Friday 7th – Friday 14th August

After spending a night in a camper stop at Carpentras we headed south again and came upon the city of Avignion.We weren’t really planning to go there to start off with but we decided to check out the camper stop there and if we found it suitable we would stop for a look.We originally passed straight past it and were not going to bother to stop but eventually we found a place to turn around and by a round about way found the car park designated for the camper cars. At first it looked a bit dodgy, there were a few gypsy looking campers there and people who looked liked they were living in the car park but as there was an attendant booth close by and a lot of people coming and going decided that it was worth a stop. Avignion was at one time the residence of Pope Clement V in the 14th Century and it was made into a City with a reputation for art and culture. We had a walk around the city and one thing we did find was a second hand book shop that had an English language section. We had a few novels but were had just about read all of them and even though we have been swapping them with a few English speaking people the last couple of swaps have been not enough to keep us going. So we bought six novels for 19€ and though this was a bit of a god send. We decided not to stay long in Avignion, and then made our way north-west towards an area that looked to be mainly

We didn’t really know where we were heading but we set our tom tom for a camper stop for a place called Anduze. It had been quite a hot day and we were both feeling a little hot and bothered when we drove past a Camp ground that had a special rate for Camper cars and it had a pool. That was good enough for us, so we did a u-turn and heading into a very nice campground with a very nice pool.We spent 2 days there, parked under some shady trees, availing ourselves of the free wi fi internet and cooling off in the pool. Bliss!
All good things must come to an end and we decided that Sunday we should head off on the road again. We made our way south again and again trusted the Camper stop book for our next night’s park. We liked the sound of the place, “by a lake” but as we have found out so often with descriptions in the book, it is not always as it looks or described. We were in for a surprise, even though the area allotted for the campers was full and not very inspiring the whole lake was surrounded by areas that campers could park and we found a nice quiet spot with shade very close to the water. Another lovely find and we again decided that we would make use of the spot for more than one night. Sunday was of course very busy with lots of people come to swim, sail and paddle in the water but the next day was much quieter and we had a very enjoyable day relaxing by the lake.

We again felt reluctant to leave this lovely spot but we knew we had to keep moving on south and after doing a bit of shopping we stopped for lunch in a picnic area by the side of the road.It seems that our theme for this week is water and we found that at the side of the road was a very nice small river which was too tempting so we donned our bathers and spent a couple of hours enjoying the small clear pool. We could have stayed there the night as it was quiet and off the road but as we have been dawdling along on our way we thought we should keep going for a bit further. We didn’t end up emptying our toilet at the last place and our water needed topping up so we kept going to Mazamet where we knew they had the facilities. The parking area reserved for campers was in the middle of town in a large paved lot and after emptying and filling up we decided to find a nicer place to stop. This was a good idea and we found a place by a lake just out of town that was a good place for a couple of nights. Even though during the afternoon it was busy with people visiting for swimming and picnicking it ended up being very quiet at night.We again came across some fellow travellers from England, a couple of blokes who were making a 3 mth tour. We swapped some movies and tv shows off our hard-drive and they downloaded us the lonely planet guides for most of the world, so we now can find out more about where we are headed.

Thursday we left Lake Montegnes and arrived at the medieval city of Carcassonne, from a distance it appears as a fairytale vision on the hill, although it was originally 12 century it was extensively renovated in the 19th and now it is a tourist mecca with lots of tourist kitch shops and crowded narrow streets. It is impressive to see though but we had seen enough castles and non tourist medieval towns so we were just happy to have a bit of a look around and then leave. We then had to do a little shopping and found a place to stay the night next to the d’Aude Canal. We parked in a small area near a lock and then spent the afternoon watching the boats moving up and down the canal. Quite interesting to see all the different sizes and shapes of the boats and to see the crews manoeuvre them in and out of the lock.

So now we are again heading south making our way steadily, but slowly to Spain. We have enjoyed France so much that it will be hard to leave, it has been very easy to get around, find places to stay and the variety of scenery is amazing. We have also enjoyed the baguettes, croissants and the wonderful inexpensive wines.

Cheers!