5^th May – Day 28

Despite the totally quiet surroundings in Port de la Mercantine, we all have quite a restless night, but still manage to sleep in until about 9am.  Around 10, we drive back up to the service point and hook up to the electricity to charge the laptop.  We get ourselves fed and washed and fully service Suzab.  Time has ticked on, so we hang around for lunch as well.  Then head northwards to Lamarche sur Saone.  En route we stop at a McDonalds in Lons-le-Saunier to use their wi-fi.  When we get to the Aire de service, it is about 5pm so we get straight on to cooking dinner and as Callum didn’t sleep while we drove, he gets to bed and asleep by 7.30, which is a trip record, I think!  The rain seems to be keeping up with us.  This particular Aire is literally just a field next to the river, however it is equipped with water and electricity points that work by putting in a token (1 token = 2 hours, 3 = 8 hours).  You get the token from another machine, that will only accept chip & pin cards.  This is such a great system, I think, and I wonder whether it exists in the UK?

6^th May – Day 29

Last evening, the great token system didn’t work so well.  After 2 hours (around 10pm), I realized that the electricity had gone off as the laptop had stopped charging, which was strange, as I had put in enough tokens for 4 hours.  Feeling short-changed, I went straight out (bare-foot, in my t-shirt and bed shorts) across the field to the water/electricity point.  It was cold and raining, but my mind was on working out why this problem had occurred.  We were still plugged in, so I pressed the coin reject button and a token popped out – hooray!  After about 5 attempts, the token finally clonked into the machine and I was able to start the electricity up again.  Problem solved and I suddenly became aware that I was shivering and wet, so I ran back to bed and under the covers to warm up!

In the morning I walked into the village, taking the path from the Aire, which ran alongside the river, past the usual array of shops (Tabac, boucherie, etc) to the boulangerie where I picked up some pastries (a pain au chocolat and a rather delicious chocolate éclair).  I stopped to take a couple of photos and returned to Suzab.  We didn’t rush off and made sure that we were fed and watered, then set off in the early afternoon.

We knew that we wanted to head north, but weren’t too sure exactly where, so we plugged in the co-ordinates for an Aire near Vittel and headed off.  Whilst en-route, Callum looked like he was going to have a nap.  At that same point we arrived in Fontaine Francaise, a very pretty looking village complete with Chateau.  We quickly found the Aire, which was situated by a quiet riverbank, with views of a weir, bridge and trees.  However, for some reason, we decided that we shouldn’t stay here???  We then embarked on a 2-hour journey to various locations, often doubling back on ourselves whilst we worked out exactly what we wanted to do.  We drove to another town nearby [check name], that also had an Aire (though not as pretty as Fontaine Francaise) and also a Chateau (that doubled up as a museum) and we drove round this place a few times being completely indecisive.  By this time, Callum had decided that he didn’t want to nap after all and we were all getting increasingly tired and agitated.

In the end, we decided to go back to Fontaine Francaise, which was the right decision.  Once we got there, we took a stroll around the village, walked past the chateau, the mairie and to the church, before picking up some onions and sellotape (random!!) from the local store.

7^th May – Day 30

The sun decided to make an appearance today, for the first time in ages – since before we had gone to the Alps – so we were very happy about this!  We had a picnic next to the river and took full advantage of the added warmth from the sun.  Happy days!

We decided to carry on our journey to Vittel, keeping the co-ordinates that we had plugged into TomTom the day before.  We had read that Vittel was a pretty spa town, with its own speciality chocolate – so we thought that we couldn’t go wrong.  Hmmm.  There was nothing wrong with Vittel, per se, it reminded us a bit of Midsummer Norton, again, nothing wrong with that place, per se.  Nor did it have its own speciality chocolate.  We did walk up and down its high street for a bit, picked up a quiche for a quick snack and then drove to the local campsite.  What a rip off that place was, €20 and very dismal, right next to an active railway line, no wi-fi.  A complete contrast to the beautiful place we had stayed the night before and for free!

At least there were no trains during the night, however Lorraine was aware of a screeching bird in the tree next to Suzab but fortunately was able to return to sleep with no difficulty.  I make use of my earplugs tonight.

8^th May – Day 31

We don’t hang around in Vittel and head off towards the Alsace region.  The drive is lovely and we see lots of changing scenery, from rolling hills to beautiful tree covered mountains and lakes.  The route from Vittel took us close by Epinal before entering the Vosges, also passing through a very pretty lakeside town called Gerardmer, which is very close to the campsite that we choose to stay at for the night.

