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Saturday, 31st August 2019
Camping Les Rives du Lac, contd...
Clear blue sky, 34C by lunch time.
Today, was planned as a "take it easy day", after yesterday's efforts, but, we went for a short cycle ride, along the VoieVelo, in the opposite direction to yesterday, and, ten miles later, at Radonvilliers, decided we should turn around and head back, so, twenty miles in total!
Sadly Kathleen's picnic organising skills are not as good as her cycling skills, and, in ten miles, we fail to spot a bar or shop, so, we have to wait until we get back to the van, for sustenance.
We have received the link for Bryan and Joans blog here, but, cannot add a comment for some reason!
Sunday, 1st September 2019
Camping Les Rives du Lac, contd...
After the excellent weather we have had so far, a disappointing start to the day, a cool 18C, cloudy, with occasional showers.
The plan for today was to have an easy, relaxing day, after our two consecutive "20 miles" days. But, it is Sunday, so, Kathleen is determined to go to church (in Lusigny-sur-Barse). There is a church there, and, Kathleen's enquiries at the adjacent hairdressers, suggested there was a mass at 10:30, Sunday, either that, or, she has made a hair dressing appointment for then!
Well, after pedalling 6.5 miles, there is no Mass. All is not lost, the Carrefour is open, so, we are able to stock up on some essentials, ie wine.
Monday, 2nd September 2019
Leave Géraudot today, heading for Port Plaisance, Nancy, 48.6921, 6.19346, a rather expensive Aire (25Euro/night) with reasonable reviews on Search for a Site website, roughly 125 miles.
On arrival, not impressed, scrappy appearance, some kind of trench digging in progress, alongside very busy road, all that for 17Euro/night, no thank you.
So, we pushed on to Pont-a-Mousson N48 54'4" E6 3'51", an Aire we have used before, some years ago.
Marked out bays. Divided into two sections (surprisingly, named section 1 and section 2), water and electricity at each bay, good quality showers and toilets available 08:00-20:00 at the modern Capitainaire building, very pleasant Attendant, all for 10Euro/night.
Town approximately five minutes walk.
Once "settled in", Kathleen announces she would like to go for a short cycle ride, to
explore.
We end up doing just over 12 miles along an excellent cycle track alongside the River Moselle.
We spend the evening in the sun, drinking wine, it is a hard life. ;)
A slight puzzle, to me at least, is, why is it called "Pont-a-Mousson", true, there is a bridge (Pont), but, the River is the Moselle, so, why not "Pont-a-Moselle"?
Thursday, 29th August 2019
A much cooler 18C as we leave Amiens.
Approximately 140 easy miles to our next stop, which is planned as Lac d'Orient, Mesnil-St-Pere, but, see below!
We arrive at Mesnil-St-Pere, about 20 miles East of Troyes, as we drive along the very attractive beach on the lake shore, it looks ominously busy.
We find Lac d'Orient, (N48 15'48" E4 20' 48"). As we thought, it does not look promising, there is a queue of five or six vans/caravans snaking out of the entrance. Sure enough, it is full, the first time in 12 years of roaming mainland Europe, with nothing booked, that we have been turned away!
The young lady in Reception gives us a slip of paper with several alternative sites (being full is clearly not unusual!).
We settle on Camping Les Rives du Lac, (N48 18"10' E4 20" 16") at Geraudot, about five miles along the lake shore. It is after 17:00 when we arrive there, fortunately, they have spaces available.
Friday, 30th August 2019
A glorious day, 25C, blue sky.
In our haste to find a pitch yesterday, we inadvertently chose the spot where all of the children on the site, gathered to feed the horses, in the adjacent field.
The children are no real problem, but, they can make a surprising amount of noise, plus, after a couple of falling down incidents, when Kathleen had to use her nursing skills on grazed knees, we decided it would be more restful to move!
This we duly did, this morning.
Yes, we are grumpy old gets, I agree!
Next task, since Sunday is approaching, find the Church.
We cycle along the excellent dedicated cycle route, into the vlllage (Geraudot). There is a church, but, no Mass this Sunday, but, we do find a notice board, with Masses listed at various nearby(?) villages.
We cycle on, still on an excellent tarmac dedicated cycle track (why can't we do things like this in UK?), around the Lac d'Orient. According to the signposting, the cycle track goes all the way to Troyes (30km away), at the 15km remaining point, we turn around and head back, to clock up just over 20 miles in total. We even find a sandwich shop, and, equally importantly, a bar.
After further household chores (ie clothes washing), without a single word of complaint, Kathleen relaxes with a Magnum Ice Cream.
