France Passion ?

[Ian Hulley]

http://www.france-passion.co.uk/about.htm

Thinking of doing this next year ... like a 2 week cheese and wine party ... does anyone have any experiences or recommendations they'd like to share ? *

Cheers, Ian.

* "Take lots of crackers" doesn't count

[AngeloEvs]

No experience but one I would love to chalk up, sounds and looks bliddy great! Not sure I would be in a fit state to do many tho......

[Doctor Foster]

Looks great. We are off to Frnace next month. Cant wait.

[Red Westie]

We looked into this....They are 24 hour stop overs with wine/cheese tasteing or whatever else the vineyard/farm might sell. Trouble is most don't offer anything else other than a place to park, soooooo no toilets/showers and definately no lecky. Now I know what you're going to say 'wild camping'...roughing it a bit! but the reality is after a days driving in 35C plus temps (was 38C in the van a fournight ago, loure valley area) you're all sweaty and needing a few basic comforts like a shower.
If you are going to do this I suggest mixing French Passion with Camping Municipal stops (local run camping sites with proper facilities) or you will be humming like a good French cheese!
Martin

[Ian Hulley]

If you are going to do this I suggest mixing French Passion with Camping Municipal stops (local run camping sites with proper facilities) or you will be humming like a good French cheese!
Martin

Exactly what we was thinking Martin We have a shower we can use for those late-evening freshen ups

Ian

[syncropaddy]

Is there a website with all the 'Camping Municipal' sites or something similar sites I can look at?

My son did something very similar to this 2 years ago except he did it in B&B's. Came back with some fabulous wines ...

There are some places that you can base yourself at and go on organised vineyard trips

[Westy End]

a quick google gave this site:

http://www.campingfrance.com/index.jsp?lg=uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

but on our trip this year we just picked a town to aim for and found a campsite when we got there - france is full of them...

[Flibbertigibbet]

They do a Spanish one too but the ferry to Spain is a tad expensive ..wonder how easy it would be to drive through France to Spain

[kevtherev]

They do a Spanish one too but the ferry to Spain is a tad expensive ..wonder how easy it would be to drive through France to Spain

Expensive ..yes
but it's not like the channel ferries, it's more of a cruise ship, with entertainment and a show on the evening, a casino that's open all night..pool.. and a few resturants, plus the shopping mall.
The cabins are very nice and very clean all en suite.

We treated it as part of the holiday rather than a means to an end

[Flibbertigibbet]

to be honest Kev I have 6/7 weeks in which to travel so I could actually drive all the way

[kevtherev]

oh and miss that summer evening with a warm sea breeze coming off the bay of Biscay, as you stand , casually leaning on the rail, staring wistfully out to the endless sea, glancing only at your fag, as it sends out fireflies of sparks in a gust of clean salty air... the van is snug in the hold and Spain awaits.

[joker]

We have just returned from a five week trip of france and spain and it was great..
We started at cean and traveled down to the dordyne(la roque).
Then down through lot and on to biarritz, we ventured into spain but 45 degrees made us return back to anglet(just above biarittz) where it was supurb.Hot sunshine,great surf and lots of 2 euro red wine (happy days).
We then moved up to capbreton and that was even better
We only stayed on aires which kept our camping costs to next to nothing..
Roll on next year. Gunna do portugal

[Doctor Foster]

We have just returned from a five week trip of france and spain and it was great..
We started at cean and traveled down to the dordyne(la roque).
Then down through lot and on to biarritz, we ventured into spain but 45 degrees made us return back to anglet(just above biarittz) where it was supurb.Hot sunshine,great surf and lots of 2 euro red wine (happy days).
We then moved up to capbreton and that was even better
We only stayed on aires which kept our camping costs to next to nothing..
Roll on next year. Gunna do portugal

wow my kind of trip.

[Louey]

oh and miss that summer evening with a warm sea breeze coming off the bay of Biscay, as you stand , casually leaning on the rail, staring wistfully out to the endless sea, glancing only at your fag, as it sends out fireflies of sparks in a gust of clean salty air... the van is snug in the hold and Spain awaits.

WHAT SH!TE!!!!

With the weather we've been getting this last few years it would be a case of 'standing on the main deck, possibly looking out onto the Bay of Biscay whilst pointing your head towards the sea and emptying the contents of your gut for the fifteenth time'

Seriously, might go for the Ferry to Spain one year, apart from the price, I'm not sure I would cope being couped up on a ship for 28 hours - plus like Julie I would have the time to drive thorugh France. I particularly want to see the Milau Viaduct and visit Carcasone.

Ian, getting back on track - I'll see how the van conversion gets on, it should be complete before next summer so I might join you - obviously getting the OK from the ladies (they're in charge)

[brickinit]

Hi

Just to add to the France Passion comments, we got home yesterday from a 2 week trip around Normandy, Brittany, and the Loire using a combination of the vineyards listed in the book, aires and campsites (municipal ranged from 10 - 13 Euros a night with hook up) and we planned it around 2 nights without facilities and the third on a campsite.

We've just been going through our photographs and reminded ourselves how many places we've seen and how good the aires etc were even though they ranged from being squashed in between massive gin palaces to virtually having a field to ourselves and, again with planning, many had toilets / hook up so you weren't lacking everything.

If you're prepared to have washes rather than showers every couple of days this is a fantastic way to see the real France.

Mr and Mrs B