Friday 31 July 2009
The campsite at Millau seemed to be having some problems with technology when we arrived; both the electrical supply and internet access. Yesterday evening the electric hook-up supply to the motorhome was on and off over a period of a couple of hours as two men prodded and poked at the hook-up pillars, exposing cables, disconnecting and reconnecting them in the general area around our pitch. They had an interesting method of testing for a live cable - basically just touching it to an earth - if a large flash resulted they knew it was live! They kept saying everything would be fixed in "quelques minutes" - an hour or so later it seemed to be; they got in their van and drove away and the power has been fine since. Today we discovered the unreliability of the internet connection here - advertised as free wi-fi on the terrace outside reception. This works occasionally, when it feels like it, which isn't often! In addition to the advertised wi-fi there are two cable connections hanging out of trees; there are dodgy plugs on the end and these connections are equally unreliable. Sometimes the wi-fi works but not the cables; sometimes it's the other way round; often nothing works, and the failure modes are many. Often the computer can "see" the network but can't obtain an IP address; at other times it sees the local network and gets an IP address but has no broadband connection to the Internet.
Amazingly we got an hour of wi-fi access online before it suddenly vanished. The campsite staff can't help - there is one man who is technical enough to know what an IP address is but he can't fix anything. Apparently it's all the fault of Orange who have been phoned repeatedly but don't do anything.
The site has been invaded by the Dutch; all seem nice people and most speak excellent English too, but the men seem to love being on-line with their laptops and you see certain ones who must spend a good deal of their holiday at it. They monopolise the two cables which are probably a bit more reliable. You know when things have gone wrong though from the general cursing and swearing (in Dutch) that ensues. We only saw one woman at a laptop and she was French.
Eventually we gave up (we were trying to post the last Blog update), took the advice of one of the Dutchmen and drove in the Smart to McDonalds, about 2 miles up the road. The whole car park was in blazing sun so we found a shaded table on the terrace and bought two large plastic mugs of iced peach tea (well, it's better than their coffee). After another hour online we got fed up with it (though it worked very well in fact - free wi-fi and a fairly fast connection) and went back to the campsite for our usual lunch - a rather grand picnic of cheese and fruit. We read our books for a while (it was too hot to be energetic - 38C) and then returned to the Golden Arches for more iced peach tea and enough time online to finish the update, get email and catch up on news from the BBC website; this time we sat inside McD's - it was air-conditioned and, in contrast with this morning when the whole place had been plagued with screaming, yelling kids, it was quiet! Having finally beaten the technology barriers we found a big Intermarche hypermarket nearby and stocked up again.
Our purchases included two enormous (and very good) rump steaks which, grilled on our barbecue, served as the mainstay of supper.
There's nothing essentially wrong with Camping Les Rivages at Millau other than the price (too expensive) and the unreliable net access (this especially annoying given its supposed inclusion in that £30+ a night price tag). But it's just not really our kind of place. Indeed the same can almost certainly be said of the other several sites adjacent to the river on this side of town, though we suspect that they may at least be cheaper. Millau itself (we have yet to explore it) seems to be a sort of inland resort - it is very crowded and busy with plenty of traffic and traffic jams. There are so many Dutch tourists and Dutch cars you could imagine you were in Holland. At Les Rivages you are effectively paying for many things such as games, entertainment (last night a magician, tonight a complete circus, apparently) that you may or may not consider useful or important. There is some rowdiness from teenagers, some of them high on drink, drugs or both, and this is occasionally the case at night (we were woken by screaming and yelling at 4am) but this is so far confined to the "play" areas between Reception and the swimming pools. To be fair to Les Rivages it has a good layout with large, marked pitches and is basically well-run, with clean and just-adequate sanitary blocks. For a family with children of any age it would be a good choice but it is perhaps less suitable for those putting tranquillity or value-for-money high on their list of priorities. As far as we're concerned, so far, it's a good base from which to explore the area, fine for a week.
