Camping in the Cévennes

Wedesday, May 17 2006.

Today it's the Champions League Cup Final (football) between Arsenal and FC Barcelona in Paris. I hope Arsenal led by its French contingent will win. Arsenal, perhaps for its French players is my favourite English team. It also annoys my future brother-in-law, who is an ardent Manchester United supporter.

Actually I don't really care about football. I want the French team to win in three weeks time during the World Cup in Germany, because of national pride, but I won't beat my fiançée or get drunk and go on the rampage taunting the riot police with hooligan behaviours. No my real love is rugby. And rugby is the sport of predilection in Toulouse and in the South of France in general.

The Stade Toulousain is my team and I wish them all the best for the semi, then final of the French Championship. Nothing would please me more than if the Stade Toulousain beat the Stade Français Paris in the final, pipping them to the post one more time.

Anyway back to the camping in the Cévennes....We bought a huge four-man tent on eBay a few weeks back and decided to try it out during a long weekend. So we drove to the Cévennes area of France which is roughly three-hours away north east of Toulouse and another 40 minutes west of the Mediterranean Sea.

We thought camping on a farm site would be cool and it was....not that it was a farm. It was more like a 16th century castle with turrets and pointy roofs. Located by a small stream near the small village of Nant and the lovely Valley of the Dourbie River. GREAT!

We pitched our tent in the field at the back of the castle and envoyed the view. We were the only one there and the lady farmer who owns and manages the place had only opened the camp site for us because it pleased her to do so.

After a well deserved cup of tea, we set out to explore the nearby village of Nant and its side streets and old 14th century stone bridge.

The water level markers on the sides of the bridge, right down to its base had notches up to six metres! For such a small river it must be quite somthing when it goes crazy and rises up by six metres! After eating half a baguette of bread sitting on the parapet of the river, we returned to our tent for a really cold night. Higher up in the mountain, there was snow on the ground for godsakes!

The following day, we visited the roquefort caves where the world famous blue cheese is made. It was interessting and no we could not resist the urge so we ended up buying a slab the size of a small car wheel of the stuff. Hummmmm!!!

My advice to would-be visitors of Roquefort: visit the caves for free in one of the major cheese making factories such as, say, Papillon, then leave after some welcome cheese tasting and walk across the road to a smaller producer where it will be much cheaper!!!!

In the afternoon, we combined medieval history with modern architecture. We stopped off in some Hospitalers or Templars fort, looked at ancient dolmens before arriving in Millau to have a look at the tallest suspended bridge in the world. It was simply breathtaking.


Lisa thought that from far away there were certain lines which could be pleasing to the eye, but up close and personal with the thing itself, then it was "a monstruosity!". I liked it. So much so, that I stopped off everywhere like some bridge spotter saddo so I could to take some snaps.

And yes, I happily spent my €5,10 to drive across it. It was awesome. Like floating on a vast sailing barge. Really cool! A great example of Franco-British cooperation. A bridge designed by Lord Norman Foster and built by the construction firm founded by some Gustave Effel guy, you know the one who designed the Effel tower!

Another day and we took the car for a spin down the twisty roads of the Valley of the Dourbie. There was so much fog, we couldn't see further than a few metres. It made for quite an eerie drive.

Lisa freaked out when we stopped by an ancient railway bridge now used by bunjee jumpers and mountain bikers. Indeed there was this huge dark opening into the rock face, an old train tunnel linking various small towns in the area.



But when I put the car facing the opening as if to drive into the mountain side....then Lisa panicked and there was no taking this weird shortcut!!! She thought some freak hillbilly would appear to murder us and cut us up into bits, or something like that.

So we just nicked a well preserved clay tile from the omd railway house on the other side of the road instead and drove down the mountain side to another village....what a strange place. It looked and felt like some old depressed mining village...perhaps it was. One quick coffee in the local bar as an excuse to use their toilet and we left off back to our camp site via one more dolmen.


Back in Toulouse, where the weather has been more than pleasant with a nice 30°C (and rising). We have been spending a big chunck of our time on the balcony, basking in the sun reading a good book.

I am currently looking for a new job b ut I am using this timle to do something I have always wanted to do that is, working on a short film project. It's going quite well actually, to the point where the script, storyboard, locations, and most of the props are ready. I have met several potential actors and in the coming weeks I'll be organising a casting rehearsal. Still I am pleased to see how interested and motivated some of the actors have been. For a first-time project, with no money to be made, it's heart warming.

Shooting should start early in July. By then my actors will be ready and so will my assistant and I . I look forward to it. More about that another time........