On Monday, Jan and Mark took us to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a Cathar town not far from Puylaroque, typically built on a crag overlooking the Tarn. Very pretty village, and consequently wall-to-wall tourist traps. We stopped for coffees, ice creams bzw. a glass of wine, and managed to find bread supplies for lunch back at the ranch.
Annie and I spent a little while later in the afternoon in Jan and Mark’s pool: it’s about 10 metres long and about 1,50 at the deep end, so I had a chance to remind myself how it’s done. As ever, after a long interval since the last swim (last July on board the Queen Victoria), I was a bit panicky at first, but soon got the hang of it again.
In the evening we went for supper in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, after a good stroll round the historic centre. Good meal, but a bit on the copious side, which made for another lousy night’s sleep, alas.
I took plenty of breaks on the way from there to our next destination. A fuel stop in Lanuéjouls: ever heard of it? Moi non plus. A pause at Lidl in Rodez to buy sandwiches: they were awful, as we discovered at our next stop at the Lac de Gareloup, where we sat on the beach for a while watching people playing in the water, including some water skiing. Thus refreshed, we headed for Millau via pretty minor roads, including one that brought us under the Viaduc. It’s as impressive to pass under it as over it (though infinitely cheaper).
Our digs in Millau were on the outskirts, uphill from the riverside camp sites. As we arrived, people were paragliding off the Causse Noir, and landing in the field just down the hill from us. Our little cabin was clean, minimalist and air-conditioned, and our terrace had a fine distant view across the town to the bridge. When you could see it. Not long after we arrived, the thundery showers began, and continued for a good hour, letting up just in time for us to walk down the hill for supper. Unfortunately the hotel’s WiFi was not reaching the cabins, so any internet use depended on mobile phones.
After a reasonable night’s sleep and breakfast in the open air, we set off for Avignon, taking a beautiful route up the Gorge de la Jonte and down the Corniche des Cévennes. We stopped to buy sandwiches en route at Saint-Jean-du-Gard, and paused for lunch nearby in a shady spot near the Gardon d’Anduze. After lunch we drove to Uzès for a brief look round, pausing for shandy and people-watching in the Place des Herbes. I’d like to take a longer look at Uzès on a cooler day: fascinating city with a maze of streets and alleys between medieval buildings.
The rest of the ride to Avignon was slowish, and our built-in GPS took us on a long ride round the ancient ramparts. The hotel seems clean and quiet despite its location in an industrial zone in the southern outskirts. Still, with temperatures nudging 40C, we wouldn’t be planning on a stroll round the area anyway.
Undecided what to do with our last morning of the trip. Our train leaves at just before 16:00, and we can use our hotel room until 12:00.
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