Our pitch at Camping Les Rivages:
Saturday 1 August 2009
It was even hotter today and the humidity had increased markedly too so we were back to living in a permanent sauna! We walked into the town of Millau from the campsite - about a mile with very little shade. The older part of the town is interesting and pretty with narrow streets and several large squares. One of these, the Place du Marechal Foch is lined with bars, cafes and restaurants; the tree-shaded central part of the square is filled with tables used by these establishments to extend their own ouside terraces. We were tempted into lunch at the Restaurant Les Arcades in one corner of the square, having decided that the menus represented good value. This was indeed the case and we enjoyed a good lunch in the shade of one of several huge parasols; in spite of the shade it was very hot - it would have been unbearable in the sun. But soon after ordering a breeze sprang up from nowhere, and just as our starters arrived there was a huge gust of wind; it was very strong - we would estimate well over 60mph. This blew tables throughout the square all over the place - they were bowling along like leaves in a breeze! Glassware stacked on some tables ready for lunchtime went crashing to the ground. A crowd of men in the "drinking bar on the opposite corner hollered and cheered as if they were watching a football match. The first gust was followed moments later by a second and then a third. This went on for some time - menus flew through the air like kites, whole tables went over, large signs and menu boards took off and became seriously dodgy projectiles. Cafe and restaurant staff rushed around rescuing displaced objects, stacking chairs together to give them weight, dismantling signboards, sweeping up broken glass and china. The breeze became a strong wind, the gusts even more forceful. Waiters made haste to tie down parasols with extra ropes. At our table everything proceeded as if nothing had changed, starters were eaten, main courses arrived and were eaten in their turn. Although we had to hold things down on the table (especially the bottle of wine) we struggled through creme-brulee desserts and finished our lunch unscathed. By the end the background wind was a veritable gale yet the gusts blew still stronger - one every few minutes. We asked the man who was clearly the boss of our restaurant if this sort of thing happens often. He replied that it did not, but that when it did, it always preceded "les grands orages" (big storms).
In spite of the wind it was hard to imagine storms in the offing as the sky was still unbroken blue and the sun shone as brightly as ever. After lunch we walked around the old town, still in searing heat, and the wind seemingly abated; we returned to the campsite feeling exhausted.
Millau - several hours before the great storm:
After a siesta we awoke to a cloudy overcast. It was still warm and the weather looked increasingly threatening to the South and West. We decided that we would take the Smart up the typical small, twisting mountain road to the viewpoint at Brunas overlooking "le Viaduc". The panorama from the viewing area at the top was thrilling with Norman Foster's elegantly suspended spans outlined against a dramatic and stormy sky, though photography against the light benefitted from a slightly lower altitude which improved the perspective of the bridge as well:
We were inspired to drive across this extraordinary structure and made our way via the RN9 to Junction 47 on the A75, then crossing the bridge from South to North, the surrounding skies appearing even stormier with the first flashes of lightning on the distant horizon:
Leaving the motorway at Junction 45, we drove back through Millau as we had first arrived, on the D911 and returned to the campsite where we decided to live dangerously (in terms of the rapidly developing weather) and eat outside. In a rare example of perfect timing we ate as the storm grew in ferocity with an ink-black sky, near-continuous flashes of sheet lightning and uninterrupted rumbles of thunder, yet remained devoid of rain so we remained dry. We had just finished and cleared the table when M pushed her luck too far and set off with a bowl of "vaiselles" towards the washing up sinks, announcing that she'd be back before it rained. Never tempt fate like that! R had just put the table and chairs inside as the first drops fell; within seconds this became a torrent. M, fortunately wearing her bikini, heroically finished the washing-up and got a free shower as well, being completely soaked in the one minute walk back.
The downpour continued for several hours turning the campsite roads into rivers and creating several small lakes, one around our electricity pole - amazingly the supply kept going though this was probably helped by M's continuing heroism (well she was completely soaked anyway!) in rescuing the adaptor/connector in our supply lead and placing it atop the pillar just as it was about to be totally submerged. We felt sorry for several tent campers who had unwittingly settled in what could now be seen as hollows in the ground. This was another impressive storm, the rumbles becoming cracks and crashes and the flashes illuminating the night sky, the distant mountains and the immediate surroundings in a weird, bluish daylight.
