{"id":6367,"date":"2011-02-24T09:11:19","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T08:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/?p=6367"},"modified":"2011-02-24T11:14:32","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T10:14:32","slug":"summer-2010-ardeche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/6367","title":{"rendered":"Summer 2010 – Ardeche"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of our trip to France<\/a> last summer, we decided to spend a few days exploring somewhere on our way home.\u00a0 We knew we wanted to go see someplace nice, and we weren\u2019t sure if we\u2019d find anywhere that quite compared to our trip to the Gorge du Tarn<\/a> two years before.\u00a0 I loved that area, especially Castelbouc<\/a>!\u00a0 We weren\u2019t sure where to go this time so we asked my in laws for suggestions and they agreed that we should head to Ardeche.<\/p>\n

What a great decision that turned out to be!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

How beautiful is this area?\u00a0 I was so happy standing up on that hill looking down over the gorge<\/a>.\u00a0 It took my breath away. \u00a0What a drastic contrast to the flat Dutch landscape I’ve gotten so used to.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

We spent two nights in the area, the first night we arrived after the drive from my in laws and spent what was left of the afternoon swimming and relaxing around the pool.\u00a0 We went out for dinner and then got an early night so we\u2019d be fresh for the morning when we planned to explore the area.<\/p>\n

Well, that was the plan anyway\u2026\u00a0 I ended up awake all night with the most terrible stomach pains.\u00a0 It was the second night of sleep I lost to that during our holiday, the first the night before our trip to Mare Nostrum<\/a>.\u00a0 I thought it was acid reflux due to my love of the French chorizo<\/a>, but it turned out that it was my poor gallbladder begging for mercy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nothing was stopping me from exploring that day though.\u00a0 Even though I was dead tired and it was approximately a thousand degrees in the shade, we got up early, had a nice breakfast at the hotel and set out.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

No really, I wasn\u2019t kidding.\u00a0 I checked and it was a thousand degrees\u2026\u00a0\u00a0 My poor, poor, pale and bald husband couldn\u2019t stand being out of the car for more than five minutes at a time because the sun was so hot beating down on him.\u00a0 Even after I tied a t-shirt around his head\u2026<\/p>\n

With the air conditioning on full blast the car was still warm, that<\/em> is how hot it was.<\/p>\n

I saw a lot of this.<\/p>\n

\"Ardeche\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Xander making mad tracks back to our air conditioned car, looking back and wondering when the hell I am going to stop taking photos.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t blame him, just after taking this photo I realized that the soles of my sandals had started melting and the little rocks on the pavement were getting stuck in the melty shoe goo.<\/p>\n

I wish that was an exaggeration, I had to throw them away when I got home!<\/p>\n

Can’t complain, I only paid 10 euro for them and they had a good run. \u00a0Not an actual run, have you met me? \u00a0They lasted a while, I mean.<\/p>\n

\"Ardeche\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The area was full of tourists, which we did know about going in. \u00a0We were warned by the in-laws that this was an extremely popular tourist destination.\u00a0 So we spent a fair amount of time in the car waiting for traffic to move.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t mind though as there was always scenery to look at or people to watch. \u00a0Plus, it was cooler in there.<\/p>\n

You know what was funny though?\u00a0 This:<\/p>\n

\"dutchplate\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Almost every car we saw was from the Netherlands!\u00a0 The place was crawling<\/em> with them!<\/p>\n

When we were checking in to the first hotel we stayed at the girl at the desk was commenting on how many Dutch people there always are in the area.\u00a0 She was telling us that there was even a giant camping \/ water park in the area that specifically caters to the Dutch, with groceries brought in from Albert Heijn<\/a>, if you can imagine!\u00a0 I so wish I\u2019d gotten the name of the place so I could link to it.<\/p>\n

I got the distinct feeling that she (and a lot of others in the area) don\u2019t like the Dutch and are pretty sick of having them flooding the place every summer. \u00a0The funniest bit was when she complained that the Dutch always bring their lunches rather than eating at restaurants, and how it’s not good for their economy. \u00a0That made me laugh, because I just knew she was speaking the truth. \u00a0The Dutch just love their packed lunches!<\/p>\n

