40 years ago today- Rope a dope.

Thursday 30th October.

We're parked up tonight in a motorhome parking area kindly provided by the town of Jalance, however the Mayor will punish us if we misbehave.

We arrived here after a drive through some beautiful countryside, first mixed woodland and pretty villages then thick pine forests, a stunning drive in glorious sunshine. Next to the parking area is a restaurant/bar and we called in for a beer, as you do, and were greeted by the English owner who told us that if we were interested he was offering a three course meal with wine and coffee for €9. Well, it would have been rude not to so after setting up the van we went back and had a truly delicious meal and a cheeky brandy to follow. When I went to pay the chef had come out of the kitchen and it turned out he was joint owner, or at least I think he was. I asked what his story was but the cheeky brandy prevented me from remembering his answer. Anyway we decided that the guys setting up the PA for tomorrow night's Karaoke were doing a "botched job" (his words) and when the barmaid asked what we were talking about as her husband was one of the guys setting up we had to get the Spanish/English dictionary out for a translation. Cue barmaid and husband crying with laughter. Obviously a siesta was required and the plan was to walk up to explore the town in early evening. Hmmm, siesta, cup of tea, shower and it's pitch black, the bar's closed for the night and there's not another vehicle in the car park. We vaguely know the way to town but maybe we'll leave that till tomorrow. Maybe we'll stop for the Karaoke too!!

Restaurant with the ruined castle above.

View from our parking place.

The adjacent Pelota court (spot the dog)

 

 

Forty years ago, 4am, Kinshasha. Ali was 40-1 to win the fight. Three and a half years out of the ring for refusing to fight in Vietnam, 32 years old, a couple of warm up fights and then Joe Frazier. Oh my Lord.

Here's an interesting link - http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/oct/30/-sp-muhammad-ali-through-the-eyes-of-the-photographers-who-know-him-best?CMP=EMCFTBEML853

And this - http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2014/oct/29/muhammad-ali-v-george-foreman-rumble-in-the-jungle-in-pictures

 

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Switchbacks and single track

Wednesday 29th October.

We woke this morning to fog and it was cold brrrr. A quick breakfast, trip to the bread shop - where an elderly Spanish gentleman remarked to Phil that she was brave to be wearing flip flops in such cold weather - fill the van up with water and we were ready to go. Still cold and foggy for half an hour or so and then it burnt off and we were back in sunshine and it warmed up in no time. We planned to visit Laguna de Gallocanta where we were told we would see cranes, it's a bit off the beaten track and before long we were back on the hairpin bends and narrow roads. The kind of driving we hadn't enjoyed for a while and as we climbed to just under a thousand metres we were rewarded with some great scenery. We parked at the visitor centre which looks over the lagoon about a quarter of a mile away and put the pot on for a coffee. Phil looked out of the window and there they were, cranes! The lagoon was pretty dry but in the fields nearby and flying overhead were plenty of cranes for us to follow with the binoculars, they're really graceful when in flight. We were the only people there and had the visitor centre to ourselves. The receptionist/curator didn't speak English but she showed us around and left us to play with the exhibits and use the binoculars provided to get an even better view of the birds, all for a euro each. The small town has just 158 residents and there can be anything between twenty and sixty thousand cranes during the winter period.

After a pleasant hour or so we set off again for the small village of Orihuela del Tremeda in the heart of the Reserva Nacional de los Montes Universales. By now we were fifteen hundred metres up in the Sierra Albarracin but unfortunately we got our timings wrong again. We arrived just before two o'clock, just as the tourist information office, cathedral, church and convent closed for the two hour lunch! Oh well, we'll get it right one day. We had some lunch and then walked around the deserted town which I would imagine would be very busy in the summer and then set off for Albarracin, which is described as one of the prettiest villages in Spain however our navigation went a little awry so that's one for another day.

As we drove along today we enjoyed differing landscapes, plenty of arable farming on the plateau, elsewhere some forests but mainly arid scrub where small parcels of land had been reclaimed for small fields in between the rocks and outcrops. In places the land was scarred from surface excavations which was explained as we passed a massive cement works dropping down from the mountains.

Eventually after a days driving of 150 miles we arrived here in Teruel, well the outskirts anyway. We're in a car park opposite a very imposing Guardia Civil building where some dude was playing a bugle a few minutes ago. I hope reveille isn't too early in the morning!!