Eventually we slept but woke again several times to hear the rain, still hammering on the roof although with reduced force. "Un Grand Orage" indeed!
Sunday 2 August 2009
After last night's storms the weather had become much cooler, predictably, and in fact much more pleasant; a mixture of cloud and sunshine and temperatures between 19 and 23C. We set off around noon on a long but splendid drive in the Smart to explore the Gorges of the Dourbie, Jonte and Tarn. Camping Les Rivages is in fact on the North bank of the River Dourbie, a kilometre or so before it joins the larger (and better known) Tarn. So turning right out of the campsite we followed the twisting but well-engineered D991 though the Dourbie gorges, our first sight of startling rock formations in a day full of similar sights. Just North of Nant we turned left from the D991 onto the smaller D145, climbing through the pretty hamlet of Cantobre:
and then through remote, hilly country on small mountain roads eventually emerging from the D252 to turn left again on the D986 to Meyrueis. On the way, somewhere near a tiny place called Espinassous, we recognised the road we were on as one used (in the opposite direction) in the rally we had done in our MG Midget in the autumn of 2004. We also recognised a turning off marked by a sign as "dangerous and difficult" as the part of the route where we had become airborne in the Midget and lost our sumpguard upon landing again - no we didn't take this road this time!
Through Meyrueis, busy with Sunday lunchers -we'd had such a big breakfast we didn't feel hungry - and then on the D996 through the "Gorges de la Jonte":
to Le Rozier where we stopped for a break. By now we were a bit hungrier but it was too late for lunch at a restaurant and we had forgotten to bring a picnic with us. So we filled the gap with an ice cream and then walked up the steep hill and steps into the pretty village of Peyreleau:
After exploring this and taking photos we returned to Le Rozier and continued our drive, following the road along the famous "Gorges du Tarn" from South to North as far as Sainte-Enimie. Here we became more adventurous in terms of driving, having found the valley road very busy and rather stressful. We crossed the river at Ste.-Enimie and took the hill road through St. Chely du Tarn (the D986 again) as far as its intersection with the smaller D16, turning right (West) here back towards the Tarn gorge. Then another right turn off the D16 to take the steep multi-hairpinned descent to La Malene, with its bridge, in the gorge; this is marked red and white on the Michelin maps ("parcours difficile ou dangereux") and M was as nervous as we both expected. But it was fine - difficult only in the sense of requiring a lot of concentration, and as for "dangerous" - well, not at all really; it was too well-made to be truly dangerous; narrow in places yes, and with some fearsome hairpins giving onto high and precipitous drops, but with frequent passing-places and enough protection on the outside to be pschologically reassuring at least (would a wooden rail really stop a vehicle that had lost its brakes? M prefers the old Armco!). Brilliant in a Smart and an absolute no-go in a large vehicle or if towing!
Re-crossing the Tarn at La Malene we climbed back up the hills on the Northern/Western side of the gorge and made our way around to the famous viewpoint at Point Sublime (more photos, more ice creams) then descending again on the D46 and D995 to the bottom of the gorge at Les Vignes. Crossing the bridge here put us back on the East side of the gorge and on the small D16 making another hairpinned ascent, part of which is marked red and white but, again, is just fine for a normal car. But the D16 itself heads in entirely the wrong direction for getting back to Millau so our intention (or rather R's intention) was to turn right off it using the un-numbered road in a Southerly direction through the interestingly-named La Bougarie and skirting the village of St.Pierre-des-Tripiers to descend steeply via La Viale to the base of the Jonte gorge. This descent is marked red and white; the road also sports a warning sign that the route is "Tres Etroite" (very narrow) "et Difficile". Well, it is a very long way round! The truth is that R is not sure M has forgiven him yet, for even he admits that in this case you should interpret the red and white as meaning both difficult and dangerous. The track isn't much wider than the Smart in places, it is steeper than you usually find in France, the surface is bad tarmac and loose in places, the many hairpins are sharp, the edges are unprotected (not so much as a bit of wood or a row of bricks), the drops are precipitous and it's a very long way down. Oh, and the scenery is stunning. R risked the occasional glance at M who looked petrified (she says she was), a whiter shade of pale and slightly sick. R admits that this 6Km, taken in 1st gear throughout, is probably the most stressful bit of road he has driven other than the Passo di Gavia in the Italian alps (and that was a long time ago!). We emerged at Le Truel on the main D996 (just East of Le Rozier) with a strong sense of relief. The drive back to Millau was rather lacking in convivial conversation.
