What a day!

January 24, 2014

It was always going to be the most challenging day of our journey through France. I had a rough plan of doing no more than 150/200 miles a day, using toll roads if necessary, averaging 50 miles per hour – 3 / 4 hours driving a day.

On the first two days of driving in France this had turned out to be more like 5 / 6 hours a day.

So with the prospect on Friday of heavy rain all day, with the possibility of rain turning to heavy snow on Friday afternoon, on Thursday night our plan to drive 240 miles to Ax-Les-Thermes on the way to Andorra, was scaled back to 210 miles, with a site near a town called Rieux-de-Pelleport, 75 miles South of Toulouse, and avoiding going too far into the Pyrenees. So much for the plan!

With the alarm at 7:30 the usual stuff in getting the caravan ready to go was done in rain, but we got going about 9:30. We were soon on the motorway which we would stay on most of the day. But the car needed to climb from 400 feet to 1500/2000 feet and back again several times. This was slow going, and very heavy on diesel. The drive should have been the most scenic of our time in France so far, crossing the Rivers Dordogne, Lot, and L’Aveyron but it never stopped raining – it was a question of whether heavy or very heavy rain –and at the top of climbs we were in low cloud. 

Perhaps we will take in the view on the way back. . .

Finally at 2:30 we arrived at the caravan site we were aiming for in Rieux-de-Pelleport. Only to find the place deserted, with a gate blocking the entrance. Phoning the number on the gate returned a nice recorded message advising the number is out of service. The problem with doing this sort of thing in January is that there are a very limited number of sites open, and our only option was to revert to Plan A – Ax-Les-Thermes. The temperature was 8 degrees C and the rain had eased, so surely driving another 35 miles to Ax-Les-Thermes would be OK? 

And really it was not so bad. Another 500 feet climb, the rain started to come down really heavy, and the temperature dropped 4 degrees, but after passing the site the first time we did a U-turn at a roundabout in the town, and finally we arrived at a friendly site reception. The caravan was a tight fit on the muddy and water logged pitch, and I tried to get it close to a tap to use the hose-pipe direct into the caravan – only to find all taps had been shut off from mains to prevent freezing!

With everything level, secure, and connected, it was time to come inside to remove my soaked waterproofs. But not ye. The fridge and microwave lights were on – but no water pump or lights on the 12 volt system! Worryingly it was starting to get dark outside. So, checked all the fuses, and trips – still no solution. 

So it was back to IT skills. Switch everything off; unplug caravan from the mains; plug back in; switch stuff back on. Brilliant –works every time! Crank up the heating; have a coffee; open the bubbly – I forgot to say it was our anniversary – 38 years! And we had a nice meal after the bubbly with a bottle of red. 

We slept well. No more towing until Monday.

For Amelia

January 17, 2014

We are finally in France.

Just a few days ago, on Sunday, we had a lovely walk along the River Itchen, followed by a Sunday Roast late in the afternoon, with Kate, Paul and Amelia.                                                                         

I guess that will be the last Sunday Roast until we reach the Costa del Sol . . .                                                                                      

And then we had to say our goodbyes to Kate, Paul and Amelia until March. That was really difficult, having seen them at least every other day, often for entire afternoons, particularly while Kate was on holiday, and Amelia on holiday from nursery.

We have been so lucky having had so much time with them all since retirement in September. We have probably spent more time with Kate since she was last on holiday with us many years ago.

It has been a really enjoyable and memorable time.                                                                                                                                                                                        

 Many meals out, including a Christmas lunch with Kate and Paul on a steam train on the Watercress line; a trip to Marwell zoo to see tigers, giraffes, zebras, baby snow leopards and a baby armadillo; a visit to Father Christmas to scare Amelia off Father Christmas; Christmas festivities and New Year celebrations with Kate, Paul and Amelia; Amelia’s first birthday and Amelia’s first birthday party - they were different - just like the Queen’s official and unofficial birthdays.

It was good that Adrian and Mary came down for both events, only last weekend with their motorhome. 

We had a lively evening with them at the Sandy Balls caravan site pub near Fordingbridge in Wiltshire.

And of course we have seen changes in Amelia in what is a short time in her little life so far.                

It was only September that Amelia was trying to roll herself from her back to front; now crawling at speed is no challenge, and climbing stairs has to be prevented! Walking is just a week or two away.

Of course, my karaoke skills have finally been put to good use in the early development of our granddaughter. I know the words of Postman Pat all the way through – all verses – Amelia is impressed! In fact she sings along, in her own way.

But for now, a change from that. After a stressful time in getting an MOT on the car, we set off for the Channel Tunnel at 9 p.m. on Monday evening, twelve hours later than planned. A few hours trying to sleep at a couple of service stations, and then arriving at Folkestone at 5 a.m. for our Shuttle at 09:50 – but they rescheduled us for 08:20 – so we then had time for a couple of hours sleep. It was bitterly cold, but by the time the alarm went off, the caravan was warm enough to wish we were still going on the 09:50 Shuttle!

It took us about 4 hours to drive to Beauvais. The plan was to start off on toll Autoroutes to make the first driving day, but not yet having read the instructions on the new GPS, we ended up driving on D roads, and through numerous French villages. But that worked out much better than expected. It was fairly easy and relaxing driving, with very little traffic, and quickly got us in a good frame of mind, forgetting how tired we were.

We left Beauvais for Sully-Sur-Loire on Wednesday where we are planning to stay 7 nights, explore some chateaux, and taste some wine. We have a wonderful view of the River Loire from our window, being parked right beside it – but above flood level!

Retirement is looking good so far.