The tiny village of Gallocanta.

The edge of the lagoon.

Orihuela.

The clock's wrong.

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Soria and Calatayud

Tuesday 28th October.

We are parked up this evening in Calatayud at an Area de Servicio Para Autocaravanas, that is a car park with water, waste dump and a dedicated parking area for folks like us. It's just a two minute walk to the heart of this provincial city and suits us quite nicely. Yesterday we spent the night in a car park on the outskirts of Soria where overnight parking was "tolerated" according to our guide book. When we first started motorhoming we weren't terribly confident about stopping overnight other than on campsites or dedicated motorhome parking locations. We also planned our stops, not just our journey, days in advance. As we gained confidence we now have a vague idea where we are going and are happy enough parking (not camping, there's a difference) anywhere we think we'll get a nights sleep and feel safe. In France it's easy, just about every town or village has an Aire de Camping Car with varying degrees of services. This area of Spain doesn't have much at all listed in our guide books as far as Aires are concerned and we now try and avoid campsites, unless we need a washing machine, due to the cost. Also most of the campsites inland are now closed for the winter. Consequently we now look at a town or city in the general direction we want to go and which is not too far a drive and hope we'll find somewhere to stop the night. So yesterday we set off from Burgos planning to stop in a car park in the Parque Natural, Canyon del Rio Lobos. We arrived there in the early afternoon in scorching sunshine, had some lunch and then after watching some large birds of prey (eagles?) soaring and circling above us decided that the location was a bit remote for an overnight stay. We pushed on to Soria, parked up and walked up into the town. We needed a pharmacy to get some more dressings for Phil's leg and, mission accomplished, found that there wasn't too much to entertain us in Soria. We were parked next to a Monastery which was open to visitors but which was, in fact, closed. As was the Cathedral (what is it with Cathedrals in provincial Spanish cities? They're all closed!)

When we set off this morning we only intended stopping here for lunch and a quick look around but seeing as the new motorhome parking area had recently been opened we parked and set off for the Tourist Information office. Unfortunately the staff didn't speak English, which is not a criticism, I doubt whether the staff in the TIO in Bradford or, say, Bristol speak Spanish, but they gave us a map and invited us to look around their in house Roman museum gratis. Did I comment upon broken pottery, busts with missing noses and small sections of excavated mosaic? No, I didn't. We explored the town for a while and having worked up an appetite came back for some lunch followed by a cheeky siesta.

We met an English couple here when we arrived who were on their way home and they told us of a parking spot next to the Guardia Civil in Teruel which is where we'll head for tomorrow, stopping on the way at Laguna de Gallocanta to see if we can see some cranes.

The entrance to the church of Santa Domingo in Soria.

Archway detail.

 

Strange weather today. We set off again in glorious sunshine and although it was a bit nippy it was shorts and flip flops. We drove through some mist off the fields which turned to fog and then low cloud and when we stopped for coffee we thought we'd seen the last of the sun, it was cold so we changed into jeans. We arrived here and within 30 minutes it was really hot and sunny again! Good forecast for the next few days though, mid 70s - you're welcome.

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy

Burgos

Sunday 26th October.

We spent another lovely day yesterday in San Sebastián, warm sunshine had brought lots of folk onto the beaches, particularly the under 12s, seven a side football matches. Full size goals were erected on the beach and all the games were refereed with parents and friends cheering the young lads, and lasses on from the sidelines. After watching for a while we inevitably found ourselves back in the old town sampling the Pinxtos again. The bars were much busier, it being a Saturday but we squeezed into the busiest ones and had more treats including trying the local Cidre. It's very dry and not too bubbly but the bartenders compensate by pouring it into the glass from a great height, very showy and very effective. One bar even had it on draught with the spout at an angle at head height, the glass is held about six feet away at knee height and they never miss or spill a drop, great fun to watch and even better to drink.

The only downside to the day was Phil slipping as she got into the van, gashing her shin quite badly. She was very brave though and after some repairs managed to walk around the city again with few complaints. One strange thing about San Sebastián is that although we found two lovely old churches and the Cathedral they were all closed and locked up. Good job I wasn't in urgent need of having my confession heard.

