Woke up to the sun streaming through the forest and beautiful blue sky. Our animal neighbours in full voice particularly the killer geese who have been confined to barracks today, I fear they may have devoured one of the other gite guests for supper last night. Kiera invited to feed the donkey and pony but she declines. Karls takes up the offer and then goes into cuddle the baby billy goat.
We decide to head to Anduze where we will find a steam train that operates a 40 minute excursion to St-Jean-Du-Gard. Anduze is a lovely town with several restaurants serving the local bull, unfortunately at 10.30am it is even too early for me. Arriving at Le Gare it is hoaching with crowds expectant of the sight of Casey Jnr and the Cannonball Express. Entertainers keep us amused until the whistle and whoosh that signals the arrival of the engine. As it is celebrating its centenary there are circa 25 locals dressed in clothes of a bygone age and singing thigh slapping anthems…reminds me of a scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Anyway off we proceed and within 50 metres have the biggest tunnel of the day circa 1000m and a clear reason why people did not tend to travel at front, we are consumed by smoke, soot and steam and finally emerge with blackened faces. Fantastic journey, taking me back to my childhood when I travelled by Stephenson’s Rocket from Barassie to Troon (or was that just a dream). SJDG a bit of a let down, but we managed to find a Pizza Parlour which had an intermittent Wifi signal, allowing me to post previous update. Heading back we passed a hippy commune with all kinds of aromas, music and dance. Hearing a Celtic melody I showed them a fresh pair of heels only to be stopped when I bumped into an innocent French schoolgirl who was using the road appropriately for cycling, rather than Michael Flatley impersonations. Great journey back in the rear open air cabin.
Returning home our good old GPS system Tom-Tom finds a new mode, goat track and rather than the semi-decent D road that brought us here, we find ourselves heading upwards through single lane paths through the mountains. As temperatures soar both in and out of car, the Tom-Tom lead tangles and rips fascia from the dashboard. Parking next to a steep drop we finally fix and then continue the journey past Sherpas, mountain goats and locals who have clearly never seen a car before. Eventually we make it back, all feely slightly queasy. The journey has clearly impacted Karls as she proceeds to wash the interior and exterior of car.
At night we head to a local restaurant on foot and have a fantastic meal; crayfish soup, foie gras & smoked duck, beef bourgignon, duck in red wine and raspeberry jus, cheese and a lemon sorbet served in a large measure of vodka. The duck was of Billy Bunter measures and I struggled to finish, cheeseboard included the standard sheep cheese which Karls and I love. Not wanting to offend hosts, I perfect a manoeuvre seen in a Mr Bean movie and remove the sheep cheese to my rucksack (have just remembered that it still remains there). We also managed to trash 2 bottles of Languedoc white wine, which went down well. Unfortunately with the addition of Vodka in sweet and a little pre-dinner drink, my movement back home through the forest was zig-zag rather than straight and both girls found it amusing when I failed to negotiate the various speed bumps.
Got back and lit the fire I had set-up and then everything became a blur until my usual rise at 02.37 until 05.03.
Looks like another nice day today and heading for Lavender Museum and a Chateau-Neuf-De-Pape winery.
I assume from lack of texts that St Mirren lost last night, but hopefully we can find a remote wifi signal to confirm my fears.
Interesting Fact of Day - Denim was actually created/founded in Nimes (De Nimes), probably why every second person called Jean or Jeanne!
Orabest
R, K & K
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