Reims to Bingley

Tuesday 2nd May 2017 We left the beautiful City of Reims and headed north with an uneventful drive and arrived at Banteaux (N50.06280 E3.20105). This is a nice stop over next to the canal with all services including electricity for €5/24hrs but the weather was cold and miserable, we were the only folk there and we didn't bother exploring the quiet town. Wednesday 3rd May 2017 From Banteux we set off on the national road to Lens and a motorhome stopover next to a drive through Macdonalds (N50.43245 E2.82009). Space for 6 vans but a large overflow car park adjacent, it's free to stay here with the benefit of Maccy D's WiFi. It poured down with rain all day and I don't think the folk from Lens would disagree if I said there isn't a great deal to see in their city so another day of not doing much at all. Thursday 4th May 2017 Our last stop before our ferry on Friday evening was to be Bruges. The motorhome parking provided there is outrageously expensive at €25/24hrs and if you go over the 24hrs it's another €25 so we didn't want to get there too early in the day so we set off first for Dunkirk where we could park behind the dunes, have some lunch and set off for Bruges to arrive late afternoon to allow us a full days sightseeing the next day. The parking for motorhomes in Dunkirk has no facilities but it's free and it's next to the beach and the promenade with lots of shops, restaurants and cafes (N51.05298 E2.41425), I would imagine it would get pretty busy here in the summer. So after a bite to eat and a stroll on the beach we set off for Bruges and arrived a little after 4pm. (N51.19582 E3.22569). Although the parking here is expensive there are the usual facilities, waste water and wc dump, fresh water and electricity and it's only a ten minute walk to the old town. It's a bit noisy during the day with traffic noise from the nearby road and the adjacent coach parking but it was quiet enough at night. Friday 5th May 2017 We spent the day exploring Bruges together with thousands of other tourists including lots of school parties with kids frantically running about filling in work sheets. Another cold and grey day but we were still impressed with the city which still has many old buildings and plenty of museums. The Cathedral was undergoing some renovation but it was free to visit. On a better day weather wise we would have taken a canal boat trip but the folk we saw huddled up on the boats looked frozen so we didn't bother. I would have liked to sample some of the beers on offer in the many bars but as I was driving later in the day I abstained although I did buy a selection of bottles to sample on our return to England. The restaurants here aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination but we found somewhere that didn't cost an arm and a leg and managed to bag the last table. We returned to the van, emptied everything that needed emptying, paid our €25 and set off for the 20 minute drive to the ferry port at Zeebrugge. Now, we've been on a few ferries over the last few years and experienced some pretty chaotic loading arrangements and delays whilst everyone gets loaded before finally the motorhomes are squeezed on. But this couldn't have been quicker or easier. We checked in, obtained our boarding passes, followed the signs and parked up anticipating a long wait. No sooner had we stopped than a guy came over, checked the van for stowaways and ten minutes later we were on the ferry and collecting our room keys - brilliant. We were impressed with the "Pride of Bruges", a couple of bars and restaurants and lounges spread over three decks, helpful and cheerful staff and everywhere spotlessly clean. The only downside was our cabin which had bunk beds and I'm getting to the age where climbing a ladder to get to my bed has kind of lost it's appeal. I checked whether cabins were available with two lower beds and I would have to book a 4 berth to avoid mountaineering in the future or use the Rotterdam/Hull route where the ships do have two berth cabins. But apart from that small inconvenience I think this will now be our preferred route to mainland Europe in the future. It avoids the long drive in England from Yorkshire to the South coast and back again. Once we had docked at Hull on Saturday morning it was only a couple of hours drive before we were back home in Bingley. Some statistics from this trip: We left home on 28th September 2016 and arrived home on the 6th May 2017. We spent just over 5 months in Bolnuevo. We made 21 stops in France (13 free), 14 stops in Spain (7 free), 7 stops in Portugal (5 free) and one stop in Belgium.  We covered 4,300 miles which was one of our shortest trips. We no longer record our fuel consumption nor do we keep a detailed breakdown of how much we've spent or what we spent it on.  We'll spend the next few months in the UK visiting friends and family, servicing and MOT'ing the van, replacing some hanging wardrobes with shelves and taking a trip to the Highlands. Then, late summer we'll set off again for Europe, spending the winter in Spain and heading for Greece next spring. Thanks to everyone who has followed our journey via the blog and commented. Bye for now, Pat & Phil.

