A Hike, a Ride, and Van Living in France | European Tour Episode 3

In this video I head into the South of France and find more amazing scenery, chateaus, and history. I begin with a walk around the town of Rocamadour, before heading further towards the southern border of France. I spend a few days around Cahors, before going to meet my partner Caroline who flew out to spend a few days travelling around with me.

This is the third video from my trip into Europe that I set off on last week. I have two months free, and I have deliberately embarked on this trip without any set plans of where I want to go and what I want to do, I have instead just loaded up my campervan with hiking and biking gear so that I can explore the countries I visit in a variety of different ways.

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Links

Hike from Rocamadour:
https://www.komoot.com/tour/1468058121?ref=wtd&share_token=aw4fwlBe9O3M43EoroWxMegXwS8n26AYxsRKxqHgDJKtUhLjbr

Ride from Cahors:
https://www.komoot.com/tour/1471941358?ref=wtd&share_token=aUJuoCziZEYazKZ0cXrDIT14rpVJ489hjauzvN6cgkccv7hlwp

00:00. A hike around Rocamadour
06:43. Bike ride from Cahors
12:32. Ending the day in Cahors
14:09. Van clean and other jobs day
22:19. Collecting Caroline
24:17. Goodbye

It’s been a bit drizzly this morning but it stopped and yeah it doesn’t matter do you know I haven’t been out in the rain once I haven’t had to walk hike or anything hardly Drive I do Dodge the rain anyway I’m going to drink this I’m not going to

Rush out this is a 10mile walk today perfect hiking weather just setting off as much as I love cycling there’s something just so simple about hiking it’s the most basic way of getting around and I really enjoy it it’s the most relaxing let’s say that I think cycling is more

Fulfilling if I’m honest cuz you get to see more but this is just nice and easy this to me is sorcery honestly it’s insane how Google can do [Applause] this absolutely gorgeous walk so far just all this sort of Woodland um which makes a nice change

Really I’ve had it up to here with shadows so I need some breakfast I haven’t eaten breakfast again and I’ve done the same thing as I usually do when I come away on trips I’m just not eating enough and I reckon I’ve probably lost I don’t know

12 maybe1 15 I I know it’s sounds like I’m just making this stuff up but my weight fluctuates so quickly it’s crazy I think I said in one of the more recent videos I put on or I put on 42 when I got back from the

Gdmbr in a very short amount of time and that could be and is likely one of the main causes for my blood pressure um rapid weight gain can cause elevated blood pressure and that makes perfect sense um I don’t pay attention to my own health and well-being anyway I’m losing weight now

So I have no idea what’s going on with my blood pressure we’re going to stay on the tablets anyway I am going to find a diet where I can maintain a weight because I think at 50 years old this rapid weight um change can’t be any good for you I

Thought I’d share that with you the long running commentary into my blood pressure problems anyhow back to the walk it’s like a good spot for a flapjack it really smells strong This is Wild Garlic I think it is anyway yeah wow so oh my God it’s so

Garlicky so good I might grab some actually I can have a salad in fact I’m going to have some with my lunch so I think we just followed this River all the way back to rock Amador now hopefully it’ll take me back through the

Town I can show you that cuz it’s a very pretty little Town very interesting place those steps I just walked up I climbed on their knees by people doing pilgrimages probably not now but they used to anyway they can’t go in because it’s just out of season I think everything starts in April but I’m fine with that I mean it’s

Just I prefer it to be nice and quiet for me anyway but it is a shame I couldn’t go and have a a proper look and now it’s a long way up to my van Not bad now to do the other two eggs that is really delicious even if I do say so myself that garlic is so nice morning it’s early 7:30 I’m ready to go already I’m going to La magdalin I’ve booked a camping car park place I

Don’t think you can get in till 12: but I’m going to try if I can get in there and that’s where the van stays tonight as well and then I’m going to go out for this ride should be a nice day these are the days where I miss two coffees

Three but I’m not going to get back into that again so I’m going to get going it’s only about an hour something like that so uh and it should be a nice drive cuz it’s very early on a Sunday morning right now to ride to cahor where the

Route starts I think it’s going to be a nice one it’s a perfect day let’s get moving right we’re on the route start and finish in cahor so uh let’s see what it’s like wouldn’t fancy being the postman here that was a decent little climb nice views and I need a drink and

I need a snack my wellth thought out food for today I can either have a flapjack or sardines yes I am running low on food a there’s a mural yeah so that mural was produced in 1992 by did camoo chamizo a local child it’s the largest Contemporary Art mural in Europe

And 800 M squared cool it’s held up well 1992 right I’ve got a big descent um this doesn’t appear to be a cycling Trail oh well just take it slow so that’s where that mural or they call them frescos is right there but you’ve seen it so I’ve chosen not to just plunge

Straight into the river to give you a better view that was some work I came down from right up there and it was difficult hiking trail all the way I survived though I’m in lzc it’s a really really nice place it’s dominated by this massive Tower 13th century chadow or Castle

And uh a very historic town lots and lots of History I was just reading up on it apparently now known for its good food and restaurants I’ll stick with my sardines do you know those sardines I’m not going to eat them I know that they’re going to be in the

Van when I get back home in may possibly this time next year they’ll still be in the van I like sardines but it’s like effort isn’t it effort to eat them right we’ve crossed the river and we’re heading back I think we’re just going to run along this River all the way

