Travels with Verne and Roy - Trains and planes, boats, bikes and cars

Historic South of France, June 2024, Part 3: Arles and Béziers

Historic South of France; day trip from Marseillan to historic Béziers and those murderous Crusaders; one night in Arles; Arles Arena, the ancient Roman amphitheatre; Hotel de L’Amphitheatre; Van Gogh exhibition; currently kaput Van Gogh Café; two Arles restaurants – Gaudina and La Gueule du Loup; downtown Arles and the Rhône riverside

A. Day Trip to Béziers

With so many day-tripping possibilities available from Marseillan (for examples, see Part 2 of this trilogy), we almost didn’t get to Béziers. I’m so glad we did!

Béziers City Centre

Parking is free at the open-air Parking du Vieux Pont. From there, you can walk over the old bridge and up the hill into the historic town centre, ascending either by several long flights of stairs, or three lifts.

Or a combination; I think we did two lifts and one set of stairs.

Béziers view: Roy with the triumphant look of a man who has climbed a lot of stairs and can now stop for coffee

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Marseillan Port Highlights, 2-29 June, Part 2 – Oysters & Noilly Prat

Marseillan port highlights: oysters and Noilly Prat; flashback to 2017… and 2023; aerial views of the Camargue; les huitres… shucking marvellous; meaning of concylicole; Le port concylicole des Mazet; les coquillages, especially Coqui Thau; cruise on L’Étang de Thau; Oyster Farming #101; Maison Noilly Prat; three more Marseillan restaurants; Father’s Day at home with Wendy

Oysters are synonymous with the Étang de Thau – a 22km-long lagoon fed by the Mediterranean Sea. You can enter it by boat from Le Canal du Rhône à Séte, which is how Roy and I got to Marseillan in July/August 2017 on our boat Karanja, while en route to the start of Le Canal du Midi. (For that story, plus scads of Boaty-McBoatface photos, click here.)

Flashback to August 2017…

Crossing LÉtang de Thau from Séte to Marseillan on Karanja, on a hazy day.

… and to mid-2023

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Marseillan Port, 2-29 June 2024, Part 1

A month in Marseillan port, a gorgeous spot in the South of France; avoiding confusion; cassoulet at Marseillan Plage; Here Come the Campbells… the Baragwanaths and Wendy; out and about in Marseillan; running around L’Étang de Thau; two fêtes worse than death (not really); Marseillan Cheat Sheet; our favourite restaurants; best day-trips from Marseillan

A full year ago, Roy booked us a two-bedroom apartment in Résidence Farenc in the port town of Marseillan, right on the water, for almost the entire month of June. Four weeks might sound like a long time to be in the same place. But when the time came to leave, I felt I could have stayed another month. Roy said he felt the same way.

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Two Weeks in England, 15-30 May 2024, Part 3 – East Sussex and London

Two weeks in England: Detour to Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex; beating the bank holiday traffic; De La Warr Pavilion; Laetitia Yhap art exhibition; Relais Cooden Beach; via Lewes to London; Docklands and Canary Wharf; shopping disappointment; two London shows; Blackheath pub grub; Gatwick Sofitel and EasyJet to Montpellier

It’s over 300 miles (480km) from Liverpool to the Sussex east coast, where I’d managed to convince Roy to take us to spend the night at the Relais Cooden Beach, at Bexhill-on-Sea. (As mentioned before, I do freelance writing and editing work for the Relais Group, which also took us to The Relais Henley the previous week: see Part 1 of Two Weeks in England, here). On the other hand, it would be just a two-hour drive the next day from Bexhill-on-Sea to London, the last stop before France.

We expected a good 5.5 hour drive from Liverpool, plus the frequent pit-stops that this flesh of mine is hostage to; so leaving early was a good idea. Like most Brits, Roy vehemently dislikes being wrested untimely from his bed; but we were surprisingly up, out, and on the road by 7.15am… and that was how we beat the Monday bank holiday traffic.

Bexhill-on-Sea

Relais Cooden Beach is located in the southern part of Bexhill-on-Sea.

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Two Weeks in England, 15-30 May 2024, Part 2 – Merseyside

Two weeks in England: Merseyside is not Liverpool: Crosby and The Wirral; three nights in Wallasey; family matters; Roy and 100 other iron men at Crosby; topless in Liverpool

So, from the birthplace of the Bard to the birthplace of Roy. Well, not actually Liverpool – he was born in Crosby, north of Liverpool. The Wirral, a wide peninsula on the other side of the Mersey River, where several family members live, is similarly not Liverpool.

There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be.

John Lennon

New Brighton Promenade, on The Wirral – Crosby Beach is on the other side of the water

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Two Weeks in England, 15-30 May 2024, Part 1

Two weeks in England: The Plan; Singapore stopover; nothing to wear; cream tea at The Relais Henley; not visiting Blenheim Palace, Woodstock; not visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon; Roy’s family birthday

It wasn’t easy for Roy to leave the house we’re having built in Perth WA, especially at rather a critical point – our cursed builder went into liquidation, remember? – but this trip had been booked a year earlier. Two weeks in England, then the full month of June in the South of France – bookended by three days in Singapore.

