Monday, September 26 Week 4
Tomorrow 10 °C
Noon 21°C
Evening 18 °C
The weather in Switzerland is supposed to be very poor this week. And here in Provence the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant. So it's quite clear - we're staying.
We don't drive far today, but we do stop for a while on the 18 kilometers because our refrigerator is pretty empty.
Fontaine de Vaucluse with the source of the Sourge enchants us. Today we are even out early enough for lunch and the best thing of all - we find a wonderful restaurant, the food, the wine and the service are just perfect.
Tagsstrecke: Goult - Fontaine de Vaucluse
Distance: 18 km
Average consumption: 9.4 liters
Average speed 35 km/h
Travel time: 0 hrs 31 mins
Pitch costs: Camping Car Park 13.20 Euro, incl. V/E, incl. electricity
Tuesday, September 27
Tomorrow 12°C
Noon 18°C
Evening 14 °C
We travel eastwards through Provence. On the way there is a photo stop at the remains of an old bridge - we didn't remember the name.
With a small additional detour we land in Moustier Sainte Marie again today. The parking space here is now part of the Camper Car Park chain. We have never seen so few motorhomes here,
There are 3 of them at 2.30 p.m.
Great, our favorite spot on the lower floor in the corner is free. We park quickly, get out, look at each other and wrinkle our noses - it stinks badly of dog shit!!!!!!! You can smell it straight away in the car too. This corner must be the toilet for all the dogs on the site, it's sickening!!!!
We move our parking space and park on the upper level. As a fitness program, we climb up to the chapel and enjoy the views. Of course, we stroll through the alleys, look in one or two souvenir shops and finally return to the Pfüdi empty-handed and make ourselves comfortable.
Tagsstrecke: Fontaine de Vaucluse - Moustier Sainte Marie
Distance: 142 km
Average consumption: 8.9 liters
Average speed 42 km/h
Travel time: 3 hours 19 minutes
Pitch costs: Camping Car Park 16.80 Euro, including water/electricity, no electricity
Wednesday, September 28
Tomorrow 11 °C
Noon 19°C
Evening 20 °C
OK, this parking spot in Moustiers Saint Marie is somehow bewitched - it won't give us any water today either! Luckily we don't need it urgently.
We drive to La Palud-sur-Verdon and decide not to take the Route de Crete but to take the longer tour on the left side of the Verdon Gorge.
We pass the small town of Trigance and stop for a walk through this quiet, beautiful village. We buy some fresh bread in the village boulangerie.
The kilometers through the Verdon Gorge are simply stunningly beautiful.
We stop at the Balcon la Mesclaa and spontaneously stop in. The restaurant Le Relais des Balcons is a mixture of museum, souvenir shop and restaurant and the food is very good and the service is extremely friendly, warm and accommodating.
Finally, we turn a little further south, drive through at least four more villages worth seeing (but that's enough for today) and finally end up at a parking spot in Le Val.
Tagsstrecke: Moustier Sainte Marie - Le Val
Distance: 135 km
Average consumption: 9.8 liters
Average speed 34 km/h
Travel time: 3 hours 56 minutes
Pitch costs: Camping Car Park 12.50 Euro, incl. V/E, incl. electricity
Thursday, September 29
Tomorrow 13°C
Noon 19°C
Evening 13 °C
There is a saying: If you go on a trip, you can experience something.
That probably sums up today quite well.
We turn north again and at the first intersection there is a stupid sign in the direction we are traveling - maximum clearance width 2 m!!!
That's unbelievable, it's a busy main road. OK, then we'll just turn right. After a few kilometers we should then turn left. Good grief, there's that stupid sign again. The narrow section is coming in 18 kilometers. We turn anyway and unexpectedly drive through a beautiful little gorge, the landscape is really beautiful. Then comes the next intersection - we have to go right - and there it is again - the narrow section is coming in 8 kilometers!!!
Well, maybe it's helplessness because we don't know where to go anymore, maybe it's desperation, annoyance or whatever - we just turn off, drive on and wait for what's to come.
We have to drive through another of the countless beautiful villages in the Provence. We turn every corner with anticipation, it gets narrower and narrower, if only it could be done. And then it happens - a red light regulates traffic through the narrowest part and it is more than wide enough for us! We didn't see a sign with the width limit. No idea why or how, we are just glad that we dared to do it, the detour would have been huge.
We continue towards Sisteron, which we have chosen as our destination for the day. We have deactivated the toll road and so we drive through several beautiful and very narrow villages and the access to the selected parking lot in Sisteron is firstly narrow and secondly very steep.
Above the cemetery there is a car park where you are officially allowed to spend the night. At 1:30 p.m. there are already a few motorhomes parked there. We take a lunch break and start to think about it. Do we want to stay here? People are coming constantly, and it will be crowded by the evening. Sisteron is full of tourists, do we want to mingle with all these people? How should our way home look in the next few days?
It takes us over an hour until we finally decide to leave Sisteron and go to the
Lac de Serre-Poncon.
Shortly before our destination we make a second attempt to fill up at a Total gas station for 1.58 euros.
The diesel is limited to 40 liters per vehicle!! But at least that's it. Today we also came across "cheap" gas stations again, and nothing was working there.
The reservoir looks completely different today than it did a year ago. Our parking spot, which is actually on the water, borders a dried-up lake basin. This makes for an extraordinary "lake" walk!
Will our reservoirs look like this in spring?
We enjoy a quiet evening with only three neighbors. But we still don't know exactly how our journey will continue tomorrow.
Tagesstrecke: Le Val - Crots
Distance: 201 km
Average consumption: 9.3 liters
Average speed 45 km/h
Travel time: 4 hrs. min.
