By: Blonde One
The recent trip in France revealed a lot about the country that is important to The Two Blondes. It is good to get to know the country that you’re in and I feel like I have discovered some important information. I can only apologise if your idea of important doesn’t quite match mine!
The French are very good at food. I have consumed vast quantities of cheese, numerous juicy grapes and some very garlicky snails.
The climate here lends itself to picnics. There are an abundance of picnic sites, complete with car parks (free), tables and bins. These sites are nearly always occupied by families who take their picnicking seriously (it is the norm to use a tablecloth)!
Along with the food, the French are excellent at wine and cognac. It is easy to get very cheap, very good quality booze (important to go with the cheese)! One of the Two Blondes is better at drinking than the other!
As you know I like a bit of shopping, so I was very pleased to see so many Decathlon shops. These are packed to the brim with all things sporty including lots and lots of walking equipment, all at a very reasonable price. Heaven!
It may seem that I am saying that France is better than Dartmoor for some things but I’m not. There is one thing that we do here that the French could learn a thing or two about. Loos! The French (sorry if you are a French person reading this) are rubbish at loos! They were nearly always grubby and the segregation between sexes was sadly lacking. It is very off putting for all concerned when women have to walk right past a line of men stood at the urinals!
I will miss lots of French things but I’m still very glad to be home.
We have just returned from a 2 week trip down the west coast of France – awesome. Everytime I come back, I swear I hate England and am going to pack my bags for the tranquillity of the French life. They do soooo many things better than us as you say – the one great thing, not a single euro spent on car parking – would you be able to pull up in a car park right next to the vast atlantic beaches for free in England??? I don’t think so. We also love the French food and the picnicking too. And with our van we take full advantage of the Aires de Camping Car – somewhere you can actually pull up and stay for the night FOR FREE (take note England). The idea being it gets people into the towns in the evening to spend their money in the cafes and shops rather than stuck out on a limb in a campsite. And we did loads of cycling – how much more pleasant is that in France – such different attitude to all things with 2 wheels from cycle paths to motorists. But yes, French loos are a problem. Last year we wasted a whole hour and a half looking for a toilet that was anywhere near decent enough to enter – in the end opted for McDonalds – always clean!!! This year we travelled with bucket, bags and cat litter – an excellent makeshift toilet at times of desperate need. Indeed the last aire we stayed at the public toilet was so vomit inducing that the bucket was used in preference!!!! That’s where Dartmoor is so easy – never anything unpleasant about peeing behind a bush!!!!
Add to that the municipal campsites: basic, but cheap and clean. Ours had the local chip van visit regularly – moules frites and grilled sardines though…
A lot of my walking this summer has been in the alps -the GR system of paths is excellent, but there is an issue of footpath erosion in popular areas there too. Despite the size and scale of the area it can get quite busy- everyone gravitates to the same points. You have to get up early to find the sense of isolation that you easily get on our moors.
Decathlon is an incredibly cheap Aladdin’s cave, and is everywhere now. However it’s very bad news if you’re after alternatives from small or independent retailers – it’s worth comparing the range of stock with, for example, even Millets. One effect I noticed is that unless you use blue Camping Gaz it is now actually harder to get hold of anything other than small and pricey self-sealing gas cylinders. Ten/fifteen years ago larger ones were relatively easy to get hold of.
Yes France sounds lovely but you guys really should try New Zealand. Free car parks, freedom camping (not everywhere), lovely food and … the toilets are pretty good and plentiful.
Outdoor kit expensive although you can find well priced merino if you know where to look.
Not so sure about having to use the “Squatty Potty” in China on the way home either!