Ahhh...France we've missed you and your wine!

Day 202-206

From the island of Sardinia, we took a ferry out of Porte Torres to the French port town of Marseille. We've taken a few ferry rides on this trip and this one turned out to be not just the cheapest but the best (albeit nauseating for a period of time as we bounced up and down in a large swell).

Having a private cabin and not having to sleep with truck drivers between the 'airline' seats on deck was a god send and we even got our own power point, so didn't have to fight with other passengers to charge phones/laptops etc.

From Marseille we quickly headed south with a plan to cover a few quaint French towns before we entered Spain for Christmas. 

Although not in France for a particularly long time (again), it was very refreshing to arrive into a country that welcomes wild campers with open arms. It was also great to be surrounded by the French who are so conservative and well mannered and don't bother us at all, unlike those pesky Italians.

The Arles Roman Amphitheatre dating from 90 AD and still showcasing events to this day, including bull fighting.

The colourful backstreets of Arles.

The 'North Pinus' in Arles. Interesting name for a hotel.

Marseillan Oyster Farms on the coast of southern France.

It turns out the French also have a long lunch break and we found ourselves walking the empty streets of Pezenas after we had finished ours. Bloody rude.

The town of Roquebrun and it's surrounding wineries. We managed to pick up a bottle of the local drop that afternoon and for $3 Euro's was very impressed.

The Roquebrun Bridge high above the River Orb.

Wandering through the quiet streets of Olargues.

On top of the Devils Bridge in Olargues.

The Devils Bridge in Olargues, which dates back to 1202 and is said to have gotten it's name as the local residents would do a deal with the Devil here. 

The town of Minerve, which was besieged in 1210 by four catapults. It took them six weeks to conquer the village as catapults in those days were known to take about 1-2 hours to load and fire.

Panoramic view of the valley around Minerve. The valley was once covered in water/ice and now holds many fossils.

View of the town of Minerve from the perspective of one of the catapults.

Some of the old wine barrels of the local wine region. Although many people associate French wine with the likes of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne etc it was amazing to see so many vineyards in the southern areas of France. Literally every inch of land in this area has a grape vine growing on it.

The Carcassonnes Fortress. 

If you had one castle to take a school group learning about castles to, this would probably be it. 

Gargoyles guarding the church inside the fortress. 

Getting into the Christmas Spirit in Carcassonne.

One of the 35 turrets at Carcassonne.

A monk hurrying off to do whatever monks do at the Lagrasse Abbey.

The town of Lagrasse in the Corbierres region of France. It turns out that this region is the largest producer of wine in France, so our observation on all those vines wasn't wrong at all.

One of the rare couple shots at this end of the trip.

Butcher in Lagrasse with half a sign. Maybe he specialises in half cuts. Dad joke......

Ville-De-Franche and it's fortified ramparts and castle nestled a little further up the hill.

French snack bar specialising in deli meats, bread and free rooms.

Look like Australia? Well it's not, it's off the route 168 and we managed to wild camp here after the road got very dark, windy and narrow.

Luke taking the first 'sober' call from any of his family in Australia. Thanks Dad!