We arrived at Campsite Beauregard at Marseillan-Plage on Friday hoping to stay for at least three nights but we were informed at reception they were only able to offer us one night, but there was a good possibility that a place would arise if we went back to the reception in the afternoon to find out if anyone had checked out. Eventually after three different pitches on three days, we were able to settle in for longer stay of a week and at last we had found a place with all the things we enjoy whilst we are away - plenty of places to visit on dedicated cycle tracks, lovely hot weather, a fantastic wide beach and a few handy shops to keep us supplied with food (not much to ask for is it!)
The harbour town of Sete (also known as little Venice) was a within cycling distance and we made the 26 mile round trip twice in the week, the second time we visited we stopped for lunch in a restaurant on the bustling harbour front, feeling a bit decadent having a three course meal in the middle of the day! But it was delicious and very enjoyable, we finished with our own coffee (we often take our flask out with us) on the route home sitting looking out across the bay watching the boats. The cycling was relatively easy as the track was mainly flat and, of course, traffic free.
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Yummy lunch! |
Marseillaise-Plage may not be everyone's cup of tea, it certainly lacks any of the authentic frenchness we love of their little villages, but the low rise shops and restaurants are not too tacky and meet the needs of the thousands of campers staying in the area (there are 16 campsites!), but the ten mile stretch of wide sandy beach from Sete to Cap D'Agde with the clear Mediterranean Sea is unbeatable.
And what of living all this time on campsites? Many of you reading this may have never stayed on a campsite especially a continental one. When you stay on a campsite a little bit of scratchy grass becomes your home for a few days (or many weeks or even months with some people) you invariably have neighbours who don't speak the same language (it's a treat when you meet other people from the UK). At Beauregard it's a bit like little Amsterdam there are so many Dutch people, but they make nice neighbours as they are friendly and usually speak English.
They tend to spend their time reading their Kindle when they're not on the beach. The French people are less likely to speak English so our conversation is limited to Bonjour or Bon Soir (and wishing I could speak better French!) There are other nationalities- Germans, Belgians, Swiss but they generally keep themselves to themselves.
For your daily constitution the shower blocks usually have plenty of hot water but the push button timer and small cubicles drive you mad! The toilets are mostly standard but you have to watch out on some sites for the squat style they take some getting used to! Toilet paper supplied is a luxury so you have to go with toilet roll tucked under your arm (or discreetly in a bag like we do!)
There are sinks for washing up and separate ones to wash your clothes and most sites will usually have a washing machine, charging anything from 3 to 7€, drying your clothes on a makeshift washing line is not usually a problem if the weather is fine.
The French take their caravan holidays very seriously and will often be away in their vans for months on end, they make sure they have their home comforts though and often have a full size fridge, a microwave and a TV all set up in the awning of their van - home from home!
Campsite life can be very sociable and we meet lots of new and interesting people or sometimes we just have each other for company, whatever, we just enjoy being away and the whole experience of travel to new places.
The French have really got it right when it comes to cycling, the tracks around Marseillan are just wonderful with two lanes for the cyclists and usually a separate pavement for pedestrians, we spend our time out on the tracks with a picnic, our flask in the backpack and then we're out for the day exploring. Some days we might go to the beach after our cycle ride as the sun stays hot until after 6pm. It seems an idyllic life but we both feel we need to move on after a few days we are so used to never staying in one place for long, strange really...
Time now to begin planning our route home so the next move will be heading north to Millau the home of the famous world's highest suspension bridge, the valley beneath is supposed to be worth visiting.
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