Sospel

Laying in bed this morning, with the large glass sunroof above our head open, we marvelled at the perfect blue sky back-lighting the trees. We could hear the pouring waters of the nearby falls, as they cascaded into the pool below. How lucky were we, to be experiencing something so lovely?

Today we were hoping for a more tranquil drive in Marge. But read on. Passing through Grasse, the home of French perfume, the road climbed, affording fantastic views for the passenger. The road to Nice was also climbing and winding with lots of sheer drops and hair pin bends, but now confident in Marge, we took it in our stride. Along one of these roads, we saw a mobile barbers at a lunchtime stopping point for the lorry drivers, which we thought was a good idea. Then we arrived in Nice. Palm trees, parasols, red hot pokers, astro turf, sun, sea and traffic, lots of traffic. But the roads in Nice are both steep and narrow. Finding there to be no space at the aire, we decided to try another about half an hours drive away . No Marge the bridge is 2.9 metres clearance and you are 3 metres high. So much to the annoyance of the French, who took to sounding their horns, Marge had to do a four point turn in a very narrow road. But that's not all. No Marge, I don't think you'll fit, as the road narrowed. Marge is a tad over two 2 metres wide, it was just too tight. So another tight turnaround, and more sounding of horns. Already nervous by all this, there were the youngsters on their scooters to keep an eye on. Daredevils, who thought they were protected from harm or even death. By 3 pm, Marge's driver was fearful of a heart attack, the stress was too much. So we stopped in the Lidl car park for lunch. Our feelings, 'get us out of here, this place is hell on earth'. Nice, is a never again! On the plus side we had a lovely lemon tree next to us as we ate our lunch.

So nerves still frayed, we decided to push on for a further hour and a half. But now it was good bye to scenic routes, and hello toll roads, what could go wrong? Marge won't fit under there she's over 2 metres, reverse. Put a euro coin in the toll machine, haven't got one. Put in a two euro coin then. Sorted, we're off. Oh no, another toll booth. It will not accept the coins. Push for assistance, a voice says 'can you speak slower'. Yes, but the lorries behind would like a quick solution. Money finally accepted we're off. Long slow gradients and tunnels through the mountains, were reminiscent of Spain, We had already discussed that old Marge (our previous van, would not have survived this far today), and new Marge with a full water tank, eased up the gradients.

Tonight's aire is in the mountains, so after we left the toll road, it was another white knuckle ride, climbing higher and higher, too close to the edge for comfort, along a road not really wide enough for two lanes of traffic. It was a case of taking possession of the road, holding your nerve, and on a wing and a prayer, swinging Marge around another blind hairpin bend, hoping that we did not meet one of the large lorries coming in the other direction. Do something every day that scares you. Is it suppose to be just the one thing?

We are now safely on the aire, along with a few other vans who survived the journey. We took a walk into the nearby town.

We can tell we are near the Italian border by the design of the buildings. They are tall and narrow, with balconies on every level, each displaying a rainbow of colour from the drying washing.

Through the town, the river flows under the stone bridge, tumbling over the edge at the far end. In the square, two early evening games of boules are being played, which we watch briefly before looking at the war memorial. We notice that more civilians were killed than military personnel in the second world War in this area. Perhaps they were in the resistance.

Walking around the town, we were lured into narrow cobbled passage ways, which led to cobbled streets and the square in front of the cathedral.

As the light fades, and the air cools, the surrounding mountains are dominant. The soft lights, glow in the town down below, and the river can be heard as it dances over the rocks.

Shortly after arriving at tonight's aire, a young American man came over to talk to us. He and his partner lived in Winchester, so quite near to our home town. They are also heading to Italy to watch the Giro, a famous Italian cycle race. He was a keen cyclist, and said he drove the roads, as he would cycle them. A bit worrying. After commenting on the fact we were supposed to be on holiday, but it sometimes felt like an endurance test, he simply said, 'I like to call it life', and do you know what, we have to agree with him!

Note if you want to use any of the photos for any purpose please do so, but put a link to:https://www.muddymarge.com/

La Grande Baou Falls - Le Val

It's unbelievable to think we have been in France now for a week, and now here we are in the south. The time has passed quickly, but at the same time it seems ages since we left home. Over the last few days, we have got to know Marge and all her little idiosyncrasy's, all in all she's very forgiving.

An amusing sight through Marge's windscreen this morning. The man in the van opposite, returned to his vehicle wearing roller blades, fully kitted out in protective helmet, elbow and knee pads. He looked relieved to have arrived back, collapsing across the bonnet of his van, gasping.

Nearly choking on a bowl of cornflakes whilst laughing at him, we only had to wait a few minutes to be further entertained. He lifted his perspex roof light, put his head above the parapet, like a tank commander, looking left and right, then hauled himself out through the gap and onto the roof, which he proceeded to sluice down with some bottled water. It was priceless entertainment.

The first part of today's journey took in some very harrowing narrow roads, with a ditch on the nearside.

