Let's try that again

Day 56 - Bordeaux (France) to Istanbul (Turkey)

Time to say goodbye to France after three weeks, we've probably visited a few too many "Most Beautiful Villages in France" and are well and truly ready to travel somewhere new. It will also be good to go to a place with less smoking at restaurants, however we are sorry to say goodbye to the friendliness of the French.

Our early start for our flight to Istanbul was made very easy by a direct tram to the airport with the stop only a few minutes walk from our apartment.

Bordeaux airport is definitely not glamorous and the smiling patrolling police passing with the nozzle of the machine gun about six inches away from K was a little confronting. However the staff at the airport, including immigration were very personable and friendly.

The flight was a little over three hours, and as we were landing at Istanbul airport we felt the wheels touch the runaway, then the went nose up and we were accelerating upwards again. There was chattering throughout the cabin as people wondered what was happening. Eventually the pilot made an announcement, that due to flight conditions we have to go around again and it's totally normal". It didn't feel normal to us though, it was another 20 minutes or so before we finally landed, with another 15 minutes or so from there while the plane taxied around the massive Istanbul airport to find a parking spot.

Our next flight isn't until tomorrow afternoon so rather than stay at the airport we decided to try a cheap hotel in the small seaside town of Karabarun on the Black Sea, a 20 minute drive from the airport. We went for a walk along the nice promenade, there were families and locals enjoying the sunny afternoon, though the beach was quite dirty with a lot of washed up plastic. It looks like there's a bit of development underway, as the promenade isn't quite finished, presumably the proximity to the new airport has given the area a boost.

Rained out

Day 55 - Bordeaux

Heavy rain and a chill in the air put a dampener on things today. We spent some time preparing for our departure from France the next day, and finalising some plans for the rest of the trip.

The rain lifted around lunch time so we headed out to get some food, but it started again just as we returned to our apartment. 

Later in the afternoon the rain stopped so M went shopping and also did some exploring, only to be caught in heavy downpours a couple of times, sheltering in doorways to keep dry.  

By around 6 it seemed the rain had eased enough to venture out again so we sat at a bistro by the Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux not far from our apartment. 

Today's rain was quite a contrast to the 20 or so days of almost perfect weather we'd had up to now, perhaps we've timed our departure almost perfectly.

Democracy in action?

Day 54 - Bordeaux

M went for a walk in the morning to go and buy some of what he'd read were Bordeaux's best croissants. He bought two at at only €1.40 (about $2.25) each, they were very good, better than the hyped ones you can get back home, plus he didn't have to line up for them!

During the walk he had noticed there were a lot of police around, and presumed it must have something to do with the school protests that had been going on in France. Then while enjoying our croissants in our apartment we heard a chanting crowd, we went outside to check and saw hundreds of students and teachers protesting, it all seemed peaceful enough. M went for another walk across the river later and ran into the protest again, it seemed to have increased significantly in size.

We then both went to see the sights of Bordeaux, while walking the streets it seemed very quiet, and there were police everywhere. There were a group of them in riot gear that just seemed to be hanging around, M took a photo but we didn't think too much of it.

Then a couple of minutes later they all ran past us towards the protest coming down the street, firing shots as they went. We could see gas canisters of some sort being launched, M moved up to get some photos and video of what was going on, K followed not too far behind. We could then both feel some irritation, dry throat and a chemical sort of smell, not sure if the gas was tear gas, it did have a minor effect on us for just a short time, but we moved out of the area so it didn't last long. 

From there we headed away from the action towards the more touristy part of town to see major monuments and buildings like Place de la Bourse and Fontaine des Trois Grâces. Miroir d'eau is very shallow area of water where those places are reflected, but there were too many people (and dogs) walking through to get any great photos.

We wandered back through town, encountering plenty more police along the way, there were small groups of protesters wandering around but no more encounters like what we'd seen earlier. 

Later on as we sat at a cafe in the plaza near the cathedral, it started pouring rain. We had read that the great run of weather we'd been having was going to end, but it arrived a bit earlier than we'd expected. 

I hope you're going to clean up after yourself

Day 53 - Bergerac to Bordeaux

Our last day of driving as we leave Bergerac headed for Bordeaux. We stopped at Saint-Émilion for a quick look around as well as a coffee and a bite to eat, finding once again though that these tourist towns appear to be geared towards larger restaurant meals. We are also in serious wine country now so there were numerous expensive looking wine shops with giant bottles of red wine. We finally found a little cafe/patisserie in a courtyard, but winced when our two cinnamon scrolls and two "flat whites" cost €25 ($40 ... ouch!).