Gorges du Tarn:
The barbecue with the usual aperitifs and wine, helped the recovery process. And with the possible (M says definite) exception of "that" 6 kilometres, it marked the end of an excellent day and a fine drive.
Monday 3 August 2009
The weather is now much cooler; there had been more rain overnight and we again woke to cloudy skies, but by mid-morning the sun was making regular appearances. We relaxed at the campsite for most of the day, having our usual cheese and fruit lunch, after which, at about 4pm we set off in the Smart, up the mountain road behind the campsite (to the North) leading to the communication towers on top of the tree-covered hill and onward to the "Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux", an area well-known for it's strangely-shaped rock formations, many of them pillars, stacks and towers. The immediate area acts as a centre for many outdoor activities, including rock-climbing, "via ferrata" and ordinary walking. The road up, another twister but fairly wide, smooth and well-made, gives fantastic views over Millau and its "Viaduc":
also towards the Gorges du Tarn:
The drive is well worth it just for these views and we throughly recommend it - the road is the D110, first left off the D991 (Dourbie Gorges road). After the twists and turns the road enters beautiful forest - this is genuinely attractive and interesting woodland - no dark Scottish forest replanted with dense conifers, but a delightful mixture of many varieties of trees. We stopped at a parking area and studied a signboard showing a circular walk of about 2 miles - from the parking to the top of the hill and the viewpoint by the towers on one path and returning by a second path giving views from the other side of the hill. The path was mainly in the forest throughout and promised some superb woodland walking combined with wider vistas wherever it emerged from the trees:
The route of this walk was shown on a diagram map on a big board and looked quite easy to follow; the board estimated 45 minutes for the round trip. So we decided to do it. The path to the top was straightforward although we began to wonder when the path descended - the diagram gave the impression of a continuous climb - but it soon went up again and we reached the towers in about 20 minutes. The views were even more stunning than those from the road - this is a fantastic viewpoint and for those who don't fancy the walk, there is a side road that allows you to drive all the way there. Frankly though, we wouldn't recommend the D110 in a camping-car or with a caravan, though they are certainly not banned and we do know folk who would probably think nothing of it.
But we were pleased we walked that last mile to the top. The summit is also a launch site for "parapente" (para-gliding) though none was taking place today - the wind was North-Westerly and gliding from here is dangerous with a wind anywhere in the North-West quadrant. But you could get some idea of how fantastic this experience would be by standing on one of the launch ramps and looking out over the 700 metre (2200 foot) drop to Millau below and gazing at the vast panorama with the "Viaduc" as its backdrop.
On the continuation path back to the car we got lost in a wilderness of trees and bushes where the path seemingly just disappeared, and eventually found ourselves on the road down the hill. We managed to intercept the path we should have been on, and walked back up it to see where we had gone wrong as the walk had been well-waymarked with yellow bars on the trees until, seemingly, the waymarks had disappeared. Eventually, after climbing back up almost to the summit we found the place of our error - we had missed a yellow waymark set low on a rock and directing us to the right down some rock steps - coming up these in the opposite direction we found the exact point where we had gone straight on into the wilderness. We turned around and retraced our steps, this time continuing on the correct route all the way back to the car.
We continued past Montpellier-le-Vieux (no time to stop here today - we must return)
and took a small road descending to La Roque Ste-Marguerite in the Dourbie gorge, then turning right to head back to Millau. After a quick trip to Super-U to buy meat for this evening's barbecue and for another couple of days' dinners, we drove back to the campsite for said barbecue, the sun shining once again.
