How we dismantled the awning in record time and the first day of ‘The Journey Home’ was in unbroken sunshine.

Sorry, UK, but I have to tell it as it is! Our turn will come, maybe sooner than we think!

Wednesday 1st December: A brilliantly fine start to the day. We took our time, got up late, did a word puzzle after breakfast (as we do) and Carol did a load of washing. We decided to have main meal at lunch time in the tent before breaking it up, but after that we saw this big, black, snow-and-rain-bearing cloud looming big on the horizon! But was it coming our way or not? Couldn’t tell. But a drop or two of rain could be heard on the roof of the tent, which was dry, so we had that tent decluttered, the furniture dismantled, the pegs removed (most of them) and the fabric off the poles and into the back of the car quicker than …. well, quicker than ever before!

The threat of serious rain never materialised, so job done, we wrapped up warm and waterproof (in case) and walked up into the town, as on the first night. We popped into the estate agent’s and asked for some photos of ‘that’ house.

     

     

          

                    They don’t do it justice ….

We made our own way to Spar and bought some milk and bread and stuff, and as it got dark we made our way back to ‘Le Camping’, without getting lost on the steps.

The night was COLD! There was ice on Sally’s windscreen in the morning, and getting out of bed was really hard – you can’t put the heating on first …. ! But the  dawn was beautiful, and I had another go at photograhping it.

That’s where the BIG, BLACK cloud was yesterday! 

There were still lots of jobs to do, including packing the awning into its stuff sack (in our anxiety to keep it dry we hadn’t done that on Wednesday) so by the time we had the vehicles coupled and everything stowed, it was – midday!

We avoided routes that would have taken us up into the hills, opting instead for setting off, again, in the ‘wrong’ direction and heading for Perpignan. The étangs and glimpses of the Med between P’nan and Narbonne were the same perfect blue as when we arrived, but at Narbonne we turned our back on the Med (literally) and headed up to Carcassonne. We had a ‘civilised’ (i.e. sitting at table with knives and forks) lunch surrounded by vineyards and windfarms, then avoiding the (toll) motorway, we seemed to have no choice but to go through the centre of  Carcassonne, but it was OK and Carol took the chance to take a couple of piccies as we crossed the Aude and came up to a square where there either has been, or is going to be, a Christmas Fayre.

The blue sky and sunshine were still with us, but after a stop for fuel and a bit of shopping, it was getting dark and Harry was clanging warnings about low outdoor temperature, so Carol found an all-year site just off route at Nailloux, so we headed there. We’re parked within reach of an electricity connection, but ‘on the road’ so as to avoid sinking or the need to uncouple. We’ve had supper of a beef dish bought at E. Leclerc, with dips before and cheese and apple tart and cream after, not to mention supporting the local economy in the matter of vin rouge to go with, so we’re well fed and warm – for now.

I joked with Rachel last week that if €20 for a week’s internet access was quite good, and €5 was amazing, it would probably be free this week ….. well – it is! And although the lady warden said we probably wouldn’t have a signal up at the top of the park (where she sent us so we could park on the through road without bothering anyone), we have one. It’s weak and intermittent, but it’s useable. Pity, in a way, that we’re here for only one night ….  

How We Spent A week In Prades

That must be the most unimaginative title so far!

Day 1: (After arrival) Thurs. 25th: Usual first day after travelling sort of thing; up latish, put the awning up, unpack stuff … Then we decided, mid-afternoon, to walk up (and it IS UP ! ) into the town, maybe find a shop and perhaps an Estate Agent. This MIGHT turn out to be a life-changing walk – but probably not! We found an ‘Immobilier’ (Estate Agent) and looked in the window. A villa with almost everything going for it, for less than the price of Garth View, caught my eye. In a village we’d not heard of or seen so far. I drew Carol’s attention to it. ‘How does that grab you?’ ‘Fine – where’s Sournia?’ ‘No idea, let’s find out.’ We went in and met a nice young lady called Laura. ‘C’est où, Sournia?’ About half an hour from Ille Sur Tet. (What we didn’t quite realise is that that was half an hour, by car, UPHILL just about all the way! The agency had two properties in Sournia, both attractive and within our budget. We agreed to meet Laura on Monday and go to see them (still not quite realising the implications!)

