Farewell Peckham

What a change! By the time we left Dongo at Lake Como we’d had enough. It was a lovely place but the campsite was a bit of a nightmare. Our neighbours could not have been any louder or inconsiderate if they tried, we had the bins behind our tent – so people would bang them shut at all hours, we had little shade, our pitch was cramped, and the church bells – well , they got more and more frequent. It seems we were there at the start of some kind of religious “thing” – “our” church would ring half of a “tune” while another church miles away would ring the other half. Sounds great? Well, no, not if you can’t hear the other church, being that we were at one far end of the musical “arrangement”.

For once we actually got up early and packed before the sun came out in its full ferocity. This obviously gave the advantage of not packing in ninety degrees heat, but also meant we’d arrive at our next destination before midday. We’ve realised we have been making the mistake of travelling though the worst heat of the day, then arriving at our new location hot and knackered and consequently picking the first campsite we find. Often not the best choice! So we got up at 7am and were away by 8.15.

Staying with the theme of being efficient in our move we finally crumbled to the pressure of using the Autostrada – the toll-highway. Our GPS told us it was 4.5 hours to Lake Garda, and we had to go all the way back down to Milan! – Madness. The Autostrada route gave a journey time of under 3 hours. It wasn’t all plain sailing. Whoever mapped Italy was drunk. The GPS tried to get us to exit the Autostrada at a junction that simply did not exist! No problem though, we just got off at the next exit and went back to “pikey” roads. Still got there in 3 hours as we’d covered most of the ground. Boy was the Autostrada busy though! We were getting concerned that all of Italy was on the move and finding a new campsite was going to be a bit of a nightmare. Saying that, when we paid only 5 Euros for two and a half hours on the motorway we realised that was part of the reason it was so busy. It’s cheap.

The GPS actually came to the rescue in the end. We got stuck in standstill traffic near the lake, and you could see it went on for miles. I used the “avoid road block” feature on the GPS and it actually worked, and diverted us to the lake in twenty minutes with little traffic.

I’d tried to do a little research on Lake Garda before we set off, on the Internet. Its very tricky researching campsites. When you search you are bombarded with the sites’ own web pages, all vying for your business. Finding reviews with pictures is near impossible. I did however manage to find a blog entry from another traveller, with pictures of a site and vague directions. We headed for that.

Finding the site was actually a cinch. We got taken up a load of steps and were shown our pitch choices…. What a find!!!! The campsite is split onto lots of terrace levels up the side of a very steep mountain side. All the caravans and mobile homes are at the bottom two levels, and then there are another three or four levels above that are inaccessible by vehicle and therefore tent-only. The real beauty is that you end up with no one in front or behind you, plus, you end up away from the caravans and campervans – a good thing as I’ll explain later.

(Our new pitch on one of the top terraces)

The great thing about being up high…. Is…..

THE VIEW!!!!

What a place! We are staying here for a week! (We are actually in the region of Torre Del Benaco but it's a region so I can't select it on the map, so Garda will do for reference - only 6k's away)

(Better than any mermaid)

(Better than Medusa)

(Obviously, most of Italy are on holiday here too!)

At last we get peace and quiet, a super view, good cheap food, and when you walk down to the bottom of the steps you are at the lake – clear and blue. Awesome.

I mentioned before about caravans and campervans. We have definitely come to the realisation it’s best to be as far from them as possible. Particularly the caravans. The thing is, they pretty much move their home with them. These families bring EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. Full size fridge freezers, TVs, satellite dishes, proper garden furniture. I’ve seen some with wooden dressers and cabinets in their awnings. They get their huge (and clearly booked well ahead) pitches, move in, unpack, and make it like home. Not a bad thing you’d think? Well, the problem with them making it like home, is they act like they are at home. That’s not a good thing if you want peace and quiet. Not to mention half of them bring their dogs with them.