But on the plus side, we were rewarded with views of acres and acres of blood red wild poppies, we'd never seen the like of it, so were pleased when we found a safe place to stop, and take some photographs of them. They were absolutely stunning. Choosing to keep away from the busier, faster roads, means more traumatic driving, but we also get to see some amazing sites. Further along on our journey, we came across a pair of women stood along side the road. Close by was a digital sign advertising 'Golden Delicious', she must have been the younger and prettier of the two. It was nearing lunchtime, and as we journeyed on, we saw many more of these working women.

Nearing tonight's destination, we found ourselves on the French equivalent of an English rat run. At one point Marge had a face off with an old French Citroen. Luckily Marge won, holding her ground. It was all a little nerve racking, and John commented that a week ago, I would have given him the keys, got out of Marge, and said 'I can't do this'. Somewhere I've read, 'you should do something everyday that scares you'. Whoever thought up that should be shot!

Mid afternoon we arrived at the beautiful peaceful spot of La Grande Baou Falls, near Le Val. It is a private aire, so we have paid an overnight fee of 10 euros. Our host, Jean-Marie, showed us the sites facilities, including the disposal point for the 'pooper', which is located under the olive trees, and thriving they are!

With nerves settled, we took a walk down to the waterfall. The sunlight lit the glade, and danced off the water. The falls were in good flow and impressive. We took lots of photographs. John ever the adventurer, discarded his shoes and socks, and crossed to the other side of the pool. Well worth it for the photographs. Me, well someone had to mind the shoes.

Marge is settled by the river, and we know that its tumbling waters will sooth us nicely tonight. Nearby to us is a cherry tree, and John forever the forager, helped himself to a handful.

Walking over to the cherry tree he saw three different varieties of butterfly. After a welcoming afternoon coffee, we set off on a second walk alongside the river, where we spotted a green woodpecker.

We are enjoying being able to roam around at our leisure, picking wild garlic, thyme and sage, some of which we will use in tonight's meal, and in John's breakfast omelette.

Tomorrow we will drive to our last overnight stop in France, before crossing over the border into Italy.

Note if you want to use any of the photos for any purpose please do so, but put a link to: https://www.muddymarge.com

Pelissanne

This morning dawned bright and sunny, the wind slightly less strong than yesterday evening. A vibrant blue enhanced the cliffs in front of us. After breakfast, we took a walk to the nearby supermarket for fruit and veg, pricey here, compared to home. Marge fully hydrated, her 100 litre fresh water tank full, it was time for the off. As we drove for long while yesterday, we had opted for a shorter journey today.

On route to tonight's destination we drove through the Chateauneuf du Pape wine region. As we approached the village of Chateauneuf du Pape the instruction to the driver was second exit off the roundabout , 'sorry this roads at bit narrow isn't it?' Not being able to turn around to correct the drivers error, we squeezed Marge through some narrow lanes and through the village. 'Come on Marge you're not too wide to fit between these two walls, an overhanging tree and front, porch of a house'. It was a lovely village though! Prior to this incident we were motoring along, quite happy singing along to UB 40, we were not singing now. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

Our three hour drive south has taken us to the town of Pelissanne, in the Bouches-du-Rhone area, near to Provence. The aire is very large, and when we arrived at lunchtime, there were already a lot of vans here. Marge, is one of the smallest, so we've tucked her between a couple of large vans, and reversed hard up to the fence behind. Now we are further south we must be more vigilant, and make sure we secure Marge the best, we can. The weather here is very warm, 26c, and the wind has now dropped to just a light breeze.

As usual, we took a walk into the town, on route, passing by a large fig tree, already displaying an abundance of fruit waiting to ripen, it's strong aroma filled the surrounding air. Yesterday, we saw a cherry tree laden with already bright red ripened cherries. The town, of traditional architecture for the region, was interesting.

As usual, we took a look inside the church. 'Thank you god, for making sure we didn't miss out on the pretty village of Chateauneuf du Pape'.

We are now 30 miles above Marseille, but tomorrow we will head towards the east in the direction of Cannes, Nice and Monaco. Another few days and we will cross the Italian border.

Note if you want to use any of the photos for any purpose please do so, but put a link to: https://www.muddymarge.com

Le Teil

Last night after a satisfying meal of pasta, we took an evening walk further up the hill above the village. The views across the vale were magnificent. As we walked, we commented on the different varieties of wild flowers growing on the verge, some you don't see very often in England. The local flower in this area appears to be a pale mauve iris, they were everywhere, and much larger than the specimens at home. These were one of Marge's favourite flowers in her garden so seeing them seemed comforting. As we walked back to Marge, keen to get out of the wind that blew in our faces, a wildfire red of evening sky passed above us, it was both impressive and oppressive.

This morning was beautiful, bright sun, but still a determined wind. All night the wind had been buffeting Marge, and we'd hoped it would blow itself out by morning. There was a glorious view from the van towards the Alps, a little more visible than yesterday, and we could see the River Saone disappearing into the distance, like a shimmering silver ribbon.

