Just catching up on some of our early adventures travelling in our lovely Motorhome. We completed this part of our travels in April 2018, before we had really thought much about starting a travel blog. So we have a few adventures to catch up on… and to tell you about,
At this time we wanted to travel north and head back for the UK summer. We did our homework on places to stay and thought we should travel to the Vaucluse region of France. Avignon is the capital of Vaucluse but we wanted somewhere quiet and settled on Lourmarin.
We stayed at this site for just over 1 month. Why? Well, it is a great place to be, great people, great markets, great wine. But also we needed to get a euro residence card. We need this to extend our time in Europe.
Our Campsite Lourmarin, France
Our campsite was just outside the village, about a twenty-minute walk. The staff were super friendly and just couldn’t do enough to ensure our stay with them was memorable. The facilities were excellent with a large swimming pool, Boules courts (French Bowls). They also have a small shop at reception with their own fresh bread and pastries you can order every day.
Here is the campsite address: Les Hautes Prairies, Route de Vaugines, 84160 LOURMARIN.
http://www.campasun-lourmarin.eu/en/
Our Motorhome Pitch
Like most campsites, you can choose your own pitch. We chose one just next to the main shower block as we wanted to take advantage of the internet signal. A lot of parks in Europe include free Wifi but signals can be intermittent. So it’s best to get as close to the source as possible. As you can see we are pretty well set up under our awning with our weber barbeque and outdoor furniture. We practically live outside, weather permitting. Luckily, most of the rain was late afternoon and though sometimes torrential, it cleared very quickly.
Since travelling, we both have become avid readers. Because we are in short supply of space and English language books aren’t freely available, Fabian likes to read ebooks and I just love to listen to audiobooks. Fabian reads almost everything except horror and violence, and I tend to like adventure novels. Writing the blog also allows us to apply for affiliate links. We don’t have many and only apply to those we use ourselves or have a connection with. You will find them scattered around the blog. One of my favourites is Audible and Amazon Company. I use them to download novels, meditation and spiritual new age non-fiction.
Famous Lourmarin Markets
Lourmarin has a great local market every Friday morning and if you are nearby it is not to be missed. We found the markets a great place to meet sellers from all over. There was a lady there from Scotland selling hats and also a lovely man from south America also selling authentic Panama hats for 50 euros. If you saw the state of my current one you will know how upset I am not to have taken advantage of that price. Another attraction for us was the local market bakery stall. The French just love their bread, a very important part of their culture. The bread loaves are quite large and the local baker sells by the weight. Beautiful bread but the line is long and you have to be patient.
Lourmarin Village, France
The village is just beautiful, with its narrow streets, cafes and restaurants. It is classified as a ‘beaux village de France’. We got into the habit of walking the twenty minutes down from our campsite most days for exercise, but also for a pre-dinner glass of vin (just practising my French). As we leisurely sipped and talked over where to next, we liked to just people watch. Lourmarin is very popular with tourists from all over but the late afternoon was mostly local.
Visit to Hotel Le Domaine De Fontenille
One of our more memorable outings was to the Hotel le Domaine de Fontenille. Our budget doesn’t usually stretch to establishments with stars on them but we made an exception. The hotel restaurant has a Michelin Star and like a number of French Michelin restaurants, offer a lunch special for 35 euros and a few euros more for a glass of their in house wine ooh la la 🍷from its own vineyard. Cod with chocolate sauce anyone? The food was delicious as well as innovative and well worth a visit.
Avignon is the Capital of Vaucluse Province
https://avignon-tourisme.com/en/
Two reasons we went to Avignon. The first of course was the historical significance and the second, the wife needed to be able to stay in the Schengen area for more than 90days every six months if we were going to be able to continue travelling in Europe as we had planned. Obviously we didn’t plan very well but luckily found a solution.
How did we get from Lourmarin to Avignon? On our trusty scooter of course. 90 minute on a scooter was not only a cold trip but a long one as well. Scooters were never built for two oldies (even though they are young at heart) on a cool spring day. After we finished shivering it took a while to get the circulation going again! We bought the scooter because we used one for a while living in Thailand and we imagined we could do little trips and supermarket runs without taking the motorhome with us everywhere. Seemed like a good idea at the time 🙂
When you visit Avignon in France, a walk along the Rhone riverside gives you beautiful views of both the medieval city ramparts around the palace and the city (1355 or thereabouts), and the bridge, the Pont d’Avignon which was never finished. Above the Palace, the Dom’s Gardens while not that special themselves, provide a great viewing platform out over the river and into the square.
Nine popes lived in and ruled from Avignon from the 1300s and the city was a major political and spiritual capital of the western world. The architectural heritage is one of the reasons it is ranked as UNESCO Heritage for Humanity site.
I believe the popes moved to Rome in the 17th century but Avignon kept its importance as a centre for business the arts, banking and commerce and a refuge for political exiles like Petrarch (he is a Renaissance poet and scholar from Italy and ‘the father of humanism’… but you knew that).
Another Joy
Another of our motorhome travel benefits is helping like-minded people travel. Have you ever heard of Trusted house sitters? This is where we help. There are so many people that want to travel but have homes and pets who need caring for while they are away. We have had lots of pets over the years but not at present. So we researched Trusted Housesitters and liked what we saw. We joined up with them a couple of years ago and since then have helped our fellow pet lovers travel while we looked after their fluffy loved ones.
Quote of the Post
I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong. John Lennon
