sun came out so we went for a Sunday afternoon stroll to Quézac about 500 metres from the campsite. The scenery is lovely and quite different from the day before.

We went to look at the lovely bridge which is special.

The view from the bridge

Quézac is a little gem and we wandered around this small, lovely village marvelling at the ancient stone buildings, narrow streets and vistas in between. Autumn is our favourite season and we picked up conkers seconds after they dropped from the trees. There was the smell of wood-burning stoves and a slight chill as the sun descended but the feeling of well-being in such amazing scenery banished thoughts of the winter to come.

It rained all Sunday night and earlyish on Monday morning (8:00) I went to find the boulanger shown up on Google only to find that it was closed. But I did manage to buy bread and croissants from a Casino on the main street. Returning to the site, there was a mist over the hills, reminiscent of days we’ve spent in the Lake District and the confirmation that summer is over for this year.

 

[Ingwe]

From Ispagnac, we drove the short distance to Savignac, aiming to park behind the church which Park4Night listed as a permissive place. There was a large, flatish area behind the church but there were also piles of aggregate and gravel so we wondered whether we’d be bothered by works vehicles or indeed be in their way. There was a French motorhome already parked, but it appeared that they were only stopping for a break, as an hour later they had gone. Instead, we moved to an area in front of the mairie. This was a large, flat gravelly parking area but the only cars there were three cars belonging to a group of men (and one woman) playing petanque.

We greeted them and were greeted in return so we went to the furthest corner from their game and parked. We were in front of a rather nice memorial to the village’s fallen in WW1. I always find these memorials quite moving as almost every French ville, no matter how small, has one and there are usually a dozen or so names, here over twenty, of their menfolk who died.

The game of boules went on for the rest of Sunday afternoon and only ended when it got dark. This is a small hamlet with no shops (there is a bakery but this was closed on Sunday and Monday).

After a very quiet night, we left after a swift breakfast headed to another free park-up at Cahors.

Alors, Cahors. We’d seen the town on the map many times but decided to visit. There is a free aire in the centre of the town with three spaces. Although we arrived before noon, they were already filled, so plan B was to park in a nearby car-park that tolerates motorhomes. Trouble is, is that the car-park is not tarmac and was filled with water-filled potholes and the rest very muddy. There had been lots of rain and there was more to come! There were about 4 other motorhomes parked there so we parked between two and set off to explore Cahors.

Famous for its strong, deep red, Malbec grape wine, it is a lovely, if understated town/city. It has medieval buildings in abundance and hardly anyone there to enjoy them. Being Monday and France, a lot of things were closed, including restaurants. But we found a small bistro run by a couple of women who need to organise a system so that one serves the food and the other takes the orders. It took a while to get our choice of food, which was chicken cooked as described “in Asian” style. It was really tasty and was centre-of-the-earth’s-core-magma-hot. Not spice hot, temperature hot. Anyway, deliciously refreshed, we set off to find the secret gardens for which Cahors is famous, the cathedral, the Valentré bridge and, wait for it, more cloisters.

Cahors cathedral

Cloisters

The first of several ‘secret’ gardens. This one, a Moorish garden, to commemorate the period when this area of France was under Moorish influence.

We found several other gardens, scattered around the city but none as pretty as the Moorish one.

The bridge is spectacular over the Lot and offers good views of the city. We also watched a trio of boats navigate the lock, something we always enjoy and which reminds us of happy times viewing boats and locks on the canal du Nivernais.

One the way back to the van, as rain was threatened, we passed an ‘ancient fountaine’ that has been supplying water to Cahors since Roman times. This Vauclusian spring is 137 metres deep and the water is filtered as it passes through the rock and soil. There is a pumping station now dating back to the 1920s (I think). It is quite a spectacle, especially bearing in mind that it has been in use since Roman times.

