First, we go to the famous Sacré-Coeur and Montmartre. Then, we take the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, walk on the Champs d’Elysées, then Place de la Concorde. We walk through the Tuileries Garden to the Louvre and the Pont Neuf. In the Latin Quarter C. gets something to eat, because the picnic wasn't enough 😊. After a short walk through the area, we take the bus to “Bibliothèque François – Mitterrand” and then the train back to the B&B.
17:49 we arrive at Freschines Castle. We will spend the next 2-3 weeks here as a workaway.
On August 4th, after an eternity, I finally go to the hairdresser, I also get Pablo an appointment for tomorrow. His beard is certainly too long now.
August 21st. There is nothing on the agenda, so we enjoy the hot day at the campsite and by the pool. In the morning, C., T. And I try to catapult our arrows onto the target in an archery course. It's fun and at the end, I'll be able to hit the middle 😊.
The children spend the afternoon with Pablo at the pool and they take part in a water Olympics. Pablo shows everyone how to swim fast, he beats everyone, great! At the end of the day, they win 2nd place (a bottle of rosé and a woodcut board as a prize).
On August 22nd, we visit the “Plage de Hourtin”. Unfortunately, it is 8 kilometers from the campsite, if we had 4 bikes, we could even get there in an environmentally friendly way. Unfortunately, we only have 2 folding bikes, so we take the car. The beach and its famous dunes are heavenly. The children go swimming in the high waves, the water is, as always in the Atlantic, rather cold. At 9 p.m. we are still not tired and we turnup into great table football players, that was fun.
August 24th. Getting up in the sunshine, wonderful! The tent will be dismantled today, and the journey will continue to the next campsite in the south of France. Our things are packed dry and clean and we have a good 5 hours' drive ahead of us. Tonight, we want to check in at the “Montpellier - Plage” campsite. At 5:30 p.m. we enter the tourist resort “Palavas les Flots”. It feels like we've landed in Florida.
At 17:53 we park at the assigned space. The tent bag on the ground next to the car but somehow, we don't like the space. I propose Pablo to go for a walk at the campsite, to clear his head from the drive. On our walk, we find much nicer places that are not fully shaded, but much better located and above all quieter. Upon request at the reception, we change our camping spot. Everyone is happy to live in place O72. At 6:40 p.m. we start setting up the tent and are finished 20 minutes later (we are slowly getting faster). At 8 p.m. we eat, food we have ordered (hamburgers, mussels, kebabs).
August 26th. Surf, swimming, drink coffee, read in the hammock and soak up the sun.
August 28th. The pool facilities in France can only be visited with appropriate swimwear, means no swimming shorts nor shirts. This will be difficult as the children only have swimming shorts and shirts. Around noon, we walk to the village and search one shop after the other to find a bathing dress or bikini bottom.
August 30th. Sunday! I walk along the sea in the morning while the laundry spirals around in the machine and can be taken out clean after 34 minutes. After the hot midday sun, we go swimming at the pool.
September 1st. Ah! We are very happy because we 3 (T., C. and I) are going on a 3-hour horse walk. Riding in the Camargue is a dream. The 3 hours are wonderful, only that I (the only one) feel muscle pain in my butt and inner thighs 😉.
September 3rd, we stay at the campsite and by the pool all day long.
September 4th. Collect mussels, swim by the pool and an evening dinner at the restaurant tops the day. I'm freezing on the terrace; I forgot my sweater.
Today the journey takes a good 5.5 hours again. On the way north, we visit a sight, namely the “Pont du Gard”. At 6:23 p.m. we park our car in a very well-known area. The mountains just belong to us. Our friends are still out, driving around in Switzerland, so we go to the apartment, which is always open, and I start preparing dinner. The reunion is cheerful, and the evening lingers with conversation and wine.
September 7th & 8th. Antoine and Anne have school, so we stay in the village. I write, read, the children play billiards and Pablo reads and sorts photos. I go to the sauna on two afternoons, it feels good.
We have 327 days, 17,743 km, a car service, 2 new tires, gastrointestinal flu (Pablo), cold (children) and countless experiences behind us.
Many thanks to the readers and the comments that have accompanied us over the last 11 months.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qg24GSqEpCvrBz5w8