To be fair, the Italians have been, on the whole, well behaved, but the Dutch! We now select our tent pitch site not only on location, but on proximity to large family caravans. I’ll take some pictures of the huge caravans when I get a bored moment – you’ll be amazed at how much stuff people are prepared to tow from Holland : - ) – I even read somewhere they bring all their own food with them too.

That reminds me. It’s very Italian here. Which shouldn’t be a surprise, but at Como it was very Dutch. Most people seem to be Italian that we’ve heard or spoken too. Feel much better. We are in Italy after all.

So far we’ve lounged around, swum in the lake, had dinner in Torro Del Banacco, cooked on our home made BBQ, and generally not done much. Tonight there is a firework display at a village directly opposite us across the lake – about a mile away. Should be good to watch from our pitch. There is another big display on the 15 th in Garda itself which we’ll go to watch, then we’ll leave the next morning to join Matt and Clair at his place North of Venice.

We plan to hit South Italy in September, leaving the tent behind and staying in cheap B&Bs and hostels. We’ve had our fill of camping for a while – our inflatable bed has a puncture now.

Update: Been relaxing some more. A group of about 8 Italian students turned up the other day and pitched an array of tents next to us. Three of them play guitar and they are very good. We joined them on the first evening they arrived and they played music and sang all night. One of the lads is Sicilian and played lots of Sicilian folk songs. A great laugh – until Kirstin told them I play guitar. Far too many beers and years had passed for me to remember any tunes. I did however spend the next day re-learning some old classics. Was fun to pick up a guitar again, though my fingers hurt like hell now!

(Critically embarassing. K told them I could play and they insisted. I'd drunk the best part of a bottle of ValPol plus a heap of beers)

Our last few days in Provence were relaxed, very very hot, and scenic.

On recommendation from an old work colleague we drove up to the tiny village of St Martin De Castillion, perched high on a mountain top, only accessible by one windy steep mountain road. The drive was spectacular, all the while overlooking the valley below.

(Driving along the crest of a mountain is pretty easy on the eye)

When we got there the 1st thing we saw was a small pizza restaurant with views to die for.

We didn’t even bother looking at the menu, the views were that breathtaking, we knew we were going to have lunch there :- )

Another great lunch. What a place! – We both agree that Provence / Luberon is our favourite region so far. Despite the fame that Provence has attracted since the book, “A Year in Provence”, we found it to be very quiet and far less touristy than the Bordeau region. There were only two other people dining at that restaurant, and this is peak holiday season.

On our last night, as always seems to happen, we got talking to the locals – a chap who lives on the campsite, an older guy who works there, and some chick – can’t remember where she fitted in. We chewed through two bottles of Rose and then were offered Pastis with Grenadine. Lovely and lethal! At one stage the older chap said something slightly disparaging but amusing to the younger guy, about the “Englise”. He immediately responded by warning him we could understand! Haha  I looked at him and frowned, he looked sheepish. We had a good laugh. I have no doubt that with a good month or two of immersion in the language we’d be pretty darn good. We are not doing too bad so far.

(Farewell Provence!)

The next day we set off. We had a loose plan of heading to Lake Como in Italy. Our GPS told us it was a nine hour drive using the small roads (six if using the toll roads), so we decided we’d find a cheap hotel mid route and break up the journey. No rush after all.

The GPS picks some very odd routes if you let it – and we do. So far each time it has resulted in spectacular drives. We are sure it picks the slowest route possible, but to date, it’s worked out great. This time was no exception.

We drove in the valley of the Provence mountains for ages. Totally agricultural and beautiful. The only catch was that petrol stations seemed not to exist. We got some in the end, but it wasn’t a place you’d want to run out – I think you’d be waiting all day for the AA to come out. After a while, we started heading into the Alps. Everything was a surprise; we had no idea about the route we were taking, and we like it that way. One minute it’s fields and farms, then all of a sudden, we are driving straight for the Alps!

