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Originally Posted by TDudette

Orange sounds lovely. Now I'm bummed we didn't catch the bus for it.

You just can’t see everything. Even here for this long someone will ask us at some stage ‘did you go ?’ and we will say no and they will say ‘ oh you should have’ You do what’s right at the time.

Thanks gooster. Who knows where we will go tomorrow on a sunny 19c degree day.

Very true cheska, we spent almost two weeks not too far away in June 2018 but weren’t able to make it to Orange. Plus many other places we wanted to visit, need to leave something for the next time...😉

cheska, when somebody tells you you should have seen X, which you hadn’t, and they follow up with “Oh, you should have; it was one of our favorites!”, here’s where you say, “We wanted to, but there’s so much to see, and after we saw Y and Z, X didn’t seem that important.”

That sounds a little snippy now that I read it. You could tone it down to "...so much to see, and we loved Y and Z that we did see."

If you want to be snippier (which doesn’t sound like you), you can add, “Did you see Y or Z?”

Coquelicot I just say so much to see so little time lol. Also the great thing when you are here your daily plans change and it is no big deal. Today’s plan was to visit Cathedral Maguleone near Palavas-les -Flotes, stopping at La- Grande- Motte for a coffee and then heading to the Cathedral about 30 mins away.

We arrived at La- Grande- Motte and were pleasantly surprised. The town is obviously a beach tourist location, and sadly has the ugliest architecture I have ever seen. All the apartments are built like decks on a ship. Not a pretty site.

However the town has a great vibe, with some lovely big evergreen trees. Sadly palm trees don’t look good in winter. There were lots of people eating out, walking along the beach, and enjoying the warmish sunshine. We decided to eat here, and my husband had a really good calamari stif fry, while I had ribs and salad. A nice relaxing meal. Probably not the place to go if you are in a hurry, as service was a bit slow. This town must be absolutely packed in summer

We then drove the half an hour to Cathedral Maguleone. We wouldn’t want to visit here while it was raining. A lot of water around after recent rains, and people were a bit nervous about the puddles of water everywhere. Not the best day to wear my suede boots. We then walked the 800 meters to the Cathedral and it is a very imposing structure. The renovation will continue on for sometime.

We did try and have a coffee at the cafe, and after waiting 25 minutes we gave up. The girl serving was bringing out one coffee at a time, even for a table for two. This infuriated the people waiting, and there seemed lots of heated comments.

This area is not my favourite, however the bird life, and natural eco system is good.

We take the car back tomorrow, and then it will be normal domestic duties, and getting ready for our train trip to Bordeaux on Tuesday.

I have just made the comment to my husband that if I had realised how beautiful Provence was I would have booked there after leaving here. He is so lovely and said ‘ cancel Brittany, as we are not locked in to anything’ he really is wonderful. So may look at Provence now.

La Grande Motte has aged well. You should have seen how it looked when it was first built. All of the vegetation has softened the edges over the years. As for the style choice of the architect, he just made the apartments for what people wanted -- nice indoor amenities but always a big terrace/balcony for being able to spend as much time outdoors as possible. The pyramid style was to ensure that each flat had an equal amount of sunshine. Hate it or love it, but it fulfilled the requirements of the time.

In recent years, most of the buildings have been renovated because people don't want the same thing in the 21st century that they wanted in 1975.

I totally agree about La Grande Motte. I was completely horrified when I drove through it in the mid-1970s, but it's fine now, almost endearing (in an old-age home sort of way). OTOH, I was enthralled with Provence in the 1970s but can barely tolerate it now. Brittany is far more beautiful (and genuine), IMO, but of course everyone sees things differently.

StCirq. We have decided to leave here a week earlier, and go to Aix-en-Provence, and still keep the itinerary for Brittany. I couldn’t give up Brittany as it has been one area I have really wanted to see.
Wish I was courageous enough to take some day trips through the gorges. Doesn’t help that I can suffer from car sickness, and the fear of the windy roads.

I love reading your thoughts on the towns in Provence! Orange would be the northern tip of it and La Grande Motte would be another corner, right? It sounds like you are heading into the rest of it...