We find a spot to park, between the playground and the lake, where we are able to enjoy an uninterrupted view of the lake and the surrounding hills.  This is more like it!  But as with all things, one really appreciates the good ones when you’ve had the bad.

One reason for using a campsite is to make use of their washing machine and tumble dryer (the weather has not been reliable enough to hand wash, so we decide to put a load on, then go for a walk.  There is a 30 minute walk into the woods, signposted from the road, so we embark on that.  Despite Callum protesting about walking at the start, as soon as we enter the woods he takes interest in the path and is happy to lead the way.  We have a really enjoyable walk (about 2 hours) climbing up the steep path, over quite variable terrain and inspecting the various flora and fauna (well slugs mainly).  We’re all pretty knackered when we get back, but it was a lovely walk and really enjoyed ourselves together.

Time is just zipping by and we are now eating into the second half of our trip.  France is such a massive and beautiful country; I know that we could probably spend the rest of our time exploring it.  Perhaps as we are so close to Germany we may well creep over the border and we have talked about spending some time in the Netherlands.  We’ll see…

9^th May – Day 32

Rob went for a bike ride in the morning while Callum and I stayed in Suzab, we also put on another load of washing. We spent the morning relaxing and had lunch gazing at the lake and the mountains behind. Soon it was time to pack up and head off again.

We picked a France Passion place to stay for the night – there are lots near the France/German border in the Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin regions. This particular one said it was also a restaurant and we had decided it was time to indulge ourselves a little after tightening our budget and spending less on eating out. We drove East and Tom-Tom took us through a massive tunnel which cost us 16 Euros!! We had no idea until we got there and by then it was too late to do anything else. It was a great experience, although my claustrophobia kicked in a little. Unfortunately it rained pretty much the whole journey and we were hoping to see clear blue skies when we came out of the tunnel, but it was not meant to be. The scenery, however, was lovely and green and we took pleasure in seeing the Germanic influences coming into the architecture and place names. After a while we entered the town called Molsheim and found the place that was to be home for the night. Callum was very happy as there were tractors that the owner said he could sit on and Rob and I were happy because we were in the middle of a picturesque town. Unfortunately the restaurant was no longer, but as we were so close to the town centre we decided on a stroll to find somewhere to eat. It took a little persuasion to entice Callum away from the tractors! We wandered around the town admiring the quaintness and eventually stumbled on the perfect spot. The meal was delicious – escargot, tarte flambé, profiteroles…. It was a real treat. Then it was back to Suzab and a little more playing on tractors before bed.

Posted by xpresha at 12:01 AM BST

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1^st May – Day 24

The rain continued throughout the night, but it did not affect our sleep too badly.   I cycled up to the local town for bread before preparing to leave, whilst the owners plus a few of their friends prepared for a May Day event on the farm.  Once Callum was up and about, he went to play with Chloe and one of her friends.  They showed him a large grey rabbit, that was in a fairly small cage, next to a guinea pig, some large snails and a couple of hens (all caged, to be on display for the May Day event).  A little while later, I heard a bang/crash and spotted said rabbit hopping merrily away.  I didn’t much fancy my chances of catching it, so went to grab the farmer.  By this time, the rabbit had hopped quite a distance and despite chasing after it, it seemed as though it had escaped!  I felt quite bad now, that I had not tried to catch it.  We went back to preparing Suzab ready for driving onward, as the rain became even heavier.  About 20 minutes later, I heard the farmer and one of his friends shouting “Lapin, lapin!!!!”; the friend had driven to the other end of the farm, spotted the rabbit and forced it to hop back towards the farm!  The rabbit was circled and the farmer carefully approached it before lunging in to grab it from the base of its ears and its legs (I wouldn’t have known to catch it this way!) before carrying it back to the farm, preparing a MUCH heftier cage and putting the rabbit inside.  I felt much better after that!

