tuesday 2nd may 2017

we had eaten in the ibis styles restaurant on monday evening overlooking the swimming pool and the pink evening sky.   alas, the sky at night may have been a shepherd’s delight but the morning was grey and damp when we woke up.  months before i had seen an article on the french lunchtime news about a bird park in the camargue where the birds were so used to visitors that it was possible to get photos of the usually timid flamingoes.  i had been online and found that it was only a half hour drive to the south of arles.  despite the rain in the air when we checked out lou primed the gps and off we went, me hoping nothing had been left behind!

as we drove closer and closer to pont de gau it became clear that the rain was getting heavier rather than lessening.   even so i was able to spot white horses standing in the damp undergrowth, waterfowl pecking in the rice paddies and a great yellow sweep of flag iris along both sides of one of the many canals.  no flamingoes though.

at pont de gau we decided against the visit.  sitting in wet coats and shoes for the five hours it would take to drive home afterwards was an uninviting prospect.   so we turned for home and the waiting cats.

the idea of meeting in arles and watching the fete des gardians together had been mooted by viv when she was planning her month in europe.  it appealed to me as i love arles and the fete was new to me.  i am so glad we went despite the rain and so a big thank you to viv for her suggestion, to alan for getting her there and charm just for being charm!  🙂