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South France Road Trip 2023 – The Thermal Spa Tour
Highlights From This Trip
- 4 Days
- 11 Locations Explored
- ~1000 miles driven
- ~200 photographs
- Two wonderful decaying thermal spas
- Some lovely chateaus and houses (as you would expect from a France trip!)
View location photos/articles
Visiting the south of France during an August heatwave, to visit some hot locations? Count me in!
This one came about quite suddenly and actually started off as a trip to Germany. Thanks to prohibitively expensive last-minute flights to Deutschland, the trip metamorphosed into a France adventure (thank you, cheap flights to Paris!). A new route plan was laid out, focusing on some rather interesting spots in the south of France.
It has been a long time since I visited the south of France—five years since my big South France Road Trip 2018, which similarly took place in the summer. I also ended up quite far south earlier that year, during The Easter Chateau Tour 2018. As I am flying into Paris, there was scope to catch up on a couple of places of interest in Normandie and the Centre Val de Loire before forging on southward.
Exploring Two Decaying Thermal Spas
I visited Les Thermes Bleus in 2018, and it was a highlight of the trip! I had another spa on my list, a green one, but I ran out of time and had to skip it. I was thrilled to visit Les Thermes Verts on this trip! Blue and green are my favourite colours, of course! I snapped a little self-portrait, the only one of the trip, actually (I kept forgetting, d’oh!).
I also explored the large and beautiful Les Thermes Roses, which was much larger and had much more variable decay. The foyer and upper floors are quite pristine, and the lower floors are more decayed.
Forgotten houses and Grand abandoned chateaux
I seem to be having a bit of a dry spell lately in terms of beautiful lost houses. You know, the really old ones with rustic old furniture and lots of personal knick-knacks left behind and covered with dust. I certainly had my fill on this trip, being lucky enough to explore four wonderfully preserved residences!
From humble to grand, I also explored two chateaux. The first one, Château Rotonde, is a collapsing ruin but beautiful with green plants and the warm afternoon light. This is one I have wanted to see for a while! The second was the well-known and not-so-secret Chateau Secret. Apparently, the name is a reference to the odd internal layout and the way the rooms link together with obscure doors that blend into the walls (like secret rooms). This chateau was a joy to roam around for a couple of hours, even if I did miss at least one room. I did find the correct chapel, though, so you win some/lose some I guess.
Introducing the Olympus Six, as I delve into the world of medium format photography
I have always loved the look of folding bellows cameras, and I finally treated myself to one! Say hello to the Olympus Chrome Six III. This is a 1954 version, from the final year of production before the Chrome Six IV replaced this older model. She is beautiful to look at and also a wonderfully compact and light medium-format camera. This cantankerous old girl shoots 6×6 as well as 4.5×6, which are both lovely ratios to work with. I spent a lot of the trip posing her to take photos, as she is so wonderfully photogenic!
I will be honest; I have developed a love-hate relationship with this camera. Already, it has caused me so many headaches. Firstly, I wasn’t expecting to have to learn how to repair bellows right away, but hey, that was a fun weekend activity! It also remains highly frustrating to use thanks to some quirks, on top of a growing list of mechanical issues. I look at her like a teacher; every time something goes wrong, it is just another opportunity to learn more about cameras and how to fix them.
More behind-the-scenes photos from my South France 2023 Road Trip
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this road trip blog! Here are the rest of the behind-the-scenes snaps and preview photos from this trip, see you next time <3.
What do you think?
What photograph caught your eye the most? How did this location make you feel? Do you have a question? Let me know by leaving a comment!
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