French & Italian Adventure May 16thy - June 16th

Day 1
Day one was spent driving from home to a little hotel just south of Boulogne. This Best Western hotel was very good for the money and we had a good evening meal and breakfast. When we arrived the weather was OK, with quite warm temperatures. During the night thunder storms rolled around and by morning it was raining and cold.

Day 2
We drove through rain and cloud for most of the day, arriving at our next Best Western hotel, this time on a golf course and in the town of Beaune. Fiona had stayed here many moons ago with Simon and Shauna. As the evening approached the weather improved and we had another nice meal at a local restaurant. However, they were very busy and they crammed us in between other punters.

Day 3
Weather wise, today started well and we drove out of Beaune towards some smaller towns. This is a big wine producing area, so we found a small town, booked into a cheap hotel and then found some good walking amongst the vines. We also drove around a few of the well known villages that produce well known wines including Mulionay Montrachet. That evening we had a cheap but good meal in town and then retired to bed. Unfortunately, the hotel had a party in full swing until midnight which kept us awake. The church clock kicked in at seven in the morning.

Day 4
We decided to head off further south as the morning brought colder and rainy weather again!! We headed for various towns but eventually ended up in a little known place called Florec. This small town was highlighted in the Lonely Plant “Walking in France” guide. We found a very good hotel which also provided apartments with full kitchens. We bagged one night and then decided to book for the whole week as the village has a great feel to it and the walking looks excellent. We had a fantastic pizza and bottle of local cheapy rose, which was very good indeed, even Fiona liked it!!

Day 5
Today started well, we found a couple of walks and mode the most of the weather. The temperature was good for walking and we completed the first walk in a couple of hours. We are still in spring time and the flowers are out the grass is still very green. We returned to the town square for a coffee where the day took a dramatic turn for the worse. John checked his phone messages. Susan had called to say that Adrian (Fiona’s Dad) had been taken into hospital with a suspected heart attack. We went for another walk to take our minds off the situation whilst waiting for some news. We phoned Andy and Joy who kindly looked up flight options from this part of France as we needed to get Fiona back to Edinburgh ASAP. It turned out that a flight would leave Nice on Tuesday morning flying direct to Edinburgh. We spoke to Susan (Fiona's Sister), booked the flight and booked the only hotel we could get in Nice. The Monaco Grand Prix is only a week away and the Cannes film festival is still in full swing. We stayed in another hotel for the night as our favorite one could not put us up.

Day 6
Today we drove from Florac to Nice. It was a five hour journey and when we got to Nice the weather was cloudy with spots of rain. We checked into the hotel, the room was so small you could hardly swing the dog!! After checking in we walked around Nice, bought some bread, cheese and ham for tea and then went back to our room. After a we drinkie, we went back out for another walk and then hit the sack.

Day 7
Today we had some very expensive breakfast in the hotel, took Heather for a walk and then drove to Nice airport. We checked Fiona in quickly as she only had hand luggage. We then said our good byes and Fiona headed off back to the UK. Heather and l then drove around the local coast (St Raphael, Agay) stopping off at a local cove to dip our feet in the sea. We the drove to Montpellier and then eventually on to Florac via the most amazing route up and over the mountains. We decided to stay at the local camp site. Putting up the tent was a long drawn out affair as Heather, try as she might, was not much help. Eventually everything slotted into place and John went off into town to revisit the excellent Pizza house and sink a carafe of rose wine. The weather was a lot colder than expected and the new sleeping bags were not up to much as they were for warmer weather.

Day 8
Today was a slow start, warming up took a while, however, the sun was out but John had managed to pick just about the only camping lot not in the sun!! After a locally ordered breakfast of Pain Au Raison, John chatted to his neighbors, a couple from Newcastle who now live in Chamonix running trekking holidays for UK clients. We then tackled the 17 kilometer walk called in Stephenson’s footsteps (John Louis Stephenson – the chap who invented railways). The walk was good but the weather was not so great, dry but cloudy and chilly in the wind. Still the walk was great, even though the books directions were not all that accurate at times. On the way home, we popped into the local supermarket and bought sausages, cheese and tomatoes. That was tea!! After that, John wrote this blog and then had an early night. Fingers crossed that the weather improves tomorrow.

Day 9

Today was not so good on the weather front but was dry if a little cold. John and Heather went walking again and then visited the local supermarket to buy some dinner. The tent had dried out and we had local frankfurters with bread. The evening was finished off in the tent playing Monopoly on the PC. That night the weather was very cold and l had to put the gas ring on inside the tent in order to warm up. Heather had her doggy duvet on so was nice and warm. It was a long night!