We headed for an Aire de Service in St Gervais-les-Bains in Hte-Savoie region, very close to Chamonix.  We stopped for lunch just outside Aix-Les-Bains, in a spectacular river basin, surrounded by mountains – although the poor weather and low cloud, meant that the view was not as good as it could have been (this comment applies to pretty much all scenic views for the next 3 days!).  When we got to the Aire de Service, a sign was erected explaining that it was closed for maintenance works!  Not good news, as Callum had a really poorly tummy and was getting very upset, meaning that we had to find somewhere very close by to stop for the night.  We followed signposts for a camp-site nearby and quickly arrived at Les Domes de Miage.  The lady on reception was extremely friendly and we got checked in (all services available, electricity, wi-fi, etc) and found a spot for the night.  It was important for us to be somewhere comfortable, as we didn’t know how long Callum would feel poorly.  He had since developed a fever and we quickly settled down for the night.

2^nd May – Day 25

We spoke to some family on Skype in the morning and got in touch with our friend, James, making arrangements to meet him in Morzine.  Callum said that his tummy felt better and his fever seemed to have broken overnight, so we decided to leave the camp-site and head for Morzine.  James had advised us to park in the Carrefour (Champion) supermarket carpark in the centre of the town, as we would not have a problem leaving the van there and his house was very close by.  Our arrival in Morzine was only a few days after the winter season had finished there, so it felt like we had entered a ghost-town!  James and his fiancée Olivia came to meet us and we went for a drink at a café in town, catching up and getting to know each other better.  We spent a lovely evening together back at their place, grabbing some take-away pizza from nearby Montriond, before going back to Suzab for a solid night’s sleep in the supermarket car-park (although I never sleep too well after drinking coffee and beer!). 

3^rd May – Day 26

James and I start the day with a run (on a woodland trail that went alongside the river), which I then follow up with some Chi-Gung and Tai-Chi.  Me, Lorraine and Callum chill out in the morning, before descending on James and Olivia again for lunch, then we go for a walk with James around a lake near Montriond.  The lake had burst its banks slightly with all of the melt water from the mountains, so parts of the path have been submerged.  Callum and I happened to take a higher path, whilst James and Lorraine navigate the lower paths.  

We leave Morzine late afternoon and head towards Lake Geneva / Lac Lemon to a town called Yvoire.  There are a few campsites on the way, but we decide to park up in a field just outside the gates to the medieval part of the town.  We will need to pay for parking, but it is quiet and there are no trees around, which is a good thing as it is extremely windy!

4^th May – Day 27

We walk around Yvoire, but it is fairly brief as nothing is really open and the wind is cold and blowing a gale.  We stop briefly in a small café for coffee and a slice of pie, but the service isn’t the greatest and we don’t feel entirely welcome.  From Yvoire, we decide to head North and we locate another lake on the map (We seem to have had good times whenever we stop near a lake) and find an Aire de Service in our guidebook that has all services for free!

Our journey takes us partly into Switzerland, as we travel through Geneva, which looks to be an amazing city (fantastic architecture and layout) and I can imagine we will come back another time to explore properly.  We also drive past CERN (home of the Hadron collider).  We stop for lunch in a mountain valley, after which Callum excitedly suggests that we explore up a nearby farm track.  We walk up the fairly steep path, which brings us out into a lovely meadow with views of the surrounding hills/mountains.  We have fun running back down and finding good walking sticks.

Despite confusing signposts and no directions specifically for the Aire, we eventually find it and hook up our electricity.  A Dutch couple arrive soon afterwards and we make arrangements for swapping over when we’re fully charged (there are loads of spots for parking, but only one electricity hook up).  Callum and I play with tractors outside, while Lorraine cooks up peas and meat.  Lorraine and I wonder whether a cliff top house is in fact the lair of an evil genius and ponder over where his secret entrances may be around the lake!  After dinner, me and Callum go for a little walk down to the beach and Callum does a fairly good job of heaving some large rocks into the water!

Posted by xpresha at 2:18 PM BST

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22^nd April – Day 15

We left Six Fours and continued our journey East to St Tropez. This time we didn’t take the coast road as it was too hard negotiating all the little coastal towns, so we headed inland a little through the mountains. The journey was lovely, however St Tropez was disappointing. We arrived in the rain and it just felt very touristy and not very picturesque. It is possible that we missed something but we didn’t hang around to find out. We needed to find somewhere to stop for the night and get on with dinner, as we were all hungry. We came across an Aire de Service not far from the town and stopped. It wasn’t ideal as it was right on the edge of a busy road, but it was free and convenient.

