A light hearted and (I hope) amusing record of some of our Campervan Trips.
It is mainly intended to inform friends and family where we are, plus, to keep our children updated on what is happening to their inheritance.
I do try to include details of Camp Sites and Aires, we visit. Checkout the "labels" listed in the right margin,
Please comment if you feel inclined, at least then I know I am not talking to myself (again).
Saturday 12th September 2015 We have had rain over night. The weather forecaste says today will start dry and bright (19C), with rain and, possibly, thunder by 14:00. We have not had the thunder, but, otherwise it is as predicted. We find the Lidl, so, Kathleen is made up, Church, Lidl and enough amps for unrestrained hair dryer use, what more could you want? A short (4 mile) bicycle ride along the banks of the River Soane, justifies the bacon sandwiches for lunch. I had noticed, in passing, that there seems to be a dis-proportionately high number of people with one or more German Shepard dogs on the site. Today, as we rode along the Soane, we discovered why. There is some form of "Dog Show" event going on, and it seems to be 100% German Shepard dogs. The highlight appears to be a timed walk around a marked out route (sorry if I am sounding remotely interested). I do hope they are being awarded double points for picking up their pets crap, and, triple points for actually depositing it in a bin. Sunday 13th September 2015 Cloudy start, but, not raining. Sunny with cloud by 10:00 and 20C. It stays sunny until 15:30, when it clouds over, we have few massive thunder claps, but, no rain. The sky clears again. Then at 18:00 we have a massive thunderstorm, fortunately, Kathleen is watching out of the window, and notices, the rain is coming down faster than it can run off our awning. A big bulge of water is collecting in it, and, it is beginning to sag. Someone (ie me) has to go outside, in the rain, tip the water out of the awning and adjust the slope, so the water runs off faster. Sunday of course means church for Kathleen. Sunday lunch to follow, so, my task is to choose somewhere to eat. The town is absolutely buzzing, there is a market in the square outside of the church, which spreads into the side streets leading off the square. Mostly fruit and vegetables, but a couple of stalls selling fresh fish and, a couple selling baskets. There is another large square outside of the town hall, with a couple of restaurants, quieter and more pleasant away from the crush of the market. We have a very pleasant lunch in the sunshine. By the time we have eaten our main course and drunk a bottle of Rose between us, Kathleen is up for practising her French on the young waiter who comes to take our dessert order.
Friday 11th September 2015 Not a pleasant journey. The Sat-Nav plotted a route via excellent free motorway and (mostly) dual carriageway. Kathleen plotted a route which was approximately 30 miles shorter. Kathleen's route was the middle one, in grey on the map on the left.
127 miles of map rustling complaints. Then, to cap it all, just short of Chalon-sur-Soane, on the sat-nav route, there were major road works, the road was closed and a diversion in place. In true French style, there was only one diversion sign, ie the one directing you off the main road, after that, you were on your own. Of course, there was no way (without live traffic data) to foresee this last bit of bad luck, but, definately Kathleen 1, Sat Nav 0. Eventually, we arrive, at lunch time. The good news is, the site (Camping Du Pont de Bourgogne) is excellent, The weather is superb, clear blue sky, a sunny 24C. All set up, lunch, a pleasant stroll into Chalon-sur-Soane, which appears to be an interesting and lively place. Churches found, mass times determined, it looks like we will be here until Monday at least.
Thursday 10th September 2015 The day starts bright but cool (14C), but, it is soon a bright and sunny, 24C.
The first priority is to get electric hook-up, our fridge can function on gas, but, not Kathleen;s hair dryer and straighteners.
Fortunately, a Dutch van departs, promptly, and, we are quick to move into their vacated spot and get ourselves plugged in.
Essentials, ie, hair care, accomplished, our thoughts turn to what to do today.
Yesterday, when out for our evening stroll, we noticed what appeared to be a cycle track along the banks of the river Loire, so, off we went. It started well, but, after about three miles, the track had become to narrow for Kathleen's taste. We retraced our route, back to the campsite, and joined another cycle route I had noticed.
This took us past a large marina area and along the Canal Lateral de Loire, which we followed for about nine miles until we came to a place called Chevenon.
To all of you chaps out there, if you cycle or otherwise pass this way, you must have lunch in the bar restaurant at Chevenon, not only did we have an excellent lunch, including a litre of Rose, all for 10Euro, but, we were served by a waitress with the shortest skirt, highest heels and longest legs I have seen in a very long time. Even Kathleen was impressed.
The restaurant/bar is signposted from the canal path. The distance is given as a very optimistic 800 metres, and, no mention is made of the two hills en-route, but who cares?
We also met two English ladies, of a similar age to ourselves, who were spending their holiday cycling the canals of Burgundy. Would you believe, they came from South Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A "small world" moment.
When ordering the wine, I did ask for "un demi", but, we received a full litre. Kathleen decreed we could not drink a litre of wine between us, at lunch time, and then cycle back along the canal, without serious risk of falling in. Solution, I emptied the water from my water bottle and filled it with half a litre of Rose, which we drank later, as we rode back to the van.
