Day 78 Wednesday 27.04.2011

Location:  Aubigans Aire, Rhone-Alps

Long / Lat:  N 44º 35.251’ E 004º37.904’

We left the Laudun L’Ardoise Aire after breakfast, drove for about 2 hours through the most beautiful countryside. We were relieved that the van started first time, Paul is not convinced that there is anything wrong with the battery, think we may have something draining the power when we are parked up for more than 3 days.

We are heading back into the mountains, amazing views of picturesque towns and vines growing on the hillsides.

We missed the turn off for the aire and had to drive for about 6km down the mountain before we found somewhere to turn around and drive back up again.

The aire we are staying at is a beautiful location, breathtaking views of the town and surrounding mountains. The sun is shining but it’s very windy .

There is a motorhome service point here with fresh water, dump point and toilets. The access to the aire is a sharp left hand turn onto a very steep road but there is a lay by opposite so you can swing round and get the right angle.

This is one on the most beautiful places we have stopped at, well worth a visit. There is no charge for parking or use of the service point but a donation of 2€ is suggested.
Aubigans Aire

Aubigans Aire

Aubigans

Aubigans

Aubigans

Aubigans

Day 77 Tuesday 26.04.2011

Location:  Laudun L’Ardoise Aire

Long / Lat: N 44º06.224’ E 004º39.829’

Today we got up early to miss the morning rush to use the service point, when the vans start queuing they block our access to the exit barrier.

We were all packed up and ready to leave by 7.30am but the van wouldn’t start, flat battery again. Fortunately Paul managed to jump start the van from the leisure batteries which were fully charged. This is the second time this has happened and we are now thinking that we should replace the 18 month old vehicle battery.

First stop was Intermarche for food and water but as we had half an hour before they opened we drove about 10km up the road to charge the battery a bit.

We managed to get the shopping and fill up with diesel 1.35€ ltr and LPG 0.82€ ltr. Garage co-ordinates N 44º06.224’ E 004º39.820’. We were a bit anxious about the battery but the van started without a problem.

It was a pleasant drive here, the aire is located in the grounds of a wine producer on the edge a pretty village. The aire is free, there is a drive over dump point, manhole cover to empty loo and a fresh water tap, parking is amongst the trees on hard standing or grass.

The aire backs onto the vineyard and there are nice views of the village. There is a small supermarket with a bakers a couple a minutes up the road. The staff in the wind shop are very friendly and welcoming, they have been chatting away to us in French (our French is not very good but we smiled and nodded and they seemed happy with that).

The aire is located south of Orange and is not far off the N580. It’s a very pleasant peaceful spot to spend the night, I think we need some quiet after 3 days surrounded by noisy Italian families with dozens of children.

Laudun L’Ardoise Aire

Laudun L’Ardoise Aire

Laudun L’Ardoise

Laudun L’Ardoise Aire

Day 76 Monday 25.04.2001

Location:  Aigues Mortes Aire

Long / Lat: N 43º33.963’ E 004º11.138’ 

The aire got so busy last night, Italians parking so close to the next van that they couldn’t open the habitation door.

A few vans pulled out this morning but by 11.00am the aire was full again.

It’s very hot today, we walked around the town again this morning, bought bread and croissants and we are going for another wander around the town after lunch.

We think we made the right decision to stay put over the holiday weekend but we are planning to move tomorrow.

The charge for parking in this aire is 12€ for 24 hours payable at the entry barrier but we have been told by a nice old French man that no one comes round to check the parking tickets. There is no way to pay for additional nights once you have come through the barrier.  We have stayed for 3 nights and have only paid 12€.

Message from Paul to Charlie….if the rules say you must park straight then it’s your duty to make sure they do.  LOL

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Day 75 Sunday 24.04.2011

Location:  Aigues Mortes Aire

Long / Lat: N 43º33.963’ E 004º11.138’ 

The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. The aire  is very full this morning, there are vans parked up the middle of the aire which would make getting out very difficult. There are also about 15 vans parked outside the aire.

We have noticed that quite a few people are having trouble with the ticket machine at the barrier, it won’t accept certain debit/credit cards, our Caxton card was declined and we paid using a Lloyds debit card.

This morning we walked around the lovely walled town on the other side of the river, lots of restaurants and pavement café’s, galleries and shops selling clothes and expensive souvenirs. Also a boulangerie and a small supermarket. There are lots of French tourists, it was  very busy today due to it being a holiday weekend.

The part of the aire nearest the river bank looks like a pond due to the heavy rain yesterday, if you visit this aire during wet weather park nearer to the road as these pitches are not as wet.

