Yelloh! Village Camping Bordeaux Lac (Day 3)

Last night an almost full moon lit the sky as the last of the days light faded. Tonight a supermoon will feature. the sky forecast to be clear, of course it will be spectacular. The sunsets here have been amazing, the skies red like wild fire.

 Would our parcel from England arrive today? Apparently not. The tracking information showed it was now in the hands of La Poste, but still in the country of dispatch. We were comforted by the fact the French were at least involved now. It should be here tomorrow, but we are expecting it to more than likely be Thursday, which should be our departure day, so we enquired at reception as to availability should we require to stay longer and thankfully it seems it will be alright. Of course we still have the problem of Marge running a little hot, and may need the very helpful young Irishman at reception to help us order a part to hopefully solve this. Maybe it's just her age. With no need to rush, we didn't leave our bed until nearly ten o' clock. Chores done, Angela suggest we walk to the nearby Decathlon store to buy John a new saddle, as he was experiencing quite a lot of discomfort from his 'free' one. Now he knows why it was free. The walk was an hour each way, so we decided to cycle, which turned out to be a good idea, as John wasn't happy with the replacement saddle and exchanged it for the same one we bought for Angela at Decathlon on the Ile de Re.

Funny that. Angela also seized the moment to suggest John buy new cycling shorts as well. But no, he decided to wait! Sorry Angela, avert your eyes if you're easily offended!

Mid afternoon, upon our return we cooked sausages and roast vegetables with garlic. The cooking emitted a wonderful smell and we could almost see the nostrils of the other Europeans twitching. Tonight the campsite is a little quieter.

The high season ended on Sunday, and now the swimming pool is closed, as is the pizza take-away and outside bar. But we don't mind, we prefer it a little quieter.

Only the restaurant is still open now.

Yelloh! Village Camping Bordeaux Lac (Day 2)

    

At three this morning we were awoken by loud thumping music. Pump up the volume why don't you! Music from a venue on a Sunday night. Why? Whose attending this, and what about the good people of Bordeaux who have to go off to work in a few hours, not to mention all of us on the campsite paying twenty nine euros for a peaceful nights sleep. It wouldn't be so bad if it was music we could relate to. This was more 'Highway to Hell', rather than, 'Boogie Wonderland'. It finished at five thirty. Please god don't let there be a repeat performance tonight. Of course we rose late, around nine thirty. But we had nothing too rush for having been to Bordeaux many times before we could take our time. The temperature was rising, reaching 25 c by lunchtime when we cycled down to the waterfront.

A large cruise ship both dominated and ruined the view. Angela loves Bordeaux. She particularly loves the architecture, and makes a point of always looking up. We people watched, ate ice cream, walked around the old town, stopped by at the cathedral and as the youngsters say, 'just chilled'. 

Bordeaux is really bicycle friendly and the ride in and out of the city is relatively easy. John however, is starting to wish he'd perhaps bought a more comfortable saddle rather than blag a free one. He also wished he'd invested in new cycling the shorts, the elastic in his no longer holding up around the waist. Think of poor Angela, she's following behind him as they slip!

Back at Marge we have new neighbours. Thankfully the Dutch from yesterday have left. chain smoking and rap music not something we'd ever associated with the Dutch. Our new neighbours are from Belgium. If there's one thing the Belgium's don't like, it's people thinking they speak French. So John all confident offered them a bonsoir.  It's the same with the Portuguese, they hate people thinking their language is Spanish. Opposite us is a large motorhome with a scooter housed in the 'garage' at the rear. They've taken camping to a whole new level. tablecloth and table lamps. As you do! 

Terrapins and ducks getting bolder!

Yelloh! Village Camping Bordeaux Lac

A bright sunny start to the day today, but as with the last few mornings there was a chill in the air. Today we were off to Bordeaux. Our gas struts have been dispatched from England and should arrive at the campsite by Tuesday. This mornings drive, took us past row after row of vibrant green vines, heavily laden with grapes awaiting the imminent harvest. We needed to shop for food, and this being Sunday shops close at twelve thirty, so when Angela spotted an Aldi, a rare sight in these parts we stopped. What's not to like about a bottle of Bordeaux for less than two pounds? We love the city of Bordeaux, and were glad to be returning. We were also relieved it was Sunday and the approaching roads not too busy. At the campsite, after changing our mind three times on which pitch to choose, as we have no electrical hook up and Marge needs sunlight on her solar panels to keep the lithium battery topped up over the next four days, we found a spot on a corner. Of course this position attracts interest.

So once again some time this afternoon has been spent discussing our set up. Whilst walking around the site, we met the night watchman, he recognised John and asked if we had our bicycles with us! It's been almost a year since we were here last, and we've stayed here many times before, but still we were surprised he recognised us. We are right on the outskirts of the city, but you wouldn't know it.

 The lakes on the site, home to terrapins, ducks and bull frogs are beautiful to walk around. There are four tents set up down in the cycling section, and as always we are a little envious.

Mortagne sur Gironde

The French seem to know we are English even before we speak. How is that? Perhaps it's our features or the way we dress. Today after three nights, we left the campsite at Rochefort. At breakfast John had company.

A young pigeon which had flown the nest sat under the table, not knowing what to do next. It's fractious parents along with its sibling sat on a wall above. Lots of flapping of wings warned us not to venture too close.

By lunchtime we were at the beautiful town of Mortagne sur Gironde and met some cyclists we'd met whilst at Rochefort.

Like them, we watched the vehicles pull in from a rally drive, including quite a selection of old tractors, cars and motorbikes.

Then later in the afternoon, we could hear the sounding of car horns approaching, which as we know in France symbolises a wedding procession, and soon the bride, groom and their entourage passed us by. Early evening, the temperature still 21c, we sat in the warm evening sun alongside our Swiss neighbours to eat. As the sun faded, it lit the masts of the many sailing boats moored nearby. The sunset was amazing. 

Rochefort (day 3)

A reminder this morning we are now into Autumn. The air was a little chilled, but once the sun broke through the day soon warmed. We have decided to stay another night at Rochefort. John spoke to the company who supplied the gas struts for our pop up roof, and they have arranged to courier two more out to us at the campsite at Bordeaux where we will arrive on Sunday. Angela isn't too well. She appears to have contracted John's virus.

So at lunchtime we walked up to the transporter bridge and ate lunch, then sat a while reading. The warmth of the sun helped ease Angela's ills.

Then a stop a the supermarket on the way back to Marge to stock us up with food for the weekend. Tomorrow we will head a little south, and stop about halfway between here and Bordeaux.