Travelling south and east we made our way back down to the coast and stopped near Hyères-Plage and the Presqu’île de Giens which looks out over the islands of Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Ile de Levant – Les îles d’Or. We stopped in the village of Giens with views on one side out to sea towards… Continue reading Wind and Water
In the west of Provence
Another week that brought contrasts, changes in weather and more interesting discoveries. As we headed east and south we passed into Provence and immediately saw the changing landscape with stone-clad houses, cypress trees, olive groves and vines. We drove through the beautiful Parc Naturel Régional of the Luberon, a mountainous area with pale golden villages… Continue reading In the west of Provence
Ancient History
Every day brings a huge variety of scenery as we drive to new destinations and we try not to get blasé about it and sharing the driving means we both get to enjoy the landscape we pass through. Every one of our overnight stops brings us a different experience as well. As we started to… Continue reading Ancient History
Causses et Cévennes
As we moved further west towards the Gorges du Tarn we made an overnight stop in the region of the Causses and Cévennes, near Le Vivian, passing on the way scenery ranging from cliffs to mountains and bleaker plateau landscape – all amazing. The settled weather makes it ideal for getting out on the motorbike… Continue reading Causses et Cévennes
Camargue to Cevennes
Our travels along the coast took us next to the Camargue, east of Montpellier, the salty marsh or wetland area where the two arms of the Rhône river delta meet the Mediterranean Sea. From the pictures you see of the area you imagine it is a bit like a sandy version of the New Forest… Continue reading Camargue to Cevennes
Lagoons in the Languedoc
After picking up the trailer we headed directly south past Narbonne to the coast. This is an area known for being windy and a strong Mistral wind had been blowing for some days. Weather forecasts were predicting rain for a week ahead but the wind seems to have kept that moving on so we’ve stayed… Continue reading Lagoons in the Languedoc
Back into France
Although the reason for heading south was to enjoy some warmer temperatures, Joe had a hankering to cross back into France via the Pyrenees rather than the coast. We needed to be prepared for snow and were also mindful of the new ‘Loi Montagne’ that came into force in France last year requiring vehicles to… Continue reading Back into France
A memorable overnight stop
When we were driving south near Barcelona a couple of weeks ago we saw in the distance an impressive and very jagged multi-peaked mountain range and wondered what it was. After doing some research we discovered it was the Montserrat mountain range, part of the Catalan pre-coastal range. We made a note to try and… Continue reading A memorable overnight stop
Off-grid overnight stops
From Javea we started our journey back towards France. We headed inland for the mountain scenery rather than following the coast and we were rewarded with majestic scenery, jaw-dropping views and interesting off-grid overnight stops. First destination was the hills west of Javea and an overnight at the town of Bocairent, a royal village founded… Continue reading Off-grid overnight stops
Javea or Xabia
We planned that our furthest point south on this trip into Spain would be Javea – or Xabia to give it its Valencian name – so we wended our way along the coast past orange groves and through more built- up resort towns. Javea was a pleasant surprise and its planning laws mean there are… Continue reading Javea or Xabia