Today we set off for Burgos, arriving early afternoon. We stopped at a campsite, our first since we left home and,as we have quite a bit of washing to do,after checking in asked where the washing machines were only to be told they weren't accessible until tomorrow. I suppose Monday has always been washing day eh?

We had planned to set off for Madrid tomorrow but talking to someone on a motorhome forum they have suggested we head off to canyon de Los Rio Lobos about a couple of hours south east of here and then to Lac Gallocanta where we may see cranes although I'm not sure whether it's the right time of year or not ( if you're reading this Alan, thanks for the tip).

When we arrived here earlier in the year it was also a Sunday and today, like before, the bar/cafe was packed with local folk having a drink or something to eat after walking in the local woodland. We went to the bar today, got a drink after fighting our way through the crowds and then I went back to order some food. It was crazy and although the bar staff were doing their best I was struggling to get served amongst all the locals so if anyone knows the Spanish for "Hey, am I ******* invisible" I'd be grateful if you'd pass it on.

Football on the beach.

Slice of ham?

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy

Donostia/San Sebastián

Friday 24th October.

We set off bright and early today to explore this city on foot and what a lovely place it is. We found the tourist information office in order to pick up a map and anything else they were giving away free and then set off for the old town. We told the young man in the TIO that we were looking forward to sampling some Pintxo (tapas) and asked what the locals would drink with them. Pretty much anything really but cider was popular, he drank beer with his but suggested we ask for a small beer (solito, but the spelling may be wrong) and to sample in plenty of places, not fill up in one place. Suitably advised we walked around the corner to the Old Town, Parte Vieja, which is maybe only a square half mile but teeming with Pinxtos bars. We decided to look for the busiest and weren't disappointed with our first choice, warm lightly battered fish. On to the next where we were slightly more adventurous trying four different dishes all of which were delicious, on to the next and another four dishes which were ok but a little disappointing compared to the previous bar but tasty all the same. Not expensive either, four Pinxtos, two small beers for €8. By this time we'd had enough to eat and had some decisions to make as to where we would explore next. It was a toss up between the Aquarium and the museum of Basque history and culture. We chose the latter, the San Telmo Museum which is housed in a former 16th century Dominican convent which has been stunningly renovated. I don't wish to be blasé but we've been to more overwhelming museums on our travels but some features were fascinating. There was a subtitled audio visual display with elderly folk talking about birth, death and marriage in the first half of the last century. Suffice to say I enjoyed the museum rather more than Phil. We came out into the warm evening sunshine pretty tired, it's a 45 minute walk from where we are parked before we even get to the city centre so we'd walked a few miles. We stopped for a coffee and decided we were too banjaxed to set off for the Cathedral, we'll save that for another visit.

We've really enjoyed San Sebastián, it's a pedestrians and cyclists paradise with plenty of broad boulevards and some lovely city buildings. This, coupled with the beach and it's easy to understand why this city was a favourite of the rich as a holiday destination during the first half of the last century. Now it's a holiday destination for all with plenty of French tourists from just up the road.

Plenty of choice of Pinxtos here.

 

The restored church within the museum with 11 extraordinary canvases (784 sq m) by the artist Joseph M Sert depicting religious and historical themes.

Broad boulevards and narrow alleyways.

Moody beach picture.

We're undecided whether or not to spend another day here or push on down to Burgos tomorrow, we'll wait and see what the morning brings.

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Aire-Sur-L'Adour and Donostia/San Sebastian.

Thursday 23rd October.

Yesterday we had a pleasant drive from Chateau de Bonhoste along long straight roads through heavily forested countryside and arrived at Aire-Sur-L'Adour in glorious autumn sunshine. We parked next to the river, walked up to the town and found the tourist information office. It's a small town and yet it had a well staffed office and we were presented with a walking guide to the town. Suitably impressed and armed with our guide we set off; 45 minutes later we were back where we started! As I say, a small town but pretty enough and with a lovely twelfth century cathedral the inside of which was magnificently painted in the nineteenth century. The town also boasts The Maurice Lauche's bullring which is described as an important place for bullfights! Also "course landaise" (cows game without death sentence, men try to jump over cows or avoid them) each to their own eh?

The Cathedral of St Jean Baptiste.

