France: Briancon to Sommieres via Saint Gilles

Thursday

The day gets off to an excellent start thanks to the 11 euro buffet petit dejeuner. I decided on this on the basis of previous reviews and it is indeed spectacular. Every kind of breakfast food you can imagine, from different types of homemade bread and jam to pancakes, from muesli to goffre and croissant, from pan au raisin (I have to have two) to real yogurt with real berries and home made bilberry (and other types) cake. There is a fantastic coffee machine with different strengths of coffee, hot milk, cold milk, hot water, cold water. I eat until I can eat no more, including two eggs and three pieces of cheese and wash it down with two cups of coffee with the exact combination of water, milk and coffee I like. Fantastic.

The first part of the journey from Briancon is quite slow. The road is what it is and while not exceptionally busy there is local traffic. There’s some up and down and a view of the mountains and then glimpses of the lake.  We stop at Taillard for a quick stroll and to buy a packet of ham which will be enough combined with the bread and tiny tomatoes from home. The motorway is gloriously empty and we make fast if pricey (15.90 euros) progress to Aix-en-Provence where we take a wrong turn, get a bit lost and find a lucky parking space in the shade near a park and stop for our picnic.

We are allowed to check in to our next accommodation from 3pm and since the car full of luggage is always a little stressful, we continue our journey. The motorway after Aix is busier and not so relaxing, so we exit and head for St Gilles in the Camargue, an area we hope to visit later in our journey. St Gilles is famous for the Abbey which is well worth a stop and even a specific visit. It is also open and even though we haven’t got time to see the crypt we have a look in the cool interior. Out in the sun it’s quite hot and the light is different from our usual mountain habitats. St Gilles is nice for a stroll. We find a tobacconist who also sells instant longish coffee, so boiling I nearly burn myself and take it with us as far as the Belvedere over the Camargue in front of the Mairie.

Time is passing and I tend not to respect Google Maps times so I put my foot down, while respecting the speed limits, and we get to Sommieres for 3.25.

The accommodation is nice and the Jazz is pleased to be in a courtyard behind a gate. It’s a second floor and the stairs are a bit wonky and I wonder how I always seem to end up moving more luggage than I have the energy for, no matter how I try to cut it down. After a short rest we go to visit Sommieres. The village was not on our itinerary. I really wanted to stay in Pezenas but couldn’t find a suitable combination of safe parking, price and reviews and Andrea would have preferred Nimes but again we didn’t find suitable last-minute accommodation. Sommieres is a ‘character village’ or something similar. The walk along the rather stagnant river is beautiful – small cafés and enormous plane trees and that languid sensation of late summer-early autumn warmth. The rest of Sommieres is ok for a stroll but I wouldn’t put it on a ‘to visit’ list. A bit dilapidated, a lot of dog dirt, we don’t really do the dodge the dog dirt thing in Italy any more whereas here it’s at a keep your eyes on your feet level.

We go up as far as the castle, only open in July and August and then back down. A patisserie looks inviting except for the flies and so we stroll back to base. I prepare a simple supper in the small but useful kitchen, and then it’s another early night.