Fog, Foxes and Frescos

Well, Autumn has definitely made way for a wintery feel here. The big jumpers are coming out, we've invested in a fan heater to use when we have electricity (no point in using the diesel heating if we have the option) and Jase has been seen in a long pair of trousers on at least 2 occasions in the past week! A sure sign that winter is heading our way.

So this blog, number 30 finds us on a campsite for the first time in a fortnight. We've decided to come in to sit out a bit of rough (wet & cold) weather that's been forecast pretty much for the whole of France over the next few days. More on that later though.

The last blog was written on Wednesday 17th October from our cheeky free spot up the Semnoz above Lake Annecy. Although it wasn't posted until the following day when sufficient signal allowed, for the sake of continuity (in case anyone notices!), I'll pick up where I left off. The rest of Wednesday was a lovely warm one, and late into the evening we were treated to a gorgeous sunset and a great starry sky. This second night was spent with only 1 only weird car conversion for company (Axium with some sort of flatbed rear which had been covered with plastic for windows....!).

The next morning and although cold, it was crystal clear again, so we were treated to the most stunning sunrise.

Once the sun was up though, we decided to head down the mountain and towards some civilisation. We are very much aware of not taking the mick when it comes to these cheeky places, and really don't want to out stay our welcome too much. We headed for the town Aire, and managed to bag a parking spot. This meant we could have a lovely wander around Annecy in the sun, and enjoyed a coffee in a lovely Art Deco style coffee/tea rooms.

Back at the Aire, we made the most of the free water supply and got showered etc. We'd already decided that we didn't like the look of it for an overnight stay, so headed further up the lake to Doussard where we'd been tipped off on another Aire which was now free as out of season (thanks Adele x). We found this one with no trouble, and although it was closer to the road than the last couple of evenings, we were very close to the lake, a nature reserve and the lakeside cycle track. After a lunch and a bit of time in the sun, we headed off for what we thought would be a short walk - I say this because we left our jackets behind thinking we'd be warm enough. We forgot 2 things here - firstly we were still in the mountains and when the sun goes down it gets chilly very quickly, and secondly it gets dark quick too! What started off as a lovely stroll, became a bit more interesting when we found ourselves further away from the van than we thought with the sounds of what we thought were wild bore all around! Anyway, it was all fine in the end, and after a warm up in the van, it was quite a funny situation!

Friday morning was cold but again lovely and bright so we headed off on the road bikes along the cycle track towards Albertville. The ride out was lovely, some bits of riverside and stunning views of Mont Blanc. We enjoyed our picnic lunch by the side of a lovely pond, before turning tail and riding back - all into a brutal headwind! Seems to be the way whenever I get my bike out. I keep telling myself it's because we do so many out and back rides as we aren't staying anywhere long enough to find circuits! Once I was back at the van, Jase headed back out and up what he politely described as a brute up the Col de la Forclaz.

Saturday morning and we'd hoped to get the bikes off again and ride the other direction towards Annecy. However, the weather had other ideas and it was a total white out with what we Wiltshire folk call a "Pea souper"! Misty as far as you could see, which was about the end of your nose! We decided to wrap up warm and headed into the nature reserve hoping to catch a glimpse of a bird or two. We were however fairly wary though as there were high vis jackets everywhere - this is very much the hunting season in these parts. I'm not going to venture any kind of view on this activity, but with what seems like an innocent mountain biker shot not too far from where we were staying, we had our wits about us! Anyway, we didn't need to worry too much, and spent a lovely few hours trekking around the reserve spotting a lovely dipper having himself what looked like a very refreshing bath!

Sunday morning and again a misty start. We'd decided to head off today and towards the Auvergne region near St Étienne. After a bakery and fuel stop (paying €1.55 a litre!) we headed through some stunning scenery. Our lunch stop was by the Rhone River and a lovely basin which seemed to be holding a fair few birds - some of which we thought might be migrating in perhaps.

After lunch we decided the weather was too nice to keep driving, so we spotted a potential overnight spot riverside nearby. We headed up, but found there was a kayak slalom event underway - evidently pretty big business in this area, it was packed!

A short distance on we found another small Aire site along side Lac de Virieu which was perfect. Just the fisherman for company, and a lovely view.

Monday morning and just 2.5 degrees outside with once again a total white out, but just around the corner from the lake, the skies cleared and we saw this stunning gorge.

We picked up the journey where we left off and headed to St Victor-sur-Loire. We'd picked this place from Park4Night as it was riverside and looked interesting. Once parked up we headed off for a riverside walk. Turns out this area used to have a railway line running across the river, but at some stage the whole area was flooded for hydroelectricity. Not that unusual, but at the moment, with the water levels being so low, you get to see what is usually hidden from view, along with the "normal" waterline! Our walk ended up being along old submerged viaducts, bridges and tunnels - really cool.

Tuesday morning and thankfully no mist today, although as soon as we rolled out of St Victor we hit the low cloud again! We headed to Thiers which is apparently the cutlery capital of the world. Fair to say we made the best of it, and the church was nice, but with thick cloud, freezing temps and pretty much everything closed, it's not a place I'd recommend in a hurry!

