Three Go Adventuring Again

[Just smiffy]

I've just noticed it has now attracted 10,000 views.

And 9000 where me....

It's a good read, very informative with good pictures..... Keep it up..

 

[Anthea M]

Thanks for sharing , photos look great and Charlie is a star!

 

[DBK]

We are stopping tonight at a free aire at the small town of Miélan.

This is in the Gers department, which is the least populated of all the French departments and it also has no major city - needless to say agriculture is the main industry.

We went for a walk from the aire, firstly to the nearby Lac de Miélan which was pretty muddy and not particularly attractive. I suspect it gets a lot of fertiliser run off from the fields and we could also see metal pipes leading into it for the extraction of water for irrigation. But from the lake we circled round and walked into the town centre, which turned out to be a delight. The road through the town misses the centre so driving through you wouldn't know about its timber-framed buildings.

The Town Hall was of a novel design.

The Mayor's office was on the first floor and underneath was a covered market - and a very French toilet, which we made use of!

Some of the streets leading to the centre had old houses too, with balconies behind old wooden railings.

This restaurant looked fun, note the name and you might also see two geese peeking out of the cauldron in the top right. Very curious opening hours though, open from 07:10 in the morning to 14:30, Monday to Friday only. Very good reviews in TripAdvisor too. A "Marmite" by the way is a cooking pot not the like it or loath it thing we Brits consume.

But not everything was traditional - this is a bread vending machine. It did croissants too!

This is the aire, CamperContact #22664.

Another lesson learned. Even the most boring looking place is worth exploring, you never know what you will find.

 

[jumartoo]

From the number of motorhomes on the aire, others like it.

 

[DBK]

From the number of motorhomes on the aire, others like it.

The French do love a free aire!

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[kcy]

And 9000 where me....

It's a good read, very informative with good pictures..... Keep it up..

Phone rang and then I forgot what I was going to write. It's an age thing.

 

[DBK]

Been silent for the last few days, not out of any plan, more a case of going for maximum chilling in the final few days of our trip.

We spent the weekend at a Dutch owned campsite south of Auch. The clientele were 99% Dutch, the 1% who weren't were us! It was very relaxing with good dog walking. We were sat yards from the edge of a lake and could watch dragonflies cruising, fish rising, a lone frog crossing the lake, which for it must have been like a solo Atlantic crossing and watched large numbers of Dutch children having a good time! And weren't they well behaved and with parents who didn't seem worried by health a safety? Despite having three lakes there wasn't a single life belt or throwing line in sight and the little blighters were out in canoes all day without an adult in site. Somehow I don't think it would be like that on a UK site. It was quiet in the evening too, no late night drinking parties or loud conversations.

Then a quick trip to my cousin, who fell off her horse after our last visit so I hope nothing befalls her after this second visitation of ours. I know we bring rain wherever we go but accidents too? Life is so unfair. She had just had the plaster off but is still effectively one handed so Mrs DBK cooked supper - chorizo and chickpeas, which went down well I think being a meal suitable for the one-handed.

Cousin lives in the Gers department where there are a lot of sunflowers:

There are also a lot of geese here too, destined, or at least their livers are for foi gras. Animal lovers should look away at this point as we did buy some before we left the region!

We are now at a free aire in Spain, a little south of San Sebastian, CamperContact #15155 at Errenteria which is beside a large picnic area in a park.

There are a few families picnicking but I think it should be quiet later on. We had considered going on to the wildlife park near Santander but the waste disposal facilities there are pretty grim and that didn't seem like a fitting end to our holiday! Tomorrow we will drive to Santander for the evening ferry to Plymouth stopping off on the way to Santander for some final shopping.

It has been a good trip!

 

[Robert Clark]

Been silent for the last few days, not out of any plan, more a case of going for maximum chilling in the final few days of our trip.

