Megz and Peter in Europe 2004

France

After we left Paris Peter and I spent five days driving through rural France. We picked up our Peugeot 206 from the airport last Monday morning. We arranged the Peugeot Eurolease before we left New Zealand which means we have effectively bought this car (brand new), and then we will sell it back to Peugeot when we leave in three and a half weeks from now. It is small (which is very handy in Europe) and gutless, but it fits us and all our stuff in easily. It has also turned into a bit of a traveling pantry as we have certainly taken the opportunity to be able to make our own breakfasts and lunches to cut down on expenses somewhat.

The first day we drove from Paris to the Loire Valley. Not very far in terms of distance, but it took us at least an hour to maneuver around Paris from CDG in the north east, to heading in a south west direction. That was once we figured out where we were, as our map of France (that we picked up at the Auckland travel expo last month :) ) was not particularly detailed.

We decided that on this trip we would go camping to keep costs down. We brought our tent and sleeping bags with us from New Zealand. After the freezing cold weather in both London and Paris, we were beginning to regret that decision. But we found the temperature in the Loire to be warmer than the cities, and the campsite at the small town of Onzain was open year round and not very crowded at all. Although after a week of camping now I can say that I’ve seen only one other person in a tent – everyone else is in caravans and campervans. It has worked out well for us and hasn’t really been that cold. Getting up in the morning is the hardest part as you have to get out of your warm sleeping bag.

We spent one full day in the Loire Valley, visiting several chateaux, and one winery. There are vineyards everywhere and loads of them have wine tasting (degustation). But it’s difficult when you don’t really know the customs – I feel uncomfortable enough in NZ when you go to a vineyard and don’t buy any wine. So we only went to one place, and that was the one recommended by the manager of the campsite. Bought two bottles, a red and a white, and it came to only 10 Euros (NZ$20). Not bad prices. Found out later that you can buy wine in the supermarkets for as little as 2 Euros!

Wednesday we drove to the Dordogne (Perigord) region, which is full of cave systems where prehistoric man lived, and is also the foie gras capital of France. We visited several caves on Thursday and were actually able to see real 14,000 year old cave paintings. It was pretty incredible. They only let a couple of hundred people in a day to see the real paintings, and group sizes are strictly limited. I’ve found one of the benefits of traveling outside of the peak season is the lack of queues everywhere, and in this case we were lucky enough to be able to see the caves the same day and didn’t have to book in advance. They are just outside the little town of Les Eyzies, which in itself is pretty spectacular with not just prehistoric man living in the cliffs, but also with modern houses built half way up the cliff face. But it’s also a bit of a touristy town so we didn’t spend much time there. Also went and saw reproductions of the famous cave paintings at Lascaux. The originals are off limits to the public now as they were becoming badly damaged by the presence of people.

Friday night we camped in the town of Tarascon in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. It is a very beautiful little town, and the mountains still have snow on their peaks. In winter I imagine Tarascon is blanketed in snow, but at this time of year the snow line is far higher. The river that runs through town looks quite full of icy mountain water. This was the only time I’ve really found it cold since we left Paris.

Saturday morning we left France (temporarily) and drove to Spain. But that’s another story…

I have really enjoyed France, and especially getting somewhat off the beaten track and into villages instead of cities. The people we have met have all been friendly, even though our French is very limited. It is getting easier to understand people, especially if the French word sounds like the English version. The guided cave tour we went on was in French only, but we were able to pick up the gist of what was being said, even if we didn’t really understand all of it.

To those people who laughed at us trying to learn French before we left home, and who said “everyone speaks English”, you are wrong. Most people when we ask “parlez Anglais?” reply either “non” or “a leetle”. Maybe they’re just saying that, but they are all genuinely helpful and we have managed to get by on the little bit of French that we know, and with hand gestures.

We have gone out for dinner most nights, endeavouring to sample the local delicacies – sausisson (spicy sausages), canard (duck), local fish, endives and other veges, and local wines. I even gave in to curiousity and sampled the foie gras. I though it tasted pretty horrible really and can’t see why it’s such delicacy. Still haven’t managed to try escargot yet.

We will be back in France again soon, for three or four days, as we travel across the south to Italy…

posted by Megz @ 4:03 pm