 

Today we set off planning to stop for the night near Orthez but we pushed on and arrived mid afternoon in Donostia/San Sebastian again in warm sunshine (20deg). Lots of traffic between here and Bayonne, which we're not used to and we passed into Spain at Hendaye without even a welcome sign, just a change of language on the road signs and different speed limits. The Lonely Planet guide says "Nothing is impossible but it's impossible to lay eyes on San Sebastián (Basque:Donostia) and not fall madly in love". We'll skip over when I fell madly in love but the brief walk we had this afternoon confirmed the city as somewhere we will definitely explore for at least another day. We walked down to the beach which even at four thirty still had folk swimming, sunbathing and generally enjoying themselves. It's unusual in that it's a City beach and we walked past beautiful seafront mansions and stunning views across the bay and to the tiny island of Santa Clara. We didn't make it to the old town but we will tomorrow and hopefully enjoy some Pinxtos, for which the Basque region is famous.

Playa de la Concha - spot the (deliberate?) mistake.

 

Isla de Santa Clara.

 

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sarlat, Bergerac and Bordeaux.

Sunday 19th October.

We arrived in Sarlat yesterday, market day, to find the Aire de Camping Car full, as were all the nearby car parks and just about every available off road parking spot. We managed to squeeze in next to the coach park and as Paul and Chris were a little delayed we wandered off down into the old town to check out the market for a couple of hours. There were lots of local delicacies we could have bought but there's only so much food you can fit into a small Motorhome so we settled for some smoked duck breast, a bottle of (expensive) wine, a jar of local honey and some fresh fruit and veg. The multitude of stalls prevented us seeing how beautiful the town and its buildings are. Constructed from a local honey coloured stone, we appreciated the town better today when we came down and explored further. I don't think we've been to another town with such well preserved medieval architecture and where the new buildings blend in so well with the old

Market day in Sarlat.

Sarlat from the Cathedral.

 

When Paul and Chris arrived it was great to see our travelling companions again. By the time they arrived the market was closing, the car parks quickly emptied and we managed to find a couple of adjacent spaces. We caught up over a coffee and then they went down to town while we had a little siesta. Showered and changed we all set off back down to town and had a lovely meal; mind, if you don't like duck or fois gras you're going to struggle around here. Fortunately we were all happy with the menu and dined outside in a pretty courtyard on a lovely warm evening.

Today we explored the town and the Sunday antique market, visited the light and airy Cathedral and were able to appreciate the architecture and the maze of narrow streets and alleyways. Apparently this town is a favourite location with film directors and it's easy to see why.

Monday 20th October.

We bade farewell to Paul and Chris this morning after a great weekend, they're a lovely couple and we were sad to see them go. They're heading back to the UK while we are heading further south. We set off today for Bergerac along a pretty road driving most of the way next to the Dordogne river until we came to another diversion. Fearing the worst we followed the signs, fully expecting them to vanish after a few miles, but they did their job and in fact the diversion was a bonus. We were unable to fill up with water this morning as the machine in Sarlat was broken but the diversion took us through a small village with a motorhome service point where we were able to top up the tank. The new route also took us through the small village of Issigeac where we stopped for a picnic beside the river Banege in warm sunshine. When we reached Bergerac we slotted in to the last couple of parking spots next to the river and spent a pleasant hour or so wandering around the old town finding a reference or statue to Cyrano around every corner. We visited St James church where we found our first statue to Saint Philomena!! Onwards to a vineyard a few kilometres north of the town where we were directed to a nice grassy spot overlooking the vines. We asked when we could taste the wines and were told to relax, take a walk through the vineyard and surrounding forest and call at the house when we were ready. We took a walk, put some chicken in the oven and wandered over to the house. Now, usually when we've stopped on vineyards the shop or cave has been opened at specific times, the wine is tasted, rather formally, our purchase is made and that's that. Tonight we sat on the house porch of the folk who own the vineyard while they explained their lifestyle and philosophy to us. They own six hectares and produce about 15,000 bottles of wine per year, some Rose, some sweet white but mostly red, all Cabernet Sauvignon and all organically produced. Harvesting this year started on the 20th September, took ten days and required the help of a further 10/12 people per day, all the bunches of grapes cut and harvested by hand. Olivier and Elisabeth have three children between ten and sixteen years, they all go to different schools and have to be driven there and back to Bergerac. The vineyard doesn't produce enough for them to live on and so Olivier also teaches at the local Agricultural College. Were they twenty kilometres or so further west in the St Emilion area they could live quite comfortably from one hectare of vines. After and hour or so we remembered the chicken! Phil ran back to the van, came back and reported that it was almost caramelised! As it wasn't completely burnt we had time for yet another glass of wine with our hosts. The wine was delicious and we settled for a couple of bottles of Rose and a few bottles of the 2010 Red. Another lovely evening with nice folk, if you're ever in the area call in and buy a bottle or two from Chateau du Tuquet.