Our 3 euro donation, safely deposited into a nearby letterbox, we set off back to the out of town shopping area on the edge of Macon to purchase camping gaz. This particular gas is very expensive in France, but after some research, we found the cheapest place to purchase a refill cylinder was at a store called Leroy Merlin, France's equivalent to B&Q. Now for some fun, 'I would like a re-charged bottle of camping gaz for my campervan, please'. Well it worked, Marge is now in possession of a full cylinder of camping gaz.

We noticed that the cherries are already ripe on some trees.

We travelled on some faster roads today, wanting to drive a little further south. We keep away from the toll roads, which means we tend to pass through quite a lot of towns and villages, which makes the journey more interesting, but with their 30 & 50 kilometre speed limits, which we totally approve of, it makes the going slow. At the city of Lyon, we joined the ring road heading south, the traffic was heavy, but the 40 kilometre speed limit kept the traffic moving freely. As we glided along, we noticed the verges were splattered with bright red poppies, a reminder of events gone by, but which should not be forgotton. Every day we see hundreds of these poppies, in fields, amongst hedgerows, and, at the side of the road, a constant reminder.

Leaving Lyon behind us, we found ourselves travelling beside the river Rhone, a wide, gentle flowing mass of water, which we followed to the town of Vienne. Just past Vienne, we stopped at the side of the road for our lunch, and were amazed to see a 24/7 vending machine for pizzas.

John would like a smaller version to put in Marge.

After lunch we passed through many many towns and villages, at one, we stopped to photograph the chateau, it appeared to be privately owned and in need of lots of repair, the stone supporting it looked a little unstable in places. We were now travelling through the Cote du Rhone area, and there was so much to see. Look at that castle, chateau, ruin, river, the alps, the grapevines, the church.......the road!!

Tonight's stopover was planned to be up a hill in the village of Aubignas. After another slog up a long winding hill for Marge, and we wiere at the aire.

But once again the wind was blowing, and much stronger now, so after some discussion we decided to avoid the 'do you think we're going to be blown over the edge' in the early hours and drive back down into the town. So tonight we are safely en-consed on a ex municipal camp site on the edge of Le Teil. We have English neighbours to one side, in a lovely new van, and French the other side. The French couple have a little Yorkshire terrier that seems very keen on us. Behind us is a road, and behind that the river Rhone.

Early evening we took a walk across the bridge to take a look at the river, the water was jostling frantically through the rapids.

After a walk around the edge of the town, we returned to Marge for our evening meal. Noticing in a garden a Holly tree covered in berries, we have seen this several times on this trip, not sure why the birds here don't eat them in winter. Despite the wind, the air was warm, ideal for drying our T shirts. Warm weather always brings out 'pop's flops' (flip flops) , as our grandson Jack calls them. Tomorrow Jack begins his GCSE's, and we wish him lots of luck.

We are now about 150 miles from Marseille.

Note if you want to use any of the photos for any purpose please do so, but put a link to: https://www.muddymarge.com

Pruzilly

An early start this morning, we set off just before 10 am, with pants and socks drying on the dashboard, no traditional furry dice for us!

Marge's first refill of fuel today, since setting off from England. She's a thirsty thing, and needed 85 euros of diesel to replenish her.

The earlier part of today's journey, took us across country, through fields of wheat, a carpet of green dancing in the wind. Above birds of prey hovered, ready to dive down at the sight of a tasty morsel. Passing a nearby church, the swallows had taken up residence above the windows, some of them flew skittishly back and forth across Marge. This morning, we also saw our third stork in two days, a large graceful bird, dominating the skies.

Leaving the countryside we headed towards the city of Macon, following the road alongside the river Saone, which runs from Bresse in the east to the Beaujolais hills in the south. Passing through the city, the roads were quiet, and we were glad we'd come through on a Sunday. Today's drive has seen Marge and her driver in unison, we're all confident now.

Tonight's stop is amongst the Beaujolais grapevines. We are high in the hills, after another 'look at the view' drive involving some very precarious narrow roads and tight switchback bends to negotiate. In the distance we can see the outline of the alps, Mont Blanc is just 108 miles away, and is supposed to be visible from here on a clear day. We are now just into the Rhone-Alps region, and pretty stunning it is.

After lunch, we took a walk up through the grapevines. Despite the warm sun, the wind had a chill to it. We were suprised at just how different the vines looked at this time of year, to when we see them in September. They are now cut back to almost nothing, amazing to think in a few months time they will be bearing bunches of plump grapes for the next batch of Beaujolais wine.

Wildlife was a plenty. A buzzard flew out from nowhere across in front of us, as large vibrant yellow daisies danced in the wind. Many of the wild orchids had gone over, but there were still a few to see. Alongside the path as we walked back, a tortoiseshell butterfly basked in the afternoon sun. It is so peaceful here, one of France's secret places.

When we arrived at lunchtime, we were the only van here, but now another English van has arrived, this is only the second English vehicle we have seen since arriving in France.

Before we leave in the morning, we will leave the 3 euro donation requested for the town, as there are no shops, bars or restaurants in the village. The idea of the motorhome aires, are to encourage spending in the town or village. If the weather is clear we may even see Mont Blanc.