Yikes, it's been 4 months since I have written, mainly because my computer was acting up. Now I have an IPad and won't be able to use that excuse!! This entry will get me caught up until the end of May which is the time I was travelling with Pauline.
I have seen so much since leaving Eymet in April and have had some wonderful experiences. Of course as life is, it wasn't always wonderful but always memorable. The best thing I learned though was to always take the green wiggly roads when you can!
Let me explain - in the road map book that we had, the scenic routes were highlighted in green. We made a point of taking these routes whenever possible and we were never disappointed. They were sometimes a little hairy like the one in the photo through the Gorge of Galamus but the scenery was always spectacular. They normally took a lot longer to get to our destination but sometimes we didn't have a destination so there wasn't a problem. Pauline did an amazing job driving her right hand drive vehicle for many miles! Merci chauffeur!
I have seen so much since leaving Eymet in April and have had some wonderful experiences. Of course as life is, it wasn't always wonderful but always memorable. The best thing I learned though was to always take the green wiggly roads when you can!
Let me explain - in the road map book that we had, the scenic routes were highlighted in green. We made a point of taking these routes whenever possible and we were never disappointed. They were sometimes a little hairy like the one in the photo through the Gorge of Galamus but the scenery was always spectacular. They normally took a lot longer to get to our destination but sometimes we didn't have a destination so there wasn't a problem. Pauline did an amazing job driving her right hand drive vehicle for many miles! Merci chauffeur!
From about a week after we left Eymet to the end of May this is the area we explored. As you remember, my original plan was to drive to Arles and walk the Camino route from there to Somport where it crosses into Spain. I was hoping to discover a place that I loved and that needed accommodation for walkers. I didn't quite make it Arles until much, much later and the only walking I did was limited to day hikes. The weather was quite cool and wet and it was really hard to get motivated to abandon the car and set off on a walk. Plus we discovered that there are walking routes all over the place. There is one that called the GR 36 that connects the Normandy coast with the Pyranees! And all around the area of the Chemin de Stevenson, there are long distance walks. The discovery of all these Grand Routes (as they are called) only made decision making even more complicated. I was pretty clear when I left Canada that I wanted to have a Donativo gite on one of the four pilgrimage routes in France. The areas that I am being drawn to don't have a pilgrimage route passing through but do have lots of walking routes. What I came to realize is that I love the mountains and the sea. Hmmm sounds like I should be back in British Columbia - or southern France. One place in particular that has captured my attention is Port Vendres. We hadn't actually planned on staying there but ended up spending almost a week and then I returned again in July for a couple of days. Just 3 km north is the town of Collioure, which is very pretty but also very touristy. There is a realness (not really a word) about Port Vendres that I really like . So my plan, if I am successful in getting my carte de sejour, is to spend the winter in Port Vendres. Of course we all know what happens to plans! Below are a few photos of PV.
Our route from Eymet took us through Monpazier, Cahors, Lauzerte, Auvillar, Boissezon (near Castres), Saint Gervais sur Mare, Lodeve, Clemont L'Herault, a beach near Narbonne, Carcasonne (stuck there for a week while I dealt with a nasty toothache), Mirepoix, Belsaret, Alet les Bains (stayed a week there because we liked it), Port Vendres (a week here because I really liked it!), and Montpellier. These are the places we stayed at but we explored so much more.
When we got to Montpellier, Pauline found out she had to return to England right away to deal with some paperwork. As I was going to Paris at the end of the month for my nieces confirmation, I decided to stay in Montpellier for the week and take some French lessons. I met up with the woman who I was doing the Skype lessons and we did a few in person lessons. I also did a few lessons with the woman who I rented a room from. Pauline introduced me to a website called airbnb where you can rent a room in someone's house or the whole house. I've used it a couple of times now and had really great experiences.
So I know this isn't a lot of detail but if I don't post this now I'll never catch up. I still have June, July and half of August to write about! So that's all for now.
When we got to Montpellier, Pauline found out she had to return to England right away to deal with some paperwork. As I was going to Paris at the end of the month for my nieces confirmation, I decided to stay in Montpellier for the week and take some French lessons. I met up with the woman who I was doing the Skype lessons and we did a few in person lessons. I also did a few lessons with the woman who I rented a room from. Pauline introduced me to a website called airbnb where you can rent a room in someone's house or the whole house. I've used it a couple of times now and had really great experiences.
So I know this isn't a lot of detail but if I don't post this now I'll never catch up. I still have June, July and half of August to write about! So that's all for now.