Backpacking

Monday - 16 April

When we say close shave catching the bus, what we mean to say is that is was one moment before chasing it down the street. In small rural towns it seems common place to only have one or two busses or trains per day and this was our only ride out of Le Puy en Velay. Both hungry and freezing cold in the morning mist at 7am is not the time to be trying to speak French.

The bus collected school children from each of the towns we passed, each collection slightly louder than the previous as the morning drew on. At Langonge we attempted to memorise a map from the train station to the camp site (good one guys, have you had tea at this point you ask). An hour later and we were covering our tracks, asking random French people for directions and finally grumbled our way into the camping.

Naussac Lake is a beautifully set amongst rolling hills and pasture land. We had tea (which likely saved our marriage) and finally finshed pitching the tent. It was now almost 11am and we knew it would be tricky on a Monday to find an open food seller at lunch time (who would have thought - crazy French). Sitting under the Pont Vieux bridge along the GR70 Chemin (way of) Robert Louise Stevenson as part of his epic stroll through this country had us bustling with excitement about the days ahead.

Drinks were a bit of a pre-gruelling walk treat purchased enjoyed in a little country bar tended to by identical twins. Back at our campsite we were sitting high on the hill eating dinner while watching a thunderstorm move across the lake in completely the opposite direction of our adventure tomorrow, whew.

The Meeting - 17 April

Our walk through the Lozere, Cevenne and Gevandaun would not be complete without a strong, obedient donkey to assist with our food and equipment.

We ate briefly next to the lake in the reception of the campsite waiting for the truck to pull up. Once those doors were flung open and his big brown eyes found ours we knew this experience was going to be worthwhile.

May we introduce Loustic, a 5-6 year old brown donkey with white underbelly, patient and kind personality, seeming disproportionate ears and an eee-h-ooore that give you goose bumps. ok, so he is a bit rough around the edges but forgiven immediately when without complaint he accepted approximately 35 kgs worth of food, water, cameras, maps, tents...

It may seem easy to some, but for two cityslikers like us to take a lesson in donkey etiquette, management and obediance in French was a little tricky. In brief the requirements are to ensure a big drink each day, planty of grass overnight, don't give in to the eyes when being stubborn, a brush each morning before getting dressed with luggage rack, let him think about water crossings before diving in and always clean his feet before marching off. Easy, just translate into waving hands, French country slang and lots of nodding and you have the general gist.

Here we go, the walk has begun and without delay our affection for this strong animal was growning. As the morning mist lifted off the green pastures it was sure to be a steady pace for the next few days and one that would be both challenging and rewarding.

Arriving - 15 April

Our train ride from the busy Lyon station was taken on a very old SNCF carriage through the most spectacular green fields, deep gorges and old bridges. Winding along the river we saw from the train small villages, Sunday markets and ruins high on the hills around us.

Le Puy en Velay will be remembered as the first location where we had to pay for the toilette (0.20 centimes - well worth it). The reason for being in Le Puy was to hunt down a donkey and decide on our starting point for a walk along the Robert Louis Stevenson trail.

Without letting you in on the secret of the next few days we shopped for supplies, had an elderly French gentlemen explain that the woman should only carry 9 kilograms on any walk (probably astonished at how big our bags have swollen to) and then proceeded to our tent site below the spectacular Rocher St Michel d'Aiguilhe church (980-1250AD). Lunch was prepared in the grass then up the mountain where the church was sitting for a view over the countryside. Throughout the travels so far this place was the most soul soothing with thick rock walls keeping out the heat of the day, hymns cascading through the arched ceilings and small stained glass windows colouring the floor. To top it off, out tent could be seen glimmering in the afternoon sun (we are convinced it could be seen from space).

A good night sleep was in order as the follow days would prove to be gruelling.

Afternoon Arrival - April 12

Trains in France are by far the best way to get around. After waking up relatively early in Montpellier we packed, which takes a variable amount of time depending on if it is pre or post tea intake, and took a quick step to the station in the rain. Approximately 3 hours on the train and by early afternoon we approached the busy station at Lyon.

Metro systems have to date been the bees knees in Europe. They make sense, are regular and reliable, fast and much (much, much, much) better than walking. Across town in Lyon to Vieux Lyon station at the bottom of the fenicular railway we exited convinced that the best way to the hostel was a quick jog up hill. 20 minutes later we were dripping with sweat and being ignored by the little French barmaid/receptionist/hotellier. Our advice to all non-European born travellers is to pay attention to lunch time and make your arrival either before 12 or after 4pm.

On being offered single sex dormitory rooms without lockers plus the necessity to buy a hostelling international card, it worked out to be $25 cheaper to find our own room in a 1 or 2 star hotel. At this point the work began! Steve asked in relatively clear French for recommendations on nearby cheap accommodation to be told clearly in English that the "information" attendant only sold fenicular rail tickets and had no idea.

A phone booth was then next step so with 4 or 5 phone calls the textbook questions where utilised. Our decision was made on two factors, how much less than the overpriced hostel and how close to this exact phone booth. Our room was on the second floor of an early 18th century apartment block with high cielings, long corridor, spiral staircase, big room, french doors and our own balcony. Catering over the next three days was an event on the balcony each evening, Camilla even carried the shopping all the way across town.