We headed out and to the out of town shopping to get ourselves a fan heater for this colder weather. When we are off grid we have our very effective diesel heater, but for times when we are paying for electricity it makes sense to use that as a heating source too (not least with the fuel prices having gone up so much). After that we headed into McDonalds for a coffee, but really on the pretext of grabbing some free electricity - we'd been off grid for 10 days straight so the laptop needed a bit of a boost. Once we'd stayed as long as reasonable, we drove a short distance to Vollore-Montagne for a lovely free Aire set by a stream & woodland.

Wednesday morning and although sunny it was a brisk -0.5 when we woke up! The previous night, once parked up, Jase had spotted another free Aire with electricity not too far from where we were. It was too late to move last night, and we were happy enough where we were, but this morning we headed off with dreams of trying out our new heater and having a proper (quicker) hot water shower. I say dreams because we've had a few Aires that allege electricity only to disappoint. Only this one was totally on the money. Situated in a lovely village Saint-Dier d'Auvergne, it was an old campsite which had pretty much been turned over into a sports ground but retaining a lovely parking area and the all important electricity box. Jase headed off into the village for bread and I enjoyed a lovely hot shower (5/5) and hairdryer too. After lunch we had a lovely stroll around the village and countryside.

Once back at the van we were initially alarmed to see some youths hanging around on their motorbikes, only to see them line up the Pentaque for an afternoon's match. Appearances can so often be deceptive, although the strong smell of some plant based relaxant may redress the balance............!

The night was extremely clear, and we were lucky enough to get this cracking view of the Harvest Moon.

Thursday morning and with everything charged up we headed further into the Auvergne region. Our first stop was the weekly produce (and obligatory tat) market in Ambert. The range of veg is always pretty inspiring and this time of year of course the gourdes are centre stage.

The area has very strong cheese production, so we picked up some lovely goat's cheese for dinner later (it was more than a bit pungent so it wouldn't be hanging around the fridge for too long!).We also popped in the bakery for the obligatory baguette and a couple of stunning brioche buns. We then continued our journey, stopping at a lovely lake for a woodland walk.

Back in the van and onto our final destination for the day La Chaise-Dieu (literal translation Seat of God). Our main stop here was the stunning church which houses one of the best preserved Danse Macabre, literally the Dance of Death frescos. It dates from the 14th Century, and is depicts the living from our world, accompanied by death in the form of skeletons. It is a dance because the skeletons dance their invitation to death to the 23 living people representing most of medieval society. It sounds fairly dark, and I guess reading the above back, it is. Both Jase and I were entranced by it though, the detail is incredible, and to see something so old is always fascinating.

We then turned our attention to finding somewhere to stay. The village had an Aire but it was a bit roadside so we drove up to a high point which gave us some stunning views back over La Chaise. However, it was fairly muddy and with rain forecast overnight plus the likely mist from previous days, we headed on.

Our second spot was by a lovely pond where we spotted a couple of what we think are crossbills.

did a short walk around the circuit of the lake, but at the further away point, Jase says, "is that a logging truck I can hear?" We'd parked the van in what we thought was a safe layby, albeit full of logs - it being past 5pm, we didn't think we'd see any action today - wrong! Cue Jase running back to save the van from a logger who didn't care where his logs went!

With that option also being out, we decided to go back to the town Aire. Jase nabbed us a lovely spot and we were able to watch a deer moseying around a field as the sun went down, lovely.

Friday morning and the rain and mist were nowhere to be seen which was great news. Our next stop was Le Puy en Velay, home of the Puy lentil (the first dried veg to carry the AOC). Most of the journey was sunny, but from our height of around 1,000m we could see the mist beneath us. It's this which references the Fox in the title - I saw a lovely description of this scene which comes from a regional German saying "die Fuchse kochen Kaffee" translates to "the foxes are making the coffee" which I thought was very fitting.

On arrival in Le Puy we found a parking spot beneath St Michel's church and we headed straight up to the high town. The main spot here is the Notre Dame which is high on a volcanic mound. Again super views across the lower town (albeit we had to wait for the mist to clear!). It is also probably one of the only churches I've seen with chandeliers!

We did walk down into the main town, but with a fair in situ, we weren't that taken by it. We decided to head on and after a quick food and fuel pit stop we headed towards Naussac Lake which was noted as an overnight spot. More lovely views and enabled us to enjoy the last of the day (and possibly the summer) sun. The lake was teaming with birdlife, particularly grebes.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning was as expected wet. The forecast has always been dodgy from this point on, so we headed to Ruoms, through the Ardeche and a campsite.

Now it's so late in the year, there is very little choice of open campsites, although we've been lucky with this one as it has a nice indoor pool complex plus laundry facilities. We've used the downtime to clean the van and get the laundry done, and now (Sunday) with the clocks going back here as well, the rain is falling, the stew is cooking, the heater is on, and plans are afoot to head to Spain. We'd talked about this a number of times, and although it's a fair way to go (about 6hrs driving time to Barcelona) we've decided that a) who wants to sit in days of cold rain, b) 19 degrees and sun/cloud is much nicer and c) it would be a good idea to have a go in Spain and see how we go as we plan a much longer visit in January. I don't think we need a d)!

So it will be bed early tonight, and hitting the road early tomorrow morning and hopefully the next edition will start with an Hola!

Til next time, stay safe all
J&J x