A memorable moment was driving along when all of a sudden, with no warning, we found ourselves skirting along the side of a huge turquoise lake with lots of people camping, boating, kite surfing. It was stunning and really caught us by surprise. Our route took us straight across it at the top. No pictures I’m afraid – I stupidly packed the camera deep in the boot, and that’s not somewhere you want to go unless you are unpacking proper.

After the lake we started winding up the mountains. Again, incredibly beautiful and on such a huge scale. Absolutely loads of people camping in the mountains. All very “Alpen”. We drove past the base lift of “Serre Chevellier” – a ski resort I’ve been too. Didn’t expect that.

As we ploughed on I noticed that one of the road signs was in Italian and was just about to mention it to Kirstin when right in front of us was the “ITALY” border sign. We’d driven across the border and not even noticed! :- ) Aureviour France, Bonjourno Italy!

As predicted by a friend, the road quality suddenly increased four-fold and the driving became mentalist! – Really, they are nuts! Maniac overtaking, violent lane swerving, zero patience and a desire to break the sound barrier.

We drove on, gawping at the total change in architecture (neither of us have been to Italy before). A mix of huge ugly manufacturing buildings, and older style “square” Italian buildings. We passed Turin and by this stage the heat had got to us and we were exhausted. Time to stop for the night. Easier said than done. Every village we drove through seemed to be based entirely around the local farming and everything was closed, and not one sighting of a B&B or hotel. When we eventually found a hotel in a larger town, it was closed! :- ( - but a very helpful old guy gave us directions to one that would be open – in Italian of course. And at this stage, we didn’t even know the word for “no” or “left”.

After some dicking about (getting lost) we found the hotel and were delighted. A real bath! And a smart room! I acquainted myself with the receptionist and got her to help me compile a list of key Italian words and phrases and then we tucked into our first Italian meal. It kind of went ok. I played it safe and had Gnocchi followed by pollo rosta – even I could work out roast chicken! Kirstin however, was not quite so lucky. She ordered what we presumed was some kind of Proscuitto dish. That it certainly was…

(Yep, that was it. One giant piece of smoked gammon!)

We had a lovely wine (ok, we bought a second bottle to take to the room) and retired, where I than enjoyed my 1st bath in at least a month. Heaven!

The next morning it was onwards..

(not my kind of transport)

Again, we found ourselves driving round a huge lake but just as we started to get accustomed to the Italian road signs we hit another border. Now we were in Switzerland! – time to stop for lunch. Couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to leave one country, have lunch in another , then move to another :- )

(The lake at Bissonne)

(the “proof I’ve been here shot”)

Lunch was a little more successful – we played it safe. I had Carbonara and K had Gnocchi (we may have been in Switzerland but it seemed the Italians had taken this part over)

The spectacular driving continued and eventually we got to Porlezza, a small town not far from Lake Como which was “supposed” to be the point from where we followed directions to a campsite in the woods I’d found on the web. It of course didn’t work out that way. The promised road signs were absent and the mentioned roads did not exist. They didn’t answer the phone either. Not good signs at all.

We spend a good hour and a half driving up and down the same roads getting totally confused. The directions simply did not tie up with the roads that actually existed. We stopped for a beer to help lubricate things along and decided to abandon the mission and head onto Como instead. This was when I discovered that the campsite in question was actually listed as a destination on our TomTom GPS! – yay! – so off we headed – 12 minutes away it told us.

That’s not a road, if you look closely, it’s a farmers dirt track. It got worse – muddy and rutted. The GPS had sent us into a farm. Not a hint of camping anywhere, and the car was bottoming out frequently. We really did end up on the boon-docks. We gave up and headed to Como :- )

Driving along the edge of Lake Como is an intense experience. It is a mixture of stunning scenery, VERY narrow roads and tunnels, and of course mad Italian drivers. Oh, and a gazillion looneys on sports bikes trying to chose which bend to use to donate their organs on. The problem of the narrow roads and tunnels is exasperated by the fact you are driving in bright sunshine (well into the 90’s) for a few minutes, then plunged into darkness in a tunnel for 5 minutes. It takes a while for your eyes to adjust, and you are essentially driving blind for the 1st few seconds when entering or leaving a tunnel. And boy, there are a LOT of tunnels.

