How we met an old friend who took us in for the night and how the Michelin guide let us down for the first time.
That night on the ‘aire’ at Le Mans was OK but NOISY! At 5am there was a mass exodus from the lorry park, which had been full to overflowing, and the through lane ran just past our spot. That went on for about 15 minutes, then repeated itself at 6am! By 7.15 the park was almost deserted! The congestion of last night had resolved itself and we travelled on through some nice snowy scenery towards Rouen.
However, we made a BAD mistake in choosing our lunch spot! Nice lay-by, off the road, snowscape all around, but ICY, and with an uphill exit. Harry couldn’t do it while towing. We had lunch anyway, blocking the lay-by against anyone who wanted to drive through, then discussed options. We decided to uncouple and drive separately to a suitable spot to re-couple. Shouldn’t have been too hard. BUT with the angle the two vehicles had finished at when Harry went into a spin and the uphill gradient, the tension on the bolts was such that we had great difficulty in removing them. A combination of brute force (we’re not good at that!), WD40 and some lateral thinking in the use of a tent peg eventually won through!
We had telephoned Daniel, the French Colleague who had organised the Penrith/Rouen exchange with me, and offered to take him out to dinner (we’ve enjoyed his hospitality twice before, so we used the difficulty of getting both vehicles to his house and away again without reversing as a lever to insist that it was our ‘do’). We met on a supermarket car park and gave him drinks and nibbles before going to the restaurant where we had an excellent meal, during which he suggested we could, if we thought it OK, park the vehicles, coupled, on a space near the Town Hall in Ymarre (where he lives) and spend the night with him. The space was used by lorries, so manoeuvering should be OK. That seemed like a good idea, and it was.
After breakfast (Saturday 11th December) Daniel drove us back to the Town Hall where Harry & Sally were waiting, patiently and securely, and we carried on through a drizzly Rouen towards the coast. We phoned several caravan parks supposedly open all year, but none replied. We got to the gates of one of them – locked and closed since mid-October. This was the first time our new Michelin guide had let us down with inaccurate information! We joined the motorway. One of our maps showed a service area just before Calais with facilities for motorhomes. We got there; no facilities in sight. We drove on beyond Calais (where we are to sail from tomorrow) and found a layby/aire with a convenient parking area. There are some lorries, but not so many as are likely to disturb us as they did two nights ago. We’ve had a good supper of ‘Harry’s Lamb Casserole’ and here we are …
Or there we were this morning (Sun 12th). Now we are once more at McDonald’s, but in Calais, and have just sent the previous entry to this one. It’s time to go to the ferry terminal, and, for now, to say “Au Revoir, La Belle France” …
(Though, we do admit, we’ve seen it looking ‘beller’!)
Stephen's space 
Being unfamiliar with the country, and your close family history, I couldn\’t begin to guess the rationale behind the green text, but was quite prepared to believe it was an unplanned event. The whim being that you decided to leave it unchanged 🙂
Regarding the tight coupling between the vehicles, if it happens again it might be an idea to use the little one to (try to) push the big one. This may be enough to take the loading off the bolts.You mentioned brakes being locked on: is this down to the interconnection between \’Harry\’ and the little ones\’s brake system pulling the brakes on, but not releasing them? Or are the brakes still locked on after the interconnection is disconnected?
I was wondering if you were timing your journey to be back at base before the very cold spell promised to start on Thursday. It looks as though you could make it in time. The last couple of days have been quite nice here (North Derbyshire); most of the snow gone, and no rain to speak of !
One last question. I can understand why you go to MacDonald\’s, but which selection of E numbers do you find palatable while you surf, blog, etc?Yes, I\’ve been brainwashed by the \’reputation\’ portrayed by the media. 🙂
There is a reason for the colour, though a bit tenuous. Not to do with France, nor any family thing. Someone might \’crack\’ it.
The uncoupling has been difficult only if the vehicles have been at an angle. On the ice, it was impossible to do anything about that. The brakes do release once the connecting brake cable is disconnected, but we\’ve then had trouble reconnecting. We\’ve made every adjustment we can with the tools we have – we\’re going to contact the man who made the frame before going home.
The timing or our return is more good luck than judgement. But it does seem to be about right!
We regret the frequent visits to McD\’s! Some have been \’coffee only\’. But we didn\’t find anywhere else where wi-fi was dependably and freely available. The weeks in Montpellier and Prades were, of course, McD-free!
Welcome to our country!! Well, OK, I\’m not actually IN our country just now, but welcome back all the same!
To get the answer to the \’colour\’ thing – see comments to previous entry.
The internet is awash recently with stories of McDonalds\’ cheeseburgers still in pristine condition years after they were bought! But I don\’t think their coffee is likely to be too much worse than anyone else\’s (have they gone Fairtrade in England in a move we can all be soundly cynical about, or is that a PR stunt too far?) and if you can\’t find breakfast anywhere else, you gotta do what you gotta do!
I remember my first French McDonalds experience. It was in Rouen when I was about 13. The chocolate shake tasted different, but I was amazed to find the burger and fried exactly the same as in Northampton! At the time I thought is was pretty cool though…
McD\’s coffee in France is actually more to our taste than most, being less strong. But, of course, our preference is to make our own.