23^rd April – Day 16

After a surprisingly good night’s sleep we decided we’d had enough of the South coast of France and decided to head for inland Provence. The drive back in to the mountains was fantastic and we stopped at a lovely Aire de Service, in Comps-sur-Artuby, for lunch and a break.  Then we found a France Passion place to stay at for the night and headed there. It was called La Maison de Lavandin (the House of Lavender) and it really was! There were lots of lavender based products for sale and we purchased a few.  Rob enquired about buying some truffles, as they grew on the farm (we saw a huge one, that cost €400!!). The site we parked in for the night had wonderful views of the mountains and had the obligatory tractor for Callum. 

24^th April – Day 17

Today we decided to drive to the local village – Saint Croix de Verdon - to have a wander around and get some bread. We straight away found an Aire which had magnificent views over a lake and to the mountains beyond. It was so fantastic we decided to stay for the night. We took a wander around the village (a beautiful labyrinth of houses and narrow streets, stepped and sloping – nestled into the hillside) to find the shop for the bread.  The view looking from the village across the lake to the mountains was really breathtaking.  Later we met an English couple (Jacqui and Dave) –the first so far encountered! They had a huge motor home and were traveling for 6 months. Callum took to them and their motor home straight away and we realized how much he’d been missing company, as had we. It is lovely spending so much time together, but is pretty intense just being the 3 of us and there is little scope for socialising with anyone else as they mainly seem to be French pensioners! So we were happy to find a couple to chat to for a couple of days.

25^th April – Day 18

We awoke to the most fantastic scenery and decided to stay a further night. However, we did need to do some washing, so Rob did some hand washing and once it was hung out we headed down to the lake for a couple of hours of skimming stones, playing and relaxing. When we got back the washing had dried and we were able to cook (Rob cooked Coq au Vin) and then talk to our new English friends whilst sipping wine (Rob) and tea (me).

26^th April – Day 19

After consulting the map we decided to head back west a little towards the Rhone Valley, then head up North following the Rhone for a while before going East again into the Alps. Jacqui and Dave had recommended an Aire just outside a little town called Fontaine de Vaucluses and so we headed there. Again we had a lovely drive through gloriously changing scenery and more blue skies. We arrived to find a very busy Aire (there is space for about 80 motor homes) by a crystal clear, fairly fast flowing river. We parked up and settled in. After dinner we heard a melodian player who also turned out to be English and so we had a chat with him and his wife before bed.  Rob learned that one of the campers has made the Aire his semi-permanent home; an Italian traveler, who has worked out that provided you never drive out of the service area, you can stay as long as you want for just €3 – he seemed fairly content there, sat reading with his dog, although not sure I would have chosen to park right next to the toilets (they were abysmal!)

27^th April – Day 20

We wake up, get dressed and eat breakfast with a bit more speed this morning and head into the town to explore.  We find a pretty market square, lined by cafes, next to a stone bridge that crosses the river (again, crystal clear) and quickly learn that you can walk up to the source of the river in the mountains, which would suggest why it is so clear.  We follow the footpath up, past many tourist shops and a paper-making museum (a la Wookey Hole!) through a massive gorge (a la Cheddar!) and then up to the foot of a massive cliff, where the river source is to be found; it is a little disappointing, but we are impressed by the white-water and waterfalls on our way back down.

From Fontaine, we drive up the D938 and D538 through the mountains (past quite a few determined cyclists) to a lovely campsite, Bois de Chatelas, just outside a small town called Bordeaux.  The views are again spectacular and we are beginning to worry that we are being de-sensitised to amazing mountain scenery!  We are practically the only people here, although the campsite and its facilities are fully staffed and very friendly.  We get hooked up to electricity and make use of the wi-fi to speak to the folks.  We also use the swimming pool, sauna and hammam.

28^th April – Day 21

We spend another day at the camp site in Bois de Chatelas, Bordeaux to make the most of their facilities, also using their washing machine.  In order to use it, you have to obtain a token, so I go over the French in my head on my way to the reception, “Je voudrais un jeton, pour la machine a laver, s.v.p” over and over…  Upon reaching the reception, the lady I want to talk to is busy speaking to someone else, so I wait my turn.  However, she breaks conversation and turns to me – throwing me slightly and causing me to say “Je voudrais un laver” (I would like a wash…) slightly embarrassed, I pardon myself and say what I meant to!!!  She is very friendly though and again reinforces my belief that if you just try to speak the language, then the locals are more than accommodating.