Day 10
The previous night was so cold, l packed up the tent as quickly as possible and headed down to the Riviera (Antibes), as Russ had said l could pick up the keys from Lynne’s parents (Dave and Barb) early. The trip down was fine (almost 6 hours) and when l arrived the Antibes the weather was warm and sunny (at last). I unpacked the car, dried out the camping equipment, and repacked the car. Heather was not so impressed with the lovely beach front apartment! Still we had a nice day relaxing in the sun.

Day 11
Today was a great day for weather and the and the day that Russ and Lynne were arriving from the UK for 4 days. Heather and I had some great walking along the coast and were back in time for Russ and Lynne to arrive. Russ and I went to buy some groceries and then we all headed off to a great breach front restaurant to meet Bruno, a business associate of Lynne’s. During lunch we met Richard and Judy from channel 4. We had a good chat about their book club.

Day 12
The weather was not so good today with high winds, large waves and some rain. We went into town
In the evening to meeting Dave and Barb and had a nice meal. On the way back home, a large back van reversed into the front of Lynne’s car at quite a speed. Not a great end to the day.

Day 13
The weather was not good today either. We visited a few local towns and had a nice lunch. During the day, we put on our swimming stuff and bin liners (to keep us warm) and then stood on the lower level of Lynne’s pad and let the HUGE waves wash over us. The water was very powerful pushing us back on may occasions. Great fun!! We also met with our neighbors, Bob and Caroline and their two kids. The evening was spent in town again where we found a good cocktail bar.

Day 14
Another day of poor weather. We visited some of Lynne’s building projects, popped round to Dave and Barb’s lovely house and took a look at a few properties, one of which Lynne’s business partner is thinking or purchasing. We went out to a local Italian with Dave and Barb, very nice!!

Day 15
Today the weather was a little better, but not much. We chilled out for much of the day and l then took Russ and Lynne back to Nice airport. Heather and l were chilling out when the door bell rang. It was Caroline from next door. We spent that evening with Bob, Caroline and the kids. They live in Sevenoaks and are both surgeons.

Day 16
Fiona flew back down to Nice today as Adrian is making a spectacular recovery. They have placed a stint in a blocked artery and he is feeling like a new man!! I picked Fiona up from Nice airport and we spent the rest of the day dodging showers, walking Heather and relaxing.

Day 17
Today, we resumed our walking, driving up to the mountains behind Nice and Monaco. The weather was cold with light rain. We found some good walking areas but the weather took the edge off. The area we found has a large fishing facility with lots of wolves in enclosures. We drove back in the afternoon and relaxed at home.

Day 18
Today we went up to the local national park. The weather was better although the altitude took the edge of the temperature. We eventually found a trail and walk up high. We begun to see Chamonix as the walk flattened out. As we approached the top we were surrounded by wild animals including marmots. The weather improved and we found a lot of great flora and forna. We had a pick nick near the top, within the snow line. We walked back down, crossing some fast flowing rivers. That evening we had a very nice Italian meal in town.

Day 19
Today, we decided to drive up to lake Garda in Italy, as the weather forecast for that area was far better than the forecast for Antibes. The drive was quite long (about 6 hours), but the weather improved on route. After taking the ferry across the lake, we found a nice camping site called Tonini’s. They had small apartments which we decided to use as the weather forecast had threatened storms. We found a good pizzeria looking out over lake Garda. Very nice!

Day 20
Today was not a great success on the walking front! We struggled to find a parking space at the base of the gondola station, so ended up walking quite a way. When we arrived at the gondola, there was a huge queue. So we joined the end. After a while, a German chap in front of us, came back from the ticket booth. Apparently dogs have to wear substantial muzzles in order to travel on the gondola!! So, we left the queue and then spent an hour finding a trail we could use. After finding the trail, we began the walk. It got steeper and steeper until, after two hours, we turned back, but not before Fiona almost stood on a large viper!! Luckily, Heather had not seen it. It was at least a couple of feet long. We spent the rest of the day sunning ourselves on the balcony. Unfortunately, a German couple with two young babies moved into the apartment next door and the babies cried all night. We hardly had any sleep!!

Day 21
Last nights baby crying and the difficult dog walking issues of the day before ended up with us deciding to leave Garda. We hit an internet café and looked for good weather. Florac in France was looking good, so we decided to, make our way back to Florac, but stopping off along the way. The day was sent driving to La Grave, just over the French border. The driving was spectacular, passing many well know Italian and French ski resorts on the way. La Grave was spectacular and we managed to get a steep walk in before the weather changed for the worse. We had thunder, lightening and heavy, heavy rain. We had a nice meal in town in a very traditional restaurant. The rain hammered down all night.

