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PYRENEES REVISITED - Week 1 |
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Week 1 News - Journey south to Pyrenean foothills: After such
an eventful prelude with the birth of our grand- A long
autoroute drive took us through WW1 battle areas close to Arras, past the
cathedral city of Reims and Champagne country (thoughts of a future trip
to this previously unexplored NE corner of France), to camp at Briare on
the middle Loire. The town makes the most of its setting, with the 1/2
mile long canal aqueduct, the Pont Canal built by Gustav Eiffel of Tower
fame, crossing the wide river Loire. We enjoyed a day's walking around
Briare's fascinating canal network, before moving on to Sancerre for their beautiful Sauvignon and Pinot Noire wines. We again enjoyed
Brigitte's customary hospitality at L'Aronde Sancerroise for an extended
tasting session. Our overnight camp before beginning the real journey
south was at Preuilly (Photo 2), a village in Berry where we had
stayed in 2003's heat-wave to enjoy the local wines from the Reuilly/Quincy
AOCs (equally good quality as Sancerre, but more sensibly priced). Continuing our journey down the almost deserted A75, we crossed the 2.5 km long and elegantly spectacular Viaduct de Millau opened by President Chirac in Dec 2004 and spanning the gorge of the river Tarn. The autoroute winds steeply down from high limestone causse country, to the vine-covered plains of Languedoc- Roussillon. Suddenly we were in Mediterranean lands with red pantiled roofed buildings. Beyond Béziers, we joined the convoys of Spanish trucks along the westerly-heading A9, relieved to turn off at Narbonne for our 2 days camp at Carcassonne. Camping
la Cité It was now the holiday weekend of Pentecôte as we continued south along the valley of the Aude, up into the foothills of the Pyrenees. Through Quillan, we crossed the narrow rocky pass of Pierre-Lys, down into the vine-clad Fenouillèdes valley - we had arrived. Click on map for details Our 874 mile
journey from Dunkerque to Carcassonne had cost €63.50
in autoroute tolls, fast but at a price. Diesel prices in France have
reportedly risen 22% since 2000 according to the local paper La Dépêche
du Midi, and now vary between €0.95
and €1.12,
still cheaper however than over-taxed UK. And as fellow Franco-philes will
endorse, there is nothing to compare with the French way of life, which we
are happily re-experiencing. We have also settled back comfortably into
our straightforward routine of life in our camper, with photos of Isobel
blu-tacked up to keep our memories of her fresh while we are away. Our Pyrenean ventures start here in le Pays Cathare - more of that in our next edition. The problem, we fear, will be finding internet cafés in remote rural France to upload future editions. In the meantime, we look forward to keeping in touch by receiving your e-mails. Sheila
and Paul
Published: Tuesday 17 May 2005
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