We have had quite the few days. The motorhome has been playing up since the heat in Portugal, I have been feeling rough enough to stay in the van while everyone else goes sightseeing, and then a hailstorm of genuinely terrifying proportions rolled through the campsite and turned out, afterwards, to be an actual tornado. Oh, and there was a small collision in the car park. All in all, a busy couple of days in the south of France.
Where we stopped
Camping de la Cité, Carcassonne
An odd one, this. It served its purpose, but it is not somewhere I would have chosen given a free hand. The facilities were functional, the location worked well enough as a base for visiting the old city, and the walk up the hill to the walled town and back is genuinely beautiful. I had been before, though, so while Lyndsay and the family headed out to explore, I stayed put and tried to rest.
Carcassonne with the family (while I held the fort)
Because I was feeling properly under the weather, Eddie took over filming duties for the day, and a good job he made of it too. The family had a brilliant afternoon up in the old city. Tickets for the medieval jousting and falconry show came in at around 13 euros each, which for a 45-minute spectacle involving horses, swords, birds of prey and what Eddie described perfectly as “Life of Brian but in French” is reasonable enough. The French commentary did not trouble them unduly. The birds were the highlight, honestly. Watching the falcons and raptors sweep low around the arena, nobody needed a translation for that.
Carcassonne itself is genuinely beautiful. It is one of the oldest intact walled medieval cities in the world, and even if you have been before (I had, a few years ago), the walk up through the trees from the campsite and back down again is worth it every time. George spotted the same trees the boys used to hide inside on a previous visit, and was immediately up one of them. Standard.
Lyndsay, meanwhile, was back at the van doing the VAT return, reconciling the bank accounts, making sure payroll was ready, and chasing a payment from a client who, if they are reading this, yes, she knows. She also improvised an excellent dinner from leftovers when the hailstorm made eating outside absolutely out of the question: leftover chicken, peppers, onion, tomatoes, a couple of spoonfuls of pesto and some sun-dried tomato paste, served over rice. We cleared the lot.
The tornado, the collision, and the van diagnosis
Three separate dramas, briefly: the minor collision happened pulling into the campsite. We were both moving, and both of us decided the insurance route would cost more than it was worth, a handshake was had, and the plastic wheel arch cover went back on with a little persuasion. There are some light surface scratches that Richard at PPF Protective should be able to deal with. My verdict: one of those things, not worth the faff of international insurance paperwork.
The hailstorm, which arrived that evening, turned out to be a full tornado. It made the news back in the UK. Hailstones the size of ice cubes hammered the roof, one of the awning arms snapped clean off, and the whole campsite held its breath. The motorhome survived intact, which is more than can be said for the awning. The solar panels took the brunt of the roof impacts, which may have been a blessing.
The van issue is the one that has been running since Portugal, and it is finally closer to an answer. The Allianz Fiat Assistance technician plugged his computer in and found a string of dashboard communication errors and unspecified faults. His diagnosis, backed up by several messages from viewers with motorhomes of the same age reporting the identical symptoms, is a software update. The pattern fits: no problems driving from Barcelona to France in 28-degree temperatures, but the fault mode kicks in reliably in higher heat, typically around 150 miles in, causing the van to enter an emergency mode that clears itself after a restart. The fix is straightforward in theory: get to the dealer back home (the appointment with the team at Loudons is already being planned), ask for a software update, and get it checked over properly.
In the meantime, with temperatures dropping across France, I am quietly optimistic the symptoms will stay dormant for the four or five days of driving it takes to get home.
The trip ended on a high note for Eddie, at least. A visit to the Aeroscopia aviation museum near Toulouse Airport, where you can walk inside two retired Concordes as well as several other historic Airbus aircraft, was exactly the right last day for someone working towards his private pilot’s licence. The Airbus factory tour ran alongside it, though photography was strictly prohibited throughout, and Lyndsay’s honest assessment was that it was a little expensive for a static, group-guided experience. That said, the facts were extraordinary: an Airbus takes off or lands somewhere in the world every two seconds, and two aircraft ship from Toulouse every single day.
Questions people ask
What was wrong with the Fiat motorhome? The Allianz Fiat Assistance technician diagnosed a software issue, likely made worse by heat. The van was throwing dashboard communication errors and going into emergency mode after extended driving in high temperatures. The planned fix is a software update at their dealer, Loudons, back in the UK.
Is the medieval jousting show at Carcassonne worth it? At around 13 euros a ticket for a 45-minute show, yes. The birds of prey and the horses are the standout elements. You do not need strong French to follow the general story, though as Eddie put it, imagine Life of Brian performed entirely in French by people on horseback and you are most of the way there.
Is the Aeroscopia museum near Toulouse worth visiting? The museum itself I found genuinely impressive: being able to walk through two retired Concordes and other historic Airbus aircraft, including the original A300B, is something you do not get many places. The factory tour that runs alongside it is more mixed: Lyndsay felt it was on the expensive side for a static group experience with no photography allowed. Worth it for aviation enthusiasts like Eddie; possibly less so for the rest of us.
What happened with the hailstorm? What appeared to be an aggressive thunderstorm turned out to be a confirmed tornado. It made UK news. The hailstones were large enough to sound like the roof was coming in, one of the campsite awnings lost an arm, and conditions outside were briefly described as looking like a swamp. The motorhome came through without significant damage.
Watch the full video to see the tornado footage, the Aeroscopia walk-through, and the Allianz technician’s diagnosis for yourself.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbOdtUioX8g