We checked out a few campsites and they were all worryingly crammed full. The Italian way of camping is a tad different to the French way. They just ram tents in any space available. When you arrive it is akin to being in a busy street bazzar in Morroco, with tents and caravans instead of stalls. Not an inch of privacy. This was worrying us. Especially as we are now well into August and the Italians are famed for ALL taking their holidays in August.

Fortunately we found a site that looked promising. Only problem was that there was only one approach road (one car wide of course) and it was by a church, where a funeral was in progress. The road was blocked by a hearse.

We tried finding another route but that was the only one. Desperation at this point encouraged us to get the hearse to reverse back down the road :- ) There was one tent plot left. We took it.

(Our new view and home. The photo is not warped, the tower is indeed wonky. No wonder Pisa leans if they can’t get something this small right)

By the time we had pitched out tent (which is now starting to rip at the seams already) we had both lost a kilo in sweat. We quickly threw on our cosies and dived in the lake. Heaven! Bobbing about in the fresh water with a backdrop that takes your breath away. Phew.

It’s not a bad place. Very scenic. Only catch is that we are flanked by two church towers. One rings on the hour, and the other, on the half-hour. 24 hours a day. Right by us. Pretty hard to sleep though. That and a group of pissed Dutch girls arriving at the site at 4.30 am and singing and shouting for half an hour. (We are seemingly in Holland now – so many Dutch here).

(The view to the left is unreal but I’ll have to wait until the cloud clears or you can’t see the highest mountains)

(One for Andrew :- ) )

A few observations about Italy so far…

They seem very friendly and eager to accommodate you. Much more so than the French.

Most things are half the price of France, which is odd as we are neighbours. Beer is about the same, but smokes are half the price, shopping is about half the price. A roll of cotton in France was 5 Euros!! You get 10 rolls for 3 here. A bottle of water in France is circa 1 Euro. Here – 12 cents. Even branded ice-creams are less than half the price in Italy than France.I don’t get it. I have a reasonable grasp of economics but I can’t fathom why one country next to another, in the same European Union, can be so wildly more expensive.

There is a much more laid back atmosphere here. People seem to have bought into the relaxing way of life more. It feels almost like being in Greece.

Off for a walk along the lake now to check out the other campsites.

Small update (going to be a lot of these. When you mention wi-fi the locals look at you as if you’ve just invited them to start war with Germany) – Our neighbours are the new “louds”. Un f’ing real!! We have resorted to putting our music at full volume to drown them out. Something we’ve never had to do before. Their kids SHOUT all the time – as LOUD AS THEY CAN. The adults are no better. There are 8 of them in a huge caravan – 5 of them kiddies. Idtiots. Last night they decided that topping up their water toys (you know, dinghies etc) was a good idea with the electric pump. At midnight. By our heads.

Update – 8/8 – Went for a little explore down the South side of the lake today. Stopped at a lovely village called Menaggio and had a coffee.

Then we moved on to Como itself. Got stuck in horrific traffic. The roads are barely wide enough for one car but coaches and full size lorries frequent the route causing huge tailbacks while everyone has to reverse and let them through. Interesting drive along the lake – you spend over half the time in tunnels.

(Out of one tunnel, into more…if you look there is another tunnel immediately after the nearest one – you can be underground for 5 minutes or more, then out for a few seconds, then straight in another!)

Como was kind of interesting. A larger town, but nearly everything was shut as it was lunch time. We got fleeced for 8 Euros for two tiny beers, enjoyed the most amazing ice creams, then left in search of a better value lunch.

