Sorry just a slight hiccup. I made the mistake of upgrading to Internet Explorer 8, and now it will not let be update my blog!
Microsoft strikes again I should have known better!
Normal service will be resumed ASAP
OK normal service resumed, you now have to click "edit html" instead of "compose" before you can update your post, how obvious.
Friday, 3 July 2009
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Sunday 28th June 2009
Domaine de Marcilly, Marcilly-sur-Eure (ACSI2009-727) N48.83184 E1.32972
The morning is warm and sunny, a beautiful summers day is promised. Kathleen goes off to church, and after packing up the van, I while away the morning watching the canoeists on the Loire. A whole group of them have arrived, some in cars and vans with their canoe on the roof, and some in a minibus, towing a trailer of canoes. They obviously plan to canoe and camp, as they have camping gear and spare clothing packed into plastic barrels in the canoe, and they launch them into the river and paddle off down stream.
Kathleen returns at about 11:45, and we set off for our next site, which is only about 2.5 hours away, (we think).
The satnav goes on the blink again, with no GPS signal. This time it happens as we are negotiating Dreux. Kathleen has not been paying attention, so has no idea where we are on the map, and we soon become totally lost in a maze of unclassified roads north of Dreux, which are not marked on our map. The problem is that the roads are extremely narrow, fortunately although we flounder around for about an hour before we find our way onto the road we want to be on, we do not meet anything bigger than a Renault Clio coming the other way. Eventually we find the campsite.
The site is more geared up for large static caravans, than tourers, but it is very pretty and well kept. There are three swimming pools, and numerous tennis courts, petang courts (French Boules), and table tennis.
There are not many tourers there, about 15 in total of whom five are GB’ers, including us.
Two of the GB couples have been here for four days so far and are inveterate complainers and reckon it is the worst site they have ever been on, they must have led a charmed life. One of their complaints is that there are no washing machines and no sinks to wash clothes. Well one of our first tasks when we go to a new site is to do a quick scout around and check were all of the vital facilities are ie toilets, showers, dishwashing, clothes washing. So Kathleen having been there four hours explains to them to where to find them (about 50 metres from their pitch as it happens). They are dog walkers, and another of their complaints is that the site is not very good for dogs. I ask you, who chooses a site on the basis that your dog will like it!
The third GB’er has a damned cat with them, the fourth pair (David and Carol) are actually welsh, but appear to be the most normal and likeable of the lot despite that..
The biggest weakness is that there are no shopping facilities onsite (amazingly for a French site, not even bread), and the village while quite close at about 2km, is along a rather busy road and down (and hence up on the way back) a fairly steep hill. Not good if you are cycling back with a pack beer and a few bottles of wine in your backpack!
Our final bit of excitement here occurs when a small Dutch boy (about 2 years old), burns his hand on a part of his parents camping stove. We do not know what has happened at first, but we can hear him crying. David (the Welshman) and Kathleen offer assistance. Despite the fact that Kathleen is/was a nurse, we have virtually nothing in the way of first aid kit, except a (very) few elastoplasts. Fortunately David has some Germoline, which does the trick, after cooling his hand in cold water.
The morning is warm and sunny, a beautiful summers day is promised. Kathleen goes off to church, and after packing up the van, I while away the morning watching the canoeists on the Loire. A whole group of them have arrived, some in cars and vans with their canoe on the roof, and some in a minibus, towing a trailer of canoes. They obviously plan to canoe and camp, as they have camping gear and spare clothing packed into plastic barrels in the canoe, and they launch them into the river and paddle off down stream.
Kathleen returns at about 11:45, and we set off for our next site, which is only about 2.5 hours away, (we think).
The satnav goes on the blink again, with no GPS signal. This time it happens as we are negotiating Dreux. Kathleen has not been paying attention, so has no idea where we are on the map, and we soon become totally lost in a maze of unclassified roads north of Dreux, which are not marked on our map. The problem is that the roads are extremely narrow, fortunately although we flounder around for about an hour before we find our way onto the road we want to be on, we do not meet anything bigger than a Renault Clio coming the other way. Eventually we find the campsite.
