It’s hot… damn hot!

The temperatures continue to soar with no respite in sight and now we’re hearing stories about it being the hottest EU summer on record - so we’re out of the frypan and into the fire!! 🥵 Even the locals are saying it’s not usually this hot in June. The fan we bought while fab is insufficient to keep the temps under control at night, so we are purchasing another! We saw a motorhome with a mobile aircon unit and I definitely had cool air envy – you never know after this trip we might out-summer ourselves and become winter chasers…… yeah, nah.

 

From Saint-Émillion we travelled to Fumel to a small rustic campsite. It was fairly quiet but the pool was nice and we just relaxed for a day before continuing on. As we headed further south, we found crusty buildings, old churches and pretty rivers everywhere we looked. Travelling through mountains and valleys to get to our next stop Millau. Very scenic and beautiful.

 


Our next camp site was on the banks of the River Dourbie in Millau. It had a nice pool, bar and restaurant and you could also swim in the river. What we didn’t know is that our second (& last) night there was the start of a sport and music festival, so when the dance music/DJ was still going strong at 2am and sounded like they were actually in our motorhome with us, we were somewhat surprised. Usually there’s a 10pm curfew on noise. After closing all our windows in the stifling heat, we managed to get a few hours sleep before heading off at the crack of dawn to our next pit stop.


 

One thing that we have noticed is the unusual bathroom arrangements here. The first couple of places we stayed in had toilet seats, toilet paper (why I’m mentioning this will become apparent soon), but no sinks, so you had to go out of the toilet block, enter the shower block and use the sinks there with no soap – seemed a little weird to us!! Then in Fumel we had seats but no toilet paper or sinks and then in Millau the toilet seats had gone astray also, although the paper was back!!! Since heading south, the toilet seats are few and far between, so you are greeted with a narrow porcelain rim when you open the door. It’s apparently a hygiene thing but needless to say the motorhome bathroom has become very popular!!

 

Our final stop before reaching the Cote D’Azur was Avignon – a gorgeous medieval walled city. While quite challenging to roam around in 39 degree heat along with at times seeming to walk around in circles, it is nevertheless worth a visit. Our first night we rested up at the bar to the sounds of a gypsy band – which were ok, but more than one song may be a bit of an acquired taste. However cold beer, ice for the wine and a pool right there made us willing to stay a bit longer.


 



We’re now in Saint Raphael staying with an old school friend from Singapore – it’s been 23 years since I last visited her here, and at that time she had a 3 year old (now 26) and was pregnant. Her three boys are now taller than me (I know not hard) and delightful. Cathy has been the ultimate tour guide during our stay ferrying us around the sites of the Riviera. We’ve had family dinners, visited old town Frejus and a trip along the coast to Cannes (wow). We took in the Casino, marina (boat porn), the beautiful people wandering the streets in their bikinis, as well as the very expensive hotels (hotel porn). 

 



Today we headed off to St Tropez – the glitz, the glam, the big boats, floating linen-draped beautiful people – Trap & I fit right in in our shorts and jandals😊. We’re heading to the night market tonight in search of some bargains. It’s just before the main season kicks off – school hols start 4 July – so while there’s people and traffic (LOTS) around, it’s not as chaotic as it could be, apparently 😱.

 

There’s nothing quite like catching up with someone who has known you since you were 14 years old – while it’s been many years, it’s like no time at all has passed. Neither of us have changed at all 🤣🤣. But what an incredibly awesome stop-off on this journey of ours!!!

 

We’re off to Italy next, starting in Ventimiglia, so till next time, la vie est belle.

 

J&T xx


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