Then to find the shop. We were stood in the street, it was getting dark, we were studying the town plan. A nice lady stopped and said ‘Vous cherchez quelque chose?’ A supermarket – we think the big one is a bit far to walk ‘You can if you like walking’. What about the Spar? Ah, it’s not far – You go, no, I’ll go with you, I wasn’t going there, but I need one or two things, so I’ll go there.’ What can you say, except ‘Merci!’? After shopping, we got a bit lost on some dark steps trying to get back to the campsite, but not for long – we knew we had to go DOWN – we just had to find the steps which didn’t lead to a dead end or private property.

Day 2: Fri. 26th: Very cold start, but gorgeous sun-up. Drove to Perpignan to meet an English Estate Agent, specialising in finding places for Brits. Satnav got us lost due to lack of awareness of one-way streets, but we got there by phoning and being talked in. An interesting chat, but nothing specific. We drove to Canet-Plage for old time’s sake (where we stayed last year) and picnicked on the sea front.

We’d been picking up brochures outside agencies, collections of adverts from tens of firms. We spotted a property up the valley of the Agly and thought it might be a nice drive to go and see the town and perhaps call on the agent. It was a nice drive, and we did see the agent. The property seemed very promising, then he told us why it seemed to be so underpriced – it was; the lady owner has become ill and needs to move closer to family very soon. Price dropped for quick sale. No money in the bank, no point in visiting! We decided to drive back to Prades over the hills via Sournia. It was late afternoon, we saw the road UP, but not the road DOWN. The climb was narrow and winding. We didn’t see much of Sournia. The descent in the dark seemed long – and winding.

Days 3 & 4: ‘On Saturday and Sunday, they do no work ay all….’ So on Saturday we stayed ‘at home’ and Carol did the washing, on Sunday we drove over to Amélie-Les-Bains, a spa town in the valley of the Tech. An exciting drive up the River Boulès (and down the other side) and a very nice town when we got there. Then we went down the valley and eventually found a house that the English agent had suggested we should look at from outside. …. Definitely NOT what we’re looking for!

Day 5: Mon. 29th: Perpignan again and another agent, another nice young lady, this one called Valérie, representing an agency called ‘Beautiful South’. Arranged to view two properties on Tuesday. Then to our meeting in Ille Sur Tet with Laura. Well, Laura has ‘La Grippe’ (flu), but at the agreed meeting place ANOTHER nice young lady, called Cécile, was waiting for us to replace her colleague and suggested we should follow her to Sournia. It was just over half an hour, as Laura had said ….. but it was like half and hour up Dunmail Raise, with bends, some of them hairpins, but the road was wide, the gradients not severe, and there was nothing that Harry wouldn’t manage, even towing. Sournia is a little village, a bit like Alston for those who know what I mean, only higher. Shops, school, chemist and doctor are all there. So to the house, the villa. (We don’t know why, but neither of us took photos! House-snapping fatigue? This was house no. 18!) But WOW! This one had it ALL, even space for a pool if we (someone) wanted to put one in. Views over the hills, day-long sunshine, manageable bits of garden, superb rooms …. part way round Carol said ‘I want it’. OK, it’s rather more remote than we had thought we’d go – but then, only an hour from Perpignan airport. Anyway, let’s calm down; the probability is that before we’re in a position to make an offer, it will have gone. The second house, older, and nearer the village centre was very nice, too. ‘Charming’ was the word we used.

We drove back to Prades by continuing to climb – eventually to 991m (Scafell Pike 978), where snow was lying close to the road,

then down another bendy, winding descent into the valley of the Tet. On the way down, and from the moving car, Carol took perhaps our best view of Canigou so far:

Day 6: Tues. 30th: It rained for most of the night and continued to do so through the day till about 4pm, when the skies cleared and we had an hour of sunshine. Up early to meet Valérie and see a house in Vinça, just down the road. Village Centre, and a CAVERNOUS garage, big enough for Harry and at least two cars. A surprisingly private garden. Currently owned by a Scottish couple. Worth considering, but a bit over budget. Then a drive to another town for a ‘definitely not’ viewing.

So here we are; lots to think about, and a wet tent to  pack up! We’ve decided to stay one more day, then start the long trek north. We’ve contacted an Esperantist near Poitiers, member of Pasporta Servo. ( look at http://www.tejo.org/eo/ps_lingv_en if that doesn’t mean anything to you) so we have somewhere to stay while Harry is being repaired.

How Harry got to see the Med and snow in one day, How he got into a fight with some guttering (and came off better!)

and How there’s every chance he’ll come home looking as good as new – well, better than now, anyway.

