![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.vennwood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Les-Bordes1-300x225.jpg\" "\\"Les")
Les Bordes<\/strong><\/p>\nIt was very cold and frosty and the small lake was frozen over. \u00a0Chase loved rolling in the frosty grass. \u00a0The following morning we set off early as we wanted to get south into warmer weather as soon as possible. \u00a0We had another long day’s drive and arrived at Millau late in the afternoon. \u00a0Driving down the A75 we encountered lots of snow all around us but thankfully the motorway was clear. \u00a0Millau was still covered in frost but at least the skies were clear. \u00a0We walked around Millau more for a leg stretch than anything and exercise for our Border Collie Chase. \u00a0Again after breakfast we set off again with the intention of staying at Arles, however having reached Arles we couldn’t use the Aire as it was undergoing repair work and was all fenced off. \u00a0We had a cursory look around Arles and made a note to return one day and continued down to Port St Louis on the eastern side of the Rhone estuary and spent the night there. \u00a0We had exchanged the frost for rain.<\/p>\n
We continued on the next \u00a0morning to Antibes and arrived at the camp site – Les Maurettes, \u00a0which is 2 miles east of Antibes centre and the area between Cagnes-sur-Mer and Villeneurve-Loubet. \u00a0We have been to this area several times in the past, usually staying at the Veille Ferme site some 400mtrs away but they are under new management now and seem reluctant to accept 8mtr vans. \u00a0Les Maurettes is better located as it is close to the supermarket, train station and much closer to the beach – don’t know why we didn’t use this in previous years.<\/p>\n
On Monday morning (2nd Feb), we took the quad into Antibes to find the flat our son and family were staying at and spent the rest of the day with the family looking around and showing them the sights of Antibes while dodging the showers. \u00a0Throughout the following week it pretty much rained every day and we had to plan activities according to the rain. \u00a0We did manage to fit in a walk around Cap Ferrat and Cap d’Antibes. \u00a0We used the quad bike whenever possible and BBQ’d between the showers. \u00a0Dave and family went up into the hills to find the snow at Greolieres and one day we had Greta our grand daughter over for a sleepover. \u00a0 Thankfully the camp site had an indoor swimming pool and sauna and that helped with the children. \u00a0On week two the weather cleared up a bit but not to the temperatures we had experienced on earlier visits in February. \u00a0We spent a day in Cannes, a day in Cagnes walking along the sea front to St Laurent du Var. \u00a0Dave celebrated his birthday and Dave and I had a boys day out at the Carrefour hypermarket.<\/p>\n We went to Biot and looked out towards the coast from the view point. \u00a0All in all we had a great time with the family and the time passed too quickly. \u00a0Before we knew it Dave and family were off on their way home. \u00a0We stayed at Les Maurettes until the Sunday morning then headed west to Frejus, only to find the Aire had closed so we moved on to St Maxime, that was full so ended up at Port Grimaud at the Aire near Cogolin Plage. \u00a0We walked into Port Grimaud, a replica fishing village built solely for holiday makers, however it was mostly closed up being the winter period.<\/p>\n All the camp sites around the Port Grimaud area are closed in winter so we \u00a0headed out to Le Lavandou a place we are warming to on each visit. \u00a0As soon as our family had returned the weather picked up and during our time in Le Lavandou the sun shone every day so we used the time to get some really good walks in. \u00a0St Claire is a great walk from Le Lavandou as you walk past the harbour and along a coastal path that hugs the shore line some 5 mtrs above the sea level. \u00a0You can control the length of the walk and return at any time, first stopping at any of the cafe stops en-route. \u00a0There is another great walk in the opposite direction towards Faviere and round Cap Benat.<\/p>\n Thursday is market day in Le Lavandou and is not to be missed as it is a huge affair with fruit, veg, clothes, trinkets, shoes – even bedding. \u00a0We stayed at Le Lavandou for 4 days before deciding to move further west, this time to a new place for us – Carro.<\/p>\n Carro Aire is a dedicated tarmac area on a peninsular by the harbour in the village. \u00a0The views all around are quite good and there is a fish market on the harbour quay that opens most mornings from 6am until around 12 – or until all the fish has gone. \u00a0Fish is sold directly off the boats and while popular types are not cheap it is certainly fresh.<\/p>\n The locals of course were buying all the odd looking fish and were paying very little. \u00a0We stayed at Carro for another day as the sun was warm and we sun bathed and had a lazy day. \u00a0We set off the following morning for Aigues Mortes and stayed at the Aire near the town walls overlooking the canal.<\/p>\n Aigues Morte \u00a0used to be a port many years ago before the silt built up and made access impossible and in line with most ports on the coast the town has an impressive wall all around that still stands intact to this day.<\/p>\n The local market is on Sunday here and is a typical market of the area with local produce being the main stay. \u00a0We walked along the canal path to the Etang and back and explored the town centre.<\/p>\n We now headed off towards Cap d’Agde which is a purpose built resort with a very large marina. \u00a0At this time of year most of the resort was closed and empty. \u00a0The marina area consists of wall to wall cafe’s, restaurants or knicknack shops and clearly leans towards the tourist sector. \u00a0 We enjoyed our time here though by walking along the cliff tops and beach in lovely weather until the wind started blowing in the afternoon.<\/p>\n It was much warmer today and with the warmth out came more of the residents so give a better reflection of the real Cap d’Agde. \u00a0We also used the SuperU to restock with food and do all the washing at the laundrette before moving on to Gruissan Plage.<\/p>\n At Gruissan Plage we took the quad bike out and explored the area before ending up in the old town and paid a visit to the Chateau\/castle where you get a great view of the area from the top of the tower. \u00a0Gruissan is made up of four distinct areas – the old town, the marina, the Etang and the Plage. \u00a0The old town being the centre with the Marie office, main shops and the old fishing port. \u00a0The marina area is all fairly new and is home to all the yachts and now fishing boats. \u00a0The estuary and harbour entrance is all man made and obviously is more suitable to modern day fishing and pleasure craft.