May 14th

Starting miles    50790
Time.                  12:00
Weather.              Warm and sunny
Temperature.        25C

We packed Hermione again, cleaned the house, said our au revoirs and set off for Nimes where our previous wanderings ended. Today is a jour ferie so we were  hopeful of being able to park and explore  the Roman remains.

We are destined not to see Nimes. We made for a Park an ride. We managed the first part easily enough but on a public holiday no ride. We briefly entered central Nimes again but it is no place for a camping car. No chance of stopping so we gave up again and headed for Arles where we are installed in Camping l'arlesienne. The other campers that we can see are French, German, Austrian, Dutch and Swiss.
We go the bikes out and made a quick tour of Arles (2 kms away) so that we will know where to go tomorrow.

Gazole.    88.49euros
                 73.13 litres

Campsite.  17.1 euros

Miles so far.   1469

Avignon to Raissac

Thursday April 30th

• starting miles           50640
• temperature              17.5
• weather                     warm, sunny
• time                           11.15

We got up early. Being a diet day we didn't dilly dally with breakfast. We got the bikes out and by 8.30 we had cycled across the new Pont d'Avignon to explore in the warm morning sunshine.

 In fact it didn't take us too long to discover that we had seen most of what we wanted to the night before.

The roads were narrow and busy with traffic. The signs said that bikes were allowed to go the wrong way up one way streets but the car drivers were far from convinced. 

In the end after coffee for an amazing €1 each  we cycled in the sunshine along the banks of the river Rhone and got the boat back to the site.

The plan was to visit Nimes to complete our Roman education.

 We would meander along the route nationale and see what we could see.

 I spied a sign for the "pont du gard" which I had seen iconic pictures of. 

So we made a detour expecting to find a lay by in which we could park and take pictures of the bridge.

Instead they had turned it into a theme park. The car park was immense. The buses were in the dozens as were the camping cars. 

We duly paid our €18 for our vehicle and headed off on foot. What an international gathering.The Chinese have replaced the Japanese as the ubiquitous tourist but there were Spaniards and Italians by the horde and German school parties. 

The Pont du Gard is seriously impressive. It was built by the Romans as an aqueduct during the first century. it is the most iconic part of a 50 kms long aqueduct which brought water to the city of nimes over the gardon river which flows below. The pont part was added in the seventeen century but without the plaque with its explanation you would never have known so seamlessly was it stitched on. 

We arrived at Nimes at around 2.30 and by 3.30 and several faux pas we still hadn't found somewhere to park. Nimes has a serious parking problem. All of the car parks were underground with barriers at a height which made them out of bounds for Hermione.

In the end discretion was the better part of valour and since we hadn't succeeded at first we gave up and headed for Raissac. It is good to be home. Nimes can wait to be  explored another time.

Chateauneuf du Pape to Avignon

Wednesday April 29th

• starting miles           50627
• temperature              16
• weather                     warm, wind has dropped
• time                           11.15

The weather is much better so we are in no hurry to leave. Hermione is fed and watered as are her occupants when we set off the 2km to Chateauneuf du Pape. We had a recommendation from the camp site owner to visit Domaine Durieu. 

 Unfortunately Chateauneuf du Pape was built for horses and carts not camping cars. We parked well outside the village and cycled back to the Domaine Durieu for a degustation which inevitably led to purchasing. Should we risk trying to take the wine to the van or the van to the wine? In the end we chose the latter and we were able to park in the centre of town all day for €2.

Chateauneuf du Pape is a very attractive village but very touristy . Every other outlet offers degustation and sales of Chateauneuf du Pape from veilles vines at exhorbitant prices. However we did not come to Chateauneuf du Pape to go home with 6 bottles of Cotes du Rhone so we dully purchased 3 bottles of a 2011 medal winning Chateauneuf du Pape.

 At the top of the hill in Chateauneuf du Papes is indeed a ruined chateau  to which we felt obliged to climb. On the way we passed a restaurant Le Vergers de Pape perched on the top of the hill with panoramic views over the Rhone and the surrounding countryside.

 It seemed a little pricey but the location and the view. 

It was an excellent lunch which in the end was good value for money. The wine on the other hand.......  a 100ml glass for €5! 

After a further stroll around town we meandered our way further south to Avignon where we found a fantastic site right by the Pont d'Avignon of the famous song. 

The four star Pont d'Avignon site is on an island in the middle of the Rhone. It is a huge site with a swimming pool, restaurant and supermarket on site. Only a part of it was open at the moment but it is the busiest site so far.

We had a fabulous view across the Rhone to the Palais des Papes. There was a free navette (a boat across the river) which ran every 15minutes. You could take bikes on board.

So once we were settled in (5 minutes now that we are becoming experienced) we took the navette across to the other side and climbed several flights of stairs to the fabulous gardens of the Pope's Palace. 