Tuesday 4 August 2009
We set out in the Smart towards Roquefort to visit the famous caves involved in the production of Roquefort cheese. With the "invitation" tickets given us by the campsite we decided to choose for this visit the caves of "Societe" the largest producer, knowing too that their cheese is excellent (you can buy it in all the main UK supermarkets). On the way we stopped at Super-U to top up with expensive petrol (unleaded 95 was 1.21 euros and that's among the cheaper prices!). On arriving at the large village of Roquefort, a place completely dominated by cheese production and related things, we found our way to Societe:
The visitors' car parks were full but we squeezed the Smart into an unofficial space half-a-car long where we were not causing an obstruction. To our surprise we didn't have to queue for the visit but we were given English information leaflets (very detailed and interesting) and invited to join the next tour starting in five minutes. The visit was excellent in all respects, including a clever animated model showing how the caves were formed from a major displacement of the adjacent mountain, a dramatic "son-et-lumiere" and a well-made film, the latter showing the entire process from the breeding of the sheep that provide the milk to the finished product. The collapse of the mountain formed not only the caves but also the air passages that keep the caves at a constant 10C and 90% humidity. A natural form of air-conditioning that is remarkable in the way it works, it requires only limited and simple intervention by the skilled workers looking after the maturing cheese in the caves, regulating the air-flow by opening and closing vents depending on the direction, temperature and force of the wind outside.
The guide spoke only in French but she spoke very clearly and slowly using a standard accent so we could follow much of what she said; in any case most of the information was given on the English-language sheet which we could read during the visit. We even understood the role of the special bacterium "penicillium roqueforti" in the process of fermenting and maturing the cheese. At only 10 degrees we both wore fleeces in the caves. We bought cheese (naturally), wine, pate and some postcards in the shop at the end of this well-designed and well-organised tour.
We emerged at 1.15pm and made for a restaurant along the street - the Restaurant La Cave de Saveurs" with lunch in mind. It was very hot outside but there was just one unoccupied table on the shaded terrace with views over the valley and mountain, so we sat at it and waited to be served. And waited! The excuse was that the waitress had thought we were friends with the people at the adjacent table, more than halfway through their meal when we arrived! We were not the only ones afflicted by the problems here - everywhere people were being offered meals or drinks ordered by others; when our adjacent "friends" (who were French) asked for their bill, it took them more than 20 minutes to be able to pay it. The place made Fawlty Towers look a model of efficiency. The waitress apologised for her mistake and our wait (it was about half an hour before she realised that - yes - we did actually want to eat - that was why we had sat at a table!). Gradually things like place mats, cutlery, glasses, a carafe of water appeared. Bread did not, and never did, though everyone else seemed to have some. At last two menus were brought and we were invited to order: we tried to avoid any misunderstanding by pointing to exactly what we wanted for starters and main courses. The waitress spoke French very quickly and in a strange accent, also swallowing her words - she was as difficult to follow as the guide in the Caves had been clear. We asked for bread - she said "oui" but obviously meant "non" as none came. The next surprise (this was a lunch of surprises) was that R was given a closed soup dish to accompany M's starter salad - he had ordered Gazpacho (a cold soup, very refreshing in hot weather) but when he lifted the lid (the waitress had vanished by this stage) he was amazed that the piping-hot contents clearly corresponded to the Fricassee of Chicken he had ordered for his main course (indeed we had both ordered this dish as a main course!). Unable to face the inevitable disruption involved in protesting, he tucked in and found it pretty good. But its early arrival and the absence of the Gazpacho made us both wonder what would happen next. The answer - another Fricassee arrived and was placed before M, while R now received his Gazpacho. So he had his main course first followed by his starter! In spite of this we decided to risk puddings and after a long wait received two Pannacottas with Red Fruits - also good. We had ordered a bottle of rose but had to ask for it 3 times before the waitress admitted she had forgotten what it was - it eventually arrived just before R had finished his out-of-sequence main course. As well as the mistakes, the service was generally slow and the whole meal took well over two hours to complete, and was accompanied all around by the gentle sounds and signs of cock-ups being identified, investigated and resolved. But no-one lost their temper, the view was great, the food decent and the rest more a matter of amusement (for us at least) than frustration. At times it was hilarious. The bill arrived (eventually) and we were pleased to note that they had failed to charge for our desserts. No of course we didn't point it out; a negative gratuity was most appropriate. Just desserts in fact!