No sooner had we returned to the van, then the rain started and it basically rained through the night. By morning, when it stopped, we were anxious that the river Lot, which edged our car-park, might overflow and we navigated the van through the mud and potholes feeling damp and bedraggled even though we were perfectly dry in the van. We headed to the aire which was full yesterday to empty our cassette and, if appropriate, take on some fresh water. As it turns out, it wasn’t appropriate and I’ll now have a short rant over the totally stupid design of the Flot Bleu motorhome services bornes. Yes, they may be free, but we have encountered them before and they have all been the same. The instructions, by diagram, left us and a French motorhome driver waiting, befuddled. We were eventually able to open the narrow tin door to empty the cassette but the opening is so narrow that it isn’t possible to get the angle of the cassette right to pour the contents cleanly into the narrow hole. So the “spillage” of previous users is apparent. Worse, the drinking water is from a hose right next to this stinking, insanitary, disaster. To add insult to injury, the pressure hose to flush the toilet hole and add some water to the cassette, was broken so that when you pulled the trigger, water sprayed everywhere but where you needed it to go.

We decided to forget taking on fresh water and decided to fill up at Sarlat, our next short stop ahead. We were both incredulous at the poor design of the bourne. Why, put the freshwater next to the toilet drain? Why make the access door so narrow? Why not have two wider doors on opposite sides of the borne; one for toilet, one for fresh water, thereby reducing the risk of contamination? Ok, glad that’s off my chest. On to Sarlat……

 

[DBK]

It's going to be wet and windy in SW France tonight, I'd advise not parking near trees! Stay dry and safe.

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[Ingwe]

It's going to be wet and windy in SW France tonight, I'd advise not parking near trees! Stay dry and safe.

We’re parked right under a pine tree at Sarlat but the winds are not expected to exceed 40kmh. So fingers’ crossed, we’ll be ok. Thanks for the warning. DBK -hope you made it home safely after the problem with the van.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

From Ispagnac, we drove the short distance to Savignac, aiming to park behind the church which Park4Night listed as a permissive place. There was a large, flatish area behind the church but there were also piles of aggregate and gravel so we wondered whether we’d be bothered by works vehicles or indeed be in their way. There was a French motorhome already parked, but it appeared that they were only stopping for a break, as an hour later they had gone. Instead, we moved to an area in front of the mairie. This was a large, flat gravelly parking area but the only cars there were three cars belonging to a group of men (and one woman) playing petanque.

We greeted them and were greeted in return so we went to the furthest corner from their game and parked. We were in front of a rather nice memorial to the village’s fallen in WW1. I always find these memorials quite moving as almost every French ville, no matter how small, has one and there are usually a dozen or so names, here over twenty, of their menfolk who died.
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The game of boules went on for the rest of Sunday afternoon and only ended when it got dark. This is a small hamlet with no shops (there is a bakery but this was closed on Sunday and Monday).

After a very quiet night, we left after a swift breakfast headed to another free park-up at Cahors.

Alors, Cahors. We’d seen the town on the map many times but decided to visit. There is a free aire in the centre of the town with three spaces. Although we arrived before noon, they were already filled, so plan B was to park in a nearby car-park that tolerates motorhomes. Trouble is, is that the car-park is not tarmac and was filled with water-filled potholes and the rest very muddy. There had been lots of rain and there was more to come! There were about 4 other motorhomes parked there so we parked between two and set off to explore Cahors.

Famous for its strong, deep red, Malbec grape wine, it is a lovely, if understated town/city. It has medieval buildings in abundance and hardly anyone there to enjoy them. Being Monday and France, a lot of things were closed, including restaurants. But we found a small bistro run by a couple of women who need to organise a system so that one serves the food and the other takes the orders. It took a while to get our choice of food, which was chicken cooked as described “in Asian” style. It was really tasty and was centre-of-the-earth’s-core-magma-hot. Not spice hot, temperature hot. Anyway, deliciously refreshed, we set off to find the secret gardens for which Cahors is famous, the cathedral, the Valentré bridge and, wait for it, more cloisters.

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Cahors cathedral

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Cloisters

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The first of several ‘secret’ gardens. This one, a Moorish garden, to commemorate the period when this area of France was under Moorish influence.

