Camping la Mer, Cap d'Agde (day 2)

What a fantastic campsite Camping la Mer is. Friendly, very clean, shady and near to the beach.

We're not really beach people. We like to walk along them, but have no inclination to stretch out a towel and strip off. Unlike the locals. 'She's built for comfort not speed'. ' Speedos, more like slow mo". 'Let it all hang out love'. One older very thin lady, whom we called Magde, was as brown and crisp as a cooked chicken wing. Obviously not heard of skin cancer.

Across the sea Spain. The lower mountains of the Pyrenees  visible in the heat haze. At the beginning of this trip we used to tell people we were heading to Barcelona. Obviously events have changed that. Perhaps next year. 

 The supermarket in town was running down it's stock, as the holiday season is well and truly over here. By lunchtime, the temperature 33c we returned to the campsite and spent the afternoon reading and relaxing. Angela tired took a nap, awoken by John's mobile phone ringing. It was Saga insurance checking on Angela progress. Would we be staying in France or did we want bringing home? All's good at the moment so I think we'll stay. The lady who phoned seemed to think Saga would pay for our time in 'le coconut'. Here's hoping.

This evening we watched the sun go down from the beach. The coast of Spain turning pink. We hope in years to come we will be able to remember all these special moments. Our time in the med is coming to an end. Forced to leave because the season ends here tomorrow and campsites will close. We are taking an early train to Narbonne, then changing to another for Toulouse where we will stay on a campsite alongside the canal Gironde. From here we will cycle along the canal to the Atlantic coast and Bordeaux. The area is familiar to us, we were here earlier in the year. We need to be back in Cherbourg in two weeks time, so there's no rush.

Camping la Mer, Cap d'Agde

This morning the first sign of autumn. A light mist danced amongst the trees on the campsite. Once the sun rose it soon dissipated, revealing the river cruise boats over on the far side of the river.

We didn't mind the weather, we would rather leave Avingon having seen it at its best. Angela nervous as hell, was cross with herself that she'd lost her confidence since her accident. She's cycled thousands of miles in France, and it's only been in the last year she's fallen off her bike. Her knee, still healing wasn't happy with the exercise, but we were only going a very short distance to the railway station. Arriving in good time, we sat in the garden by the church where we met a young American man riding a Jones LWB in titanium. He'd arrived a couple of days ago in France, sailing from Poole, wild camping near Wareham the night before. What were the chances of meeting someone from our home area. Being younger and more adventurous he was heading to the Alps, then the Italian Dolomites before cycling to Slovenia. As you do.

Our two hour train journey passed quickly. Just before Sete all eyes were on the lagoons to the right. There they were, hundreds of salmon pink flamingos. Angela felt quite emotional. Even though we've seen these fascinating birds before, Angela thought her chances of seeing them on this trip was unlikely a week ago. So here we now are in the south of France. It is hot, very hot. And we are finally at the Mediterranean! 

We cycled out this evening to the nearby marina and people watched.

A welcome video call from home before we cycled back in the twilight. Just after nine, and we're sat out in shorts and t-shirts. This is the life. Just one problem. The campsites in the area close on Sunday. Tomorrow we  must make plans. We may need to jump on a train and move to Narbonne or Toulouse. We've landed on our feet tonight though. On chairs lent to us from the restaurant we are sat in the light of the sanitaires opposite. Free light, no head torch needed. The Germans next to us seem a little shocked at our chosen seating area. Not half as shocked as we were when the man stripped off behind his VW transporter pop top campervan. Do all owners of pop tops behave like this we wondered?

Camping Bagatelle, Avignon (the return day 6)

So much world, so little time. The words rang in our ears. Whilst staying at Avignon we have discussed travelling using our Brompton bicycles. A modification could be done to make them more suitable for touring and certainly easier to take on a train. It would allow us to move from area to area without always cycling, thus saving time. Today was our last full day here. A visit to the station where Caroline in the ticket office renewed our Advantage Senior discount cards for us. What with her grasp of English and ours of French the whole process was carried out with much hilarity. We are now booked onto a train at eleven-thirty tomorrow morning which will take us to Agde on the Mediterranean coast. Before we leave though, we wanted to walk the rest of the old streets.

The buildings there, some dating back to the medieval times. Leaning back at such an angle we wondered how long before they might collapse. There'd certainly be no chance of being given a mortgage on one in the U.K. Time passed quickly and we took the navette, free boat ride back across the river.

The evening was tinged with a little sadness. Once again we ate pizza whilst watching the moon rise over the town. The view was beautiful. We shall cherish our stay here. Angela is recovering well now, but has been very nervous about walking on the uneven pavements here without holding John's hand. She's frightened of falling on her healing knee. The same applies to cycling, but we will cycle less than ten miles tomorrow so all should be good. Tomorrow we must rise early to check out of 'Le Coconut'. The last twelve days have been eventful to say the least. In two weeks time we need to be in northern France where undoubtly it will feel much colder. The temperature here tomorrow 33c! We think we'll stick around a while in the med. We've a whole winter to feel cold.

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Camping Bagatelle, Avignon (the return day 5)

This morning, we moved our table and chairs onto the empty adjacent pitch which was bathed in sunlight. It has been wonderful these last few days to be able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast rather than snatching something quick whilst we pack up.

The campsite cat, who visits us daily stopped to stare, annoyed when a rival appeared for our attention. Today for the first time Angela felt her injured knee was on the mend. The daily bathing of betadine and sodium chloride doing its job. Her left hand and wrist not so good, still a little swollen and painful. But in time she knows it will settle down. For now she will keep wearing a pressure bandage. When we decided to stay here for six nights we wondered if we would find enough things to occupy us. We need not have been bothered. Each day we have discovered a new area in the town to explore.

Today the 'old streets' a labyrinth of back streets with interesting architecture, churches and water wheels. By late afternoon we were beaten by the heat, around 30c, and returned to the campsite where we entertained ourselves watching the afternoons new arrivals. Did we think the man carrying the plastic bucket adorned with tulip stickers was Dutch? Probably. Not of a giveaway really.

Paella night tonight. Sorry guys in the food truck. We'd seen them earlier when we walked to town, they greeted John today as mon ame (my friend). We think they love us because we always tip them. Tomorrow will be our last full-day here. We will spend.it planning our onward journey which will begin with a train. As yet we've paid no money for staying in the 'coconut', and can't understand why. Perhaps Saga have footed the bill, which we very much doubt. We'll be sad to leave, but as the signage on a campervan we saw yesterday read. 'So much world, so little time.