Tomorrow we set of for Saint Jean de Blaignac on the banks of the Dordogne in the Gironde, stopping overnight at yet another vineyard ten kilometres south of St Emilion, I bet we'll be paying a euro or two more for our wine tomorrow night.

The carved wooden altarpiece in the church of St James.

Saint Philomena!

 

Tuesday 21st October.

We woke this morning to a grey, overcast day and a little rain, a disappointment after the last few warm sunny days but as we drove off the cloud broke up and the sun came out, albeit intermittently. We drove to Saint-Jean-de-Blaignac (no diversions today) and arrived at Chateau de Bonhoste passing vineyards all the way as we entered the Gironde. What a difference to yesterday's vineyard; here they have 66 hectares of vines, tenfold the area under cultivation at the vineyard we were at yesterday. We arrived at lunchtime with everything closed so early afternoon we called into the offices to introduce ourselves. Before there was even a suggestion that we might buy some wine we were shown the showers and toilets, the electricity point and given the WiFi code. We were impressed to say the least. Obviously we tasted the wines produced here and now have some Bordeaux to join the Bergerac in our "cellar". We didn't spend a fortune here, we bought a total of six bottles, we were offered a Cremant de Bordeaux to taste, so a new bottle was opened and as we left the remainder, very nearly a full bottle, was given to us as a gift so that's this evening's aperitif sorted.

Tomorrow we head south toward the foothills of the Pyrenees before turning right toward the northern Spanish coast at San Sebastián.

Pat.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Back in shorts & flip flops!!

Thursday 17th October.

Obviously there will be no mention of SIM cards, WiFi or the like today. I promise.

We set off from Bellac this morning in watery sunshine after another night of torrential rain and then,after half an hour, it clouded over again. But as we arrived in Perigueux the sun came out, not just an English autumn sun but a full on "where are my shorts and sandals?" sun. We expected Perigueux to be a bit dreary after reading the guide book last night but the parts we saw this afternoon were delightful. We are parked up on the river Isle and a five minute walk along the river bank brought us to the Cathedral,parts of which date back to the eleventh century, and the medieval part of town. Plenty of designer shops and patisseries but this is Dordognshire after all and it's to be expected. The town just up the road, Thiviers, is the centre of Fois Gras production and almost every second shop and all the supermarkets round about are full of jars and tins of the stuff. You wouldn't want to be a goose around here.

Tomorrow we set off for Sarlat-la-Caneda to meet up with Paul and Chris with whom we spent a happy time in Morocco earlier in the year. Paul it was, you may remember, who published the photo of me surfing on the kitchen table in our motorhome. The kitchen table he was supposed to be holding lest I fell and broke my neck whilst carrying out repairs. Sarlat has a highly recommended Saturday market and the plan is to get up bright and early tomorrow to hit the market and buy all the goodies while they are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Unfortunately I don't think we have ever been up before them yet so I imagine we will be wandering around the market tomorrow just as all the stalls are closing. I'm setting the alarm anyway.

View across the river toward the Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Saint Front.

For no other reason than its ten years old, a great picture.

 

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy

Anybody reading this speak Italian?

Thursday 16th October.

