It was quite a windy night last night, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect this morning – I needn’t have worried, another sunshiny day and without the wind which had blown itself out, a lovely warm one too.
I took the plunge and swapped some of my winter wear for summer wear – not a complete commitment mind as it is only the end of March but hey we are on the Med!
We pottered down on the beach for a while and then set off in an easterly direction along the cycle path that runs along the back of the Aire over the top of Cap Negre and down into the little seaside community of Pramousquier for a wander and play on the beach there….
Thoughts of the day:
I have spent quite a while looking for possible places to stay, heading east towards and into Italy and it is not looking very good. The campsites (which are just opening) are all around 40 to 50 euros a night, which is way too much for me and the Aires de Camping Car Park which have held me in good stead throughout France do not appear to have a presence in northern Italy. So I’ve decided I’m just going to have to jump between the few coastal aires that are available and wing it for a while – time will tell.
Another fine sunny day for us as we brace ourselves for what turns out to be a full day driving as we meander our way down through the French Alps, at one point the sat nav decided to take us off the motorways (which we had opted to use due to the fact that we have had quite a few long driving days and just wanted to make our lives a little easier) and head across country.
However 5 miles or so in down a windy country lane I pressed the reject button and turned round to head back to the motorway. I have no doubt the tolls for this journey will be pretty eye-watering but to be honest I think I speak for us both in saying we just want to get there.
And eventually at just after 5 we arrived on site and without further ado made our way straight to the beach (about 100m away) and then the long day became worth it…
With temperatures of the late teens set for the next few days, we are going to pause and just enjoy.
Thankfully no more snow during the night and the sun was out bright and early to help clear any remaining ice on the roads, it supposedly reached -9 last night, though we were nice and toasty in the van.
After a brief walk to admire this beautiful snowscape, we got an earlyish start, with a fair drive ahead of us…
After 10 miles or so of driving through the snowy foothills of the Juras we settled down for a fairly tedious motorway journey through parts of Switzerland and then cross country again in the lower Juras, stopping briefly as we joined Lac du Bourget with distant views of Chateau Chatillon at the northern end of the lake…
Completing our journey driving along side the lake to Aix les Bains at the southern end and our Aire for the night….
Though a ferocious cold wind was blowing down the lake, the sunshine was too much for us to resist a lovely walk along the shore, before calling it a day….
Thoughts of the day:
The first part of this journey was absolutely stunning Christmas Post Card scenery but unfortunately though the roads had been cleared of snow, any lay-bys were impassible with piles of snow, so you will have to take my word for it!
I am trying to keep my routes as rural as possible, partly because of the scenic opportunities but also trying not to use the toll roads and thereby keep my costs down.
Having made the decision to head south towards the coast our journey took us back into Germany where there was another Police Checkpoint, though again we were not stopped and then very shortly into Switzerland. The border crossing seemed a bit confusing to start with as of the 3 lanes of traffic 2 were for lorries one appearing to be diverted off before the crossing (this had massive queues and a series of traffic lights to regulate the flow) and the other again being regulated through border control. I followed the third lane which then was subdivided to allow those who already had the Swiss vignette straight through and those that didn’t had to stop and purchase one. I had already bought my annual vignette online (about £38 – 40 Swiss Francs) so sailed straight through – fortunately. I don’t know why but border crossings always make me a bit anxious – I guess it is driving into the unknown.
My journey through Switzerland was on the motorway network so not very scenic, though it did snow pretty much all the way through and the roads were much busier than I have been used to. I hadn’t planned any stops as I will return to Switzerland in May so we left Switzerland part way down and headed off into the Jura mountains (back in France) and were soon up above the snow line…
I stopped here to take this photo, thinking that I might not see any further snow – ha – little did I know as we continued to climb, passing closed ski resorts until we arrive at our Aire for the night – yes – another ski resort above the village of Metabief….
Rather a good covering of lovely snow! Fortunately I was able to reverse onto a partially cleared pitch (thanks to someone having left earlier in the day) as the rest were approximately a foot deep in snow and do I have a shovel? We were soon hooked up to the electric and getting the van nice and warm and spent a happy hour or so walking down to and around the village before it started snowing in earnest…
A little later the sky cleared and the sun came out to play for a while before setting behind the mountains…
Not at all what we were expecting but an absolute joy none the less. Let’s see what tomorrow brings though I am quietly encouraged by the fact that the perimeter road way around the Aire has been cleared, as indeed have the roads to and from.
Thoughts of the day:
I do love a good bit of snow, so this has been a real joy and unexpected bonus – it is so pristine and crunchy – especially when you know you are able to get dry, warm and toasty inside!
All the border crossings into Belgium and Luxemburg were completely unmarked – apart from a sign welcoming you and outlining the speed restrictions applicable. So facing Police Checkpoints each time on entering Germany and Switzerland was a bit of a shock, not that I have been requested to stop at any point.
Another 3 country day for us – woke up in France, drove through Germany and Switzerland and back into France.
The forecast break in the weather has arrived with on and off rain / hail during the day and heavy snow forecast for the Black Forest and surrounding hills / mountains overnight, we are off to hunker down in low lying Aire where we know we will have power and water just across the border into France, literally on the other side of the Rhine.
As we begin our ascent from Schonach, we can’t help but try and imagine what this will look like tomorrow….
Indeed had we been able to find a more suitable place to stay, we surely would have hung around to find out – however….
It wasn’t a long drive to the Aire on the outskirts of Schoenau, a small traditional french village and we were soon parked up, right beside Schoenau Lake…
And set off for a nice walk into and around the village, where every one is a farmer – or at least owns an outhouse and a tractor…
Wandering beyond the village we were afforded distant views of the Vosges Mountains – I wonder if they will be white topped tomorrow?….
Thoughts of the day:
Having made the decision to head south, we have decided to use the Camping Car Park network of Aires that we used and got on so well with during our time in France last year as finding decent Aires in Germany and Belgium was a little tricky and Italy looks to be much of the same but only time will tell.
I like the CCP Aire network as they are always gated securely and generally offer EHU, fresh water and waste water and toilet waste disposal and there is 24 hour contact number if there are any problems – you can also see how many other units are booked onto the site ahead of booking online, which is useful especially where the Aire is very remote or in a city.
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