On Saturday 16th May we left Kilkenny to go to Dublin to take Irish Ferries to Cherbourg. En route we went to Brian's to drop off a bag of clothes that would be too heavy for France. The ferry journey was very smooth and we enjoyed an expensive but very good meal in the restaurant. We arrived the following day after 12.30pm and made our way to Le Petit Vedaquais. I had chosen this 'hotel' because it had a restaurant but, unfortunately, it had closed at 3pm and we didn't arrive until 5pm. The owner suggested that we go into Chateau du Loir where there were several restaurants which he said were open. We did this, immediately recognising the town as one we had visited in the past. We tried the hotel which the website said was open but which was, in fact, closed for meals on a Sunday. Then we tried the creperie which was closed for holidays and finally we went to the pizzeria which would open half an hour later. We passed the time in a local PMU - which we had visited the last time, also a Sunday - where we had a 00 beer and a white wine. We finally got fed in the pizzeria.
On Monday 18th we made our way to Auberge Le Petit Mas in Issoire. Check in was at 5pm but we were about 2 hours too early. There were people about so we chanced checking in. We were told to wait for about 30 minutes as the staff were at lunch. That was fine.
Our room was up one flight of outdoor stairs and had a little seating area.
Our bedroom was divided into a bedroom, a sitting area and a shower. The toilet thankfully had its own little room. There was a movable folding screen that could be used to screen off the shower area for privacy.
Before checking in we spent some time in Issoire looking around and having a coffee.
When we arrived there was a funeral service taking place - we had to wait for ages before it was possible to go in so meanwhile we passed some time just down the road near a boules park.
That evening we went down to the bar area where we had checked in for a drink before dinner. I noticed that all the tables were high with high stools. I asked the bar tender if there were any low tables and chairs but he said no. I said to him - c'est difficile pour moi and he replied - c'est difficile pour moi aussi!! Anyway, I was not relishing having dinner there but we were directed into the dining room where we had a really nice meal.
The following day we made our way, via a very scenic motorway, to the Camargue to meet up with Brian and Mairead and Carol and Stephen. We had an AirBnb in St. Laurent d'Aigouze, a small town in the Gard department and Occitanie region. By sheer chance there was a parking place just outside our accommodation and, as we were about an hour too early, we left the car there and went to explore the town. Our lot arrived around the same time and parked on the outskirts of town and walked in. We met up just outside Brasserie Le Glacier where we all had lunch. Then Carol and I went back to the accommodation to meet up with the keyholder who showed us round. The entrance was through a large solid gate and into a garden/yard area and the house was set back from the road. There was room for both cars. The house had a kitchen and living area, a utility room, a bathroom and one bedroom downstairs. Upstairs there was an open living/readin. working area, 2 bedrooms, a toilet and a small shower. Under an awning there was an outside kitchen where we spent most of our time as the weather was warm and got to over 30 degrees.
This is La Tour Carbonniere, a watchtower built at the end of the 13th century to protect the fortified town of Aigue-Mortes. It rises amid the marshesbetween the Vistre and the Rhone to the Sete Canal and has a fantastic view over the Petite Camargue. Jim and I and Brian and Mairead went there on the Wednesday while Carol and Stephen were on a video call to their prospective children's social worker. We parked in the car park and walked the boardwalk through the marshes to the tower
This was my third occasion to visit the Ornithological Park which I really love.
The following day we went to Aigues Mortes, a beautiful fortified village with perfectly preserved walls which you can walk round. The last time I was here I walked the walls but I settled myself (and Mairead) in Place Saint Louis in one of the many cafes where we treated ourselves to a delicious and refreshing Hugo Spritz. And the last time I was here I treated myself to candied fruits (fruits confits) and a selection of Camargue rice. I never got to enjoy either as they ended their lives in the boot of our car as it plunged down a ravine in the Cevennes. So I was determined to replace them and did and added to the selection a bag of oreillettes de Provence. I have since discovered that I particularly like the black and red rice of Camargue.
At lunchtime we chose a small restaurant off the main square. I think it was called Chez Vincent. The owner was really funny and insisted on translating every item on the menu despute the fact that I could understand it all. These are the tellines (wedge clams) Carol and I had - delicious!
From the ramparts it is possible to see across to the salt moutains at the Camargue salt pans.
Les Saintes Maries de la Mer was an attraction for Carol. En route to the Camargue for us and from Marseilles for the others we had noticed the number of traveller caravans and realised that the festival of the black madonna, the patron saint of gypsies was on 24th/25th May. Carol really wanted to go but the crowds and difficulty parking deterred me. Anyway they spent an afternoon there and Carol got photos of the black madonna
I like this photo - a bit like an oasis
In the afternoon we headed for Le Grau du Roi where we planned to see a course camarguaise in the arena. This is a traditional bloodless sport in which razeteurs use a metal hook to snatch tassels and decorative ribbons fro the horns and forehead of the bull. The bulls are the stars and are treated with respect. It is basically a game of agility.
To everyone's delight this bull jumped the barrier many many times forcing the razeteurs to be at their most acrobatic!
We lasted in the really intense heat until the interval and then we decided un oeuf was un oeuf and I scrambled my way out - people were very nice helping me across and giving me space in the stairs!
On 26th May we were scheduled to leave. Brian and Mairead left early and we were scheduled to leave around 11. While waiting we were very amused by the swifts attacking a local cat that had wandered in while the gates were open. And the swifts were winning forcing the cat to take refuge under our car. The keyholder did not turn up and we were forced to let them know that we had locked up and put the key in the keylock. We then made our way to Nimes to leave Carol and Stephen to the train station which forced us to negotiate a very dangerout three-laned roundabout scene of an unfortunate incident the last year we were there. Fortunately we were not forced to renegotiate it on our way to our next AirBnB!
