Author: Franco

Marciac at Last

Our June trip to France had begun with ideas of touring the west coast. The weather, however, had other ideas and forecasts of storms rather put us off that idea. Looking for an escape route we considered visiting Marciac but

Posted in 2023-09 France

Add Blue

Our last two tow cars for my beloved Guillaumes have been diesels. They have dragged our Guilaumes around France for 16 years or so. However, even our most recent, which we’ve had since 2016, predates a modern diesel development. Somebody

Posted in 2023-09 France

La Mer

We’re at the Bassin d’Arcachon on France’s west coast largely for seafood but Francine wants to see the sea. Francine always wants to see the sea, in this case the Atlantic Ocean. This area is lousy with bicycle routes, though

Posted in 2023-09 France

Chez Pépé

Time to get the bikes off the back of Frodo. Since we are here largely for some oysters or preferably a plateau de fruits de mer, it was time to go searching for that, too. There is an area of

Posted in 2023-09 France

No Room at the Inn

We got on the road after our night at the Camping-Car Park. Sure enough, in a village a little way down the road was a pleasant looking free aire. The village appeared to have no commerce so I don’t really

Posted in 2023-09 France

Frodo the Brave

Well, brave may be a bit of an overstatement; adventurous may be nearer the mark. Prior to leaving on this trip, Francine discovered another chain of places for Camping Cars [the French term literally meaning Camping Bus] to stay overnight:

Posted in 2023-09 France

Azay-le-Rideau

Right, I had my nature break now it was time for some culture. We woke ourselves up with some coffee and took a leisurely stroll up into the village to the entrance to the chateau of Azay-le-Rideau. The pathway was

Posted in 2023-09 France

Lazy-le-Rideau

From Amboise, we’ve decided to make a short hop, just 50 kms, west along La Loire to call in to see the picturesque chateau at Azay-le-Rideau. We were heading for a camping municipal in Azay-le-Rideau itself and the accueil [reception]

Posted in 2023-09 France

Amboise Marché

On our June trip to France this year we had suffered from a lack of markets. Francine was determined to make up for this oversight and we began by visiting Amboise market. Amboise holds its street market on two days

Posted in 2023-09 France

Leonardo’s Pad

Unbeknownst to me, Amboise had been the last home of the great Leonardo da Vinci, or Leonard da Vinci as the French would have it. Towering imposingly above La Loire river is the impressive Chateau Royal. Leonardo, however, lived in

Posted in 2023-09 France