2007 France autumn

Posted on 2 December, 2011 by John Curd Posted in — No Comments ↓

A second trip to France in one year – just how decadent is that? We had originally thought of visiting The Lake District in England’s northwest. However, since the weather this year had been so unsettled, and because there seemed to be something approaching Wainwright-fever due to the great man’s centenary, we decided to return to France with thoughts of celebrating Carol’s birthday with some seafood in Marseillan harbour. We hoped to get more settled weather than during our first trip, too. Fortunately, we did.

We never know quite where we are heading but the itinerary now usually features a mixture of something old and something new. One familiar haunt, Damvix, took on an exciting new look when we were lucky enough to witness part of a wedding Marais Poitevin style. The main new dimension was provided by our finally dropping in on Biarritz and the surrounding area in the far south-west. We stayed near Cambo les Bains with some very pleasant views of the Pyrenees and were surprised to discover appelations contrôlées chillis (called pimentes d’Espellete). We had already called in on Bazas en route where we had been taught about appelations contrôlées beef (boeuf de Bazas). And I thought it was just wine – bless the French! Wandering back east along the Pyrenees for our date with Marseillan, we also called in on Lourdes not knowing quite what to expect. The commercialism of the religion was “interesting”, as the euphemism goes. After Marseillan, a repeat visit to Millau was called for to see two wonderful sights; its viaduct (photographable) and a colony of vultures (sadly not photographable). Finally it was time to head back north, through our first real inclement weather, via Bracieux and Normandy, again.

(Trip on Google Map)