He had planned this first post-COVID trip to England mainly with extended family in mind. It felt well due. His sister Lyndsay and John live near Stratford Upon Avon, so it made sense to kick off with a week there. Then, not having seen Aunty Marjorie, cousin Richard and cousin Kate for far too many years, we would head up to the Wirrall and Liverpool for a few days. Finally, we’d spend four nights in London.

Getting there

We took an SIA flight from Perth to Singapore, arriving on the evening of Sunday 12 May for three days with the ever-hospitable Paul and Salinah. Thanks, guys!

Singapore, all about food and friends… and foodie friends

They do not love that do not show their love.”

Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona

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The House that Roy and Verne Built, Part 3 – Bye-bye, builder

The House that Roy and Verne Built; blast from the past – Parts 1 and 2; our builder went bust, and we heard it through the grapevine; up the creek without a paddle; so dry your tears, woman; counting our blessings; up on the roof, or some pricey scaffolding; Bob the (Un)-builder; ceilings, windows, doors, floors and more; Roy’s stairway to heaven; be of good cheer!

It seems almost inconceivable how long this house-building lark has been dragging on for: three full years since the slab went down in May 2021. So disjointed has the progress been, and so dispiriting the experience, that I haven’t even felt like blogging about it for the past two-and-a-half years.

For Parts 1 & 2 of This is the House that Roy and Verne Built, you can look back at the archives. Or simply click on the links below.

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Tiong Bahru Revisited, February 2024

Tiong Bahru history; Gong Xi Fa Cai!; Tiong Bahru, historic Art Deco Singapore neighbourhood; Geraldene Lowe, national treasure; black-and-white houses, Emerald Hill, Little India and Katong; Tiong Bahru architecture and heritage trail; Lynn & Kim’s gorgeous flat; history of 78 Moh Guan Terrace; eclectic shopping; Tiong Bahru Market; foodies or greedies?; the price of eggs; the price of molestation!

Happy Year of the Dragon!

It’s always good to be back in Singapore. First of all, Gong Xi Fa Cai and Happy Chinese New Year at the start of this auspicious Year of the Wood Dragon. Here’s a photo I took in Upper Cross Street, Chinatown.

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A Taste of Bawah Reserve, 29-31 January 2024

Bawah Reserve, dream private island destination; friends for life, and choosing them wisely; travel agents who slack on the job; the uneventful flight of the Panamanian refugees; gorgeous Tented Beach Suite; beach babe Roy; spa bliss and sunset cruising; table-dancing at Elang Private Residence; beef rendang, popcorn prawns and so much more; homeward bound via Singapore

If you like to travel in style to exotic locations, I seriously recommend you choose your friends wisely.

One of the huge advantages of living in Singapore from 2000 to 2016, when Roy retired from a lifetime in the shipping industry to become my full-time travel agent*, was the opportunity to meet an eclectic bunch of people from all over the world. One of these is Paul Robinson. Party animal and self-proclaimed friend for life, this is a man who takes friendship so seriously that he’s virtually turned it into an art form.

Friends for Life

We’ve known Paul for over 20 years, since those early days in Singapore. Formerly with Elite Havens, where he spent most of his time visiting and rating/reviewing upmarket accommodation in exotic locations (how does one get a job like that?), he’s currently COO of gorgeous Bawah Reserve. (Click here for its outstanding website.)

Florie and Paul Robinson, murdering a couple of *after*-lunch cocktails last year at Chijmes, Singapore

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Singapore Cultural Attractions, 17 July to 2 August, Part 2

Singapore cultural attractions: a humble admission; Roy, then and now – a historical artefact?; Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through Travel 1800s – 2000s; Palawan Beach, Sentosa; meditating on dengue in Fort Canning Park; running up hills and through treacle; paths diverge at Botanic Gardens MRT

I wanted to title this “Culture Vultures in Singapore”, but had to admit it would have been an overstatement. Visiting one museum, two gardens and a theme-park island does not a culture vulture make.

What was more, the title had already been used: click here for a PDF of my recent Expat Living magazine article on our visit to Phuket. (But please remember to come back!)

National Museum of Singapore

Situated on the edge of Fort Canning Park, the National Museum of Singapore is a magnificent attraction worth visiting and revisiting – but at first I doubted I’d be able to drag Roy along with me. I’d probably have to go alone. (I could already hear the protestations: he’d been there before, what had changed, etc.)

Singapore cultural attractions, Singapore National Museum — Singapore National Museum, next to Fort Canning Park, Stamford Hill Road

Then, jogging past this lovely building on my way into the park one morning, I saw a possible way to lure Roy in: a current exhibition titled: “Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore Through Travel, 1800s – 2000s”. Ha! That would be irresistible to a man who first visited Singapore as a teenaged BI (British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd) cadet in the 1960s.

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