St Jean de Luz

Travelled:27km
Visited: St Jean de Luz
Stay: St Jean de Luz - Aire, free parking and services. Very noisy road and trains (not sure if we will last thd night). GPS N43°23.112' W1°39.780'

Well I think we need to get used to the wet mornings which clear around lunch time, as today started again with rain. After shopping for a map book of Spain and Portugal, we stopped in the aire for camping-cars in St.Jean de Luz. A very busy and noisy spot but excellent position to walk into town. We headed for the market, purchasing some local specialities - marinated anchovies, calamari plancha, chilli olives, olive spreads and a basque cake. As it was still raining we enjoyed our lunch in Bluey accompanied with a nice Beaujolais wine. Finally the weather lifted and we strolled around the very pictureque port town and enjoyed some sun whilst sitting on the beach.

Biarritz

Travelled: Okm
Visited: Biarritz
Stay: Anglet aire € parking free services

We finally managed to get on the bikes to ride into Biarritz around 11 as the weather cleared. Biarritz became popular in the mid 19th Century when Napoleon III became a regular visitor. There are still some beautiful buildings from that era scattered amongst the more modern additions to the town. 

It is also known for its lovely beaches and great surfing. 

We liked the small coves in amongst the rocky headlands, offering great photo opportunities.
We rode out to the lighthouse and strolled over the footbridge to the Rock of the Virgin, giving us views of the coastline north and south including the mountains of the Spanish Basque Country (where we are heading next). 

We were amazed at the cleverly designed port and we then popped into have a look at church Saint Eugenie.

Feeling hungry we had lunch from one of the many restaurants. 

Then as we rode back, we stopped for a drink on top of a cliff, gazing out at the beach below.

Making most of the precious sun we sat on the beach watching people enjoying the public holiday. 

We also spent some time pouring over our books on Spain and Portugal, planning for the weeks to come.

Rainy day drive to Anglet

Travelled:145km
Visited: Labenne Ocean, Anglet
Stay: Anglet - Aire €6 parking with services at Corsaires beach GPS N43°30.427' W1°32.059'

We woke to that rainy day feeling again. We kept ourselves busy for a while but as the rain would not ease up, we decided we would  go and do some shopping and washing. It was still pelting down after we had finished lunch, so instead of staying in Gastes we decided we might as well travel closer to Biarritz. We stopped in an aire in Labenne Ocean but thought we may as well keep going. So, here we are in Anglet and as we drove in, the rain finally eased and we could see patches of blue! We went for a lovely walk along the beach promenade. Tomorrow we will ride to Biarritz....weather permitting!

 

 

Dune Pilat and Lake Biscarrosse France

Travelled: 153km
Visited: Cap Ferret, Dune Pilat (Pyla), Gastes on Lake Biscarrosse
Stay: Gastes- aire €4.50 parking incl services, no electricity. GPS N44°19.714' W1°09.057'

After another walk to the beach at le Grand Crohot, we drove down to Cap Ferret. Unfortunately it was raining when we walked out to The Point to take a photo of Dune Pilat on the other side of the opening of the Arcachon Basin.

We then drove around the basin to the dune, which is the tallest sand dune in Europe, currently 110m above sea level. Its volume is about 60 million m3, 500m wide and 2.7km in length. We were two of the more than a million visiters they would have per year. We walked to the top and enjoyed lovely views.
Today scientists were using a drone to take measurements of the dune, which they will do every second year.

We then drove to the aire in Gastes, situated on Lake Biscarrosse. From our grassy site under the trees we have a view of the lake. We relaxed in our chairs in the sun and enjoyed a BBQ dinner. A perfect spot to stop and unwind for a couple of days.

 

The peninsula near Bordeaux France

Travelled: 188km
Visited: Médoc region, Pointe de Grave, le Grand Crohot beach
Stay: le Grand Crohot - wild- parking area, toilets, GPS N44°47.8560' W1°13.8012'

On the way up to the top of the peninsula we drove through the Médoc wine region. After buying some wines our next stop was at Pointe de Grave, where La Gironde flows out into the Atlantic. 

We stopped for lunch just out of Soulac sur Mer.

The lookout on top of a bunker.

The oldest light house still being used in France.

A replica in Soulac

We decided to do some kms so headed south to le Grand Crohot beach just west of Lège Cap Ferret.
We passed MANY camping areas and we were glad that it is not high season! Sooo many people would be here. As it turned out the parking area had no restriction signs, so we parked, went for a walk over the dune and sat and watched the ocean for a while.
After dinner we went for another walk around and realised the parking and picnic area amongst the trees is quite extensive but there isn't many about, so it should be a peaceful night.

Bordeaux France

Travelled:190km
Visited: Bordeaux
Stay:St.Estephe-Aire free parking, services, on the Gironde Estuary GPS N45°15.850 W0°45.483'

Had a bit of a sleep in and so it wasn't until 11am until we set off, after a chat and goodbyes with Mike and Jan. 

We decided that today being a Sunday, it would be the best day to drive into Bordeaux. The roads into the city were relatively calm as by the time we arrived it was smack bang in the middle of lunch time. This however did make finding a parking spot a bit more of a challenge. But after following a bus down a bus only lane and confronting an on coming vehicle going the wrong way down a one way street, we did manage to find a parking just near the river and the main part of town. And just to make us even happier parking is free on Sundays. So off came the bikes and along the cobbled streets we road, admiring once again the neoclassical architecture of the town, visiting the church, riding along the Garronne river on a stretch that reminded us of a combination of the Docklands and Southbank in Melbourne. We did ride through a few back streets that where not so pretty. The trams that takes you around looked very modern.

The former bell tower of the 13th century city hall.

Gothic style Saint Michel basilica.

Its separate 114m bell tower, tallest building in Southwest France.

Palais de la Justice

Hotel de Ville.

Plugged in and ready to go!

We then set off through the Haut-Medoc wine region (One of our favorites), to an aire at St Estephe. A very large grassy site along the Gironde Estuary (the waters from the Garonne and Dordogne rivers). Seems very peaceful and we are so far the only ones here.

Fishing on the Gironde Estuary