Off to rent a speedboat to take on the lake now. Going to visit Bellagio (Where George Clooney lives no less) – seems appropriate to arrive by boat.

p.s. finding Wi-Fi was a challenge! – None in Menaggio, Como, or anywhere we searched. I then had the idea of using my Playstaystion Portable (PSP) to seach for wi-fi as it has it built in. Far handier than walking around with a laptop open looking like a nerd of Star Trek searching for a signal. I ended up finding it right by our campsite outside a private church library :- ) - I’m posting this sitting on a bench at a bus stop outside!

Further Update – Just got back from our speedboat trip! We hired a 6 seater boat for the day and went on an explore. They are pretty relaxed here – “here is the boat, don’t hit the rocks, if you break the prop it’s 500 Euros, Cio!”

What a superb thing to do. I’d already noticed via pics on the web that the villages on the lake are better viewed from the water, and sure enough, it was spectacular.

(Not a bad pad hey!)

We cruised down the lake checking out all the gorgeous properties along the way, then stopped for coffees and cakes and stocked up with beers and water. Tying the boat up was a laugh – neither of us had a clue what to do. We sussed it in the end, but I’ll admit I was a little surprised it was still there when we returned. I had half expected to be swimming out to get it.

After that we headed down quite a bit further, cruising past Bellagio – the place where all the moneyed types live (and ironically, the only place you are not allowed to stop and moor-up. We eventually got to a small cute island and wandered up to the restaurant but the menu was pricey and not very imaginative, so we headed across to one we’d driven past in the car the other day and had the most fantastic lunch. Really fantastic, and not pricey either. Some cheeky old git tried to tell us off for using his jetty – it was clearly marked “for use by restaurant clients” – we sailed off – what could he do? :- )

(No, she didn’t crash)

(I reckon Postman Pat lives here)

With our 6 hours nearly up we headed back up the lake and pulled into a sheltered cove and had a swim. I can tell you, it’s not a natural feeling jumping off a boat and leaving it abandoned – with no anchor. I had to front crawl to catch it up as the wind got a bit of pace behind it.

Our timing could not have been better – for all of the day we had a pond like calm lake with scattered clouds and then as we set off for the last 20 minutes to return the boat the wind picked up, the sky clouded over and it started to rain just as we got back to the tent (which we left open….)

(Our trusty steed. As you can see, the weather turned a bit just as we got back)

What a super day, and all in all, not too expensive. 195 Euros for the boat including insurance, and 44 Euros for the fuel we used. A lot of money for us in the scheme of things, but well, you have to try these things.

We saw a sea plane flying over the lake regularly so we plan to see if we can fly over Lake Garda when we are there. We are setting off tomorrow morning.

Right! Off to the bus stop to post this monster!

We actually did something organised yesterday! - We went with a guide from the Office de Tourism on a walk through the Luberon hills to look at the old ochre mines. Good value too! - 4 Euros each. You can go to larger mines and go inside them, but that's another attraction. This was more based on the walk than the mines.

A lovely morning out. We walked about 8k's and our guide was very knowledgable. We also got lucky - although she spoke reasonably good English, one of the French member of the group was from Brittany and was very keen to translate everything for us. Which was just as well.

Although we got the gist of most conversations, there were definately times when our lack of complete French made things a little confusing. At one stage she told the group (6 of us) about an old folklore tale of two mining groups who tunneled towards each other. When they met in the middle they were so pleased they all drunk lots of Pastis, so happy in fact, even the donkey had some. I translated this as they failed to meet in the middle because they had all drunk too much Pastis. Close, but no cigar. (Probably the truth though)

(Ochre mines)

The Ochre deposits are basically sand stone. Stone is too strong a word. You can scrape your name in the "stone" with your finger. They used to use high pressure water jets to blast it away, then let it settle in lakes and separate the ochre from the sand (sable!).