Day 22
Today, the sun was out early and the scenery around la Grave looked amazing with a fresh fall of snow on the tops of the mountains. The drive to Florac was equally stunning with abundant water falls high up in the alps. When we arrived in Florac the weather was OK. We walked some of the trails we had previously taken. We revisited our favorite pizzeria in the evening.

Day 23 – 28
The weather was mixed during these days and we had some great walking, completing the Stephenson’s steps forest walk, the Chaos walk (weather was cold and windy) and the massive five hour walk above Florac where we just missed the most amazing thunder storms. On day 28 we drove to see the Millau bridge whish is spectacular, was also found a great hotel in Melene, a small town in the Tarn Gourge.

Day 29
We drove to Melene, after a very long walk. On our way back to Melene, we took the steep road down in the rain. After arriving we had thunder and heavy rain again!! We ate in the hotel which had the smallest bar in the world. They served Leffe beer, so it was not all bad. We had a fantastic meal in the hotel, which we very quiet. Unfortunately, the maid had been in our room and found Heather on the bed!!!

Day 30
We had breakfast in the hotel and met another couple who had also been traveling around the area and were fed up with the unseasonable weather. We had planned to take boats down the Tarn river, but the water was running too fast due to all the heavy rain, so we could not do it. We spend most of the day driving to a small town outside Clermont Ferrant. The area also has limited skiing in the water. We arrived early and found some great walking but the weather was changeable. By the end of the day the sun was out big time, so we sat outside the bar and had a few drinks. That evening we had the worst meal ever in a local hotel. Fiona’s Salmon with boiled potato and apple was the worst.

Day 31
The day started with blue sky, so we eventually found a trail in a hiking book, loaned to us, by the hotel manager. The walk took some finding, but once found was good. We came across some large fields of flowers with thousands of busy bees. The droning noise was impressive. We then drove to our next destination, Chablis. It took about three hours and when we arrived, it was not as easy to find accommodation as we had been led to believe. Eventually, John asked a chap who worked in one of the many wine houses, if he could recommend anywhere. He told us to follow him and we ended up at the local posh hotel, which was great. We were offered a large discount and an upgrade. The room was great, on two floors. We headed out for a meal, finding a fantastic restaurant, where we had one of the best meals of the French/Italian trip.

Day 32
Today started well, with good weather and a fine French breakfast. We did the usual, making up ham and cheese rolls from the breakfast buffet and then spiriting them out to have for lunch! After much faffing about, we visited the local tourist info, leaving with a walking map. We found a great walk, amongst the many vine yards in the area. We found another walk in the afternoon. However, after about 1 hour of walking, the weather took a dramatic turn and it started to rain buckets. We ended up walking back in torrential rain and were soaked to the skin by the time we reached the hotel. Luckily for Heather, she had stayed at the hotel in the dry!! We went to a local Italian for an evening meal, as Fiona had fancied a Carbonara since arriving. It was the worst meal we have had in a long time. Fiona’s Carbonara was over cooked and my local ham dish was awful! We visited the hotel bar that evening to sample some more the excellent local Chablis wine which tastes even better than the wine they export to the UK.

Day 33
Today started with sparkling blue skies and another fine breakfast. We revised the previous days walk to try and find a compass and watch that John has lost. We did not find them, so ended up at the local police station to report the loss. The police were very polite but would not give us a loss report. By afternoon, we jumped in the car and drove to Paris (Charles De Gaul Airport) to pick up Shauna, who was joining us for a three day tour of the Champaign region. The flight was a little delayed, so we relaxed in the local hotel reception and then picked her up and drove to Epernay. Our hotel was OK and in a good position for town. That night we a great pizza with some of the excellent Champaign.

Day 34 -36
We toured many of the local small, privately owned Champaign houses, tasting as we went and buying a few at each house. Even though we have done this for years, the hospitality of the Champaign house owners still surprises and delights us.

Day 37
Today was spent driving back to blighty, via the channel tunnel in Calais. The journey back was good and we stopped off to buy some cheap boozed at the local beer and wine outlets. We met some chaps on the train who had been at the La Mans 24 hour car event. One of them had a new Aston, very nice indeed. As we arrived back in the UK the rain was there to greet us!! After a while the skies cleared. We dropped of Shaun and drove back to Chaddleworth in the sun. Another great adventure, comes to an end. The weather could have been better but over all we found some great walking areas in France and Italy which we will definitely go back too. The mountains around the bottom half of France are stunning!! Lake Garda is also worth another visit, but next time we will visit without a dog. Heather, did not enjoy this trip as much as previous European visits. She is almost 11 now and she prefers to stay at home. We will now be at home for a week before embarking on our next adventure. Canada, here we come!!