Day 5, 08 June, Tuesday
About an hour ago as I dipped into the pool, I finally had the feeling that vacation has begun. At 3:30 we arrived at our very lovely campground. It’s located 500 meters from the Rhone, on a little island formed by tributaries. The lovingly cared-for campground is located in a city forest and our site is surrounded by tall oak and birch trees. The location hits all the right buttons – shady, near the showers and across from the pool.
The day started slowly, with a leisurely breakfast until at 10:30 I called the nearest RV supply store to see if they had an appropriate water pump. And let me tell you, there is nothing so humbling as making a telephone call to ask about RV water pumps in French. The first challenge was getting through the automatic menu – at least I managed to find out that they had what we needed but they closed for lunch at 12 – and they were a half an hour’s drive away, so we really needed to hit the fast forward button.
It was a miracle – we loaded the bikes on the first try, got everything packed away and within 40 minutes we were on the road. We found the store with no problem and the friendly people helped us select the correct pump and we were quickly on the road again.
We only had a relatively short stretch, so we avoided the autoroute and stayed on the scenic byways. We were passing through a town with impressive medieval fortress ruins towering above made and impromptu photo stop and then decided to lunch in one of the outdoor cafés along the main street. I was excited to get one of my favorite light meals – a salad with melted goat cheese on atop toasted baguette slices. And the bonus was tasty, crispy lardons.
After a stop in the outskirts of Orange for gas and groceries, our last few kilometers took us through the rolling vineyards of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. My, oh my, are they lovely! Our campground is located just outside the so-named village – which I was surprised to find out only has around 2000 inhabitants. I’m looking forward to spending a few days here, in this idyllic camp situated between Orange and Avignon.
After our swim we just chilled and relaxed for the evening, deciding that it was best not to try to switch the water pump after having drunk a bottle of wine.
DIENSTAG 8.6.
Nach Frühstück Anruf. Pumpen gibt’s aber nur bis 12 Uhr offen. So schnell gepackt in Cooperation ohne Maulen hatten wir noch nie. ½ Stunde Fahrt, Campingplatz bezahlt und ausgecheckt und ratadadong Gaspedal getreten und 11:45 Uhr waren wir da. Kurz div. Pumpen begutachtet ( vorher schon 15 im Netz angeschaut), die mit guter Leistung gekauft, noch ein Nussöl, weils grad da war und weiter Richtung Orange, diesmal auf der Landstrasse,
Eigentlich viel mehr gesehen und So gg 2 Uhr bei einer irren Felsenburg gehalten und nachdem Sara schon sehr lange Zähne hatte und dann ungemütlich wird, haben wir gleich das nächste 0 Sterne Lokal aufgesucht (Sara chevre chaud und ich irgendein Haschee mit Pommes) weiter ging die Reise auf Rue National bis Orange und dann noch 3 km engste Gassen durch Weinberge soweit das Auge reicht zum Camping l’aire de vivre. Beim ersten Blick verliebt und eingeparkt (nahe Pool und Sanitär). Bisschen ausgepackt und gleich zum. Schwimmen gegangen. Noch bisschen geschrieben (ich wusste nicht dass Blog so anstrengend ist) und traumlos ins Bett. Alles hat Zeit und wir haben Urlaub.