After our short stay in Germany and our dash to the sun and warmth of southern France we had arrived at Gruissan and a warm welcome from old friends David and Anne.
For those not fortunate to have been to Gruissan a short description might explain why we keep returning. This ancient village is situated about 7 miles east of Narbonne on the edge of the sea.
A large sandbank, now built on and accessed via a long causeway, almost cuts it off from the sea and creates a large calm lagoon. Some years ago a huge marina was constructed beside the old village and is now mooring for many hundreds of boats as well as apartments, restaurants, bars and shops.
There is an Aire de Camping-Car across the causeway and beside the enormous beach but our favourite is situated between the lagoon and the marina. Gentle and calm blue sea on one side, masts and rigging on the other. It is a large and very popular aire which always seems to have a good, laid back atmosphere. This time however we just had gentle breezes off the sea to keep the temperatures comfortable for us northern Europeans. We stayed for two glorious weeks and spent lazy days alternating between sun and shade, having lunches under the awning, then snoozing for much of the afternoon before a BBQ supper.
During an evening walk around the marina we bumped into another couple we had met and befriended several years before at Gruissan. It was great to see them again and as they also knew David and Anne we were forming our own little Brit community in our corner of the aire.