The site is more geared up for large static caravans, than tourers, but it is very pretty and well kept. There are three swimming pools, and numerous tennis courts, petang courts (French Boules), and table tennis.
There are not many tourers there, about 15 in total of whom five are GB’ers, including us.
Two of the GB couples have been here for four days so far and are inveterate complainers and reckon it is the worst site they have ever been on, they must have led a charmed life. One of their complaints is that there are no washing machines and no sinks to wash clothes. Well one of our first tasks when we go to a new site is to do a quick scout around and check were all of the vital facilities are ie toilets, showers, dishwashing, clothes washing. So Kathleen having been there four hours explains to them to where to find them (about 50 metres from their pitch as it happens). They are dog walkers, and another of their complaints is that the site is not very good for dogs. I ask you, who chooses a site on the basis that your dog will like it!
The third GB’er has a damned cat with them, the fourth pair (David and Carol) are actually welsh, but appear to be the most normal and likeable of the lot despite that..
The biggest weakness is that there are no shopping facilities onsite (amazingly for a French site, not even bread), and the village while quite close at about 2km, is along a rather busy road and down (and hence up on the way back) a fairly steep hill. Not good if you are cycling back with a pack beer and a few bottles of wine in your backpack!
Our final bit of excitement here occurs when a small Dutch boy (about 2 years old), burns his hand on a part of his parents camping stove. We do not know what has happened at first, but we can hear him crying. David (the Welshman) and Kathleen offer assistance. Despite the fact that Kathleen is/was a nurse, we have virtually nothing in the way of first aid kit, except a (very) few elastoplasts. Fortunately David has some Germoline, which does the trick, after cooling his hand in cold water.
Saturday 27th June 2009
L’Isle aux Moulins, Jargeau (ACSI2009-953) N47.86909 E2.11531
This is a very pleasant site, right alongside the River Loire. Facilities are basic but clean and functional. Only 13Euro/night however. It is a 5 minutes walk into town, where there are a selection of places to eat/drink, a small supermarket, plus of course the usual range of French small town shops, and a church (it is Saturday, so finding a church is a priority), with mass 10:30 on a Sunday. Plus there is a pleasant cycle track or walk along the river bank.
The rivers of France are one of the things I find amazing, they appear to be so enormous, we have been following the Loire more or less for about 240 kilometres, and at this point it is about 300 metres wide, and there is still about another 140 kilometres to go before it reaches the sea.
Jargeau is somewhat famous in second world war terms, although I must admit I had never heard of it, but it was here that elements of the French army stopped the advance of the Germans after they had invaded France. They presumably did it by holding the bridge, which appears to be the only one for a considerable distance in either direction. Not sure if it was a permanent stop or more a delay, but there you are.
The good weather has returned after yesterdays rain, and we have hot sunny weather with a clear blue sky.
We find we are not alone, compared to most places we have been this a little England with no fewer than six GB campervans/caravans there. As usual however the place was occupied mainly by Dutch.
It is strange how some sites are more “friendly” than others, within an hour we have had conversations with our Dutch neighbour and 5 of the six GB’ers.
The other thing about campsites or course is that they present great people watching opportunities. Pitched opposite to us are another Dutch couple, who are travelling by bicycle and camping. The female of the pair was rather large, a size 18 at least I would say, whilst the man did not appear to have an ounce of fat on him. I must point out, before continuing, that it was Kathleen who brought this to my attention. I suggested a theory to Kathleen, that perhaps her used her as a counter weight, whereby having got her to the top of the first hill, he could use her momentum on the downhill stretch to tow him out the hill. I was rebuked severely for this, on the basis that I was discriminating against fat people. I just want to remind you here that it was not me who drew attention to the Dutch lady’s size!.
Joking aside, you have to admire these people, we subsequently found out that they had travelled by train with their bicycles from their home in Holland to Basle on the Swiss / French border, and were then cycling across France to the Atlantic coast. At that point their son is to meet them in the car and give them (and their bicycles) a ride home.
They obviously were carrying a minimum of equipment, but even so their bicycles were well and truly loaded down with each of them having four panniers, two on the front, and two on the back!
