BootsnAll Travel Network



Car Camping thru France: Finding Roman, Giant Dunes, & Running of the French Bulls

We made our way down the W. coast of France in our little hatchback rental car; our first time driving on this trip, making pit stops along the way. We visited our friend Roman, hiked the largest sand dune in Europe, drank Sauternes to our heart’s content, and partied it up in Basque country at Les Fetes de Bayonne.

To free ourselves from the time and location constraints of looking for accommodation, we decided to use our rental car for transportation and accommodation, giving “car camping” a new meaning. We are pretty sure sleeping in your car is illegal, or in the very least extremely discouraged by the local authorities in many parts of France, but we seemed to manage just fine. Frankly, by the 3rd night we became rather fond of our little car tent – that is until we desperately needed to shower. We got pretty good at taking “sink showers”.
[picture of anthony sleeping in the car]

After visiting Omaha Beach in Normandy and Mont Saint-Michel to sample the legendary omelettes of La Mere Poullard (totally worthy of all the hype), our next stop was the Ile de Re, home to our favorite crazy Frenchman, Roman (whom we met in Laos – See: http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Shan+Lee/?p=11) where we camped for a week on his mother’s ranch, went to the beach, played volleyball and toured the island on bikes – the perfect vacation in the middle of our world travels. Roman and his family took great care of us and made sure we were well-fed with local seafood, possibly the best ice cream we have ever tasted (from a famous creamery that does crazy flavors like caviar, potato, and lavender), along with the best French bread we have ever eaten (and this isn’t just because Roman baked it). The best part about that week was getting to spend time with Roman, getting to know the beautiful island he calls home, and more importantly getting to know his wonderful family who treated us like they own. Thank you Roman, Mami, Nanu, et Patrick!

We carried on southward towards Bordeaux and along the way, stopped at the great Dune du Pyla, the largest sand dune in Europe and a reminder to what beautiful and awesome things Mother Nature manages to do with her free time. It is pretty impressive that in the middle of this thick, green forest coastline you come across this giant random sand dune (Check out the aerial shot to get a better idea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DunePyla.JPG). We also made another quick pit-stop in Bordeaux where we took a quick tour of a Sauternes vineyard and chatted it up for awhile with the owner, a retired banker, who discussed competition in the wine industry, particularly from China, and the challenges associated with exporting wine from France imposed by the government.

Finally, we reached Bayonne, our last destination in France and home to one of the countries largest festivals; France’s version of the ‘running of the bulls’, les Fetes de Bayonne. We weren’t quite sure what to expect except that Bayonne would be overrun with people like us, wanting to partake in the festivities and looking for a good time. This little city was extremely picturesque with the River Nive running thru the middle, old Basque architecture and mazes of little pedestrian streets packed with little homes, restaurants, shops, and offices. The most interesting thing was that for the 5-day festival, the majority of these were all converted into makes-shift bars. We couldn’t find an internet cafe, because they had all been converted into street-side bars just for the event!

Needless to say, the town was bursting at the seams with people and the vibe was fantastic festive and friendly with everyone making merry with everyone else. For 5 days, the city was completely dedicated to the festival, overrrun with residents and visitors dressed in white and adorned with red scarves, belts and berets. All the streets in the inner city were shut down, there were vendors everywhere selling party wear and toys, and all the cafes and restaurants put out tables and chairs on the street to service the client overflow. For 5 days, everyone partied until dawn, woke up around lunchtime and started right up again. The daytime was much more family-oriented, with lively parades marching through the streets, big family meals at outdoor cafes, live street bands, and lots of activities for people of all ages. Dusk was when the hardcore party crowd started to wake up and take to the streets, filling them to the point where everyone would be packed like sardines and that’s when the rowdy, Mardi-Gras-like celebrations began.

Proprietors and residents alike sold beverages out of any opening in their homes, offices and establishments that they could find. We partied it up in every type of establishment you could think of. We took a particular liking to a bar out of the back of a mechanic’s shop that sold kalimocho (a favorite regional beverage made of cheap red wine and coke) by the liter and made sure to make a hole in the top with a powerdrill before sticking a straw in it and handing it to you. The best part of the night’s festivities where various live bands that played until dawn in different parts of town along with all the street food vendors that stayed open until the last of the party crowd turned in.

Most of the out-of-towners, like us, did not have any formal accommodations. Some, like us, camped out in their cars, other slept anywhere they could. We kept our car parked by a public park which would be littered with people who had camped out (most without tents) for the night. It was a decadent blast.

To satiate our curiosity (and help Anthony add another country to his list), we made a quick drive to Andorra and back and really enjoyed our brief 1 night stay there as the mountains are beautiful and it’s charming in a quirky way. Because of the tax laws it’s a shopper’s paradise where the mainstreets of the towns look just like airport duty-free shops. Pretty funny and well worth visiting if you ever get the chance.



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