While driving to Bordeaux we were reflecting on our three week road trip of southern France and how it was easier than expected. Google Maps of course has made navigation around the world much easier for quite a while now, but combined with ChatGPT to not only plan itineraries and daily routes but to give us guidance on things like where we should park, it takes all the stress and angst out of driving on the other side of the world.

We are staying three nights in Bordeaux but we have to return our rental car to the airport first. As our apartment allowed for early luggage drop off we stopped on the way through, but were taken aback when we walked in and found the cleaner lying on the couch eating a toasted sandwich while scrolling on their phone ... I wonder if they're paid by the hour?

Filling up with petrol in France has not been so easy, the majority of the service stations are unmanned and we've found that most of them don't accept our credit cards so we've been constantly driving around trying different stations and ending up paying a lot more per litre at a manned station. On top of that 85% of stations in the Bordeaux area are out of at least one type of fuel, as France is in a nationwide fuel crisis due to the Middle East issues and panic buying. It took an hour of driving and four service stations before we found one that had the right fuel and accepted our cards.

After dropping the car off we caught the tram back into the city, did some grocery shopping and settled into our apartment a hundred metres from the very impressive cathedral.

All I want is a sandwich

Day 52 - Sarlat-la-Canéda to Bergerac

After a morning coffee in the town square and a final look at the gorgeous Sarlat we drove via Domme to La Roque Gageac, another of "France's Most Beautiful Villages", with more buildings built into the cliff opposite the tranquil Dordogne River. 

We were hoping to find something snacky for lunch, but all of the restaurants seemed to offer only large meals, so we drove on to Beynac where we found an ice cream stand that sold rolls and muffins, which we ate sitting by the river.

We continued our drive following the river, all the villages we drove through seemed very sleepy, it's as if rural France almost shuts down on a Sunday, even the major supermarkets we drove past were closed. We finished in the town of Bergerac, our stop for the night. Only one more driving day to go!  

On your feet or on your knees

Day 51 - Figeac to Sarlat-la-Canéda

We continued through the Dordogne region with our first stop of the day at the magnificent Rocamadour. The town rises up in stages along the side of a cliff, we drove to the car park at the top level so we could walk down and take the lift back up later.

From the 14th century cliff top castle ("The Chateau") we followed the path past the stations of the cross, to the holy city ("The Sanctuary"). We wanted to see the famous statue of the black Madonna in the Vierge Noir chapel. There was singing coming from inside but there were no signs forbidding entry so we opened the door and went in and stood at the back. The chapel was full, people had their heads bowed as they were in the middle of Saturday morning mass. We waited for a gap in the proceedings and snuck out, we did manage to see the statue but maybe we should have waited until later.

We then took the 216 step staircase called the "Grand Escalier" down to the medieval village (apparently pilgrims used to walk up on their knees). The town runs along between the base of the cliff and the river, and is your typical French ye olde medieval tourist town (souvenirs, bars, restaurants, local delicacies etc.). 

K took the lift back up to the top while M walked up (not on his knees though), going back in to the now almost empty chapel to get a better look as well as some photos. 

K still wasn't feeling great so we drove on from Rocamadour, via the town of Martel to our overnight stop of Sarlat-la-Canéda for an early check in. We arrived early enough to have a quick look at the weekly market. The town and area is famous for foei-gras, ducks and nuts, so there were lots of shops selling all of those things. The town was a great example of a well preserved medieval village, and it was very nice walking the cobbled streets and looking at the old buildings, it's the kind of thing you expect to see in France but you're not sure that sort of thing still exists until you see it yourself.

Only in France ....

Day 50 - Carcassonne to Figeac

Time to leave Carcassonne but K hasn't been feeling well, so we decided to head straight to Saint-Cirq Lapopie, apparently one of the most beautiful villages in France. 

Because we didn't take the scenic route via Albi it was tollways most of the way, driving through the outskirts of Toulouse before leaving the highway for the last 30 minutes of winding roads to the village.

We arrived and the car park was almost full. However K wasn't up to walking the sloping roads to the village so we settled for a couple of photos before jumping back in the car and driving along the Lot river valley to Cajarc a little further on.