In the evening we walk into town for a drink or two. This brought us a possible lesson in French language. We have been taught, that if you have had (say) a gin, and you want another the same, you say “encore un gin, s’il vous plait”, and that if you ask “un autre gin, s’il vous plait”, the waiter will interpret this as meaning that you did not like the first one, and want a different type for the subsequent gin. Well, we ordered our drinks using our best Michel Thomas French, “un Gin et Sweppes, et un pichet de vin rouge, Cotes de Rhone, s’il vous plait”. No problem. But when we came to order a subsequent gin, we asked “encore gin, s’il vous plait”, where upon the waiter said to us “un autre gin, mais oui”. Obviously he did not learn his French from the Michel Thomas CD’s! So we ask ourselves, is this autre vs encore a load of rubbish?
This is a very pleasant site, right alongside the River Loire. Facilities are basic but clean and functional. Only 13Euro/night however. It is a 5 minutes walk into town, where there are a selection of places to eat/drink, a small supermarket, plus of course the usual range of French small town shops, and a church (it is Saturday, so finding a church is a priority), with mass 10:30 on a Sunday. Plus there is a pleasant cycle track or walk along the river bank.
The rivers of France are one of the things I find amazing, they appear to be so enormous, we have been following the Loire more or less for about 240 kilometres, and at this point it is about 300 metres wide, and there is still about another 140 kilometres to go before it reaches the sea.
Jargeau is somewhat famous in second world war terms, although I must admit I had never heard of it, but it was here that elements of the French army stopped the advance of the Germans after they had invaded France. They presumably did it by holding the bridge, which appears to be the only one for a considerable distance in either direction. Not sure if it was a permanent stop or more a delay, but there you are.
The good weather has returned after yesterdays rain, and we have hot sunny weather with a clear blue sky.
We find we are not alone, compared to most places we have been this a little England with no fewer than six GB campervans/caravans there. As usual however the place was occupied mainly by Dutch.
It is strange how some sites are more “friendly” than others, within an hour we have had conversations with our Dutch neighbour and 5 of the six GB’ers.
The other thing about campsites or course is that they present great people watching opportunities. Pitched opposite to us are another Dutch couple, who are travelling by bicycle and camping. The female of the pair was rather large, a size 18 at least I would say, whilst the man did not appear to have an ounce of fat on him. I must point out, before continuing, that it was Kathleen who brought this to my attention. I suggested a theory to Kathleen, that perhaps her used her as a counter weight, whereby having got her to the top of the first hill, he could use her momentum on the downhill stretch to tow him out the hill. I was rebuked severely for this, on the basis that I was discriminating against fat people. I just want to remind you here that it was not me who drew attention to the Dutch lady’s size!.
Joking aside, you have to admire these people, we subsequently found out that they had travelled by train with their bicycles from their home in Holland to Basle on the Swiss / French border, and were then cycling across France to the Atlantic coast. At that point their son is to meet them in the car and give them (and their bicycles) a ride home.
They obviously were carrying a minimum of equipment, but even so their bicycles were well and truly loaded down with each of them having four panniers, two on the front, and two on the back!
In the evening we walk into town for a drink or two. This brought us a possible lesson in French language. We have been taught, that if you have had (say) a gin, and you want another the same, you say “encore un gin, s’il vous plait”, and that if you ask “un autre gin, s’il vous plait”, the waiter will interpret this as meaning that you did not like the first one, and want a different type for the subsequent gin. Well, we ordered our drinks using our best Michel Thomas French, “un Gin et Sweppes, et un pichet de vin rouge, Cotes de Rhone, s’il vous plait”. No problem. But when we came to order a subsequent gin, we asked “encore gin, s’il vous plait”, where upon the waiter said to us “un autre gin, mais oui”. Obviously he did not learn his French from the Michel Thomas CD’s! So we ask ourselves, is this autre vs encore a load of rubbish?
Friday, 26 June 2009
Friday 26th June 2009
La Chevette, Digoin (ACSI2009-967) N46.47977 E3.96759
This is a municipal site, but none the worse for that. It has wifi at your van for free, and costs only 13euro per night with the ACSI card.
It is clearly a popular site, we arrived at about 15:00, and had a choice of spaces, but by 18:30 it was almost full.