Wednesday 9th September 2015 We have had a wonderful five days with Brian and Linda, but, today, we say our farewells, they have one more day in Paris, before heading for home. Their plan is a wine and sandwiches picnic on the banks of the Seine. It should be an enjoyable day, it is bright and sunny, all day, with the temperatures climbing to 25C. For anyone thinking of using this campsite, and, perhaps, worrying about access, a little bit of video of our departure. You need to skip over the drive to the service point, and, as you can see, the access roads are not bad, provided you do not encounter a road sweeper, as we did! The sat-nav plots a route more or less through central Paris. Paris inner ring road! It is not too bad at first, but, then, once past La Defence, we seem to spend almost as much time underground as on the surface!
We arrive at Camping de Nevers, at about 16:30, to find it, effectively full! This is the first time this has happened in eight years. We are offered a space down by the river, along with numerous other campervans and caravans which are in this "overflow" area, no electric hook-up is available, and, we do not get a reduction in price, which, does not please Kathleen. But, we have a good view of the Basilica from our pitch, to compensate for the lack of electric hook-up. An evening stroll across the bridge, into Nevers, rounds off the day. Nevers is quite a lively town, lots of eating and drinking places, all busy.
The starts cloudy with sun, cool (15C), but, by 10:00, the cloud has cleared and we have 19C. Good weather for city visiting. We are now so expert at riding the RER into Paris, we can do it without even thinking. We have a little plan, this involves a stroll down the Champs Elleyses, visit Les Invalides, visit Tuileries Gardens and, find a Louis Vuitton shop, which Brian wishes to visit to treat himself to some expensive item. We get off the train at Charles De Gaulle Etoille, and stroll along the Champs Elleyses, soon, Kathleen and Linda disappear in Marks and Spencer. A stroll around a very smart arcade, which contains an odd mix of shops, half are so expensive, we could not possibly shop there, the other half are selling cheap tourist tat, which we would not want to buy. Very attractive arcade however. It is not long before a toilet stop is needed, the girls find a very posh loo, but, are horrified to find it costs 2 Euro EACH, to, as it were, spend a penny. The Louis Vuitton shop in Champs Elleyses have kindly furnished Brian with a map, all nicely contained in a cardboard wallet embossed with their logo. Following the map, we cross the river and head for Les Invalides. Our destination is behind Les Invalides, so, the plan is, after negotiating security at Les Invalides, to walk through Les Invalides, emerging on the other side. Alas, it would appear, you cannot simply "walk through", so, we walk around the outside of the building, and soon, we We find the Louis Vuitton shop. The shop is located within a building called Bon Marche, which has security at the door, complete with metal detector, and, houses several well known "designer label" outlets. This causes Kathleen some amusement, since, in the UK, "Bon Marche" is associated with a rather down market shop for elderly ladies. This is no ordinary shopping outlet, and, accordingly, being served, is a time consuming process, but, we eventually emerge, business concluded, Brian, is now the proud owner of a wallet which is worth more than the money inside it. The area we are in appears to be quite upmarket, but, lacking the "tourist" feel, we are, on the edge of the "Rive Gauche" area, and find a very pleasant, and, it would appear very authentic "Salon de The". Here, we enter into the French way, and spend two and a half hours having a rather pleasant lunch of Gallettes, followed by ice cream, and coffee. We wend our way back to the RER station, via Jardin Tuileries.
Sunday 6th September 2015 We take the RER into Paris, this time to visit one of the Sunday Markets and, Rive Gauche. Vegetable buying is quickly followed by a succession of hat trials by Kathleen and Linda. A stroll through Jardin des Plantes, past the zoo, then coffee, ice cream and a sandwich. Past Notre Dame lingering by the riverside stalls, to buy priceless rare prints of Paris street scenes, who can resist? Until, eventually, hats are purchased in the Rive Gauche area.
Monday 7th September 2015
Brian and Linda take a trip into Paris, to visit Arc de Triomphe. We take a day off from the city and go cycling. We cycle past the Chateau at Maisons Laffitte. Then across the river to where there is an excellent, mostly traffic free cycle track. We go along the Seine approximately 10 miles we think, towards Paris, but, to be honest, the river meanders so much, it is difficult to be sure!
The evening is rounded off with a meal in L'Avenue, Maisons Lafitte, and, very enjoyable too. Our waiter's English is just slightly better than our French, so, much hilarity, but, we all get what we ordered, so, success.
Saturday 5th September 2015. Overcast and cool, but, that is probably ideal for our planned visit to Montemartre area, Kathleen and Linda plan to visit the shops, myself and Brian plan to do anything but, visit the shops. We take the ten minute walk from the Campsite to the RER station. Purchase of our tickets, with the aid of Linda's excellent French is accomplished without a problem, deciding which platform we needed to be on takes a little longer. Change from RER to metro at Charles De Gaulle Etoile, and soon, we are at Pigalle and in Montmartre. We have all been to the Basilica before, so, while the girls concentrate on shopping, Brian and I wander and have coffee. Kathleen and Linda eventually turn up, all shopped out, a light lunch, followed by more wandering the streets of Montmartre. Place de Tetre is particularly interesting, lost of interesting Paris street scenes, Love it.