Tourist information did the big sell on us so we opted for a Lyon City Card at 15 euros a piece to explore all the attractions of this exciting city. Time for some sleep as tomorrow would be a well packed day of sightseeing.

Day 1 - Friday 13 April

With the snooze button firmly pressed Steve dove out of bed to prepare poached eggs, tomato and camembert on a fresh flute (bread) complimented (of course) with tea.

The Lyon card includes unlimited travel on the metro, bus, fenicular rail and tram system. We started at the Musee des beaux Arts for an hour of inspirational Roden sculptures, more mummies and Greek artifacts before Monet, Matisse, Picasso ... in the contemporary wing which smelt of Camilla's high school art room. The Lyon art gallery was very well laid out so the entire facility could be toured in a logical and efficient way.

Our visit to the Minitures museum had us wondering what we were in store for with the advertisement giving little away. Once inside we walked through a recreation of sets from 'The Parfume', a movie recently released with Dustin Hoffman set in the 1800s (a little spooky). The permanent exhibitions were realistic creations of everyday scenes, comedic moments in life and fantastic models of building, match stick carvings and paper cuttings done with attention to minute detail.

Back to our roots a little, we visited Lyon's hospital and the museum of medical relics from the 1600s onwards. We are so glad to not have to meet the plague doctor in thier black crow like mask and gown or be bled of bad blood. We can't believe they had beds made for 5 patients at a time, post slots for abandoned children or dental tools suitable for work on semitrailers.

Our first fully relaxing moment was on the river cruise (all included) which took us to the Ile Barbe in the Soane river upstream from Lyon. For an hour we delighted in the sights of gorgeous homesteads and giggled at the young tour guides English pronunciation.

The highlight of our day was attending the famous Guignol childrens puppet theatre. 'Le Tour de Monde' was so entertaining with 50cm tall dolls with charismatic faces play out a search for treasure around the globe. To add to the spectacle the children from 5 to 10 years old (at least we had a good view over all their heads) interacted with the characters throughout the show. It is so funny hearing them yell in French at the characters and sqweel with delight at the baddy losing out to the good guys. Our tour backstage revielled the intricate setup of puppet faces, props and sound effects as well as the puppetiers.

A quick pitstop at our balcony/restaurant/kitchen produced bread and vegetable soup before leving for the fenicular railway to the top of the hill. What an injustice to glide past the point we struggled to on the first day with no effort at all. At the top we walked around Notre Dame de Fourviere, a spectacular cathedral situated high on the hill overlooking Lyon, the rivers Rhone and Soane and the farmland beyond.

Day 2 - 14 April

Camilla took the risk and let Steve off to the Boulangerie for fresh baguette while she paid 2.50 euros for a shower (not the best either) to wash the mop. Purchased a mobile phone card and a ticket to Le Puy en Velay to start our rural adventures the following day.

A stroll through the old town took us via willow trees along the river and boats holding smart cars on their roof. A splash out included coffees and citrus tarts while listening to a ceilo and violin players outside the church. We decided to come back in the afternoon for a free jazz/rock concert outside the even bigger church and on our walk to the venue we were passed by approximately 500 motorbike riders rallying against something or other.

The final splash was a local delicacy called tuile, basically a pan fried anzac biscuit covered in almonds and curved around a big tin. It was a great couple of days and was enjoyed in style in a city well worth the visit. If it weren't for Paris, Lyon would definetly attract the world to it's winding streets, great restaurants (our balcony) and entertaining venues as a must see in France.

When we say dash to the train station please keep in mind the 10 kg of shopping, afternoon tea and a couple of bottles of wine had been enjoyed over the previous days.

Our train to Montpellier was not booked as yesterday was a public holiday so Steve had a crash course in requesting tickets post haste as the TGV had just arrived! The TGV is the Concord of the railway with streamlined bullet like nose and not a whisper of sound from outside when underway. What a smooth ride through the gorgeous countryside at around 150km/h, almost half the TGV top speed but still got Steve very excited as the carriage leans into each corner.

Montpellier - Ou est l'accommodation s'il vous plait

Bless the Tourist information office in the centre of town, and the friendly tri-lingual Japanese-French English speaking assistant. A few calls later and we had a 32 euro per night room with shower right next to the camping supply store (could you ask for more?)

Tea is an essential part of every civilised society so why should Chateau Hall (a.k.a the tent) be without. Our brand new cooker, pot and pan set, gas cylinder and new found sense of self reliance was worth the wait. With this acquisition behind us it was absolutely time for fast food?!

Quick is like MacDonalds / Hungry Jacks with subliminal messages implanted into the rap songs played soothingly over the loudspeaker to buy more food. It was better (marginally) than Maccas which says a lot and gave the same satisfying feeling of a heavy and full tummy. Surprisingly, fast food does not cater well for travellers on a tight budget and we have found that the staple local diets are far better value overall.

To the bookshop for some planning tools! We were in search of a walk through the French countryside to epitomise the rural lifestyle and find something off the beaten track. In the end we selected one of the excellent topoguide book specific for the well trodden path (Grand Radonnee) of Robert Louis Stevenson through the Cevennes. One small problem, it is in French so a pocket dictionnary rounded off the purchase.

