Narbonne / Montesquiou / Pouylebon / St Jean de Luz

We arrived at Narbonne mid afternoon in the rain with the promise of more to come, so we put our feet up and watched the Commonwealth Games on the TV and the amazing rescue of the trapped miners in Chile.

The following day we had been forecast more rain but the weatherman got it wrong (notice I said man!) and we had blue skies and 21C. Managed to get all the washing done and dried - still have to do the domestic chores, it's not all fun and games. After lunch we were on our bikes again exploring the area. We cycled for approx 10 miles, it was good to be out in the sun again in shorts and t-shirts.

Nice touch on this site is that every pitch has it's own private facilities - a little shed that houses a wc, shower and wash hand basin.

The next day we were up early and cycled to the nearby town of Narbonne, parked up the bikes and went walkabout. The Cathedral was big and impressive as was the old Roman road only discovered in 1997. We stopped for a coffee at a pavement cafe and then continued to explore the town. We ate lunch sitting alongside the canal munching on filled baguettes that we bought from a nearby boulangerie.

Back at the site I dragged Harry off for a game of tennis (most of the rain puddles had dried up) and we had great fun on the full size court - certainly keeping my fitness level up.

The following morning we were on the move again to a place called Montesquiou (just south of Auch) where I had found a site in the grounds of a French Chateau and we had been saving our pennies to have a meal in their highly recommended restaurant. Oh dear, big disappointment - arrived at the Chateau after a long but very pleasant drive through the French countryside only to find that the site had closed early due to problems with their sanitation blocks. However they did tell us of another camp site nearby in the village of Pouylebon which they thought was still open so off we went. We found it without too much difficulty and what a lovely setting it was. An old Gascon farm house set in wonderful countryside - only 1 minor problem - we could only stay for 1 night. The site was closing for the season the following day. Undeterred, we sorted ourselves out and enjoyed a very pleasant evening in the late afternoon sun. The next morning (now we really do feel like travellers) we were off again, this time to a place called St Jean de Luz (just south of Biarritz) on the Atlantic coast and within striking distance of the Spanish border.

Again, a lovely site with great facilities. We will stay here for a few days to recharge our batteries before having to address the problem of learning to converse in yet another language. But in the meantime we can swim in the heated outdoor pool, go for walks around the lake (fishing too for those who have the inclination) or jump on the bikes to cycle to the nearby beaches.

There has been some concern by some of our fellow campers re the fuel situation in France. Many folk are heading back to GB after returning from Spain and news reports have been rather glum. That does not concern us though because we are heading south where the weather man has said there are blue skies and  25C - hope he hasn't got it wrong again!

So until next time when I will be able to practice my Spanish on you all.

Hasta luego

Kath and Harry xxx