(There is no shortage of the stuff - but its so soft it'll all be flat in about 15 years they reckon)

(Especially if people like these two numpties climb all over it)

Production didn't stop that long ago. Synthetics are used for the colour these days but there is renewed interest in using the real thing. There were still plenty of signs of life not so long ago.

Ochre was everywhere. We've been warned to brush our clothes off and rinse them in cold water so that the colour does not "fix"!

The general walk was beautiful, and thankfully, shaded most of the time. Another lovely day out. We learnt more French too. I can now tell you with authority, but maybe not the spelling, that a white cherry is a "Bigaro" - a word I pointed out to our helpful translator that we'll probably never find a use for again!

We also learnt about the life cycle of Secarda insects (Segal in French). Our guide seemed obsessed by them and repeated many times throughout the walk all the details of their lives. I won't bore you, but you never know, might be useful one day.

(I'm getting somewhat obsessive about dead trees)

(pretty hey!)

(So much so I took two! :-) )

A few more days here, we think - it's lovely, then we'll head to Lake Garda or Lake Coma in Italy and camp until mid August when we are meeting Matt and Clarty D. Next planned things to do here are going to see some chap's garden model railway - should be hillarious - my idea, and K wants to arrange a day horse riding (I'll give that a miss thanks). We are also going to revisit the lovely restaurant on Villars one evening - it was that good, and excellent value (we had dinner in Apt the other night and it was beyond horriffic - all acompanied by a child that grizzled ALL evening and his mother ignored him all night)

p.s. Congrats to James Bullion and Karin - a baby boy arrived yesterday!. A Bullion Viking no less.

Well, just a miniscule update really. I've done a long post below regarding camping, but that is aimed at the general public (linked from a travel website) though you might find it interesting.

Still having a super time. It's baking hot. Piece of advice - if you buy a ragtop for touring Europe. Get one with air conditioning!. It's simply too hot midday. Our cooling system is whacko - it blows cool for about 2 seconds, then blisteringly hot. I looked under the bonnet - it draws air from above the engine - doh!

Moving on - went for a random drive around yesterday and stumbled across a tiny village called Villars. We had a super lunch in a lovely shaded restaurant. The chef came out and said hello and then went in to cook for us. It felt very personal. We were the only people there for the 1st hour. He came out and wished us Bon Appetite as we started.

We both had the Carpaccio to start (raw beef) - it was sublime! - ice cold, on a bed of salad and herbs, with parmesan shavings on top. Best Carpaccio we've ever had. I then had a perfectly cooked filet steak and K had pork in a mustard sauce. We chugged on a local bottle of rose :-) - A Villars no less!

A really fab lunch in a lovely setting.

We are off on a hike tomorrow with a guide. Lots of pictures to come.

I thought I'd pen this article for people considering camping in Europe - France particulalrly as it may provide some clues as to what to expect and how to find what you want. My family and friends might be a little bemused as for the need for this, but I've linked this post to a travel forum for others to benefit from.

This is not in any way definitive, but it should give a little preparation to those considering camping in France. I also think that pictures are invaluable - something I've struggled to find on the web so far.

Finding campsites:

Dead easy. Practically every town and village in France has campsites either right by it, or a few Kilometers away. Many have a "Municipal" campsite - these are generally cheap, but crowded, As a general rule of thumb - if there is scenery, tourist attractions, or pretty towns, there will be lots of campsites in the area.

Along the roads in and out of each town/village/area you'll see road signs with "Camping" writen on them and icons of a tent and a caravan. Frequently the sign will have the name of the site/s and their star rating. More on star ratings .....

In our experience (a mid 30's couple), unless you are travelling with kids and want lots of facilitles it is best to avoid 3 star and above sites. Don't get me wrong, we've stayed at some very nice 3 star sites in Normandy, but you'll generally find you are paying for lots of things you'll never use / need. You'll also frequently get the "Butlins" feel.