<\/p>\n The Etang is the lake where eels were fished extensively many years ago and is now a wildlife centre with many species of birds, including pink Flamingoes\u00a0and I guess insects. \u00a0The Plage area is the part where holiday apartments and houses are springing up as the beach and promenade attract holiday makers. \u00a0The beach is a large very clean one and is safe for children as it it patrolled by life guards during the holiday season. \u00a0We enjoyed fresh tuna and king prawns on our BBQ being able to sit out well into the evening.<\/p>\n Now it was time to move on to Trebes where we were meeting up with our friends who were travelling south en-route to Spain.<\/p>\n The Trebes Aire\u00a0is one of the best Aires on the south west Mediterranean, situated on the Canal du Midi next door to the town of Trebes. \u00a0The Aire owes its popularity to the basin and locks that play host to the many canal boats that are based here and for hire to the general public. \u00a0 \u00a0There are one or two restaurants and shops alongside the basin that add atmosphere to the Aire. \u00a0 Our friends arrived late in the afternoon having made very good time from Calais with only one overnight stop. \u00a0It was great to meet up and Carcassonne Old city Walls<\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately the weather had other ideas about what we would be allowed to do and the wind blew hard and it rained from afternoon through the evening and all night.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/a>We woke to more of the same so decided to move over to Carcassone a few miles to the west. \u00a0It still rained at Carcassone but at least we had the old cite to visit, the Bastide St Louis and the museum – mostly indoors.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Carcassonne<\/strong> Ramparts<\/strong><\/p>\n Old Carcassone is a medieval walled city dating back to the crusaders with the walls and much of the interior still intact. \u00a0The wall and inside of the city is all lit up at night and makes a spectacular sight. \u00a0The local speciality is cassolett – a dish of beans with either duck, sausage or pork all mixed into a kind of stew.\u00a0\u00a0The dish varies slightly from town to town but originated in this area. \u00a0We couldn’t resist trying it out.<\/p>\n Again the bad weather persisted and so we all moved back to Trebes then east to Sts Maries de la Mer and parked by the sea wall in the hope of a little shelter – failed and the wind and rain continued. \u00a0Getting rather desperate we opted to move north as the forecast appeared more favourable.<\/p>\n The journey to Avignon was at best hairy with severe gales buffeting the camper making driving extremely difficult. \u00a0 We parked at the campsite on the island in the middle of the Rhone. \u00a0Once settled we attempted to walk into Avignon city as the ferry had stopped working due to the severe weather.<\/p>\n Having reached the city centre we retired into a coffee shop to assess our next move as even walking around the city was very cold in the gale force winds. \u00a0We decided against venturing out that evening and ate in the camper. \u00a0 Mercifully the following morning the wind dropped, the sun came out at last and we assessed the damage around us with tree branches broken, debris everywhere. \u00a0Fortunately neither of us suffered any damage. \u00a0We spent the day visiting many of the tourist places in the city, including the indoor market with its unusual exterior facade – all live plants and shrubs. \u00a0We had a great day in Avignon and with a rising temperature and a very positive forecast we bade our farewells and headed north towards along the N86 to Lapallaise.<\/p>\n We stayed here for the night but were not impressed with the village as many of the shops were derelict and boarded up giving a very run down appearance to the whole village.<\/p>\n The sun shone all the way home and texts messages from our friends reported the temperatures rising well into the 20’s \u00a0only added to our gloom at having to return home. We called in Bonny sur Loire to get Chases passport stamped and arrived in Calais to spend the day walking on the front at Escalles until we were “moved on” by the local police. \u00a0We had the Seafrance Carnet so we decided to catch the evening ferry instead of spending the night at Gravelines as planned and spent the night outside Dover at the CL farm we have used several times. \u00a0We arrived home just after lunch on 11th March.<\/p>\n Overall a good holiday – its always nice to get away in the camper. \u00a0The added bonus of spending time with Dave and family was a real pleasure and it was also good to meet up with our friends. \u00a0The weather was disappointing – our 4th visit to the south of France and by far the worst weather although we did have some decent days in the middle.<\/p>\n Trip Statistics:<\/p>\n Time away: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a042 days \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Distance Travelled \u00a0 2800 miles \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Cost of ferry: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a362 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cost of fuel:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a3545.54 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Cost of LPG: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a334.09 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cost of Tolls:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a321.06 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Cost of campsites \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a3295.09 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Vet Fees: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a314 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Exchange rate: \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a31 = \u20ac1.08<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We were looking forward to our winter trip this year more than ever as we are meeting up with our son and family in Antibes for a couple of weeks. \u00a0We left home on 29th Jan and drove down to … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.vennwood.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Antibes.jpg\" "\\"Antibes\\"")
\u00a0<\/a> Antibes<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> View of Med from Biot<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0Port Grimaud Aire<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Le Lavandou at Night<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Carro Peninsula<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Aigues Mortes<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Cap Agde<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Gruissan<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Aire at Trebes<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a> enjoy good company.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Riding school at Sts Maries<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a> Pont d’Avignon<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 Lapalaise<\/strong><\/p>\n