Cote D'Or to Reims

Friday 28th April 2017   We're slowly making our way up to Belgium for a ferry next weekend and thought we had better visit a vineyard on the way to stock up! An independent vineyard at Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, ( N47.52155 E4.52961 )a little north west of Dijon looked ideal and so it turned out to be. One of the oldest vineyards in France, listed and mapped in the time of Charlemagne, it dates back to 741 but gradually disappeared by the end of the C19th.  A little over 20 years ago 13Ha were replanted and the current owner is trying hard to promote not only the vineyard but the region. Located near the historical site where the battle of Alesia took place between the Romans and the Gauls it is considered to be the birth place of the French nation. There aren't as many vineyards this north in the Cote D'Or but we chose well, the wine was terrific (we bought a bottle or two!) and the location was excellent, the vines planted on the south facing hills looked down upon us, swallows performed their ariel acrobatics ,owls screeched and hooted and once the sun went down there wasn't a sound to be heard other than the birds. No traffic, no trains, no planes and we didn't hear a strimmer until 9.30 the following morning. Our non-scientific study suggests that Greece has the highest per capita strimmer ownership, Spain second and France in third place. Strimmer operatives generally wear ear defenders. Folk nearby generally don't. That's all I have to say about strimmers.   Saturday 29th April 2017   We left the Cote D'Or and set off toward Chaumont, leaving the vineyards behind and were soon driving alongside fields of rape, wheat and corn. Not the most scenic of drives but we drove through some woodland and a quaint village or two. I use the word quaint to describe villages we drive through where Phil tenses and I say that a bus could get through here as I pull in the side mirrors. The 30kph speed signs are generally unnecessary as I crawl through with all senses on high alert. After a brief detour to Intermarche to buy 5L of white vinegar ( we put it in the waste water tank to keep it smelling fresh - or vinegary, dependant upon your sense of smell) and its cheap in France, we arrived at the motorhome aire just outside Chaumont. It wasn't the most pleasing of places and there was nobody available to turn on the, allegedly free, electricity and water until 4.30pm. As it was only 12.30 we had a look at a book or two and drove another 30mins north to Froncles. A great stopover, all services including electricity, next to the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne, and all for €8.45 per night (N48.30138 E5.14885). When the young lady came round to collect the money I mentioned that I would fill up with water the next morning and she asked if I had an adaptor for their water outlet as it was rather unusual. If I didn't have one she could lend me one in the morning. Now, I reckon I've got an adaptor for every tap/water outlet known to man or woman in Europe so I retrieved the bag of fittings and wandered casually over to the water supply. It all looked a bit high tech and very new and sure enough there was an odd looking stubby lump of metal coming horizontally out of the stainless steel box. Closer examination and it turned out to be a push fit thingy that you get with garden hoses. I retrieved my fitting from the bag and inserted it into the outlet. It didn't quite fit. I tried three and then a nice Frenchman wandered over and showed me the fitting I needed and said I could borrow his. "But I've got one of those" I said showing him the piece. We tried again and sure enough my bit of kit worked and water came out of my hose. I thanked the French guy as I pulled the fitting from the outlet and covered myself in about 5L of water! A quick change of clothes and, as we were only 20m from the canal bank a spot of fishing was in order. No fish were harmed in this fruitless endeavour.   Sunday 30th April 2017.   No quaint villages today but plenty of quaint roads. Eventually we ended up on a road with a white line down the middle and Phil was able to exhale the breath she had been holding for the last 10miles. Onwards through more fields of grain until we reached Nancy. Few large cities have motorhome aires anywhere near the centre but here in Nancy we can park up next to the canal marina with all services (N48.69228 E6.19320) and a ten minute walk to Place Stanislas, the medieval quarter and a lovely urban park with a small zoo. The harbourmaster (la capitainerie) after we stumbled along for a while in my fractured French, asked me if I spoke a little English after which we got on like a house on fire. He accepted my €16.40 for an overnight stay, gave me a map and told me that Place Stanislas was the most beautiful square in France, if not all of Europe and drew a little route on the map which would show us the best sights and only take a couple of hours. We set off but were delayed after ten minutes by a vintage car rally where the vehicles we had earlier seen being escorted through the city were parking up. Old Renaults, Citroens, Austin Healeys and MGs and a superb AC Cobra amongst others. Before they had parked up they had been escorted through the city by police motorcyclists who looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Blue lights flashing, vintage car horns honking, pedestrians gawping as they drove past - what's not to like? Being in the centre of a large city I didn't think I'd have any problems finding some WiFi so I could follow the Spurs/Arsenal match. If not a live feed at least a commentary. Unfortunately we appear to be in some kind of WiFi black hole here but my son kept me abreast of the game via a series of expletive filled text messages. Oh well, there's always next season and we're in the FA Cup final. Tomorrow we head to Reims.   Monday 1st May 2017   What a beautiful city Reims is. Wide pedestrianised boulevards with stunning architecture,although a lot of it is obscured by the many tall trees, now in full leaf. We were lucky to be able to walk about here today with hardly any traffic and no crowds of shoppers. Today being a National Holiday the shops were all closed as were many of the bars, can you imagine shops and bars closing in England on a Bank Holiday? No, me neither but it made for a peaceful stroll around the city centre. But first we headed for the Cathedral where between 816 and 1825 some 34 sovereigns began their reign here, including a couple of dozen Kings. Building on the Cathedral in its current form began in 1211 and was mostly completed 100 years later. The view when you approach from the west is stunning with the front of the Cathedral framed by trees either side of  rue Libergier. The Cathedral is 139m long but what amazed me was the height. Looking up from the nave with massive pillars either side and buttresses crisscrossing above took my breath away. It was a little cloudy today so we didn't see the best of the stained glass windows but we saw enough to be amazed. Some of the windows date from the fifteenth century but there are three large panels by Chagall which are almost as impressive. Damage during WW1 & WW2 took its toll but the restoration work itself is a wonder. I've recently read "The Pillars of the Earth" and I can imagine how awestruck English builders and masons must have been when they first saw these magnificent French Cathedrals. The 250 step climb to the tower affords 360deg views across France's flattest region but we were spared the ordeal with it being a Holiday and the tour wasn't available - phew! We arrived here early afternoon and unusually the motorhome aire here in Reims (N49.25006 E4.02164) is just on the edge of the city centre however, unlike last night's stop in Nancy, this one is free. There is only space for 7 vans and the access is barriered with a phone number to obtain the access code-  "Bonjour, J'ai un Camping Car" "Oui?" "Err......" "Do you speak English?" "Yes - I have a camping car and I'm outside the barrier" "Yes, I know. The code is xxxxxxx." "Merci" "You're welcome, have a nice day" Easy peasy.   Tomorrow we'll have another look around the City, there's lots we haven't seen, and then set off toward Cambrai which will possibly be our last night in La Belle France for a while.

Pat