The area around the Palace is pedestrianized and very attractive as is the Pont d'Avignon. However over the years it has lost many of its arches and now has only four of its original 22 arches. "on y danse toute en ronde" so as to not fall into the Rhone.

The Conservatoire du danse is in Avignon. We arrived on Dance Day where street performances of all kinds of dance were being given. 

We stood mesmerised by the quality of the spectacle and the incongruity of the fairground sounds which were emanating from the merry-go-round which was next door.

We had to hurry to catch the last boat across the Rhone at 6.22 and resolved to return in the morning for more exploring.












Site cost :                              €16

Miles travelled:                        53

Tournon sur Rhone to Chateauneuf du Pape

Tuesday April 28th

• starting miles           50539
• temperature              11
• weather                     cold, cloudy but dry (at last)
• time                           10.25

Before we were up the cars and buses began to arrive. We are quite a long way from and large town or city. As we learned later the train left at 10:00

for a whole day trip in the Ardeche.The average age of the passengers made us feel like spring chickens.We were offered a place on the trip but declined. If it had been a half day or less perhaps we would have gone. 

We had scarcely started when we hit trouble - literally. Negotiating some narrow roadworks  Hermione clashed wing mirrors with (ironically) a Mercedes Sprinter which duly lived up to its name and left the scene. no real harm done but all feelings of invincibility have departed.

We followed the Rhone south. It always surprises me just how built up and industrial is the Rhone valley. We reached Montelimar at mid day but had great difficulty finding a combination of parking place and nougat shop. Eventually we succeeded on the outskirts just as we had given up hope of ever finding it. 

After lunch in a wooded aire we were able to park in the middle of Orange to visit the ancient Roman Theatre built in the 1st century BC and the impressive Arc de Triomphe of the same vintage.

Theatre Visit.

We stopped at a very attractive site by the Rhone l'Art de Vivre is 2kms from the centre of Chateauneuf du pape which we planned to visit next day.









Site cost :                              €16

Miles travelled:                        53

Monbard to Tournon sur Rhone

Monday April 27th

• starting miles           50239
• temperature              12
• weather                     pouring rain
• time                           10.15

Despite our determination to meander and enjoy the slow route we have decided to try to outrun the rain and find the sun. Nowhere looks good in the rain. 

Before we left the site a momentous milestone was reached - Pauline drove Hermione Hymer for the very first time.!  The distance? About 15m. But it is a start.

D980 then A6 towards Lyon. Let's get some kilometres under our belt. It is a driving and a diet day.

Found GPL gaz on the motorway and decided to try our first fill. It is easy once you have attached the correct adaptor. 13.39litres = €11.64

Fueled at Auchan in Macon 60 litres = €72.07
We passed through Belleville not an aptly named town on the way into Villeneuve sur Saone. We crossed through the centre of Lyon at around 4 pm then on the N7 to Vienne. Still too wet to take photos. We crossed the Rhone at Tournon sur Rhone and whilst looking for our planned campsite happened upon a huge car park in beautiful surroundings. It was the car park for a restored steam train which runs trips through the Ardeche.

There were separate spaces for cars buses and camping cars. there were three vans parked in readiness for  a train trip the next morning so we slotted in alongside them for the night. It was still raining.

Site cost :                              €000

Miles travelled:                        300

Mery sur Seine to Montbard

Sunday April 26th

• starting miles           50217
• temperature              14.5
• weather                     sunny
• time                           9.45 

Our picture perfect wild camping spot was invaded at 9.00 am exactly by about 40 pompiers and their fire engines and equipment.

It appeared to be some sort of training exercise. After feeding our left over bread to the ducks we took the hint and left for Troyes which is about 20kms away. 

Since it was Sunday we were able to find a parking spot relatively near to the centre and easy walking distance to the cathedral where there was a special mass being said for the victims of genocide in Armenia. The cathedral, in common with many other public buildings was guarded by four soldiers.

We chatted to a reporter from Paris who was making a documentary film about security for Channel 3. France is on Red alert at the moment. 

Central Troyes is fabulous. Most of the houses are half-timbered Elizabethan looking edifices which are remarkably well preserved/restored interspersed with huge stone built gilded public buildings. Impressive. Clearly a prosperous town. There is a large pedestrian area filled with restaurants. A difficult choice was made for us when we allowed ourselves to be shepherded inside a busy restaurant for Sunday lunch. 

After many more photos we headed for Buchere to see the monument to the massacre of 67 villagers by the Nazis on August 24th 1944. 

We continued to meander south stopping at a lovely municipal site at Montbard. There are only four or five units three of which are British. Montbard sits at the bottom of a valley. We arrived in the rain and it was still raining in the morning when we left. 

It is time to outrun the rain and head south.

Site cost :                              €14

Miles travelled:                        153