Firstly I'd like to apologise for suggesting in my last post that I was experiencing déjà vu, "in reverse". Obviously that statement makes no sense at all and what I meant to imply was that we were retracing our footsteps, or tyre tracks, so to speak. Having cleared that up I can tell you that we are parked up tonight in Bellac, the third time we have stopped here and I have no sense of déjà vu at all, just recollections that it has rained every time we have stopped here before and, you've guessed it, it's raining again. We hadn't planned to stop here until tomorrow but our first choice, a vineyard just north of Poitiers, didn't open for business until 5pm which meant we would have sat in the middle of nowhere for several hours waiting for the shop to open so we decided to push on for another hour or so. Well, it would have been an hour or so were it not for roadworks in Lussac-les-Chateaux. We were travelling on the N147 which is possibly the longest straight road ever built, it goes up and down a bit and when you go up you can see the road in front of you for miles and miles. As we left Poitiers there were signs saying the road was closed further south, we consulted the map but couldn't really see an alternative route so we carried on assuming there would be detour signs at some stage, maybe through Montmorillon and Le Dorat. Anyway we arrived at Lussac and sure enough the road was closed with an arrow pointing to the left. We turned left. After a couple of minutes we realised we were heading north again so we turned round, back to Lussac, a roundabout with all exits blocked! Back north again, another look at the map, another u turn and back we go. This time at the roundabout we ignored the blocked road, squeezed past the sign and drove through the narrow streets on the edge of town finally finding our way back to the N147. Now, I don't have a problem with roadworks; I like to see my euros spent on improvements but I do have a problem with a complete absence of "detour" signs. You know, the ones that tell you where to go when a road is blocked? The ones that avoid you wasting the best part of an hour driving up and down country lanes spewing diesel fumes unnecessarily. The ones with arrows saying "Limoges-This Way". Anyway, we're here now and I'm calm after a small pastis.

Well, I would be calm were it not for the problems I'm having with my Europa SIM card. To explain briefly:- whilst we are travelling in order to check/send emails, pay bills, post this rubbish and generally keep in touch with the wider world we need some kind of Internet access. If we can find WiFi, preferably free, then that's great but if not we rely on a 3G SIM card which gives unlimited access for a 24hour period for €3; we pay nothing on the days we don't use it and I top it up with €20 as and when required. Problem is that the credit balance has been reducing at an alarming rate, far more than the amount it should have been. So I contacted the support team at rechargemysim (in Germany) who offered to contact Vodafone (in Italy) on my behalf. A very nice person said they would phone Vodafone to find out what was going on and send me a transcript of the conversation. Which they have done. "Google Translate" is great, isn't it? Well, it's funny anyway. It's no help at all but it's funny. So I've copied the transcript below for you to look at and maybe while you're having your early morning coffee (Anne-Lise?), or thinking I'm too wordy (Mo?) or shaking your heads and frowning (everybody else?) I'm hoping you know someone who can translate this for me and tell me what the heck is going on.

Trascrizione della chat

info: Per favore attendi un operatore collegato. info: Benvenuto nella chat di Vodafone. Come posso aiutarti? :-) Pat: ciao ho ricaricato di 20 euro e dovrei avere 20,84 invece ne ho 19,84... perchè 1 euro meno? Valentina: Effettua il login e consulta il tuo Dettaglio Costi e Traffico, nell’area “Fai da te” del sito. Valentina: Il Dettaglio Costi e Traffico riporta durata e costi di chiamate, messaggi, connessione Internet e Acquisto Contenuti. Valentina: Puoi consultare online il Dettaglio Costi e Traffico degli ultimi 6 mesi, fino alle 24 ore precedenti la data di consultazione (48 ore per il traffico effettuato all'estero). Pat: fatto ma non mi spiego l'euro meno... Valentina: Attendi un attimo per favore, il tempo di una verifica :) Pat: grazie Valentina: grazie per l'attesa, risulta attivo un servizio a pagamento con la società NOATEL che si chiama esattamente CRAZY NEWS Valentina: se lo desideri ti blocco la possibilita' di attivare ulteriori servizi a pagamento sul tuo numero Pat: si grazie Pat: mai attivata opzine simile Valentina: capisco, ti invito allora tra qualche minuto a spegnere e riaccendere il telefono in modo che la rete riconosca il blocco Valentina: Pat: ok Valentina: Ti ringrazio per aver utilizzato il nostro servizio di chat. Premendo il tasto Chiudi avrai la possibilita' di inviarci il tuo giudizio sul servizio di Web Chat. Valentina: Ci teniamo ad avere la tua opinione perche’ ci aiutera’ a migliorare sempre di piu’ il nostro servizio. Valentina: Grazie :) Valentina: Buona serata Pat: grazie

By the way, "Pat" is the lass from Germany and "Valentina" is the Italian lass.