The town (Digoin) looks quite interesting, and is only a short walk away. According to the literature there are walks and cycle rides by the Loire. There is a Canal which crosses the river on a stone aqueduct type bridge. Unfortunately we do not get to explore very much. We go out for a short walk but only just make it back before the thunderstorm begins.
This is a municipal site, but none the worse for that. It has wifi at your van for free, and costs only 13euro per night with the ACSI card.
It is clearly a popular site, we arrived at about 15:00, and had a choice of spaces, but by 18:30 it was almost full.
The town (Digoin) looks quite interesting, and is only a short walk away. According to the literature there are walks and cycle rides by the Loire. There is a Canal which crosses the river on a stone aqueduct type bridge. Unfortunately we do not get to explore very much. We go out for a short walk but only just make it back before the thunderstorm begins.
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Saturday 20th June 2009 - Thursday 25th June 2009
International du Lac d’Annecy, St Jorioz nr Annecy (ACSI2009-1089) N45.83077 E6.17837
Occasionally, you see Campervans, or Caravans arrive at a site very early in the morning, ie before 09:30. I have often wondered how they achieve this, have they driven all night? Now I understand how, their partners (wives) have fallen out with the site next door, and they have moved 200 yards down the road. So it is that we arrive at this site, and as I am busy connecting up the electricity, an English man arrives and asks me, “how did you get here so early, have you driven all night?”…..
Joking aside, I have to say Kathleen was right (isn’t she always?), this site is much better, and it is 4Euro a night cheaper, so if you come this way, this is the one to choose. It even has wifi at your van, although on our arrival it is not working.
Once settled (again), we set off along the cycle track south towards Albertville. We do not make it all of the way there, but we get to Faverges, which at 11miles is about half way there. So we have a round trip of 22 miles, before returning for lunch. We also find a third church about 2miles away, which has mass Saturday 18:30. For lunch I eat the remainder of the garlic sausage I bought, since Kathleen is beginning to complain that it is trying to fight its’ way out of the fridge.
Sunday 21st dawns bright and sunny, the thunderstorms of the last two days appear to have gone (fingers crossed). In the UK, it is Fathers Day, uncharacteristically Kathleen is out of bed first. I think perhaps I am going to get looked after for the day?. It was a false alarm.
We cycle into Annecy, about six miles away. There are whole families, young and old, out in the sun, either cycling or skating on roller blades along the cycle track in both directions.
It makes you realise that the man who invented lycra (cycling shorts for women) should have a knighthood.
We have a good wander around Annecy (the old medieval town), there is a huge market going on, mostly food, and it is very busy, and have an excellent lunch by the Palais d’Isle. Then retire back to the campsite, where I am treated to an icecream and a superb coffee by Kathleen, before idling away the rest of the afternoon lying in the sun, followed by loosing at Petang (French boules) to Kathleen.
Monday is a “housework” day, ie do some washing, tidy the van etc, with the afternoon spent in the pool.
On Tuesday, we (I) prepare a picnic, and set off on our bikes. The stated aim is to go to Annecy and enjoy the park beside the lake. However I have a secret agenda which is to cycle around the lake (25 miles according to my estimates), Kathleen of course using her womens intuition, is aware of my secret agenda. We cycle into Annecy (six miles), then continue through the park and around the top of the lake. We get to the end of the cycle track (9 miles). So far it has been reasonably flat, now it begins to be a lot more undulating, as we weave through ancient small villages on the “quiet” side of the lake, then climb a long slow hill after Menthon Saint-Bernard. So far so good, no complaints. Then a steep hill down into Talloires. I know I am home and dry now, there is no way we are going to cycle back up the hill, so the only option is ahead. We stop for our picnic by the lake. Kathleen points out that she knew all of the time that I would attempt to get her to cycle around the lake. We are now at 15 miles, and sitting looking across the lake at Duingt. After our lunch we cycle the rest of the way along the lake, and on to Doussard, then rejoin the cycle track to head back along the other side towards Saint-Jorioz where we started. We stop off for coffee and a beer.