We have found it difficult to make some decisions throughout this trip, particularly given the density and richness of culture and options throughout this corner of Europe. The cities possess so much to see yet the countryside is calling.

A stroll through Montpellier has led us past a breakdancing competition in the spring gardens, the super modern plaza hotel de ville and residential plazas, canal, winged victory (copy from the Louve) and an authentic Aussie Pub (we beg to differ).

Shopping in the Coles / Woolworths equivalent was a supervised excursion this time with Camilla leading purposefully through the chips and biscuits isle before Steve found a bag of pre-prepared microwavable snails (pack of 50 for 20 euros - bargain). Their regular food supermarket is great competition for David Jones foodcourt in Sydney with such variety and delicacies.

Hmmm, delicacies! Without actually using the dictionnary we recognised the word beef and assumed the other word was for kebab (you know the ones on the stick). The cooking aparatus worked perfectly, the table was set, hunger was subsiding until Camilla piked up after close examination of the morcels. GET ME THAT DICTIONNARY! Moments later and we were consoling each other in peels of laughter at how similar heart and kidney tastes to sirloin kebabs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM/LIZ! We are thinking of you.

Montpellier - 11 April

Tea and the unmistakable taste of scrambled eggs on baguette in the morning has justified the cost of the stove in a single meal.

An enthusiastic start in the overcast day has led us through the shops, main plaza and tourist office before a complicated 20 minutes on French only booking of trains for tomorrow. Camilla says Steve did very well (thankully the train was not on the platform this time). We will see if the tickets actually take us to Lyon tomorrow.

APOLOGY: If you are enjoying the photos we have unfortunately used up our monthly allowance of downloads more quikcly than expected. Don't forget, if you what to be notified of updates make sure you subscribe on the site (subscriber donations of 1,000 euros to show your support will be payable on our return, kidding.... 2,000 euros).

Another Early Start

We forgot there was a 5.30 in each morning but there we were wet, cold and with smiles from ear to ear at the day ahead. It is incredible to think that you can wake up in a tent 20km south of Barcelona and within the day be setting it up again in glorious French countryside sunshine.

Our bus to town, metro rides then long distance coach to Narbonne and finally a train to Carcassonne is a distance of nearly 250km and the entire trip cost less than 80 euros. It still eats into the daily budget but well worth it when you consider it is changing countries.

Carcassonne campsite would have felt closer to the train station if Steve wasn't let loose alone in a French supermarche hungry and enthusiastic. With approximately 10 kg of additional baggage we trudged through the winding streets across the old bridge to have La Cite unveil itself from behind the trees. Carcassonne holds Europe's largest fortified medieval city and was host to Monty Pythons 'Life of Brian'.

Picking our tent site was easy, we just needed to make sure that the sunset to our backs did not distract from the view of La Cite over the river. As campsites go, Carcassonne is 4 star with great facilities and a multilingual and very patient attendant who put up with Steve's attempts to communicate.

A day in the Life of Brian - 8 April

Midday came around as quickly as changing countries in Europe. It was necessary to wash the rain from Spain out of our clothes (by hand - we thought that was fitting) only to realise the washing machines were across the field.

Strolling through Carcassonne was the entire adventure for today, entering via the side gate we peered through cracks in the fortifications to identify the river below and found our way to a central plaza for lunch. Lunch (mostly leftovers from Steve's shopping adventure) was complimented by the atmosphere of almost 200 tables and chairs set below vines and awnings for fellow travellers.

Leaving via the ramparts (top of the wall around the city) we gawked at the rolling countryside in all directions. Across the drawbridge (no charging stallion or sword in hand unfortunately) we lost ourselves in the gardens along the river before entering town. The return to the tent site took us past fishermen and a family of ducklings only days old.

It may just be in our imagination but wine and cheese in the grass tastes better when you have carried it back from town via ducklings and fishermen. A marshmellow chaser was organised where we befriended Jake and Mitsy (a couple from Wales and London). Their extraordinary plan is to hitchhike from London to Morroco in less than 3 weeks for an African education charity. By the time we all felt sick on marshmellows an amicable trade was made of one map of France (well 'thumbed') for a little used but useful Spannish phrase book. We wish them well.

Carcassonne - 9 April

Today was taken at leisure with chores completed and the whole of France shut down for Easter Monday.

A map when travelling without real plans is a mesmerising read getting lost in the names and possibilities of each place. The Lonely Planet unfortunately could not possibly supply enough information so we were in need of a hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. A stab in the dark lead us to the decision we would make our way east rather than west at this point.

Afternoon tea is a great activity for budget concious travellers so we strolled ever so diligently back up the steps to the old city to oggle the cafe and patisserie for the perfect treat. Nous choison un chocolat chaud et une the, ensuite, je voudrais une tarte au citron meringue et une mollieruex au chocolat. For anyone who does not read poor French, and those that can and are embarrassed for Steve, the translation is simple - too much yummy stuff!

An early night was in order as tomorrow would require some concentration and a long walk.