We stopped for a coffee at a bistro, this was the first time on our trip that the staff knew no English at all, but M managed to navigate the ordering and payment process like a natural born Frenchman (with the speaking ability of a two year old). 

We continued along the Lot valley, through villages built on rock walls on the left and the clear, still river on the right, it was a very pleasant and picturesque drive.

We arrived in Figeac and checked in to a hotel a couple of minutes walk from town. We had learnt that Figeac was part of the French section of the Camino de Santiago, which we'd done part of (Leon to Santiago de Compostela) in 2019, so M went exploring to find the route, but then decided to walk up to the Monument du Cingle on a hill overlooking the town.

On the way to dinner we passed a baguette vending machine (only in France ....). It was Friday night but Figeac was quieter than other places we'd visited, it was a nice change to stay in a place that's not so tourist focused.

     

 

This all looks vaguely familair

Day 49 - Carcassonne

The funny thing about Carcassonne is that this blog says we've been here before when we were on our way to Leon to walk the Camino de Santiago in September 2019, but neither of us can remember much about it, although we do remember picking up a pamphlet on a nearby Australian Zoo. 

The walled city and castle are really magnificent, just what you would expect a huge medieval castle to be. It has a large (dry) moat, massive double walls and numerous very well preserved watchtowers. How they managed to build such huge structures in the 13 century is incredible.

K was feeling worse and starting to think she might have covid so M went off to walk the city walls on his own, it was a little before the tourist buses started arriving so it well timed and very enjoyable.

We both explored the city a little later, it's very touristy and the crowds had built up but it wasn't too bad. A little later on M exited the walled city and explored the lower city, ending up at Canal du Midi, which goes from Toulouse in the west all the way to the Mediterranean near Marseille.

The weather had to turn bad eventually ...

Day 48 - Montpellier to Carcassonne

We've had a good run in France with the weather so far - sunny days, mid to hight twenties, no rain - but it had to end some time. We had a night of heavy rain and 7am both our phones went off simultaneously with a screeching alert warning of flooding in the area. The forecast indicated the rain would stop around 11 so we delayed our checkout until then. Sure enough about 15 minutes into our journey westward the rain stopped.

Béziers was our first stop, with the Fonseranes Locks, a series of locks on the Canal du Midi that were built in the 1660's. The sun was shining as we walked up past all the locks to the top where there was a line of boats waiting to start the process of moving down 21.5 metres over a 300 metre distance. It's operated through six working locks (nine were built originally). We had lunch at the cafe while waiting for the locks to open, and it was well worth the wait, we were able to watch the process as each lock was drained of water to lower the boats, then opened to allow the boats into the next section, where the process was repeated. 

We then drove north up in to the hills to the medieval village of Minerve. The village does not permit visitor's cars inside and we had a bit of trouble working out where the village parking was, but we finally worked it out. The village was quaint and very quiet, it wasn't as amazing as we'd hoped but this was probably due to the dry riverbed and the scorched earth, so we didn't see the village at its best.

The drive to Carcassonne was on a windy road and K has not been feeling well for the last couple of days so by the time we checked in to our cute boutique hotel right at by the main entrance to the magnificent medieval citadel La Cité we weren't up to exploring, so we had a quick dinner and a quiet night.

Pretty flamingo

Day 47 - Montpellier

Autumn must finally be arriving as it's the first overcast day we've had since we arrived in France.

Today we decided to visit the Camargue region which is very different terrain to the parts of France we've seen so far. We saw flamingos in the marsh land on the side of the road as we drove to The Maison du Grand Site de France Camargue Gardoise, an eco-landscape with free entry where we could walk around and see flamingos, though from quite a distance. 

We then drove to the nearby town of Aigues-Mortes with it's massive walls for a quick lunch, before heading to Parc Ornithologique du Pont de Gau. 

We had to pay to enter the park, but here the wetland area was full of flamingos, along with herons and other birds, so many of them and we were able to get very close. This park was also a little busier, with a few people with large cameras trying to get that perfect shot. 

Camargue is also famous for their indigenous white horses who have a strong affinity for water and are used by the local cowboys with their black cattle, we saw a lot of these as we drove through the area.

Back in Montpellier we experienced the first real rainfall we've seen in France, thought it only lasted a short time.