Leaving Saint-Bertrand we headed north. Again the Tom-Tom took us along windy roads and though absolutely breathtaking village squares all decked out with flowers baskets to die for! At one Pont we travelled along a road with forests all alongside us. The green ferny foliage is definitely inspiring me for my next ceramic range. I was quite keen to stop for a coffee and Chris, of course, a pastry but the one village we did stop at, called Clarens, proved to have nothing of the sort. Pretty village though.
We weren’t quite sure where we going but we saw a familiar name on the map and decided to head in that direction…Condom. Now contrary to what you think this name is familiar because it was the port we embarked on, for our first barge trip with Cedric and Cammy. Cammy and I had a wonderful lunch on the terrace of the hotel whilst Cedric and Chris took the rental car back to the closest big town.
So back to this trip…. we got on the app and decided to stay at the municipal camping site. It was a good choice. Lovely shady spots, ablutions were good and only 1,5km along the river to the old town.
Of course, WiFi is a priority so we moved the van to get closer to the signal pole. Not that it helped much.
After setting up and a little lunch , and I think a little sleep, we headed off to town along the towpath next to the river.
It brought back so many memories of that barging trip and how beautiful the canal river looks at sunset.
We walked into the square and found a local bar to have a drink. Prices not bad. €4.50 for a beer and wine. But the village was pretty quiet and we had supper all planned so we walked back to the other side of the river to the campsite
Dinner a juicy ‘charolais ‘ steak with pepper sauce and salad! Eating supper late, 10pm we really do need to get back into French mode and leave Spanish mode behind!
The next morning we thought we would head on, and try exploring a few more of these ‘ most beautiful villages of France” villages.
First one was not far and was called Larressingle. It’s got the smallest Bastide (fort) with ma oat in France. We walk around and marvel at the beauty. Of course, it’s quite touristy but not full at this time. Oh now that I’m thinking about it, I haven’t seen many Asian tourists in France?? Of course, we forget our plan to move to French mode and instead of lunch we have an ice cream … damn. Ok onto the next village which is Montréal. What we love it all these small villages as camper stops , or a parking space to just park for the day or you can overnight. Most have a public WC and water and water disposal and a few have electricity as well. It’s so convenient and I can see why the French are so keen on camping cars.
We think we might stop and have a menu du jour as it’s 1.30pm, but although the village is picturesque the only eating place in town is a €22 option and looks quite heavy. It’s a pity we obviously just missed the market, all that was left were some escargot!
So off we go again.
We arrive at Fourcès, again we park in the camper car stop. This one is lovely with green grassy area and electricity. We wander into town and find a lovely restaurant serving many affordable options. We had a great lunch. Again a testament to French ability to serve simple food well. The service was lovely the ambience was great and so we decide to stay the night.
But first, we want to watch the football. It’s France vs Uruguay…. we asked around but guess what no TV. Yes, not one of the 2 restaurants had a tv. So we got back in the van and drove back to Montréal. Here on the square, we find a simple bar and he says yes, of course, he is putting on the football. We settled ourselves into a corner and thank goodness we were early cos by the time the game started it was packed and not a seat left. I must say watching the game with the French around you meant we couldn’t really not support France and the atmosphere was fantastic. Also, lucky France won as the mood was so jovial!
We head back to Fourcès and park our van in a lovely spot. We walked around town, bought some lovely art. The village has no TV but it’s filled with galleries and craft and art shops. I can quite understand why these villages are names as most beautiful as really it’s like looking at a postcard!
◦ We also bought a few groceries and paid our €7 for camping spot. A lovely evening, it was hot and we caught up with family and friends and slept like babies.
◦ We’ve decided we heading to the Lot-Garrone area for a night before we hit Bordeaux.
Parsleys Pursuits 
Stunning!!!!!!
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