We walked around Roquefort - the domination of cheese makes it crowded and busy but has not runined it and it remains picturesque and beautifully situated. It's another "must-vist" place and we recommend the Societe tour, and the cheese! Buying it in Tescos won't seem quite the same again, now we've been to the source.
We finished the day with a fairly long drive around the nearby valley of the Tarn where the gorges give way to steep-sided woods and a broader, slower watercourse. We stopped at the pretty medieval village of Brousse-le-Chateau with its 13th century bridge and hill-top ruined castle:
The small roads by the river used long and quite narrow tunnels to proceed through rocky bluffs; none of these tunnels are lit and only one has traffic lights - for the others you must look out for oncoming lights, preferably before you enter. On the way back to Millau we included some small roads on the top of the hills giving superb panoramas across the Tarn valley, routing eventually through St Rome du Tarn and along the back road beside the river into Millau.
St.Victor (near St.Rome-du-Tarn):
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The Tarn near St.Rome:
Our lunch had been so filling that we actually skipped any more food but ended the evening having drinks with English neighbours who had recently arrived "next door" to us in two huge RVs (American-style motorhomes based on full-size coaches, for those unfamiliar with the jargon). They were two separate families who are friends travelling together. They invited us round for drinks and we had a brilliant evening with them - thank you Charlie & Joanne for inviting us, and all of you in the party for your company!
Wednesday 5 August 2009
Today it was so hot that we sat around on our pitch, M reading her book and R reading several French newspapers bought in the last few days, a very time consuming activity as it calls for a large number of words to be looked up in the dictionary; R has taken to writing the words down with their meanings so he can, supposedly, spend time at home learning them!!! We had our picnic lunch beside the motorhome and then strolled down to the campsite's own beach on the River Dourbie - surprisingly it was not too crowded and there was shade in the trees behind it. R went for a swim in the river but M decided to be cautious as the wound on her knee has not yet healed completely (though it is doing well). The river bathing was brilliant - so cooling and refreshing in the fierce heat - the mid-afternoon shade temperature was 38C. We sat on the beach and amused ourselves watching the antics of several dogs, some of which were more keen on swimming than others. The most enthusiastic was a little Jack Russell that busied itself diving to collect stones from the bottom of the river, some of them amazingly large, swimming back to the bank with a stone in its mouth and then trotting up to present the stone to its master! Only to wait, drenched and with wagging tail, for the stone to be thrown back in as encouragement for the next swim.
In the late afternoon we drove in the Smart to McDonalds for an hour or so online.
Tomorrow we move on - just 50 miles East to Le Vigan in the Gard.
Cheers:
The campsite "beach" and swimming in the river Dourbie at Les Rivages
The excellent Societe tour at Roquefort
Yet again, the phenomenal scenery and many wonderful villages of this area.
McDonalds free wi-fi (and a half-cheer for their iced peach tea)
Le Viaduc! Although there are higher and longer ones this is among the world's most stunning bridges, and the tallest of its pillars is higher than the Eiffel Tower. It is a rare combination of function and elegance, beauty even, and is a splendid icon for Millau and the region that must have greatly benefitted the local economy. So here it is again, this time in the sunshine:
Boos:
The lack of any reliable internet access at Camping Les Rivages, Millau in spite of a cost for camping of over £30 a night.
The over-development of the Gorges du Tarn (try the Dourbie and Jonte gorges instead)
Our next update will cover our week at Le Vigan and will appear in a week or so - around 14th August.
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