29^th April – Day 22

Lorraine and I go for a swim in the morning and get Suzab ready to leave.  Callum does his thing and plays around, helping us and generally being fun to be with.  We drive up the D538 heading for Hauterives, stopping on the way to go to a supermarket and refuel.  We arrive at the Aire de Service in Hauterives about 4pm, it is basically a large graveled area next to a sports club and river.  We walk into the town, going to see what it is famous for (a palace, built out of stone collected by a local postman throughout his career) but decide not to go in as it was quite expensive.  Instead we tried the café next door which had lots of things for Callum to play with in the garden and it was nice to be outside after al that time in Suzab. Soon it is time to go back and make dinner and then bed.

30^th April – Day 23

This morning Rob and Callum went for a walk along the river and left me to get a little more sleep. They discovered that all the noise in the night which we thought was coming from birds was actually coming from mating frogs! After breakfast we strolled back into the village for a coffee and to let Callum play for a while longer in the place we had found yesterday. Then after a quick snack in Suzab we planned our route into the Alps. After a couple of hours going further into the mountains and watching the scenery and style of houses change (becoming more Alpine in design), we stopped for lunch. We found an Aire with electricity to head for which Tom Tom said would take just under an hour to reach, up near Annecy. Back on the road, we started to climb into the mountains and then later rounded a bend to breathtaking snow-capped peaks with a huge valley below. My stomach was doing somersaults because of the steep drop, but it was worth it for the view. Finally we were told we had reached our destination but with no sign of an Aire and tummies starting to rumble we thought we had encountered our first major problem. It turned out that the co-ordinates in the Aire de Service book were wrong and that we were miles away from said Aire, actually south of Chambery. So we scrambled through our books and found a France Passion place just 5 mins away – hurrah! On arrival we were greeted by a very friendly man who also provided us with electricity; Callum found a few children’s toys and there were donkeys to say hello to and all this free of charge. Sometimes fate really does intervene.  As the evening wore on, we were invited to taste some wine with the other camping car guests and Callum made friends with Chloe and Laura (the daughters of the owners), which was really cool and they played together on the farm.

Posted by xpresha at 12:01 AM BST

Updated: Saturday, 1 May 2010 10:55 AM BST

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18^th April PM – Day 11

Go to Montpelier and really enjoyed ourselves.  We saw some fantastic scenery and architecture and enjoyed some good food at a café.  We already felt some affinity with the place, because our house was originally in Montpelier (Bristol) according to the deeds, although it is presently in Cotham. 

Found a place to stay in the French Passion guidebook, on a farm that makes fois-gras, of all things.  Lorraine was adamant that we didn’t buy any.  There are a couple of other camping cars here as well, but aside from a cursory ‘Bonjour’ we don’t have much to do with each other. Despite being in the back of beyond, the sound of the auto-route is constant so whilst it is not ideal, we are not really disturbed.

19^th April – Day 12

We have been moving eastwards in order to be reasonably close to the place where we have to take Suzab to have her heating fixed.  We get up and on the road, stopping at a massive supermarket complex (not wanting to come across all patriotic, but I find them a lot uglier than the ones in the UK) and make good time arriving at a specialist motor home mechanics at around 1.30pm in a place called Berre L’Etang – an industrial estate containing an oil refinery and other big industry looking factories (imagine Bladerunner, but sunny). 

My limited French gets the ball rolling with Pascal, the mechanic, and before long he is stripping out everything in the van, including the boiler itself (no mean feat, because it is located underneath the fixed double bed, which is all screwed down).  Callum, Lorraine and I are left sitting in the van or milling around outside, playing with tractors, reading and doing rubik’s cube, respectively.  After about 4 hours, Suzab is fixed!  One of the valves in the boiler was broken and needed replacing, but it had been fully tested and was now operational as was intended!  We drive around the corner to a kind of lay-by where Lorraine cooks up some sardines for dinner.

It is late and we don’t want Callum to fall asleep on the journey, so we opt for a campsite nearby in Berre L’Etang.  This was probably the wrong decision as it was a grotty over-priced site, no facilities, next to a fairly unpleasant lake, with a view of oil refinery.  The guidebook gave no impression that it was this bad!  I think that if we had booked ourselves in for a holiday in the south of France and ended up there, we would have felt very short-changed!

