Firstly, a postscript to last week’s blog, the random French family on the pitch opposite us, late on Sunday afternoon took down their huge tent, then put up a medium size tent in its place, no idea why, but an interesting spectacle to watch all the same.
Monday, we left whilst the medium size tent was being taken down! We had less than an hour drive to our next stop, but that one hour had some windy (bloody English language, is that “not straight roads” or “breezy roads”? – you decide, but probably both apply) there were also some spectacular views back into the main Aude valley.
So, our next stop, via the local supermarket, was to visit some good friends from the Isle of Man, who were holidaying in a Villa in Ginestas, just north of Narbonne. We had planned to only stay a couple of nights but ended up staying 4. A lovely villa with a pool. We managed to get the motorhome on the drive, so we continued to sleep it in.
Tuesday, after a hard day by the pool, we all went out to the local wine/tapas bar “Oncle Jules”, and had lovely wine and tapas prepared by a lone chef in a tiny kitchen. The guy running “Oncle Jules’ was originally from Chicago, and we were able to ask him about the French alcohol licencing laws, as he was only allowed to serve alcohol up to 18% (so no spirits).
Wednesday, another day by the pool, followed by a visit to the local festival, every Wednesday through the summer there are stalls, food, drink and music in the local square. A good night was had, there was even some fishing for toy ducks!!! Fresh Churros and a late evening swim before bed.
Thursday, another quiet day, Nic managed a short walk with friends to see the avenue of trees into the village, and an almond tree with nuts ready to pick. The day was finished off with a few drinks, steaks at the Villa and a last hand or two of Gin Rummy….we know how to live!
Friday, we helped with the checking out process, including gaining all left overs – beers, wine and the contents of the fridge! After manoeuvring the motorhome off the drive, we drove on to our next campsite in Prades in the Pyrenees, a Catalan town surrounded by mountains.
Saturday, a short walk into Prades town itself, a small market was being held by local food producers, had a coffee and watched the world go by for a bit! The evening saw a couple of thundery showers and a nice dip in temperature.
Sunday, another walk to Prades, an artisan craft market this time and then a longer walk around town as it was a little cooler. Spotted some posters for a festival being held on Monday, so have extended our campsite booking to attend the festival. Festival updates in next week’s blog.
Clock update – the Prades clock strikes every ¼ hour and every hour, the strange one about this clock is that it strikes all ¼ hours, including on the hour, and then strikes the number of hours twice (a different bell). So at 3pm you get, four strikes for the 4th quarter in the hour, followed by 3 strikes for 3pm. Then the double strike the hour, which we noticed in Premian, we are reliably informed, (by family sources), that this was to ensure that those working in the fields had 2 opportunities to hear the correct time, especially in the days when the town gates may have been locked in the evening, to allow time to get home.
Travurple 