Tuesday 26 June 2012
Tuesday 12 June 2012
Waiting for the rain to stop - again; June 10
As I write this we should be about 400 k north of sarlat on the banks of the Loire east of Orleans. We are not because it rained all night and most of today. We do not, if we can avoid it, do wet starts. The awning came down late Friday because it was dry and the forecast was not. Saturday saw us enjoying a fine day in Sarlat street market and a good, if not brilliant lunch in one of the myriad restaurants tucked into the narrow lanes of the town. Foi gras figured again but I think my main course was the most unusual I have had here - this time anyway. I shall call it surf and earth since it was Noix de St Jaques braised with superb Ceps in a bullion of many ingredients including basil and rosemary and parsley. Utterly delicious.
Anyway we are, as I said, still here. It is Sunday so we shall miss out on our easy ride use of the HGV rest day. And Monday in France is a bit of pig on the roads, although by paying up for the autoroute we can still avoid the majority of poids lourds.
But maybe this is a good moment to look back on this trip - all these three and four month joints are now described as trips. Since they are not holidays and hardly journeys (too many destinations?) trip seems to encompas the process. No one in the UK will be surprised that rains features heavily this time. We had a sunny crosssing and the Picos Europas were burning but after a week it all went umbrellas. Out of Asturia and into Galicia and confident that the climate records showed some bright sunny days amidst the inevitable Galician showers. Wrong. There were days when we saw no sun, no moon; it may well have been No-vember. It rained on Foz and it settled under the van. We slewed off over trackways of ground sheet pads in four wheel drive - backwards!
Unto the Costa Compostella as it grandly calls itself. This is the west coast of Galicia and it is a superb calmed down version of Norway. Rias instead of fiords but the same amazing interplay of sea and land. Lovely - especially when you can see it. To be fair the climate was maritime so the clouds were often blown away and the sun did shine. The site was disastriously tight for pitches and manouvreing space but somehow we got off.
Now it needs to be noted at this point that we had beenn dealt a rough hand. Our decision was that chucking cushions the length of the Bailey each night of 90 days to set up our rather narrow single beds was not ideal. So we had opted for twin singles - full size basically. And a decent kitcehn. And a virtually fukll-size fridge. And a superb L-shaped dining area. And that meant 8.3 metres and twin axles. So we fitted a motor mover to solve the issue. And it broke down after the first use! I am beginning th get some idea of how to manouvre in reverse but it is a slow learning curve - in fact it is the curve that is the problem of course.
So a tight site in Ribiera meant a sleepless night before we edged off. Then in Cabrera we had loads of space on a rough site and lousy weather. Then came Haro in La Rioja and the weather was great, the site an easy open parkland affair - and I managed to clip a tree. Not serious but....
Big decision to scrap the expensive long crossing and cruise through France. Better site and better weather all the way to today.
More on this later....
Anyway we are, as I said, still here. It is Sunday so we shall miss out on our easy ride use of the HGV rest day. And Monday in France is a bit of pig on the roads, although by paying up for the autoroute we can still avoid the majority of poids lourds.
But maybe this is a good moment to look back on this trip - all these three and four month joints are now described as trips. Since they are not holidays and hardly journeys (too many destinations?) trip seems to encompas the process. No one in the UK will be surprised that rains features heavily this time. We had a sunny crosssing and the Picos Europas were burning but after a week it all went umbrellas. Out of Asturia and into Galicia and confident that the climate records showed some bright sunny days amidst the inevitable Galician showers. Wrong. There were days when we saw no sun, no moon; it may well have been No-vember. It rained on Foz and it settled under the van. We slewed off over trackways of ground sheet pads in four wheel drive - backwards!
Unto the Costa Compostella as it grandly calls itself. This is the west coast of Galicia and it is a superb calmed down version of Norway. Rias instead of fiords but the same amazing interplay of sea and land. Lovely - especially when you can see it. To be fair the climate was maritime so the clouds were often blown away and the sun did shine. The site was disastriously tight for pitches and manouvreing space but somehow we got off.
Now it needs to be noted at this point that we had beenn dealt a rough hand. Our decision was that chucking cushions the length of the Bailey each night of 90 days to set up our rather narrow single beds was not ideal. So we had opted for twin singles - full size basically. And a decent kitcehn. And a virtually fukll-size fridge. And a superb L-shaped dining area. And that meant 8.3 metres and twin axles. So we fitted a motor mover to solve the issue. And it broke down after the first use! I am beginning th get some idea of how to manouvre in reverse but it is a slow learning curve - in fact it is the curve that is the problem of course.
So a tight site in Ribiera meant a sleepless night before we edged off. Then in Cabrera we had loads of space on a rough site and lousy weather. Then came Haro in La Rioja and the weather was great, the site an easy open parkland affair - and I managed to clip a tree. Not serious but....
Big decision to scrap the expensive long crossing and cruise through France. Better site and better weather all the way to today.
More on this later....