When we get back, my estimate of 25 miles turns out to be surprisingly accurate at 24.85 miles on our “cyclemeters”. Kathleen says she feels she could do another 10 miles, but declines to join me, as I continue on to the supermarket, to buy coffee, cakes and chocolate as a treat to us for completing what is to be part of the Tour de France on 23rd July 2009 (well almost, we missed out the climb upto the chateau at Bluffy).
Wednesday is hair washing day, so as usual Kathleen does not want to ruffle her hair when she has just washed it. In the morning I cycle south along the lake past Dousard. It is really hot and sunny today (27C), so most of the rest of the day is spent lying around. Out of curiosity we both check our blood pressure, mine is 117/68 and Kathleen 119/71, wonder if we can get a prescription for a ferry crossing and say a months campsite fees, instead of BP tablets? After our evening meal, we go out for another ten mile ride, Kathleen feels she has done nothing all day, except eat cakes (which I bought), so needs some exercise.
Thursday is to be our last day here, a week from today, we are scheduled to be on the ferry back to the UK. We have a final cycle ride into Annecy, then along the river which flows out of the lake through Annecy. This brings Kathleens total cycling for the week to 98 miles, why not do another two miles to make the round 100 you might ask. In the evening we have a drink with a very nice English couple (John and Linda, from Cheshire), who we first met on the previous site, and subsequently they came here.
Occasionally, you see Campervans, or Caravans arrive at a site very early in the morning, ie before 09:30. I have often wondered how they achieve this, have they driven all night? Now I understand how, their partners (wives) have fallen out with the site next door, and they have moved 200 yards down the road. So it is that we arrive at this site, and as I am busy connecting up the electricity, an English man arrives and asks me, “how did you get here so early, have you driven all night?”…..
Joking aside, I have to say Kathleen was right (isn’t she always?), this site is much better, and it is 4Euro a night cheaper, so if you come this way, this is the one to choose. It even has wifi at your van, although on our arrival it is not working.
Once settled (again), we set off along the cycle track south towards Albertville. We do not make it all of the way there, but we get to Faverges, which at 11miles is about half way there. So we have a round trip of 22 miles, before returning for lunch. We also find a third church about 2miles away, which has mass Saturday 18:30. For lunch I eat the remainder of the garlic sausage I bought, since Kathleen is beginning to complain that it is trying to fight its’ way out of the fridge.
Sunday 21st dawns bright and sunny, the thunderstorms of the last two days appear to have gone (fingers crossed). In the UK, it is Fathers Day, uncharacteristically Kathleen is out of bed first. I think perhaps I am going to get looked after for the day?. It was a false alarm.
We cycle into Annecy, about six miles away. There are whole families, young and old, out in the sun, either cycling or skating on roller blades along the cycle track in both directions.
It makes you realise that the man who invented lycra (cycling shorts for women) should have a knighthood.
We have a good wander around Annecy (the old medieval town), there is a huge market going on, mostly food, and it is very busy, and have an excellent lunch by the Palais d’Isle. Then retire back to the campsite, where I am treated to an icecream and a superb coffee by Kathleen, before idling away the rest of the afternoon lying in the sun, followed by loosing at Petang (French boules) to Kathleen.
Monday is a “housework” day, ie do some washing, tidy the van etc, with the afternoon spent in the pool.
On Tuesday, we (I) prepare a picnic, and set off on our bikes. The stated aim is to go to Annecy and enjoy the park beside the lake. However I have a secret agenda which is to cycle around the lake (25 miles according to my estimates), Kathleen of course using her womens intuition, is aware of my secret agenda. We cycle into Annecy (six miles), then continue through the park and around the top of the lake. We get to the end of the cycle track (9 miles). So far it has been reasonably flat, now it begins to be a lot more undulating, as we weave through ancient small villages on the “quiet” side of the lake, then climb a long slow hill after Menthon Saint-Bernard. So far so good, no complaints. Then a steep hill down into Talloires. I know I am home and dry now, there is no way we are going to cycle back up the hill, so the only option is ahead. We stop for our picnic by the lake. Kathleen points out that she knew all of the time that I would attempt to get her to cycle around the lake. We are now at 15 miles, and sitting looking across the lake at Duingt. After our lunch we cycle the rest of the way along the lake, and on to Doussard, then rejoin the cycle track to head back along the other side towards Saint-Jorioz where we started. We stop off for coffee and a beer.