Provence still seems to be a major destination draw for Americans. I keep reading how much it has changed from the days of Peter Mayle and even over the past decade with the influx of tourism his books brought. I’m so glad to hear you think it is beautiful because it is on our list (and many of our friends’ lists.) I love your real authentic opinions — so many of the guidebooks seem like advertisements instead of true testaments. Travel time and money is too precious.

It is very difficult to find the right time to go to Provence. It is unbearably overcrowded in the summer and sad and deserted in the winter, except for the old people drying like raisins in the patches of sun, as if they needed even more wrinkles.

I have never managed to fall in love with Brittany, but I keep trying. I am more drawn to the northern coast (Nord-Pas de Calais) but I am in a very small minority.

cheska, I hear you about windy roads. One of the most horrible and memorable days of my life involved driving on one of those Michelin map roads marked with dashes (i.e., not a real road...dangerous). Once I had managed to pass an oncoming vehicle by backing up what seemed like a mile or two and hiding in a bush, I finally made it onto the main road near Ste-Enimie, only to go around a corner and be confronted with a convoi exceptionnel. I had to maneuver my car into a hollow in the cliff to the right of the road and sat there horrified as that monster passed within about 2 inches of the left side of my car. I was so shaken I didn't even bother to stop in Ste-Enimie, which had been the whole purpose of the drive.

And that is why I always rent the smallest car possible (sometimes a Fiat 500) even if I know it will struggle going up most hills. I have all the time in the world...

StCirq oh my I would have had a heart attack and been hysterical. Were you driving on your own. That’s is even more remarkable. I get really frightened especially as we are on the other side of the road. I’m getting better, but just can’t see myself doing it. My husband thinks for his sanity it is not a good idea.
Irice we had no intention of going to Provence for a few reasons. My husband is allergic to lavender, and it is not one of my favourite plants. I’m happy to look at photos of the fields of lavender. I also thought that it would be packed with people. What has taken my breath away is the scenery. Truly beautiful. Provence and the Ardeche are breathtaking.

Kerouac you make me laugh. I guess if you have wrinkles what’s a few more.

cheska, if you are wary of curvy roads, I'll be certain NOT to recommend certain drives. There are certainly some windy routes up to some spectacular viewpoints, and the sheer cliffs may cause some trepidation. But the views are glorious and the tourists in the off season mostly scant. Same with the heart of Provence, out of season, no lavender and far fewer crowds (until about mid May)

gooster thanks. Can’t see myself doing many of the scenic drives. Oh well I do want to survive for the remaining time 😂

It was in Mauritius that I learned the danger of driving on the "other" side of the road in the mountains. Since mountain roads are mostly empty, you often take a generous slice of the other side of the road going around curves -- and you can forget on which side of the road you are supposed to be -- until some oncoming traffic appears.

The small roads in the Pas de Calais have numerous signs in English that say "keep right" because people coming out of the Channel tunnel need a certain amount of time to adjust.

Here's a site I was thinking about... and the section about the balcony roads in France. LINK

These are the absolute worst, but with spectacular views. Check out the video for more. There are some that are windy but at least two full lanes (mostly). You'll notice in the map that most of the roads are in Provence/PACA.

gooster. Thank you and that has sealed the deal of me not doing any of them🤣. Fabulous though and the views would be spectacular.

We were discussing this last night and of the ones we have driven along, the Gorges of the Galamus in the Aude, the first one we did, really impressed us. We drove along the Gorges of the Nesque in Provence 2014, and in 2018 we saw the Gorges of the Verdon, the Gorges of the Tarn and the Combe Laval in the Drome. They all had wonderful views. Some of the winding roads in the Pyrenees would probably present problems if you have an issue with this. Our scariest drive was through two very narrow tunnels - 1.8 metres wide the sign said - in the Tarn department near Albi. There was barely enough room for two cars to pass. We had to inch past each other. The tunnel went for about a kilometre and we were pleased to see sunlight again.
Hope you are enjoying Bordeaux.