It was worth adding to the Dutch vacationers flood, because it was truly beautiful there.<\/p>\n

\"Ardeche<\/a><\/p>\n

My favorite part of the area was Pont d’Arc<\/a>, which is also the most famous spot for visitors.\u00a0 We had to park pretty far down the mountain in order to get out and walk up to the viewing area to take photos.\u00a0 It was totally<\/em> worth the sweat and melted sandals because\u2026 LOOK!<\/p>\n

\"Ardeche<\/a><\/p>\n

Beautiful\u2026 just BEAUTIFUL!\u00a0 Nature at it\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

As I stood up on the hill taking photos I really envied all those people out floating in the water.\u00a0 Before we got up there we saw a lot of people lugging chairs and umbrellas while making the trek down to the beach.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t envy those<\/em> people.\u00a0 Not one little bit.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

On the way back to the car I noticed this clearing in the trees where we could see people lazing on the rocks and using them as a platform to jump from.\u00a0 The looked so cool and refreshed.\u00a0 I bet their shoes weren\u2019t melting!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

No matter where you stop along the gorge you are guaranteed to see kayakers everywhere.\u00a0 It\u2019s the most popular sport there and I can see why.\u00a0 Just imagine the view you get from the water, it must be spectacular!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Not to mention all the areas you get to stop at where the rest weren\u2019t able to get access to.\u00a0 The shores were full of beaches and the kayakers had the benefit of being able to avoid the popular ones that could be reached by the roads, and stop along the way in less populated areas.<\/p>\n

One day when I am finished with Project Fatass<\/a> and feeling more fit, I am definitely returning to this area and giving the kayaking a go! \u00a0I’ll start saving for my waterproof camera now.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

By the end of the day we were both pretty exhausted.\u00a0 We\u2019d driven a lot, walked a lot, sweated a lot and had a really wonderful day.<\/p>\n

I think our best decision was taking our cooler along and bringing a packed lunch (I know, we totally fit the stereotype!), because when we looked at the few restaurants along the way we groaned at how busy they were.\u00a0 Plus, we were able to just park in a nice spot with a nice view and eat our lunch, which suited us just fine.<\/p>\n

We headed back to our hotel around dinner time and spent what was left of the daylight once again swimming and lounging by the pool.\u00a0 We did a small bit of exploring in a nearby village that evening, had some dinner and once again turned in early to prepare for the long drive home. \u00a0I managed to sleep that night, like the dead.<\/p>\n

I love the south of France so much.\u00a0 There is so much to see and do! \u00a0I\u2019m pretty sure you could spend a lifetime of summer holidays there and still hardly cover it all!<\/p>\n

We are returning again this summer for two weeks.\u00a0 Just writing this post has made me so excited.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait to see our family down there, spend time with them and do some more exploring.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure where we will visit this time but I\u2019m sure wherever we go, it won\u2019t be disappointing.<\/p>\n

My in-laws that we’ll be staying with live in\u00a0Languedoc-Roussillon<\/a>, so if anyone has any tips on nice places to see within that area or somewhere that can be reached within a few hours\u2026 I\u2019m ALL EARS! \u00a0Or\u2026 eyes.\u00a0 You know what I mean, just tell me please!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the end of our trip to France last summer, we decided to spend a few days exploring somewhere on our way home.\u00a0 We knew we wanted to go see someplace nice, and we weren\u2019t sure if we\u2019d find anywhere that quite compared to our trip to the Gorge du Tarn two years before.\u00a0 I …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,39],"tags":[880,186,315,523,185,879,98,52],"class_list":["post-6367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-photography","category-travel","tag-france","tag-heat","tag-holidays","tag-nature","tag-summer","tag-travel","tag-weather","tag-xander"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6367"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6379,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6367\/revisions\/6379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}