Pitch costs: Camping Car Park 11.20 Euro, incl. V/E, incl. electricity
Friday, September 30th
Tomorrow 09 °C
Noon 10°C
Evening 13°C
Our first stop today is in Embrun. With a bit of luck we find a parking space and stroll through this pretty village. It is already midday before we really start our day of driving.
In Briancon we turn the indicator to the left and drive up to the Col du Lautaret once more. Today we stop in rainy weather. The Col du Galibier has been closed since today. Looking up, we can see that there is not much snow yet, but these passes are closed very quickly and they are not ploughed either.
So we head west down the Col du Lautaret for the first time. Despite the rainy weather, we enjoy the ride.
The Alpine passes app shows that the Col du Glandon is still open, so we tackle this pass. Great scenery, little traffic, and you could spend the night on the pass. But that's just too risky for us today. The weather doesn't look good, it's only 3 degrees and we're driving on summer tires.
So we drive through equally beautiful scenery down into the next valley.
We don't like the first parking spot we're looking for at all and we're happy to drive another 30 kilometers. The second parking spot is clearly not the best either. There are already three motorhomes there and we tell ourselves that you can't always have everything and are happy.
We buy some of our dinner at the village boulangerie.
And this is what our top dinner looks like. One, two... glasses of wine, a healthy tomato salad and lots of fine dessert pieces. Perfect!
Tagsstrecke: Crots - Bourgneuf
Distance: 216 km
Average consumption: 9.3 liters
Average speed 42 km/h
Travel time: 5 hours 5 minutes
Parking costs: Parking space in Bourgneuf behind the church, free of charge, waste container
Saturday, 01 October
Tomorrow 11 °C
Noon 12°C
Evening 7 °C
We are real lazy people, it is almost 8 o'clock before Hansruedi gets up to make us a coffee.
And by the time we finally leave it is after 10:30 a.m.
We have a lot to do today: shopping, filling up with gas, filling up with diesel
It doesn't sound like much, but you wouldn't believe how much time it can take.
We soon find an Intermarché, so we can tick off the shopping list, but unfortunately we don't have the rosé that we've enjoyed drinking the most in recent weeks.
Next stop: gas station - man, that's unbelievable, a height restriction of 2.80 meters blocks our access! OK, just before Chamonix there's another one, we enter it into our GPS.
There is a cheap Total gas station in Alberville. Well, and there we have a familiar picture again:
hors service - nothing works anymore - everything is empty!
We saw this picture about 40 years ago in Italy. Back then, we arrived by car from the island of Elba and all the petrol stations were empty and closed. We made it to Ticino with the last drop of petrol!
So we continue - an Intermarché gas station sells diesel for 1.74 euros - we fill up for 50 euros.
And the shop across the street even sells our favorite rosé. Time flies and we're not getting anywhere.
Shortly before Chamonix we aim for the last gas station, but it can only be reached by driving a few extra kilometres, and we don't feel like doing that.
But we unexpectedly come across another Total gas station that even sells diesel. 1.64 euros - we quickly fill up our tank.
And time is running out and we are still nowhere.
The parking space for 4 motorhomes in Les Diablerets no longer exists, so we are forced to continue towards Col du Pillon. Just before the top of the pass we turn off and drive along a narrow road to Lac Retaud.
We'll stay here and just hope that the birthday party in the nearby restaurant doesn't get too out of hand. But everyone is here by car!!!!
And just when you think you're almost at the "ass end" of the world, an Englishman comes along late and spontaneously wants to be our cuddly camper. The parking lot is big and we tell him that and he even understands!!
Tagsstrecke: Bourgneuf - Col du Pillon
Distance: 199 km
Average consumption: 11.3 liters
Average speed 44 km/h
Travel time: 4 hours 26 minutes
Parking costs: Parking at Lac Retaud, near the Col du Pillon pass, free of charge, without all
Sunday, October 2nd
Tomorrow 08 °C
Noon 20°C
Evening 17 °C
Yesterday, Saturday, it rained heavily; weather-wise it was the worst day of the trip. We didn't spend the night directly on the Col du Pillon, but at the nearby Lac Retaud. We also arrived quite late and had no desire to explore the area in this wet weather.
We did that this morning and we really liked what we saw. Now that it's high season and the weather is nice, it's certainly not as quiet and idyllic for an overnight stay.
Our journey continues today, so to speak, across Switzerland.
We have an appointment with our Carthago dealer in Arbon on Monday. Our shower tray has a crack and we will discuss the next steps with our dealer.
Today we are driving to the area of our old home. We lived in Turbenthal for 13 years. We are also driving through our old residential street. We are happy about the things we still recognize and are amazed at all the new things that have been created.
At the end of the day we land at our secret spot and are just so happy that it has survived the whole camper boom of the last few years unscathed and is still secret. It is not listed on Park4night either and we hope it stays that way for a long time.
Here we enjoy the last evening of this trip.
After the appointment tomorrow in Arbon we're going home.
Four lovely weeks in France with a short detour to Spain. The weather was mostly perfect.
After the trip is before the next trip. Will we go again this year? We'll see.
One thing is certain: we already have very concrete plans for next year - let's see what can be implemented.
The main thing is that we stay healthy and that is exactly what we wish for all of you with all our hearts.
Day route: Col du Pillon - near Sternenberg
Distance: 281 km
Average consumption: 7.6 liters
Average speed 60 km/h
Travel time: 4 hours 40 minutes
Parking costs: Parking somewhere near Sternenberg, free, trash can, nothing else, except a nice view
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