Saturday 9 June 2012
Here we are in Chipping Sarlat... guys are swimming... gals are sailing June 3 - 4
Yep, we are back in Chipping Sarlat - or Sarlat le Caneda as it is properly known. But it earns my sobriquet for being in Dordogneshire, the Cotswolds of France and itself being the superb equivalent of Chipping Camden. We love both places and for almost identical reasons.
Sarlat is bigger by a fair amount - very nearly a real city. It has what is called a cathedral but I am not quite convinced the French definition is similar to our own. Big church it certainly is and was home to an Abbot - Eveque in French. But for us Sarlat has some very specific beauties to proclaim.
First it is built of the local stone, an almost orange sandstone that ages to a grey-apricot. Indeed if both old and damp it gains a deep almost black brown. When I say built I mean virtually every inch of it - wherever you turn there is this apricot glow.
Second, the local architecture was and remains beautiful. It is not clever or intricate but the stonework is pure and simple, the windows deep set and crisp, the doorways of every shape and form and size, the roofs... ah the roofs. If not of amazing lauze stones they are of rich terracotta. They curve and cascade and are pierced by small mansard windows, themselves little gems.
Third, all this is crowded in. The lanes are narrow - and cool in summer. They meet at strange angles, sometimes with tiny squares, sometimes with larger ones. Many are cobbled. Most are impossible for traffic - those that are are have been largely pedestrianised.
Fourth, this is a smart town that is proud of itself. The buildings are almost entirely well-kept. The shops - too many touristy of course- are also smart and imaginative. The pavements cafes are huge in number, great in style and not too horrible in price.
Fifth, it is actually a walled town with a fair amount of wall intact. But importantly this means the central largely medieval area has its own character and, like Norwich, this is a bustling,busy and cosmopoitan affair. It also has kept out the bigger chains.
Sixth, for all that La Rue de la Republique, the 19th century main throughfare is full of top class shops both international and mostly local.
Seventh, it has a very fine covered Salle de Marche but also sports two market days each week - a medium sized affair on Wednesday and a massive, indeed one of the largest in France, on Saturdays. And if that were not enough once a month there is a Sunday Brocante Fair.
And if there is a finally it is this - it is friendly. France does not actually get my vote as friendly nation - Spain, Portugal and Italy top them in that order. But Sarlat seems to be an exception. Maybe their success in attracting vast numbers of tourists and their cash helps cheer them.
Downsides there are. Too many tourists. Too many of them Brits, too many of them in motor coach herds (no TGV yet). The traffic can be tiresome although parking if you do not mind paying is pretty easy.
We came here first 21 years ago and briefly. Last year we stayed nearby for two weeks. This year we are virtually in town for two weeks. We shall be back next year. I just wonder if we could afford the little place at the end of La Rue Brouile, the one with the tiny roof garden and the odd little corner window....
Sarlat is bigger by a fair amount - very nearly a real city. It has what is called a cathedral but I am not quite convinced the French definition is similar to our own. Big church it certainly is and was home to an Abbot - Eveque in French. But for us Sarlat has some very specific beauties to proclaim.
First it is built of the local stone, an almost orange sandstone that ages to a grey-apricot. Indeed if both old and damp it gains a deep almost black brown. When I say built I mean virtually every inch of it - wherever you turn there is this apricot glow.
Second, the local architecture was and remains beautiful. It is not clever or intricate but the stonework is pure and simple, the windows deep set and crisp, the doorways of every shape and form and size, the roofs... ah the roofs. If not of amazing lauze stones they are of rich terracotta. They curve and cascade and are pierced by small mansard windows, themselves little gems.
Third, all this is crowded in. The lanes are narrow - and cool in summer. They meet at strange angles, sometimes with tiny squares, sometimes with larger ones. Many are cobbled. Most are impossible for traffic - those that are are have been largely pedestrianised.
Fourth, this is a smart town that is proud of itself. The buildings are almost entirely well-kept. The shops - too many touristy of course- are also smart and imaginative. The pavements cafes are huge in number, great in style and not too horrible in price.
Fifth, it is actually a walled town with a fair amount of wall intact. But importantly this means the central largely medieval area has its own character and, like Norwich, this is a bustling,busy and cosmopoitan affair. It also has kept out the bigger chains.
Sixth, for all that La Rue de la Republique, the 19th century main throughfare is full of top class shops both international and mostly local.
Seventh, it has a very fine covered Salle de Marche but also sports two market days each week - a medium sized affair on Wednesday and a massive, indeed one of the largest in France, on Saturdays. And if that were not enough once a month there is a Sunday Brocante Fair.
And if there is a finally it is this - it is friendly. France does not actually get my vote as friendly nation - Spain, Portugal and Italy top them in that order. But Sarlat seems to be an exception. Maybe their success in attracting vast numbers of tourists and their cash helps cheer them.
Downsides there are. Too many tourists. Too many of them Brits, too many of them in motor coach herds (no TGV yet). The traffic can be tiresome although parking if you do not mind paying is pretty easy.
We came here first 21 years ago and briefly. Last year we stayed nearby for two weeks. This year we are virtually in town for two weeks. We shall be back next year. I just wonder if we could afford the little place at the end of La Rue Brouile, the one with the tiny roof garden and the odd little corner window....
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