When we get back, my estimate of 25 miles turns out to be surprisingly accurate at 24.85 miles on our “cyclemeters”. Kathleen says she feels she could do another 10 miles, but declines to join me, as I continue on to the supermarket, to buy coffee, cakes and chocolate as a treat to us for completing what is to be part of the Tour de France on 23rd July 2009 (well almost, we missed out the climb upto the chateau at Bluffy).
Wednesday is hair washing day, so as usual Kathleen does not want to ruffle her hair when she has just washed it. In the morning I cycle south along the lake past Dousard. It is really hot and sunny today (27C), so most of the rest of the day is spent lying around. Out of curiosity we both check our blood pressure, mine is 117/68 and Kathleen 119/71, wonder if we can get a prescription for a ferry crossing and say a months campsite fees, instead of BP tablets? After our evening meal, we go out for another ten mile ride, Kathleen feels she has done nothing all day, except eat cakes (which I bought), so needs some exercise.
Thursday is to be our last day here, a week from today, we are scheduled to be on the ferry back to the UK. We have a final cycle ride into Annecy, then along the river which flows out of the lake through Annecy. This brings Kathleens total cycling for the week to 98 miles, why not do another two miles to make the round 100 you might ask. In the evening we have a drink with a very nice English couple (John and Linda, from Cheshire), who we first met on the previous site, and subsequently they came here.
Friday, 19 June 2009
Friday 19th June 2009
Europa, St Jorioz nr Annecy (ACSI2009-1088) N45.830009 E6.18169
The good news is that we get through the height barrier exactly as the French guy explained to me, we would. Although Kathleen spent the 5km of the hill gripping her seat, the only problem we had was adistinct smell of burning disk brakes by the time we reached the bottom.
No problems finding our way here.
So you are thinking, what went wrong?. Well, when we got to the site, they told Kathleen that the only pitches they had left were so called “comfort” pitches. They each have individual water supply (ie tap) and waste disposal point, but they cost 4Euro extra, per night, thus increasing our cost to 19Euro per night.
The boss is not happy about this. I try to point out that say 6 nights at 4Euro is only 24Euro extra, so given that we have been away for about 12 weeks, this is neither here nor there. But, no it is niggling away at her. So we cycle to the next site along the lake (only about 200metres), and we will be moving there tomorrow.
Eventually we have run out of luck with the weather too, we have not had any rain for weeks, last was at Colle-sur-Loop, but last night we had a thunderstorm, and today it has has continued to thunder and rain on and off.
But Lake Annecy is beautiful, pity I cannot download any photographs.
Sunday is approaching, so we have done the other essential chore, ie we have found the church!, there is a choice of two, one about a mile away (09:30 Sunday), and one about three miles away (11:00 Sunday).
We have bought three hours internet time, so the rest of the evening is to be spent trying to contact Gary, Dana, Phillippa, Claire on Skype, so far without success! (except for Dana).
The good news is that we get through the height barrier exactly as the French guy explained to me, we would. Although Kathleen spent the 5km of the hill gripping her seat, the only problem we had was adistinct smell of burning disk brakes by the time we reached the bottom.
No problems finding our way here.
So you are thinking, what went wrong?. Well, when we got to the site, they told Kathleen that the only pitches they had left were so called “comfort” pitches. They each have individual water supply (ie tap) and waste disposal point, but they cost 4Euro extra, per night, thus increasing our cost to 19Euro per night.
The boss is not happy about this. I try to point out that say 6 nights at 4Euro is only 24Euro extra, so given that we have been away for about 12 weeks, this is neither here nor there. But, no it is niggling away at her. So we cycle to the next site along the lake (only about 200metres), and we will be moving there tomorrow.
Eventually we have run out of luck with the weather too, we have not had any rain for weeks, last was at Colle-sur-Loop, but last night we had a thunderstorm, and today it has has continued to thunder and rain on and off.
But Lake Annecy is beautiful, pity I cannot download any photographs.
