Pyrenean Road Trip 6th-15th September 2022

[ronk]

Not at €9.99 / l tho!

Can you imagine the roadblocks and demonstrations if they tried to raise the price in France!

 

[earthdweller]

The gang is almost all together now just one more to join en route in a couple of days

The less said about the width of the entrance to the parking garage the better

 

[earthdweller]

I thought you fellas were driving thro France in a convoy?

We will be we just entered France from different sides of the country

 

[ronk]

I thought the first RVP was the Chunnel then No 2 @ Abeville!

 

[sars]

You all have a splendid trip and of course take lots of pictures

 

[baljemmett]

Morning

Now that looks like a lovely spot for breakfast... It's a shame I couldn't join this expedition after all - it wasn't until [ref]B21[/ref] sent over the details (thanks for that, Peter, by the way) that I realised I'd had a brain fart with the dates and couldn't wangle that long a break. Hope the weather holds out for you all, and have a great trip!

 

[B21]

Day 5 for some…day 1 with 4 of the pack together….

Breakfast in a local cafe.

Andy O came up with a great cross country route from Saumur to Brive Le Gallard…

Heavy over night rain and morning showers gave way to a cool 20c starting out, hitting a peak of 35c on my temp gauge.

Around 3pm I decided to head straight for Brive La Gallard as SWMBO was melting in the heat..

The Grand Hotel in Brive lives up to its name…after an Auberge posing as a Sauna and a hotel with possibly the smallest en suite I’m struggling to recover from the shock of a decent size hotel room…great view of the city..

 

[baljemmett]

Ah, you're now at the point where, had I been tagging along, I'd be tempted to take a quick blast over towards Bordeaux to drop in on a vineyard that's hiding just behind the scrollbar on your map there. It was a favourite of my late grandfather, and ever since the B-word kicked in properly I haven't been able to find anyone willing to sell me a few bottles...

 

[Colin_E]

Your previous night was Saumur right? somewhere I know well & recognised from the pics. Another time if you want a really memorable stopover head west out of town on south bank of the Loire and you'll see the Troglodite houses. Caves cut out of the soft tuffeau stone but often finished to an incredible standard. Think doors & windows, level carpeted or tiled floors, electricity, internet, plumbing etc. A few are AirBnBs - on my bucket list to stay at one sometime soon.

 

[ronk]

Is the group stopping for an explore at suitable times or is it purely a drive?

 

[Argyll Andy]

Nice picture Andy. Croissants for breakfast?

Was that day Stuart, cracking weather so far

 

[Argyll Andy]

Nice picture Andy weather looks good

Yesterday and today

 

[Argyll Andy]

I’ve not been able to get the iPad to hook up until tonight so here’s a collection of things so far

 

[B21]

Is the group stopping for an explore at suitable times or is it purely a drive?

Ron the main focus is the Pyrenees…so the trip through France is mostly a transit….albeit now on nice D and N roads and trying to limit driving to 3 or 4 hours a day max..Millau Viaduct is on the list to view today…

 

[Big Bad Boris]

Nice, I’d love to see that. Hugely impressive bit of kit that viaduct, I remember it from Top Gear

Enjoy !

 

[earthdweller]

From Brive down to Millau via some lovely empty roads and stunning scenery done through the Lot Gorge

Crazy mad thunder and lightning overnight and last night when we were in a restaurant but only got caught for a few minutes in a shower today whilst driving

Bit cooler today only around 29*

Here’s a few pics from today

 

[Argyll Andy]

Another cracking day, up a mad down both sides of the river

 

[Argyll Andy]

Morning Church bells started at 6 this morning

 

[tiglon]

Looks like spectacular road trip, very envious! Great to see the Z family tree on display too

 

[B21]

Day N where N means I’ve lost count…Saint Leon’s to Capmany…two places you probably never heard off..

Saint Leon’s is in an area of ancient woodlands..

Great Causses Regional Nature Park Parc naturel régional des Grands Causses

Capmany is an old fort town a few miles into Spain..

Earthdweller had an interesting route through the hills, breaking the glaze on my pads and checking out bountifully that me new steering and suspension components are tickey-boo..

Lovely family run bed and breakfast in the sleepy but noisy village of Saint Leon’s..

A Chris de Burgh quasi Spanish castle for our next two days..

I’m sure more road and scenery shots from the day including the Millau viaduct are coming..

Car no 5 has had to pull out due to Covid infection yesterday..