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We found several other gardens, scattered around the city but none as pretty as the Moorish one.

The bridge is spectacular over the Lot and offers good views of the city. We also watched a trio of boats navigate the lock, something we always enjoy and which reminds us of happy times viewing boats and locks on the canal du Nivernais.

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One the way back to the van, as rain was threatened, we passed an ‘ancient fountaine’ that has been supplying water to Cahors since Roman times. This Vauclusian spring is 137 metres deep and the water is filtered as it passes through the rock and soil. There is a pumping station now dating back to the 1920s (I think). It is quite a spectacle, especially bearing in mind that it has been in use since Roman times.

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No sooner had we returned to the van, then the rain started and it basically rained through the night. By morning, when it stopped, we were anxious that the river Lot, which edged our car-park, might overflow and we navigated the van through the mud and potholes feeling damp and bedraggled even though we were perfectly dry in the van. We headed to the aire which was full yesterday to empty our cassette and, if appropriate, take on some fresh water. As it turns out, it wasn’t appropriate and I’ll now have a short rant over the totally stupid design of the Flot Bleu motorhome services bornes. Yes, they may be free, but we have encountered them before and they have all been the same. The instructions, by diagram, left us and a French motorhome driver waiting, befuddled. We were eventually able to open the narrow tin door to empty the cassette but the opening is so narrow that it isn’t possible to get the angle of the cassette right to pour the contents cleanly into the narrow hole. So the “spillage” of previous users is apparent. Worse, the drinking water is from a hose right next to this stinking, insanitary, disaster. To add insult to injury, the pressure hose to flush the toilet hole and add some water to the cassette, was broken so that when you pulled the trigger, water sprayed everywhere but where you needed it to go.

We decided to forget taking on fresh water and decided to fill up at Sarlat, our next short stop ahead. We were both incredulous at the poor design of the bourne. Why, put the freshwater next to the toilet drain? Why make the access door so narrow? Why not have two wider doors on opposite sides of the borne; one for toilet, one for fresh water, thereby reducing the risk of contamination? Ok, glad that’s off my chest. On to Sarlat……

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Great blog. We had similarly wet weather in Cahors a few years ago. The storm was so bad it whipped tiles off roofs and brought down a tree on the back of our motorhome. No damage done though.

 

[Ingwe]

9

Great blog. We had similarly wet weather in Cahors a few years ago. The storm was so bad it whipped tiles off roofs and brought down a tree on the back of our motorhome. No damage done though.

Thanks for your comment. on your windy mishap! Hope we’re not in for something similar.

The wind is already quite strong but we seem to have some shelter so hopefully will be ok. Famous last words………

 

[DBK]

hope you made it home safely after the problem with the van.

Yes thank you, now safely back home after a very smooth crossing from Roscoff to Plymouth today.

 

[Ingwe]

Wild, stormy night last night with very strong winds and rain lashing the van. We were under pine trees and small pine cones were hitting the roof, including the skylights, with a real “clunk” every couple of moments. We were concerned that they might even crack the skylight but luckily they didn’t.
After a reasonable night’s sleep, given the storm, we awoke to peace and calm. The van was covered in needles and there were small pine cones everywhere. We were shedding them as we drove and by the time we parked up at Razés, there were only a few needles wedged into the gulley between the windscreen and the wipers.

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[Bina]

Mrs Ingwe here continuing the journey…. The Chalets d'Argentouleau is a pretty nice campsite with motorhome parking nicely terraced under the trees.

It’s located up the hill from Sarlat and comes with a pool (closed of course) and café (ditto). We were pleased to settle in and sort the van out a bit after two nights in car parks, one with no services at all, one a sea of mud in the morning and a pit stop at a gruesome borne. The sun shone, the washing line went up and the towels and mats went out to dry. An hour or so later the rain started so any ideas of a quick stroll around Sarlat were abandoned until the next day. The friendly campsite owner said the old town was 15 minutes to walk down and 25 to walk back. We will see - not much of an uphill walker myself.

