Monthly Archives: June 2012

HOUSE-HUNTING GETS SERIOUS. HARRY HAS A REST. SALLY FEELS CHEATED.

Yes! All they do is drive me into town with bullying Fr*gs tailgating me all the way, then when it gets exciting, they leave me for hours on end and push off in someone else’s car!

Sorry, Little Car, but that’s how it’s done here; estate agents don’t send you out to meet people, or to do your own viewing with the keys – they take you round in their own car. Anyway, aren’t you a fr*glet yourself?

Cela ne touche pas à l’affair!

Well, anyway (she’s sulking now). We’ve seen nearly 20 houses, but haven’t decided yet! Spoilt for choice … we come away from a viewing saying ‘look no further’ then we see another one and think ‘hmmm ….’

Some have swimming pools like this:

 

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Some have views from terraces like this:

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Some have living spaces like this:

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And between appointments we picnic in places like this:

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This is Daddy thinking ‘Hmmm …’:

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Two footnotes: (Feetnotes?)

Hanging beside the hearth in one of the house there was a bouffadou. The (English) estate agent didn’t know what it was. We did. If you were with us last October, you might remember. I’ll remind you next time, unless you want to show off and be the first to put the reminder up as a comment. 

Ever since we arrived here, we’ve been searching in vain for the french mobile phone. It’s caused us to do quite a bit of tidying and finding of other stuff that we weren’t looking for. I was SURE I had put it somewhere ‘out of the way’ but where it was certain to be with us, and that it had NOT been packed up by the removal men and put into store. Nevertheless we finally bought another, saying that when the first turned up the second would be Carol’s. The number is: (from UK) +33 6 34 22 12 50 ….

During one of the viewings (to a superb chalet style house that we would have loved, but access was impossible for Harry) –

Blame me, why not – everything’s my fault these days…

 ….the agent was closing up the shutters and disturbed a wasp’s nest. She got 2 or 3 stings on her ankle, which she treated with vinegar she found in the kitchen. As we drove away I was rumaging around in the shoulder bag I carry which has migraine & asthma treatments in among other things to see if there was any waspeze or anthisan. There wasn’t, but in the dark recesses at the bottom of one of the sections was …. the French mobile! I said I had it in a sensible (?) place – and I’m sure I’d looked thru that bag several times! Mobile phones have got a lot smaller over the years, haven’t they?

 


 

 

 

 

HARRY HEADS SOUTH (4) – AND MAKES IT TO LANGUEDOC!

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Last time we were here (in France) the colours were autumnal, now they’re a summery green ….. we began by driving past fields of potatoes, some in flower, and golden cornfields.

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As we progressed southwards, sunflowers were dominant, though not yet in flower, and then, of course, the vines!

 On Friday, the driving got noticeably easier, partly because we had no more difficult towns to negociate, once clear of Chateauroux, and partly because of the long stretch of toll-free motorway bringing us down past Limoges to Brive La Gaillarde and Cressensac, where we had spent the night in the hotel in 2009, when we had no van.  We had lunch in this Lay-by:

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which has to be one of the best on the network, just south of Limoges. We spent the night there in 2010 and made a note of it. Parking for caravans / motorhomes is on a drive in – drive out pattern,

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and each lane has its  own picnic table adjacent. 2 years ago it was too wet and cold to take advantage of, but this year we made he most of it.

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I remember that! We came across from Mervent where it had rained for almost a whole week!, and we went on to Salagou, though the Milau Viaduct was covered in fog.

That’s right! Only this year the weather just kept getting hotter and hotter. And HE said the man in the next camp site came out with the French equivalent of ‘sgettinotter’ – “ça monte!” 

 At that campsite, in Montpezat de Quercy (I wish I could put maps on this blog so that anyone who wanted to could follow us without additional searching) we dined on a meal of chicken chasseur, courtesy of Intermarché – no, that was the evening before, that evening was a remarkably good paella – remarkable because it came from a tin! 

And so we arrived, on Sunday, in Languedoc, in Aude, to be precise, and by pure coicidence really, pitched up on a little campsite right next to the hotel where we filmed the final shots for ‘A Place in the Sun’! This is in Alet Les Bains, between Quillan and Limoux. We bought a bottle of the bubbly stuff (Blanquette de Limoux – sorry for those who weren’t at Rachel’s wedding, so didn’t get any!) – on sale at the site – to celebrate our arrival and had an SKT special supper of lamb in red wine. Not sure how long we’ll stay, but it will do for now.

