This morning
Roni was up with the birds and pottered around in the welcome coolness of the
morning (SUCH a change not to be sweating from the get go!) until Bray emerged.
On the road again relatively quickly and heading North to France. Pretty
straightforward driving this morning which both of us were grateful for! The
countryside changed as we headed inland – loads of cute villages with churches,
monasteries and castles on hills...we are SO not in NZ now!
Crossing the
border was a non-event for us...we were all ready to show passports etc but all
that happened was we had to drive slowly through all the people shopping at the
border stores. Suddenly we were in France – blows the mind!
Driving,
driving, driving until we arrived in Carcassone. Exciting! It’s like the game
only WAY more massive. Found a free park, Roni got changed as it was actually
chilly and long pants were required for the first time all trip!
We explored
to our hearts content, took lots of pics and generally lived the Carcassone
experience – all except for the chateau et ramparts (castle inside and the
ramparts) as that section cost 8.50 each... The rest was awesome though! Even
saw a cat stalking the pigeons at the entrance which made us giggle.
Back to the
car then on the road again...ready for lunch but thought we would hang on until
a small village in which to eat. Found that location in Puicheric by a fountain
under some trees J
Onwards
again into the increasing heat to Nimes (via a few frustrations/alternative
routes with the GPS where it took us to blockaded roads and during which Roni
had to go for a walk to cool off and
search unsuccessfully for a bathroom). Eventually we made it into the city.
Nimes has
some NARROW streets! Wowsers. Roni’s heart in her mouth many times as the GPS
led us a merry dance to find the info centre...unsuccessfully. We eventually
passed the Placedes Arenes so found a parking spot near the square du 11
November 1918. We looked at its awesomeness (and the HORDES – eventually
finding out they were there for a WWE event...nuts!) then Roni used her amateur
French to try and find the info site. Two Frenchmen at an ATM (NO English)
later and we were headed in the right direction down Boulevard Victor Hugo.
Wanting to double check after a while Roni spoke to a pharmacist (a teeny bit of
English) who showed her a campsite on the map and wrote down the name and
address of it before pointing us toward the info site though he thought it
would be shut – now after 6pm...
We got to
the Carre d’Art-Musee d’Art Contemporain and across the road was La Maison
Caree with street performers, open air dining, stalls, hordes and...the OPEN
info site!! Yay! Roni spoke with a helpful man who gave us maps, leaflets,
information and the correct pronunciation of Nimes (had been bugging Roni
something chronic).
Back to the
car we headed – via a few side alleys to see more sights and hear more music.
On the road again heading to Domaine de la bastide (the campsite)...which we
found just in time to register and pitch the tent before the light went!
A cute tabby
cat found us and we loved it up before eating by headlamp and retiring to the
tent with coffee to check out our photos from the last few days.
An
exhausting but definitely rewarding day!