To top it all off, I suffered from ‘splash-back’ when emptying the chemical toilet – not a pleasant experience.  Somehow, this job seems to have become mine; something to do with me not cleaning bathroom/toilets back home, or something??!

20^th April  - Day 13

From Berre L’Etang, we make an early departure and aim for something a bit nicer.  We muddle our way down onto the D559 a coastal road that takes us through some lovely parts of the Provence countryside and then through some lovely coastal towns and resorts. 

We stop for lunch in Cuges-Les-Pins, spot some cool graffiti on a large wall (it looks like they may have had an open air rave here at some point), then take a walk through the village and up onto a hill where there is a very quaint chapel and a great view of the mountains and the valley. 

As we make it down to the coast, we wind through various sea-side resorts.  At one point I get drawn down into a rather narrow one-way system in a small seaside town (after unsuccessfully trying to make a u-turn on a larger road) only to be met by a large road-works lorry nearly blocking the road ahead.  We thought we had come a cropper, the gap didn’t look big enough for a car, let alone our motor home, but fortunately one of the workmen guided me through, phew! 

We drove through St Cyr sur la Mer and a couple of other charming places, trying desperately to find somewhere free to park Suzab using the Aire de Service guidebook, but having no joy we eventually relented and checked the campsite guidebook, which directed us to a site in Six-Fours La Plages.  We are greeted warmly and the fact that I am trying to converse entirely in French is appreciated and I even get a bit of a lesson (i.e. they repeat themselves!!!).  We park up, get out the table and chairs and Lorraine again knocks up a feast, while Callum and I explore the playground just across from where we have stopped. 

21^st April – Day 14

We enjoyed a very peaceful night in the camp-site in Six Fours so decide to stay for another, which gives us the opportunity to explore a bit.  I donned my running shoes and ran about 4km first thing.  On my return, I learn that it is against the law in France to wear Bermuda shorts in a swimming pool, so I am legally obliged to wear Speedos. Then we head into town, which takes us about 30 minutes.  We walk along the promenade in front of the beach , stopping to eat crepes for lunch, before continuing along the coast road to a large park, where Callum plays for a bit.  We then walk back to the campsite, Lorraine kindly carrying Callum on her back in the Pattapum; the walk back takes a good hour and a half, in the glaring sun as well!  We spend some of the rest of the afternoon by the pool, or outside the van, then chilling out after dinner.

Lorraine may well want to add her own thoughts to the last couple of entries!

Posted by xpresha at 12:01 AM BST

Updated: Sunday, 16 May 2010 10:56 AM BST

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Mood:  chillin'

14^th April - Day 7

Set off from Blas and headed South towards Montpelier. A wrong instruction from TomTom on an autoroute junction sent us heading back towards Paris for a bit (arghhh!), but, with a bit of re-routing we were soon on track again.  Lorraine has got to be a bit of a dab hand at using the various camping guide books and found an Aire de Service in a town called Montmarault, not far from Montlucon.  TomTom took us to the centre of the town, but we did not see the camp site.  We pulled over and checked a map next to the town hall and it seemed to point to a site just outside of the town.  We drove to try and find it, which took us out of town in the opposite direction.  Again, no joy.  We turned around and headed back in to Montmarault, 1 last try!  This time, there were sign posts directing us to the Aire de Service and we followed them to nearly exactly the same spot that TomTom had taken us!  This time, we spotted the camping spot, literally 6 gravelled spaces for camping-cars, each with an electricity and water point.  Callum and I went for a walk into the town centre, whilst Lorraine got dinner ready.  We looked into the church, which had a beautiful, round stained glass window on one side.  We are impressed with the way that all villages and towns have such well maintained churches and chapels and have found that wherever we have stayed, we are in ear shot of a bell.  This particular church reminded us of the time, on the hour AND the half-hour, all through the night!

We had dinner on our chairs and table sat outsde Suzab, then had a walk round town together before bed.  We also picked up some goodies from the chocalatier.

We went to bed with us being the only motor-home on the site but by morning all 6 spaces were filled.  We were first in and last out on this occasion.