Today we’ve lived la vie de l’Audois with all meals taken outdoors, from a simple breakfast on site, a picnic lunch by the river to a restaurant meal in Limoux at the same restaurant where we had lunch with the TV team on the second day of filmimg- this one:

 

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Carol had a 3 course meal including fish in Chardonnay sauce, and I had frog’s legs! That was after 2 house viewings and a long chat with an agent in Limoux who will show us four more tomorrow! One of today’s two is a ‘possible’. We think we’ll stay here at least a week. 

Good night! (It’s 1am)

HARRY HEADS SOUTH (3)

Well, a stay under the ‘Pasporta Servo’ scheme is usually for two or three days while the visitors see the local attractions and then move on. We certainly didn’t anticipate three weeks!
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But Trevor, our host, seen here on the beach at Calshot (? no map handy!) during a day off, when he took us out, seemed quite happy to have company and some meals prepared when he came home from his work at the Cat & Fiddle (who knew that pub name has to do with Catherine le Fidele? Be honest!)   And in case anyone is wondering, we did pay our share of everyday expenses, so we weren’t complete vagrant, homeless scroungers!

Other days included a walk over Hengistbury Head with Martyn and Jasmine, after the short ferry crossing from Mudeford:

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..and thanks for the eveing meal which followed.

A look round Christchurch Priory and Quay –

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this is Carol ‘putting a brave face on it’ (maybe the ice cream helped) and various other drives out and shopping trips, not to forget the trip to Potters Bar and Cockfosters for Carol’s Uncle Ted’s funeral – thanks again to the family for the hospitality, and to Jan and Chrys for the overnight and evening meal. 

Talking of meals, we took Trevor out one evening to a seafood restaurant,

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and entertained an Esperanto-learning friend of his to coq au vin on what happened to be our tin wedding anniversary (yes – tin, not a mis-type!).

Then on Tuesday 19th June came the news: Harry was ready for the road! We brought him round to Trevor’s and there was a sort of re-union:

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Hello, Big Van!

Hello, Little Car!

How are you?

Mmm ….. much better – it’s good to be out in the open again. Where have you been?

Sally at Trevor's

I’ve been here – waiting for you!

Das ist aber nett.

What?

C’est chouette, ça.  That’s sweet. 

Well, didn’t have much choice, really. Someone had to look after THEM – and I took them up to London to a funeral. An Uncle of Carol’s. Everyone was asking about you, THEY said. 

Ach, so …. 

Are we going to France, then? Can you pull me? 

Yes, we are – but ‘Doctor’ says got to be careful. 

Tell you what, SHE can drive me to Dover, then we’ll hook up before the ferry and after that – we’ll see. 

In Ordnung. 

What’s your back end like …..

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M**de alors! It’s still the same! 

Baint my fault! I wasn’t in for that …. 

Sally – don’t tease him about that. I did it – I’ll sort it in France. 

Bon, d’accord.  Hey, Harry! 

Ja? 

Nice to see you. 

You too, Etulino. Let’s go find THEM a place in the sun ….

And he’s not wrong – we’ve added up the figures and withdrawn from the purchase of the place the TV people found us…… So we booked a ferry crossing for Wednesday night and drove in convoy to Maidstone services where we coupled H & S up and drove on to Dover. We had a meal on board, and I HOPE it was the worst meal we shall have for a long time! Lukewarm at best, fairly tastless and al dente is one thing, but raw carrot is another – should be a starter. Add to that NO WINE at the restaurant; would have had to get it from the bar, by which time the meal would have been completely cold. Very low score for DFDS.

Arriving at Dunkirk at 1am french time, we drove 44 kms till we came to the first aire de service on the motorway and parked up for what was left of the night. Slept quite well, in fact, and since it was an service area, not just a lay-by, we had croissants and pain au chocolat for breakfast. Then did a very useful 380 kms, including getting through Paris in the late afternoon, to arrive at Vauvert Campsite near Etampes at 9.30pm. We had to park outside the barrier, but there was electric hook-up available and we able to use the facilities. It was a nice place, really, but we couldn’t linger. Carol was up at 7.15 and we actually got on the road at 11! (What takes 3 ¾ hours? Don’t ask!)

Shopping was a priority , and we needed fuel during the day; the ‘grey’ water hadn’t been released since before the breakdown and we were becoming aware of it, so we felt a need to find a site with all facilities in good time and have a nice meal – out of doors as it turned out (‘sgettinotter’!). So after only 220 kms we found a site in Chateauroux, just off the free motorway towards Limoges, and here we are. Carcassonne will take another two days, but Harry seems to be running well, towing not a problem, and the weather is promising. There’s sunshine in the south (as we’ve found before) and we’ll find a place in it!

We will!!

Let’s go!

Well, wait till morning  ….. it’s 00.30!