Tomorrow we head for Perigueux, the guide book tells us if we can ignore the suburban sprawl and confusing traffic system we will be rewarded with a thoroughly charming old town dotted with Medieval buildings and Renaissance mansions. The cathedral also has the same chimes as Big Ben. I just hope it's stopped raining by the time we get there.

Meanwhile, a couple of pics:

Barge anyone?

 

Pastry anyone?

Pat

 

Posted with Blogsy

Dieppe, La Mailleraye-sur-Seine & La Suze-sur-Sarthe.

Monday 13th October.

We are parked up this afternoon next to the harbour in Dieppe. We arrived here after a wet and windy drive from Calais and now at 5.30pm we have a little sunshine, not much, enough to make a sailor's apron Phil says but it's sunshine nonetheless. We slept little last night, being kept awake by torrential rain in Folkestone which, inevitably, found a couple of leaks in the van. It's irritating because one of them is from a rooflight that I paid a garage in England to repair earlier in the year. The other one is from the big window above the cabin. The problem is that the roof is pretty inaccessible without climbing out through the main rooflight and doing that stresses the seal between the roof and the fitting. I'll have to wait until we are parked up on a dry day next to a wall or ramp high enough to climb on to the roof. Or rent a scaffold tower maybe. Or maybe not.

We stopped at this spot on our way back from our last trip and it was pretty crowded then with folk travelling onwards into France and beyond and other people returning from their travels. I suspect most people here now are heading south. There are also a lot more UK motorhomes here this time and fewer dogs (less dogs?). The plan for the next few days involves us heading slowly south via Le Mans, Saumur and Poitiers with a mix of camping car stops and vineyards. We stopped on the way here today at Carrefour for some essential shopping; bread, wine and diesel (€1.25/L) so we have enough wine now until we hit our first vineyard in a couple of days,enough diesel to get us to the south of France and tomorrow morning the bread van arrives. Happy days.

Wednesday 15th October.

This is all a bit déjà vu at the moment, albeit in reverse. We are parked up this afternoon at La Suze on the river Sarthe, last night we were parked up on the Seine, both places we stopped at six weeks or so ago on our way home. They are both nice places to stay though especially here at La Suze where we have all the facilities we need including electricity for €5 (£4) per night and can watch the sun glinting on the river a few metres from the front of the van, a bargain. Weather is a bit mixed at the moment, the mornings have been dim and dismal followed by rain and then sunshine in the afternoon. The van that I lovingly washed, polished and then polished again looks filthy already, grrrr.

Oh, Phil has just taken a bag of rubbish to the wheely bin and as she chucked it in a rat ("AS BIG AS A CAT"- she said) jumped out and scurried into the bushes. I guess this is what happens when you don't replace the missing lids of the wheely bins?

No pictures today, a combination of new iPhone, new iPad, a recalcitrant blogging platform and dodgy WiFi are all conspiring against me but fear not, we'll be back to normal soon.

Pat

Posted with Blogsy

On The Road - Again.

Hi everyone,

Well, we are back on our travels again. We've been back home for four or five weeks and it's been great catching up with friends and family. A bit of home maintenance, a bit of van maintenance and when all that was done we started to get itchy feet again. So here we are in the car park of the Nailbox pub in Folkestone, ten minutes drive from the Chunnel where we'll get the 8.50am ferry tomorrow.

The plan is for a leisurely drive through France and then on into Spain for some winter sun. Paul & Chris, who we went to Morroco with, are currently in France slowly wending their way home so we'll meet up with them for a day or so at some point. It will be great to see them again.

We drove the 280 miles today from Bingley to Folkestone and had good weather most of the way but it is now pouring down with rain and has been for the last couple of hours; doesn't look like it's going to ease up either. So we'll have an early night and drop off to the pitter patter of rain on the roof and hope for better weather on the other side of the channel.

That's it really, just letting you all know that you have something to read now when you have nothing better to do. This will be our fourth trip to Europe in the Motorhome and I have to say that saying goodbye to folks gets harder each time! The first couple of trips we knew when we would be returning so the farewells weren't too bad but this journey is pretty much open ended so it may be a while until we see family and friends again. Still, we have phones, pads and all the apps we need to keep in touch and if you want to post comments as we travel around that would be great too.

Pat.

Posted with Blogsy