15^th April - Day 8

It was another beautiful morning and we continued our journey south, making our way onto the A75.  The road was clear, so we flew along.  Lorraine had found a free campsite located on the grounds of a chateau, so we headed for it.  At some point, Lor realised that it was not open until May.  We found another, and were taken off the auto-route onto the D roads (and more minor) through the mountains in the Lozere region.  We climbed up to about 1800 metres, driving through past some amazing scenery, in some places reminiscent of the Peak District, in others very much like Dartmoor.  We found our destination, just on the shores of lake, just outside of Langogne.  This site was supposed to open that day, according to our guidebook, but they had postponed the opening date until 17^th because bad weather had hampered progress of works that they were doing (new swimming pool, tennis courts and chalets).  Speaking to the owner, I realised that he was quite frustrated that the workers would not come and finish the job because it was too cold!  Despite the site being closed, they agreed to open up for us and we found a lovely spot for Suzab (we had the pick of the whole site!) overlooking the lake.  We hadn’t experienced the last of our boiler problems and the heating started playing up.  The electricity supply on the site was also inconsistent and I had to pay a few visits to the main site building to seek assistance; fortunately, they were really friendly and came to help straight away, giving me lifts back up to Suzab each time (more chances to practice my French).

16^th April - Day 9

In the morning, I looked out of the window and got a bit of a surprise; it had snowed overnight and everywhere was completely white).  We both had showers, using the on-site facilities, nearly freezing in the process!  Another nice surprise was to follow; because of the problems with electricity, we were not charged for staying on the site – a very kind gesture.

The roads were all clear, so we were able to continue our journey.  As we came down from the mountains the temperature increased (from -0.4c right up to 20c) and the snow completely disappeared.  The A75 took us over the spectacular Millau viaduct (designed by a fellow Bristolian, no less!), then not much further until we reached the coast.  We checked in to a campsite near Agde and headed straight for the beach.  Hard to believe that we woke up in the snow and finished the day paddling in the sea.  It is off-season so the site is quiet, which is nice, as we can imagine it being a bit noisy, touristy and hot in the summer.

17^th April - Day 10

We stay for another day, making use of the beach and swimming pool.  We also skype Andy, Nour, Ziya and Mum & Dad in Cambodia.  They tell us about the volcano erupting in Iceland and that they are forced to stay in Cambodia for another 10 days, because that is the next available flight.

Lorraine and I make time for some meditation, me doing some Tai-Chi, Lorraine some Yoga.

We are attacked by Mosquitoes and exercise great will power by avoiding the urge to scratch the bites.

18th April - Day 11

Nice breakfast together in Suzab, then a jaunt to the beach-bar to use wi-fi and drink coffee.

We will leave this camp-site today and head east-wards.  There is a chance that we will need to travel inland today/tomorrow as we may be taking Suzab to a dealer to get her heating fixed.

Posted by xpresha at 11:09 AM BST

Updated: Sunday, 18 April 2010 11:55 AM BST

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Hello All,

Please copy and paste this address into your browser to view photos from our travels.  They will be updated along with the blog.  

https://www.xpresha.com/2010_travels

(This blog builder isn't letting me write html properly, so I cannot create a hyperlink - very annoying!)

Rob x 

Love you, Bye! 

Posted by xpresha at 10:44 AM BST

Updated: Wednesday, 14 April 2010 10:53 AM BST

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Mood:  chillin'

Day 3 - After buying a few provisions for breakfast and finding a place for everything in the motorhome, we discovered a small problem with the heating and hot water. So I drove Suzab back to Hannah and Phil (the owners of the motorhome hire firm) to see what could be done (luckily we hadn't gone far!) A quick fix later and a promise of a new part being ordered, we were on our way to a campsite in Briare. Beautiful and peaceful, right by the Loire river. We cycled along the river to get a few more supplies and a teapot as I am becoming worried about running out of teabags! We stopped on the way back for a meal. Callum was not enjoying the bikes very much so we had to walk some of the way but he seemed satisfied to do the rest on the back of my bike. Back at the campsite, Rob and I enjoyed a pot of tea watching the sun set over the Loire whilst Callum played with keys and doors in out of Suzab - little changes!

Day 4 - After another very quiet night and an extremely generous lie-in courtesy of Callum, we realised the quick fix of the previous day had not worked. However we felt refreshed and decided to head to Rob's Aunty and Uncle's in Blas near Valencay as planned and we would await further instructions re the new part. It took longer than previously thought (again!) and after a two and a half hour drive we finally arrived to a hot meal and warm beds (and a bath for Callum as he has refused showers so far.)

