Hurray! Nick's medicines have worked and he is well enough to drive today and it's bright and sunny. We give Nick and Grete the anniversary card Ali made with wild flowers from the lanes, then go to say goodbye and thank Madame but she does not work on Saturdays so we leave a little note with her colleague, who politely says our French is 'parfait' and set off at 11:00 We drive our last few miles of the Carmargue on smooth dual carriageways through wide flat p...

We are woken by a red glow in the van signalling a beautiful sunrise behind us. Nick's back is improved but not enough to drive. Ali visits Madame who reassures us it is no problem and we can stay as long as we need. At last the wind and clouds have gone and it's a hot, sunny day. Everyone is content to have a day to chill out, rearrange lockers, walk the lanes around the vineyards and sit in the sun. [except Nick who alternates between lying down and sitti...

Nick wakes up with a very sore back and has to spend a day in bed to rest. If we are to lose a day we couldn't have chosen a better place or day. The weather is grey, overcast and showery. The three fit ones leave Nick in bed and can now partake in morning degustation as nobody has to drive. Ali explains to Madame about Nick and she reassures us we are welcome to stay as long as it takes to get better. Mas de Rey is a vineyard of 42 hectares of Grenache and ...

This morning it is still windy and there has been rain in the night, but now just a few thundery showers and the odd clap of thunder. At breakfast we hear lots of honking and look out to see a large flock of flamingos flying over. We loaf around for the morning and discover we have a bit of free wi-fi so Nick updates the blog. Ali and Nick W get some water and clean the sand off the windscreens, then Ali goes to enquire about horse riding, but like yesterday t...

Its grey and cloudy this morning as we say goodbye to the Owners and set off at 10:40 to look at Beziers. We pass the cathedral and go on into the city but there is no where to park a motor-home or two. Much of Beziers is busy and feels run down, and there appears to be a lot of North African styling and people. We leave the city and head back out into the countryside to find the Mediterranean. The scenery is different now, scrubby trees, Mediterranean shrubs and...