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Aigues Mortes

Day 74 Sat 23.04.2011

Location:  Aigues Mortes Aire

Long / Lat: N 43º33.963’ E 004º11.138’ 

It’s poured with rain all night, when we woke this morning we decided to do a longer drive today and not to head for the nearby Aire we had picked out yesterday.

We set off just after 9.00am in torrential rain heading for Aigues Mortes a small walled town with a port just to the east of Montpellier. The roads were busy today as it’s a holiday weekend.

We both got soaked when we stopped to buy croissants and bread but we were starving so it was worth it.

The Aire is next to the Marina we have view of the boats and the town ramparts on the opposite bank of the river. The sun has just come out, the aire is actually quiet nice.

Entry to the Aire is through a barrier, 12€ for 24 hours which seems a bit expensive. Pay by credit card on the way in. Not sure how you would pay if you stop for more than 24 hours. This includes water and waste but no electricity.

Aire At Aigues Mortes

Aire At Aigues Mortes

River By Aire At Aigues Mortes

Day 73 Fri 22.04.2011

Location:  Aire De Campingcars de la Narbonnett

Long / Lat : N 43º10.829’ E 003º/1.366’

Today we have moved just a few km to an aire in Narbonne, we stopped at a supermarket on the way to stock up for the holiday weekend.

It’s a car park type aire opposite the Parc de Expositions, 9€ for 24 hours including electricity. Entry is through a barrier, you have to key in you vehicle registration number and pay on exit.

Tomorrow we are planning to move further inland.

Aire De Campingcars de la Narbonnett

Aire De Campingcars de la Narbonnett

Day 72 Thurs 21.04.2011

Location:  Camping La Nautique, Narbonne, ACSI

Long / Lat : N 43º08.822’ E 003º00.260’

This morning we cycled about 5km to McDonalds to use their free Wi-Fi and update the blog, the ride their involved crossing the N9 Peage Exit No38,  not much fun! When we got to McDonalds the Wi-Fi was useless, we gave up after uploading one day.

There is a Total Petrol station next McDonalds that sells LPG co-ordinates N43º10.486’ E002º59.575’.

We popped into the supermarket on the way back and got a few bits, we hope to be able to do some shopping in the motorhome tomorrow but not sure if the supermarkets will be open on Good Friday.
The cost of food is much higher in France than in Spain or Portugal, 8.50€  for a tiny chicken (maybe it had been hand reared on truffles but it just looked like an ordinary chicken to me). We are planning on moving inland in the next few days, hopefully the prices will be a bit lower.

                                       The Lake At Camping La Nautique

The Lake At Camping La Nautique

Day 71 Weds 20.04.2011

Location:  Camping La Nautique, Narbonne, ACSI

Long / Lat : N 43º08.822’ E 003º00.260’

Today we said goodbye to Charlie and Carol, we have spent two weeks travelling with this lovely couple who we met at the MHF meet in Denia, we both felt a bit sad parting company with them but we plan to stay in touch.

We had a short drive, about 40km to an ACSI campsite a couple of km inland, we have almost run out of clean clothes so we need to do some washing.

The campsite costs 15€ a night with an ACSI card and it is next to Bages bay, the pitches are long and narrow and we have a small room (brick built shed thing) behind our pitch with our own loo and shower. Our pitch is sloping to the right  a bit but we only plan to stop her for 2 nights so we can put up with it.

Today I washed the bed linen and towels in our little washing machine but as it’s my birthday tomorrow I think we will splash out and pay 5€ to use the campsite machine to wash our clothes lol .

The campsite charges 3€ for 30 minutes internet, you have to sit in or near reception to use it and the connection was very slow, a bit of a rip off. Tomorrow we’re going to find a McDonalds to update the blog.

Camping La Nautique, Narbonne, ACSI

Camping La Nautique, Narbonne, ACSI

Day 70 Tuesday 19.04.2011.04.2001

Location: Aire Luecate Plage

Long / Lat : N 42º54.010’ E 003 º03.167’

We all had a bit too much to drink last night, none of us were feeling our best this morning.

This morning the man in charge of the aire gave us a ticket with the code for the exit barrier, no charge, think he must be fed up coming to let people out all the time.

The wind has dropped a bit today and the sky is cloudy but it’s still warm.

Tomorrow we’re going to book into a campsite just up the coast to do some washing, we will be saying goodbye to Charlie, Carol and Henry, they are heading inland. We will miss them.

