Sunday was a beach day Harriet had decreed. Well ok armed with 2nd larger umbrella off we went.

Down on the beach it was windy. Well a strong breeze. Umbrellas were being chased and inflatable unicorns were taking flight…. So no umbrella. I decided to get out the action camera and snorkel and go find some fish to film.

Some big fish this year. A bit hard to see on camera due to the colours but I had fun floating around and topped up the tab on my back.

Monday Montpellier

Montpellier is about the same distance as Barcelona but the opposite direction.

It has an old historic sector and of course modern areas. We arrived and found somewhere to park near the ancient aquaduct which is no longer in use as it finished rather abruptly.

We walked towards Harriet’s first target an old church of course followed by lunch in a very nice square near the market.

We headed for the main square where we visited the tourist information office for a map. Advertised all over the place was a Picasso exhibition. Knowing the girls are art fans I suggested we go look at pictures of women with bits in the wrong places. Now I’m no art fan, especially more modern art. The kind that looks more like an accident than art….. I just don’t get it & truth be told I don’t want to. We saw a Picasso exhibition last year and knowing he lived in Perpignan for years made it a bit more interesting for me, plus you have to wonder what on earth he was smoking when he painted some of these things.

It’s Monday…. I forgot! Most museums etc are closed on Mondays in France! Erm better find something else.

We walked through the Espace Polygonne shopping centre to the modern area know as the Antigonne.

We had been here before and spent a pleasant half hour watching the kids playing in the fountains. So I grabbed a seat in the shade while Halys and Harriet went further. It’s an impressive structure and probably more so in the evening when the bars and restaurants are all open.

We went back to the car via another church and a new shop that Harriet had heard of but not seen before.

The next day was Harriet’s last day and so some last minute shopping, a dip in the pool and a meal at the site’s newly refurbished restaurant.

We dropped Harriet off at 8:40 ish at Girona Airport and waved her off. She would be home at lunchtime.

We headed back via La Jonquera for a mooch and took down her tent and packed all of that away.

Thursday saw us doing nothing much killing time really we went shopping, packed up a bit of stuff and had another dip.

Friday we packed the awning away and most of the rest of the van, leaving just the water, electric etc… To disconnect and set off. We they had another fab meal at the site restaurant.

Saturday we woke up later than we planned but still had the van hitched and ready to leave by 07:30. We called at Intermarche to fuel up and grab some croissant. We both had a bit of a dicky tummy no real idea why as last night’s food was fantastic.

The drive home was long, busy and wet. There were no hold ups but the roads and Aires were very busy.

Unfortunately we saw 3 very serious incidents on the way home.

1. A car had lost control and swerved and rolled. The 2 elderly occupants were out and looked ok.

2. A car totally engulfed in flames. Again everyone looked ok

3. A 3 car accident that looked as if some people had been hurt as an ambulance was in attendance.

It brings home the need to keep alert and stay safe.

I hope you have enjoyed our blog/trip report. It’s the fourth time we have been to Argeles Sur Mer and the third time at Le Soliel and we absolutely love it. The area is fantastic, the towns all have something different to offer. There are beaches, mountains, chateau’s, and three yes three countries within a 100 mile radius. France (of course), Spain and Andorra.
The Catalan area stretches into Spain and so both countries share similarities in the area including the Catalan language indeed some of the road signs and dual language.
Andorra is not officially part of Europe, it’s not really a country. It’s a Principality a kind of mini country, similar to Monacco. There is no Tax or VAT in Andorra so goods that would usually be heavily taxed are much cheaper . For example, fuel was €1.04 as opposed to €1.42 supermarket price in France for Diesel.
An identical 2L bottle of Rum in La Jonquera cost €13.00 in Andorra it was €7.32 and we even found a litre bottle of Gin for under €3.00. At those prices it would be just rude not to fill up the boot.

Considering all we love about the area and that in previous years we have needed to book our pitch for the following year before we left, What is the date for next years trip? We we haven’t booked. Shock Horror!!! It’s actually quite un-nerving not knowing where we are going next summer. The issue is, we have become very comfortable with the area. I don’t get out the sat nav any more to find my way to lots of places. Although comfortable is good, comfortable is nice, who does not like to be comfortable? We also get the nagging feeling that we may be missing out on something. France is enormous….. and to be honest we have only really seen one side. The West. There is much more to see. There is also other countries. Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium. So where are we going? What are we going to do? When are we going? The short answer is We don’t know. Nothing has been decided, so we get to bring you all along with us on the decision making process.

Thanks for taking the time to read my drivel and if we can be of any help to anyone planning on taking the plunge into France please don’t hesitate to contact us here or via Twitter etc…