Friday October 21, Carpentras ... and au Revoir

Catching up with Aussies Vicki and Dean

 
Another two day catch up on what has been a very relaxing time before the start of our travels back to NZ. It’s been very overcast for the past few days but still very warm, in the low 20’s.  Yesterday we wandered into town and had a look around then found some outdoor seating at a café in the centre of town, and enjoyed a lunch … and people watching in this pedestrian only area! 

In 2019 we met an Australian couple at a campsite in Eltmann, Germany. Vicki and Dean had bought a motorhome in 2016 and were like us, travelling to Europe each year and spending almost 6 months on the road. Although we only spent the evening with them, they were such great company and we enjoyed a few wines and a good chat. Since that time we have kept in touch and they arrived in Europe this year a few days after us. Today they were in Carpentras and biked into town to catch up with us. What a time we had, never stopped talking and sharing all our adventures. We walked into town to the market which was huge, very spread out but a lot of fun with so many great food stalls. It is supposed to be one of the biggest in southern France and can well imagine what it is like at the height of summer.

Sat outside on our deck with a few wines and some baguettes, cheeses, ham and olives….a perfect afternoon.

We have now packed our bags for the final time on this leg of the trip. Tomorrow we drive south to Marseille, about 1 ½ hours, return the rental car and check in for our 3.30pm flight back to Manchester, just over 2 hours. We are staying at an airport hotel for 2 nights, and collect our extra luggage that we stored there and repack for our trip back to NZ. Fingers crossed that we can keep under 60kg, there might be a few things getting left behind!

It will be an early start on Saturday morning as our Qatar flight leaves Manchester at 9am, with a 7 hour trip to Doha, a 3 hour stopover and then a marathon 18 ½ hours back to Auckland arriving at 1 am!!!

So, au Revoir from France and the end of Ruakiwi 2022. Who knows what our next adventure will be, but nothing planned at this stage. I enjoy keeping a diary of our travels and hope you have enjoyed reading the daily rambling blog of what we have been up to. And soon it will be back to reality, but really looking forward to catching up with all our family and friends.

Camera play while sitting at lunch!

Market day photos

Love all the flavours of olives.