IS IT AT ALL SURPRISING that we turn our minds toward our southern estates on this August day, warm here, but sweltering there? We could of course have been in summer attendance at 1rueFB, but for better or worse we have (as you may well already be aware) decided to skip the summer roast in recent years, in light of our experiences of 30°+ turned to one of 40+ degrees centigrade. We note that since this no Fr. summer show strategy has been adopted, forty degrees has been recorded several more times in the Vaucluse. It is just too much if you don't have to brave it out as residents á la permanence. Which we aren't.
No, our minds turn southwards, after enjoying a splendid and absorbing Tour-de-France on television, the race passing fairly close by Sabbers, and up Le Géant, familiar countryside thereabouts (and other places too…) We plan ahead though… anticipate. So here are the two aspirational routes, outward and return, the stopovers, the outward ones already secured, booked.
NB: The return route below has been considerably revised, as a result of 'events'. We shall now return 'another way'…… and earlier, aussi, which will no doubt feature eventually in another post, with an explanation of the why and how of it –– as if you gave (give?) a damn……
Some of my subscribers might like to suck up this detail: please do, if you have your A4 Michelin Road Atlas of France to hand… don't even think about it if you haven't. I suspect it will only be of very marginal interest… I mean, who cares?
The thirty-fourth visit to Sablet then, thought at one time to be our last, but now, well, there will be at least one, or even two in 2026… watch this space.
… so looking forward to it as well, even if this is the thirty-fourth out of … how many… ?
footnote:
On the Autumn Outward route above top, Châtelaudren, some 50 miles from Roscoff,
is included as a tried-and-tested breakfast venue when proceeding fresh off the boat.
The Autumn Return route above has been amended since first posted to include
the Marseillan variation where a portside petit déjeuner is usually obtainable.
further footnote:
Merde.
All the above might be compromised because
some Fr. fellows may decide not to bother providing dock-siding services to our ferry
when it shows up at Roscoff bright and early on September 10th.
Industrial dispute apparently.
In which case Pont Aven might not even sail FGS.
We await further intelligence from the ferry company, obvs,
but Mme Melling has already cancelled the first hotel
to avoid us losing the booking cost if we can't transit to Saumur that day.
[the hotel can take the booking charge: they've got our credit card details y'see . . .]
So if we do make Saumur as outlined above,
we shall need to go on line upon approach to try and secure shelter for the night…
…might even end up at the aforementioned lodging house anyway, after all, who can tell?
So, in the interim we have forfeited our pre-booked security to avoid the chance of irretrievable loss.
Who – apart from us (and other anticipating voyagers on that day)
gives a damn?