Back so I’m guessing we’re about halfway it’s been an awesome ride so far so I’m back in lzc basically we’re just caning it along the road which runs the other side of the river so it’s twice as fast as on the way out this is the river lot just looked it up

Don’t judge me it was the only place Open so this church has an interesting history Pope John the 22nd was born in cahor and he was baptized in this church he had it reconstructed when he became the Pope in 1316 um when he was Pope there was a developing view that um Christ and his Apostles lived in poverty without

Possessions and therefore Catholics should do the same but uh he was having none of that basically said we can’t have all our nice things and our big buildings if that’s the case so um he decided that uh provided they were really obedient they could have all

Their nice things he did try to ban all talk of um living in poverty but that just made it worse for him so he got loads of theological experts together and basically listened only to the ones that agreed with him so yeah can you blame him anyway I’m going to get going

Time to get back to the van I hope I pass a shop it’s becoming embarrassing how inept I am at buying food cheers rats trayan good morning it rained all night but it stopped and now it looks like the sun’s coming out well kind of not really it’s not raining

Anyway I’ve decided to move on from here to a place called montech it’s a bit further south I’ve got a few jobs I’ve got to do some cleaning laundry shopping so it’s a a decent sized little town it’s got everything I need and that’s all I’m going to do

Today I’m not going to go for walks or anything as much as I’d love to get out and do something every day so that’s the plan um I’m headed to too cuz tomorrow Caroline is flying out early in the morning and I’m picking her up um she’s

Here for three nights so four days she goes home late Friday night was so cheap it’s 37 return flight from stanstead so it’s easy for her to get over so that’s today anyway I’ll probably show you what I’m doing because you can’t just show all the good stuff can you got to show

The the chores I was just thinking as I was about to say it I was thinking that’s the beauty of this van I mean it can’t take me how could it take me an hour to clean the whole thing from top to bottom it’s just as small as it’s

Feasible to live in which is precisely what I like about it it’s not just me is it that is weird I’m getting my stuff ready for the laund I’ve parked up in cah it’s a bigger place than where I’m going so I’m more likely to find a laund that’s open

Apparently there’s one half a mile so I’ll just walk up there this will do for now it’s manly so now I know what npan means it means broken down which was all of the dryers in that place so thought I’d just go on to the next one this is a tour of cahor

Via laundromats a laundromat crawl said washing powder is added automatically 41 minutes well that was easy all right I’ll come back in 40 minutes time to go back and check the machine all are these Cathedrals and churches but they’re all locked up I’d love to go in and have a

Look I don’t know if that’s just a normal thing or like I say a seasonal thing maybe still very interesting just looking around I mean every street is pretty fascinating here I put the machine on for 10 minutes that won’t be enough but I couldn’t figure

Out how to put it on for more so I think it’s going to have to be multiple 10minute attempts I know what this is strawberry drink but I think it’s got bits of strawberries in it and I got pizza and a genuine French eclair job done now to get back to the

Van and get off to monre can’t remember going to go there clean out the van put my new beding on and it’s a reset isn’t it it’s just so weird just thinking about my early French lessons and I can still remember it see how many people can relate to

This bonjo my class bonjo Mrs Jones Come on s s Mery don’t know if I can remember much else aside from guinea pig so I had to learn how to name my pet and I had a guinea pig called good and it’s Kon Guinea I think unless that’s

Welsh I think coong Guinea is Welsh for guinea pig I might be wrong had to learn Welsh and French obviously didn’t really do me any good and my French teacher Mrs Jones I used to think she was an old battle axe but I bet she wasn’t she was the only teacher

In that whole school that had control of the students so I feel a bit guilty I’m going to dedicate today’s journey to Mrs Jones wherever she may be finished my chores I’m going to head out into montech 23° CS that is I wonder what it is in Britain not that

I meant to buy one I bought four by accident but I’ll eat two and take two bag but the whole thing € I’m telling you it’s cheap in France a lot cheaper than the UK and definitely cheaper than uh America it’s very good so there you go

That’s pretty much it for the today tomorrow morning I go to Tulu airport pick up Caroline and then we’re off on a 4-day trip so you’ll see some of that no doubt probably not as much as when I’m on my own but some none the less so there we go I’ll see you

Tomorrow we’re in kadak hi keep looking at this little Suzuki and I want one could be that I don’t really want one but I want one if I lived here which is usually how these things work this is the birthplace of uh I don’t know if it’s the birth place but it’s where

Salvador dar’s house is so I’ll show you that in a bit Salvador dar’s residence don’t know what this is looks like a pineapple it’s not though is it it’s got a core Oh weird oh my God let me try some go a cross between mango a mango and a banana avocado banana I

Think it’s like it’s got texture of a banana I think it’s got a texture of pear and an avocado we you know what it’s called though we you know what it’s called interesting my beer had a cork is that a French thing I don’t know also it’s massive so I’ve just dropped Caroline

Back at the airport in tulus we went to a place called kassan and then made our way down into Spain kakz where Salvador Dary lived really really nice place so there’s been a lot of driving but we’ve seen a lot and carason was so beautiful

I decided to come back up here and stay in a place called Castle Nordy and ride the canal back into kassan tomorrow so um yeah that’s the plan but it was nice it was nice 4 days and I relaxed and enjoyed myself but I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine of

Going for bike rides so tomorrow should be a good day and that may be the end of the video actually and if it is thank you for watching and I’ll see you again on the next one cheers it’s not bad it look like wine I

Opened it and I thought have I bought a bottle of wine by accident not that that would be a terrible thing very interesting