Day 5 - Again slept very well and long. Spent the day in and outside the house, with Callum and Rob helping Uncle David to mix and lay concrete. The weather has been good to us so far although a cold wind has started to come in. Phil drove out to us today to see if he could locate the fault with Suzab. He ended up taking the whole boiler out and having to order a replacement part for it. Rob and I agreed that it was a very good job that we had come here rather than stay at the campsite as we very nearly did! We enjoyed another lovely meal courtesy of Aunty Lynn and another comfortable night was enjoyed by all.

Day 6 - Although it was overcast when we awoke, the sun had come through by the end of the day enough for us to enjoy tea and cake on the terrace. Rob, Callum and I went for a walk down to the lake and had a lovely stroll back finding treasures and playing trains. We then all pitched in to help Lynn finish the last of the weeding. It's been great having reliable Wi-Fi as we've been able to Skype, email and Blog to our hearts content! Phil is here fixing Suzab so hopefully she'll be ready for us to leave tomorrow. We will be heading for the South coast - Montpellier to be precise - and will probably stop along the way. We are itching to get on the road again after a lovely stay with our very hospitable hosts. I can't quite believe almost a week has gone by already. 

Posted by xpresha at 5:23 PM BST

Updated: Tuesday, 13 April 2010 5:53 PM BST

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We left the B&B reasonably early at around 10 and we estimated about 4 hours to get to the motor home near Montargis (south of Paris) giving us plenty of time for travel and stops, to arrive at about 4.30.  

The trip was fine to start with but TomTom directed us to go directly through central Paris (being the most direct route) and we soon ran into very heavy traffic.  The weather was fantastic and hot, but not necessarily the kind of heat you want when you're sat in slow moving traffic.  It took roughly 2 1/2 hours to get to the other side of Paris and we were now definitely behind schedule.

We eventually arrived at the motor home at 6.30, feeling very tired and spaced out.  We went through the paperwork and I was shown around the motor home and how everything worked, whilst Lorraine unpacked the car and started loading up the motor home (soon to be named Suzab by Callum).  This was all taking a lot longer than we had thought and it was nearly 9 o'clock before we were ready to move on.

This left us no time to buy any provisions as everywhere was closed and too late to drive to the camping car site that we had planned to stop at.  So we drove to nearby Chateuax de Renard and parked up in the market square, where we were told that we would not be bothered.

A takeaway pizza place was found and we took this back to Suzab and turned in for our first night on wheels. 

Posted by xpresha at 12:01 AM BST

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Up at 7.00 and out of the house by 8.30 to give us plenty of time to get to Dover.  The sky is clear blue, the sun is out and there is a lovely fresh, spring breeze.  

With the bikes on the back of the car, there is a noise much like a 300lb bumble-bee buzzing behind us, as the wind vibrates the straps on bike-rack when we exceed speeds of 70mph.  This noise will accompany us for the next 2 days all the way down to Montargis, where we pick up the motor-home.  Callum isn't sure about this noise, and peers back at the bikes for the bulk of the first leg of trip to Dover.  

Despite our fears that Callum wouldn't be happy to be in the car for such a long time, he is as good as gold.

We arrive at Dover with half an hour to spare before departure, the port is virtually empty and we sail through passport control - not even really having to show our passports.  No queuing at the approach to the ferry, we are waved straight on.  Literally 5 minutes after parking and climbing up onto the main deck, the ferry departs!  This is great, but we wonder what would have happened if we had turned up at 2.15!

Callum loved being on the ferry, looking out of the window at the sea and seeing other boats.

Posted by xpresha at 12:11 PM BST

Updated: Tuesday, 13 April 2010 9:37 AM BST

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From Calais, we travelled South for about an hour to a small village not far from Arras.  Used the peage and got used to driving on the right.

We stayed with a French family on a small farm (complete with view of a tractor from our bedroom window) and were instantly forced to speak French, which was a challenge that we seemed to rise well to!  It was holiday time for them as well and we were told that there family would be joining us for dinner as well.

We settled into our room and at about 8.00 we came down for dinner with their family, all 6 of them.  We had a delicious 4 course dinner, complete with a cheese course (of local cheeses) and both Lorraine and I conversed with the others in a mixture of French, 'Franglais' and hand gestures.  Conversation was a bit stilted at times, but it was an enjoyable evening.

It had been a long day and we turned in and slept well.

Posted by xpresha at 12:01 AM BST

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