We have found , so far...

Unrated sites: Tends to be a field with electricty in limited areas, a basic shower and toilet block, and access to a freezer. Some of these sites can be fantastic. The prettiest we've stayed at was an unrated one on the Dordogne.

Camping on a farm: Not tried this yet but drove through one. Much like unrated sites. The toilets looked even more basic but this will vary wildly between sites. Some of the best views to be had for sure.

Up to 2 star: You tend to get the addition of a pool, bar / restaurant (usually with limited opening hours), much smarter shower / toilet blocks, access to a washing machine, abundant power, access to a freezer (for your blue ice blocks), "Static-home" like accomodation available, daily bread orders, well marked pitches.

3 star and above: These are run much more "professionally". Pitches are separated by neat hedges, the pool/s often have water slides etc, there is normally mini golf, activities for the kids, restaurant, bar, take away (steak frites, chicken frites etc). Everything else from the lower star sites is included.

Our conclusions are:

2 star and below: You tend to get far more "friendly" hosts. Often they live on the site in a caravan or static trailer. Prices are cheaper. The sites are usually more picturesque and you tend to find the guests are mainly mature couples or families with toddlers (no need for water slides for them yet!). Using the freezer for your ice blocks is usually around 40-50c per go. Often they'll have a "trust" system - you put your money in a bowl when you use the freezer.

Catering can be limited, but nearly all sites offter a system where you order your bread and pastries for delivery on site the next morning. The site we are currently at in Provence will take pizza orders for the whole site and ring a bell when they arrive (we don't all want to cook every night!, especially after a bottle of Rose in the sun)

Unrated: We've had a great stay on an unrated site on the Dordogne. The host was not in the slightest interested in taking deposits. He was even hard to find when it came to paying! You helped yourself to his chest freezer in his garage. There was electricity, a basic shower / toilet block, and that was it. The location was beautiful, and unusually, as you were basically in a field, you could BBQ - something that is banned pretty much everywhere unless you use their own special facilities due to the obvious fire risk.

3 star and above: On the whole - we have generally found these hateful places. They are usually plonked out of the way and are huge. Completely self sufficient and cut off from the rest of the world. These seem hugely popular with families with lots of young kids. There is plenty for them to do. Consequently there is never a quiet moment. These sites tend to get the most road signage.

Nothing is for free on these sites. On one site they refused to let us freeze our blue ice blocks, but instead, charged 1.5 Euros a time for a frozen bottle of water - which is no where near as efficient as proper ice blocks. Frequently we would be refused large plots / pitches as they were reserved for caravans and campervans, yet we'd pay the same rate as them and get put in a tiny "tent" pitch. Wi-Fi is normally several Euros per hour and only if you take your laptop near the reception/bar area.

These are efficient businesses catering for large family holidays.

A side note on the Muchelin green Camping France guide book - the vast majority of sites it lists are 3 or 4 star. If you want 2 star and less, you need to drive to your chosen area and then bumble about a bit looking out for camping signs. The best option is to go to the Office de Tourism and they'll give you a list of all local campsites.

Wi-fi - we have found this varies wildly. The French are catching on to the fact that wi-fi can be a deal breaker for a lot of travellers now. We've found several 2 star sites that offer free coverage accross all their pitches. Worth looking out for. In every instance we've been to a 3 star site advertising wi-fi - it's been chargeable, and does not cover the pitches - you have to go and sit at the bar - where they sell your beers for 3 Euros a pop. Expensive wi-fi!

Our overall experience so far is the lower the rating, the nicer time you'll have. Sites actually IN towns tend to be a expensive, crowded, and grubby.

Oh, a note on rivers - France has many! We though camping by the river would be a doddle. Not so. Practically every campsite we have looked at by the river is separated by a fence - safety for the kids one assumes. We did find one in the end - it was an unrated site.