Sunday is approaching, so we have done the other essential chore, ie we have found the church!, there is a choice of two, one about a mile away (09:30 Sunday), and one about three miles away (11:00 Sunday).
We have bought three hours internet time, so the rest of the evening is to be spent trying to contact Gary, Dana, Phillippa, Claire on Skype, so far without success! (except for Dana).
Thursday 18th June 2009
Ser Sirant, Petichet/St. Theoffrey (ACSI2009-1071) N45.00012 E5.77744
After yesterdays experience with the satnav, an executive decision is taken and we depart with the satnav turned off. The route looks straightforward enough, join the N96 just outside of Oraison, and head north to Chateau-Arnoux-St-Auban, then follow the N85 (known as the Route de Napoleon*), still North, past Sisterton (an impressive hill town, worth a visit at some future date), to Gap, stay on the N85 to our destination. The expectation is that it will be generally signposted Grenoble, which is north of our intended destination.
A hiccup in the flow of information from means that we take a wrong exit at a roundabout after Sisterton. We end up on the N75 (still signposted Grenoble, but set to bypass Gap and our destination). The error is not realised until we pass Serres, shortly after that we are able to take the D994 and get back on track for Gap. The consolation is that the scenery is impressive as we travel along a classic alpine valley, with high mountains, some still with snow on them, on each side of an almost flat valley floor. We are now in the Haute Alps region.
Those of you who are following closely may be wondering why I have not included some photographs of this spectacular scenery, well, if you have been following closely, you will recall that the lead to connect the camera to the computer was left at home by one of us.
After Gap, we stop in a picnic spot for lunch, and meet two more Brits, Jack and Marilyn from Devon. By chance they are heading for the same site as us.
Across the road from the picnic spot, there is some police activity, including a recovery truck. It emerges that there has been an accident between an ancient Renault 5 (which now has a wheel missing, and a broken windscreen) and a motorcycle, they are recovering from where it has come to rest down a steep embankment.
As we get nearer to our destination, we come to a fork in the road, both directions are signposted with a height restriction of 2.6m, and we are 2.9m high. According to the signs the restriction is 13km ahead, and according to the satnav (which we have now switched on again), we have only 10km to go, so we decide to take the risk and continue on the N85.
All is well, and we reach the site without encountering a height restriction.
Since we have to go that way tomorrow, I decide to cycle ahead the 3km or so and check if we can get through. The problem appears to be a very steep and long hill, rather than a height problem as such. I elect not to cycle down the hill, on the basis that I will have to cycle up it again, and the signs indicate it is 5km long! There are signs suggesting some form of control point 500meters down the hill. So I walk the 500metres down the hill to the control point. It is unmanned, but I can see there is a height barrier which we have no chance of negotiating. Fortunately, there are two chaps doing some kind of surveying task just a few more metres along the road. So I approach then and using my “O” level French (failed) I ask “Excusez mois, messieur, demain, je dois aller norde dans la direction de Grenoble, dans un campervan de haute trios metres”, this I hope translates as “excuse me, but tomorrow I need to travel north towards Grenoble in a campervan which is 3 metres high”. My French fails at the point of asking “how do I negotiate this control point”, so I settle for a helpless look and a gallic shrug of the shoulders. I am amazed, they understand!, they tell me in a mixture of English and French, that the problem is not really height, but rather a means of traffic control to limit the number of large vehicles attempting to negotiate the steep hill at the same time, and I must take the righthand lane, approach the barrier and press a button. This will summon up a controller who will be able to interact with me via CCTV, and will let us through. We will see what actually happens tomorrow.
So to round off for today. This is the second day we have had satnav problems, and today we resorted to human control. It did work, we got to our destination. I thought I would summarise what I have learned from this:
Satnavs may not always give the correct instructions, but on the other hand, nor do they get distracted by creaming their legs or other such activities at crucial points in the journey.
Sometimes satnav instructions may be wrong, but they are precise ie turn right, turn left etc. They do not give instructions such as “oh, just do whatever you think”, or “that way”.
No matter how bad things get, Satnavs do not lose their temper.
Kathleen says she is better than the satnav, and I know better than to disagree.