We spent the weekend at a Dutch owned campsite south of Auch. The clientele were 99% Dutch, the 1% who weren't were us! It was very relaxing with good dog walking. We were sat yards from the edge of a lake and could watch dragonflies cruising, fish rising, a lone frog crossing the lake, which for it must have been like a solo Atlantic crossing and watched large numbers of Dutch children having a good time! And weren't they well behaved and with parents who didn't seem worried by health a safety? Despite having three lakes there wasn't a single life belt or throwing line in sight and the little blighters were out in canoes all day without an adult in site. Somehow I don't think it would be like that on a UK site. It was quiet in the evening too, no late night drinking parties or loud conversations.

Then a quick trip to my cousin, who fell off her horse after our last visit so I hope nothing befalls her after this second visitation of ours. I know we bring rain wherever we go but accidents too? Life is so unfair. She had just had the plaster off but is still effectively one handed so Mrs DBK cooked supper - chorizo and chickpeas, which went down well I think being a meal suitable for the one-handed.

Cousin lives in the Gers department where there are a lot of sunflowers:

View attachment 117140

There are also a lot of geese here too, destined, or at least their livers are for foi gras. Animal lovers should look away at this point as we did buy some before we left the region!

We are now at a free aire in Spain, a little south of San Sebastian, CamperContact #15155 at Errenteria which is beside a large picnic area in a park.

View attachment 117142

There are a few families picnicking but I think it should be quiet later on. We had considered going on to the wildlife park near Santander but the waste disposal facilities there are pretty grim and that didn't seem like a fitting end to our holiday! Tomorrow we will drive to Santander for the evening ferry to Plymouth stopping off on the way to Santander for some final shopping.

It has been a good trip!

We went to that same aire on our way back from Portugal - it was over a weekend and the place was heaving. Not a parking place in sight

Have very much enjoyed your trip

Safe journey home

 

[scousebird]

Well you seem to have enjoyed your trip, and I've enjoyed following you, thanks.

 

[Fenman]

Thanks for all the postings on this trip.
Photos have been stunning and the whole load of info great for future trips.

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[Chris]

Loved the thread.

Thank you

 

[MotorhomersRus]

Thanks for the postings we enjoyed reading about your trip

 

[Deleted member 43219]

Thanks a lot brother - a very enjoyable and informative thread that I know needs plenty of time and commitment to keep up. We're hoping to follow in some of your footsteps when we get our new van in September.

 

[DBK]

Thanks a lot brother - a very enjoyable and informative thread that I know needs plenty of time and commitment to keep up. We're hoping to follow in some of your footsteps when we get our new van in September.

I write it mainly as a way of remembering where we've been! Of course a journal in a book would do the same but this way I can add photographs. I can look back on these accounts in my twilight years, if I'm not there already.

 

[Hellski]

Thank you for keeping your thread updated, I've really enjoyed following your journey

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[DBK]

Made the ferry and now sitting in the Piano Bar on the Pont Aven having put Charlie to bed in his kennel.

We have had a couple of firsts, on entering the port a policeman pulled us over and demanded to see our V5 whereupon he checked the VIN number at the bottom of the windscreen (never knew it was there) and when we got on board we were told to put a muzzle on Charlie, which didn't happen before. Perhaps someone has been bitten?

Anyway, this is the view over the top of my wine glass. We will be setting sail in an hour or so, but now the restaurant is calling. This beats flogging back up through France!

 

[bellabee]

Enjoy the last part of your holiday. I totally agree with you about the drive up through France. Give me the restaurant and piano bar on the Pont Aven any day!
Have thoroughly enjoyed your blog.

 

[DBK]

I should also add that the flying saucers in the sky in the picture above may be something to do with the shot being taken through glass.

Unless they really are UFOs in which case should I send a copy to the Daily Mail?

 

[DL42846]

Spent the weekend in the Ardeche. 34C. Great fun driving a Camper along the narrow mountain roads with tight height restrictions and passing points on some stretches. As for car parks, OK if you don't mind getting blocked in for the day. The French park anywhere, doesn't matter who they block in.