Farewell St.Tropez and thanks

Friday 12 October

We woke up this morning to clear skies and a calm day. Everywhere had received a good soaking from the storm last night, but in no time at all we were ready to leave the site that we have enjoyed for the past week. Before we left we said farewell to Greta, Luc and Elizabeth, in a way it’s sad to go but actually we feel ready to move on to somewhere new.

The journey through St Tropez was remarkably simple compared to the day we arrived when the queue stretched for miles. We filled up with fuel at Carrefour. As we left the petrol station, as is typical in France, the road markings were very unclear and we ended up going down a cycle lane. It was very confusing and a kindly French gentleman set us on the right road to Le Lavandou. The diesel cost €139 per litre.

We were determined to stick to the coastal road as much as possible and despite the valiant efforts of the Sat Nav to take the mountain road we achieved our goal and we were treated to a spectacular drive all the way to Toulon. We joined the free stretch of the motorway, dropped into a tunnel and were spat out at the other side of Toulon. 

We had not been looking forward to driving through Marseille as it is one of France’s biggest and busiest cities. But we need not have worried. For the first time on this trip we decided to put our hand in our pocket and pay the €2.70 toll to use the city tunnel. It was money very well spent. The tunnel is very long and virtually travels underneath the entire city. The road came up twice only to venture back down into another tunnel. At the end we came out at the docks area on an elevated section and after only a few km, Marseille was behind us. 

Our goal for today was to get to the Aire in the centre of the historic town of Arles. We found the site. It only accommodated 5 campers and this has altered since the book was printed and the places were full. This was quite fortunate as only 100yards down the road was a gypsy encampment and we would not have felt it safe to leave Campy on her own there. As there was nowhere to park we drove a short way out of town to stop and regroup over lunch. After lunch we stopped at the local Lidl and stocked up with essential supplies. 6 x 500ml bottles of pilsner lager for €3. (St Tropez bar price = €5 for 330ml bottle). Box of Cote du Rhone €6. Nutty chocolate (Linda you know the sort!) fruit, salad and baguette.

We decided to push on to our new target for the night - La Grande-Motte which is to the west of the Camargue (mosquito infested swamp). On the journey we passed mile after mile of straight lines of vineyards and grapevines. Not so surprising as we are in the Rhone valley. 

We arrived at the site at around 3pm. It’s a pay site, €11, gated with water, showers etc. We are the only brits and the smallest van as usual.
Tomorrow we are heading towards the border of France and Spain so we may not be able to post a blog until we find a Spanish phone shop and purchase a Spanish dongle. Watch this space - we will be back. 

Thursday 11 October

Shock and horror, it’s time for us to move on....cleaning day all day. We cleaned the van inside and out emptying the cupboards and polishing the outside. Then it rained.....all afternoon. During the evening there was thunder, lightning and heavy rain and it fused the electric box on the site so no showers for us in the morning.