Costs:
Unrated - we've payed 4 Euros a day, plus 2.5 Euros a day for electricity.
2 Star: figure around 15-20 Euros a day with electricity (big tent, car, two people - same cost for camper / caravan)
3 star - we've paid 32 Euros a day including power. We've seen over 42 Euros a day on the coast.

Anyhow - onto where we are at the moment. This will give you an idea of what to expect. We are at a 2 star site in Provence, in the Luberon region. About 5 mins drive from APT.

(We are the green tent on the corner) Expect tarmac on 3 star sites - and a 1000 cycling kiddies zooming past all day

(power and water - these are dotted around most of the place - you'll need a good 20m lead to cover most scenarios. Adapters are available for a few Euros if they are the caravan style sockets)

(A modest, but cooling pool, with BBQ are behind (2 Euros for coal) - Expect this to be teeming with splashing and screming kids by 11am. Oddly , today, it's empty!)

(reception - cold beer, freezer, snacks)

(These are called "Comforts" - popular with families)

(Showers, toilets, dish sinks, waching machine, hand washing sinks) - very clean, hot showers. The whole of France seems to operate on the "press for 10 seconds of water" tap system.

(Cheaper, and nicer - most sites have a more basic field - you need one heck of a lead if you want power, but for that you get beautiful views and tranquility)

If you want cold beer, rose, fresh food, and the ability to shop for a few day's meals, you NEED a portable fridge - this one is 12v so I had to get a 240-12v converter for 24 Euros. I put 2 blue ice blocks in it each lunch time. In the heat here, they are 100% nescessary for the fridge to have any hope of keeping up. I have 4 blocks, and cycle them.

(Obvious, but essential - chairs and table)

(A pitch on an "unrated" site - with power)

(The view from our tent on an "unrated" site - again with power)

(A spacious pitch on a 3 star site in St Emilion - notice the hedges separating each pitch - seems nice at 1st but feels insular)

The question of bookings comes up a lot. We've found no reason to book ahead, particularly with the lower rated sites. Conversely, in July, we've found several 3 star sites that show "Complet" on their road signs (full). The site we are now in is filling up (30th July) but there is still plenty of room to move about. We've moved our tent once to get a getter spot. The hosts often can tell you a site is full on one day, and the next there will be 3 spaces - they just don't know - people often (like us) know how long they are staying for. So if you find a site you love, but it's full, or there are no pitches with power free, ask if you can pitch up in a corner somewhere until a better spot becomes available. We did this here. and moved the next morning.

Camping kit - stuff that we have found invaluable:

12v pump for our air bed - we see people getting hernias every day pumping away on a pump that is the size of a fire extinguisher. Air beds go down slowly, no matter how well made. They need topping up every couple of days.
12v Chilled cooler box - these fellas drop the internal temperature to 15 degrees below the ambient temperature outside. Given 12 hours they will chill beers, but to work well, they need supplimenting with the blue ice block things.
Folding table - want to spend weeks sitting on the floor?
Comfortabel chairs - the canvas ones pictures are USELESS. They look great, and every petrol station in the UK sells them for a few quid. The are NOT comfortable for more than an hour. You just sink in them and they do your back in. Buy some nice "directors" chairs. We've borrowed a couple of comfy plastic chairs from our very helpful host(ess)
12v Rechargable lamp.
And a suprise entry - we bought "tent lights" - three separate LED lamps on a wire - you can turn them on and off from your bedroom, and from the living area - they make the world of difference at night time. No more fubling around with your main lamp.
Picnic blanket - not all pitches are grassy - especially in the South. Expect a fair share of baked dirt.

Further things that have randomly popped into my head...

Toilets and showers have ALL been clean and nice so far. Some a little tatty, but nothing frightening.
Camping well outside towns means no road noise and a distinct lack of "plonkers"
Expect 70% of your camping neighbours to be Dutch or German :-)

I know I've missed lots so feel free to ask any questions in the comments area of this blog.