Sarlat is a beautifully preserved medieval town. Somehow bypassed by modern development it was gently falling into decrepitude but recognised as an unspoiled gem in time to be restored. It is now a contender for UNESCO heritage status and all that comes with it in terms of hordes of tourists, niknak shops, restaurants competing to sell you foie gras and all manner of other ducky delights.

None of this can detract from how beautiful it is however. The winding back streets are unbelievably picturesque.

In the centre they open onto a square where a farmers market was in full swing beside a domed covered market that looked as if it may have been a religious building at some point. We fell victim to some expensive sweet chestnut honey and some even more expensive gnarly-looking cheese. You can’t take it with you is our current motto!

We ate in the courtyard of a restaurant on the main tourist run, goats cheese starters, duck parmentier for me (kind of shepherds pie really) and Camembert rôti with frites for himself. Defibrillator for afters! I’m not sure we always pick restaurants wisely - maybe guided by our hour stomachs - but we nearly always see nicer ones just down the next street or around the next corner during our afternoon wandering. Not sure they are nicer obviously, just spoiled for choice.

We meandered to the cathedral but just had a quick look as we are getting a teeny bit churched out now. Following around the alleys we came to another quieter square with an old fountain and a couple of cafés where some musicians were setting up. Two old guys with electric guitar and cello started playing laid back jazz. It was lovely.

A few more streets, a few more courtyards and we came to the remains of the huge old city fortifications.

Outside these the traffic roars by but the old city inside is largely traffic free. It has been well managed to keep the city special.

This brought us back to the road up to the campsite. It was definitely steeper and longer going back up than it was coming down. The promised 25 minutes was closer to 45 by the time I reached the top. And had it started raining on the way up? Of course. A few drops then a downpour. Too hot for a waterproof I was was pretty drenched by the time we got back. I must praise the showers at the site - hot and generous with the water, so saved the day.

The rain got worse, the wind got up and about this time DBK suggested parking under a tree may not be wise in the south west. We were under trees but weren't really in the south west and did not want to move.

We took a chance and, as Ingwe has said, listened to enormous pine cones cracking onto the roof for a hour or two. In the morning we could see the pine cones were actually tiny - no harm done thank goodness.

 

[DBK]

What a find Sarlat was, and I'm guessing this was Sarlat La Canéda in the Dordogne?

Glad you escaped from the attack of the mutant cones unscathed.

 

[lorger]

One of our favourite place is Sarlat, stay on the site you’re on one summer during a few wet days. Our daughter and friend loved the indoor pool.

 

[Bina]

One of our favourite place is Sarlat, stay on the site you’re on one summer during a few wet days. Our daughter and friend loved the indoor pool.

I think you mean the Huttopia campsite in Sarlat - we stayed at the other one this time thinking it might be a shorter walk! I too loved the indoor pool when we last stayed at Huttopia - I had it to myself for half an hour. We will definitely revert to it if only for the indoor pool.


And yes DBK this was Sarlat La Canéda in the Dordogne. We've actually been very briefly before en route to elsewhere and not fully explored.

 

[Wanders from Glos]

We stayed at the Huttopia campsite in Sarlat two years ago. I don’t remember the indoor pool. It was gloriously sunny so we wouldn’t have wanted to be inside and sat around the outdoor one. How did we manage to miss that

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[scousebird]

Sarlat is one of our favourite places. We love the market on Saturday mornings.

 

[Bina]

We stayed at the Huttopia campsite in Sarlat two years ago. I don’t remember the indoor pool. It was gloriously sunny so we wouldn’t have wanted to be inside and sat around the outdoor one. How did we manage to miss that

Small but beautiful. October 2021 - it was raining then too!

 

[bellabee]

Sarlat is one of our favourite places. We love the market on Saturday mornings.

It's one of our favourites, too. We used to spend family camping holidays there in the 80's and 90's, when our son was a boy. Happy family memories
We usually stop off there for a couple of nights on our drive through France.