* My history was not up to knowing why it is called Route Napolean, but I looked it up on the web and "Route Napoleon was the rugged trek that Napoleon took in 1815 after he had conquered most of Europe, made his way back to Egypt and then quietly returned back to France after his exile on Elba."
After yesterdays experience with the satnav, an executive decision is taken and we depart with the satnav turned off. The route looks straightforward enough, join the N96 just outside of Oraison, and head north to Chateau-Arnoux-St-Auban, then follow the N85 (known as the Route de Napoleon*), still North, past Sisterton (an impressive hill town, worth a visit at some future date), to Gap, stay on the N85 to our destination. The expectation is that it will be generally signposted Grenoble, which is north of our intended destination.
A hiccup in the flow of information from means that we take a wrong exit at a roundabout after Sisterton. We end up on the N75 (still signposted Grenoble, but set to bypass Gap and our destination). The error is not realised until we pass Serres, shortly after that we are able to take the D994 and get back on track for Gap. The consolation is that the scenery is impressive as we travel along a classic alpine valley, with high mountains, some still with snow on them, on each side of an almost flat valley floor. We are now in the Haute Alps region.
Those of you who are following closely may be wondering why I have not included some photographs of this spectacular scenery, well, if you have been following closely, you will recall that the lead to connect the camera to the computer was left at home by one of us.
After Gap, we stop in a picnic spot for lunch, and meet two more Brits, Jack and Marilyn from Devon. By chance they are heading for the same site as us.
Across the road from the picnic spot, there is some police activity, including a recovery truck. It emerges that there has been an accident between an ancient Renault 5 (which now has a wheel missing, and a broken windscreen) and a motorcycle, they are recovering from where it has come to rest down a steep embankment.
As we get nearer to our destination, we come to a fork in the road, both directions are signposted with a height restriction of 2.6m, and we are 2.9m high. According to the signs the restriction is 13km ahead, and according to the satnav (which we have now switched on again), we have only 10km to go, so we decide to take the risk and continue on the N85.
All is well, and we reach the site without encountering a height restriction.
Since we have to go that way tomorrow, I decide to cycle ahead the 3km or so and check if we can get through. The problem appears to be a very steep and long hill, rather than a height problem as such. I elect not to cycle down the hill, on the basis that I will have to cycle up it again, and the signs indicate it is 5km long! There are signs suggesting some form of control point 500meters down the hill. So I walk the 500metres down the hill to the control point. It is unmanned, but I can see there is a height barrier which we have no chance of negotiating. Fortunately, there are two chaps doing some kind of surveying task just a few more metres along the road. So I approach then and using my “O” level French (failed) I ask “Excusez mois, messieur, demain, je dois aller norde dans la direction de Grenoble, dans un campervan de haute trios metres”, this I hope translates as “excuse me, but tomorrow I need to travel north towards Grenoble in a campervan which is 3 metres high”. My French fails at the point of asking “how do I negotiate this control point”, so I settle for a helpless look and a gallic shrug of the shoulders. I am amazed, they understand!, they tell me in a mixture of English and French, that the problem is not really height, but rather a means of traffic control to limit the number of large vehicles attempting to negotiate the steep hill at the same time, and I must take the righthand lane, approach the barrier and press a button. This will summon up a controller who will be able to interact with me via CCTV, and will let us through. We will see what actually happens tomorrow.
So to round off for today. This is the second day we have had satnav problems, and today we resorted to human control. It did work, we got to our destination. I thought I would summarise what I have learned from this:
Satnavs may not always give the correct instructions, but on the other hand, nor do they get distracted by creaming their legs or other such activities at crucial points in the journey.
Sometimes satnav instructions may be wrong, but they are precise ie turn right, turn left etc. They do not give instructions such as “oh, just do whatever you think”, or “that way”.
No matter how bad things get, Satnavs do not lose their temper.
Kathleen says she is better than the satnav, and I know better than to disagree.
* My history was not up to knowing why it is called Route Napolean, but I looked it up on the web and "Route Napoleon was the rugged trek that Napoleon took in 1815 after he had conquered most of Europe, made his way back to Egypt and then quietly returned back to France after his exile on Elba."
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