The Beach At Luecate

The Beach At Luecate

The Beach At Luecate

Route Update

Day 69 Monday 18.04.2001

Location: Aire Luecate Plage

Long / Lat : N 42º54.010’ E 003 º03.167’

Last night we watched the orange full moon rise over the sea, this morning we woke to a similar sun rise, amazing.

A few vans pulled out this morning and we moved our van when a space opened up next to Charlie and Carol, we sat outside drinking coffee and eating proper French croissants bought from the bread van that called into the Aire just before 9.00am. The beach is busy with wind and kite surfers.

After lunch we walked along to the supermarket, much more expensive than Spain but we are in the South of France.

We have been told that if the barrier is down when we want to leave we have to ring the number on the ticket machine and someone will come and let us out, not sure if we will have to pay.

The wind has got up and it’s too cold to sit outside so we spent the evening in our van with Charlie and Carol.

Beach At Luecate

Beach At Luecate

Beach At Luecate

Entrance To Aire Luecate

Day 68 Sunday 17.04.2001

Location: Aire Luecate Plage

Long / Lat : N 42º54.010’ E 003 º03.167’

We were all glad to leave Blains this morning. Today we headed back into France. This will probably be our last stop with Charlie and Carol.

We stayed off the toll roads again, as we approached the border the road got very busy, lots of small towns with shops selling cheap cigarettes and alcohol. We had a couple of breath holding moments driving through road works and passing a coach on a narrow road.

If we come this way again I think we would try to avoid a Sunday as it looked like half of France had come out for a day shopping.

When we arrived at the Aire at Leucate the entrance barrier was up so we weren’t able to get a ticket, not sure how we will get out if the barrier is closed when we leave here. The Aire is very busy it filled up really quickly after we arrived, lots of French vans here..

 We are parked right on the beach with an amazing sea view. The Aire costs 7.20€ for 24 hours, there is no charge for water of waste.

There is another Aire across the road, same price but no sea views

Aire Luecate Plage

Aire Luecate Plage

Day 67 Saturday 16.04.2011

Location:  Car Park near Blanes Beach

Long / Lat : N 41º40.132’ E 002º47.078’

We have decided to use the toll roads today, we will be travelling around Barcelona and the drive will take an hour longer using non toll roads. We also need to fill up with LPG and there is a BP station on the AP7 north of Barcelona.

The drive was uneventful, we found the LPG (co ordinates on north bound carriage way N 41.52697 E 2.16841) our filler cap is on the left and the pump was on the wrong side for our van so we had to reverse in to fill up. We spent a total of 6.55€ on tolls today, well worth it.

This location is a free car park not far from the sea front. It’s not an official parking place for motorhomes, the ground is level but sandy (not a problem driving on it but quite a lot got trampled into the van). There are no facilities here.

Part of the car park seems to be a building site, it’s not an attractive place to park. It was also very noisy at night, fire crackers going off until the early hours of the morning and there were still people wandering around at 5.00am.

The town is a pleasant sea side town, it was busy when we visited, seemed to be mainly Spanish tourists. The sea front was attractive and there was a crafts market selling jewelry, pottery handmade soap etc .

We didn’t want to stop another night and not sure we would go there again.

Free Camping Blanes

Free Camping Blanes

Beach At Blanes

Beach At Blanes

Beach At Blanes

Day 66 Friday 15.04.2001

Location:  Wild Camping Platja Llarga, North Tarragona

Long / Lat  N 41º/7.765’ E 001º18.273’

Didn’t sleep well last night due to the noisy trains but this morning the sun is shining and there’s a gentle breeze blowing off the sea.

Tomorrow we’re planning to leave here early and drive through bandit country (Barcelona) in convoy with Charlie and Carol. We have heard so many horror stories about people getting robbed on the roads around the Barcelona area . We also need LPG so we may have to go on a toll road to get it.

Only one or two more stops before we’re back in France.

Our Route

Henry On The Beach

Another One Of The Parrot

Day 65 Thursday 14.04.2011

Location:  Wild Camping Platja Llarga, North Tarragona

Long / Lat  N 41º/7.765’ E 001º18.273’

It’s not so hot today, a bit windy and overcast.

The train line is rather noisy, lots of freight trains running all night. I don’t think this is a spot that you would want to stay at for more than a few days.

Paul and Charlie cycled for miles looking for a shop, they eventually found a small cafe that sold bread.

There is a German parked next to us with a parrot in his van, he brings it out in the morning for some fresh air and it just sits on his bike basket.

We are planning to stay one more day as it’s free and the beach is beautiful.

Beach Platja Llarga

 Beach Platja Llarga

Beach Platja Llarga

Beach Platja Llarga

Beach Platja Llarga

 The Parrot in the motorhome parked next to us