Tuesday 23rd November was a very fine day and we worked steadily almost all day to pack everything away, and dismantle the awning while it was dry. This was because moving on to our next planned destination was likely to need either six and a half hours on the road, or a stop-over on the way, so our ‘usual’ midday-ish start wasn’t going to work if we wanted to arrive in daylight. We rewarded ourselves with our only evening meal out so far, except at McDonald’s for the wi-fi. We found a very nice restaurant near the shopping centre and had a 3-course meal for 14e90 each with half a litre of wine for just 4e (£3.40!).

So on Wednesday 24th we were off pitch at 10am, and away at 10.30, having decided, for ease of getting out, not to couple the vehicles till outside the site. Weather was still fine, the sun was hot even, through the glass of the cab windows, and we avoided Montpellier’s traffic by using a little bit of toll-free motorway, though this seemed to involve setting off in the ‘wrong’ direction at first, which TomTom couldn’t understand. The toll road all the way would have been quicker, but the alternative was a good road and possibly more scenic.

We had our lunch break just beside this splendid avenue of plane trees – not quite warm enough to sit outside, but very tempting, then somewhere between Narbonne and Perpignan we got the view of that perfectly blue Mediterranean, across one of the ‘étangs’ or lagoons. Next came the Pyrenees and the first sight of the snow-covered summit of Mount Canigou, which has come to dominate our skyline ever since.

From Perpignan we turned up the valley of the Tet and enjoyed a glimpse of the ‘Orgues de L’Ille Sur Tet’ which we visited last year:

Next town up is Prades (pronounced ‘Prahd’) where we knew the Camping Municipal was open, but it’s not very well signed (the warden agrees), the instructions in Michelin are misleading, and of course, SATNAV couldn’t find it. So after wandering off up the hill to the next village, we phoned in for instructions. This final extension to the journey meant that our six and a half hour estimate was spot on! Having suggested, but not insisted on, a suitable pitch, the warden then ‘gave’ us a week’s wee-fee for 5e!

Nights are cold – ice on the car this morning, and 5° in the van – but the mornings are gorgeous when the sun comes up. I’ve tried to photograph the panorama, and to video it, but without real success. Canigou is dominant, but through the trees and in the morning it’s ‘contre jour’. There are other areas of snow, too, but some way away. Anyway, here’s an idea: (The pictures make a bit more sense if you enlarge them.)

But it’s impossible to do it justice and if you really want to appreciate Canigou, Google ‘Mount Canigou’ and go to the site ‘Images of Mount Canigou’ – the very first photo is from the town of Prades.

Due to the delay in arriving on Wednesday, it was getting dark as we uncoupled and parked up. I didn’t realise that there is water available with the electricity just beside the pitch, and I thought  we had to go to the service point beside the the toilet block. I misjudged it, or really just didn’t realise how low the roof of the building is. CRUNCH!

So who got the best / worst of that bout, then? It was obvious I wasn’t the first, and when I ‘confessed’ next morning, that nice warden was very good humoured about it.

And talking (?) of damage, remember this? 

 Well, a few days ago we had a call from the dealer in Poitiers to say the ‘pod’ or ‘cheek’ as it’s called in French has been delivered and would we like to make a date for the repair? Well, we remained flexible over the date, but it seems certain that before we return to the UK, Harry will have a new ‘cheek’. Hooray!

How We Made It To The Med After a Month (and a day), and How Flamingos In Flight Flapped Fleetingly By!

Well …. They did!

We took a day off (from both house-hunting and house-keeping) and went to the sea-side! Harry didn’t come, just us and the little car, but Harry’s turn will come. We made our way through Montpellier’s horrendous traffic and headed for Sète. (Accent! Thanks David, and Carol!) First we came to the lagoon where there were indeed flamingos, some in flight. Through the town and out the other side and we had a picnic, outside, in sunshine, overlooking the Med!

On the other side of the road, the villas rose up the hillside – it was easy to choose and say ‘We’ll have that one!’

I think we both knew we wouldn’t!

We drove on down to the Cap D’Agde, which was nowhere near as scenic a drive as we’d been led to believe, then back towards that awful traffic which surrounds Montpellier. Apparently this is because the previous Mayor wouldn’t grant funding for a proper ring road. (The Mayor is a politically elected and very powerful local person in French communities.)

Actually, I’m losing track of days and dates! That day out was probably Thursday 18th. Or it may have been Friday … We went to the Med again on Sunday 21st, not quite such a fine day, but we had a nice picnic of garlic sausage and French bread – which doesn’t half make a crummy mess if eaten in the car!  – and we drove through La Grande Motte, famous for its outstanding blocks of flats all with different and unusual designs. We even managed to find a way ‘home’ which didn’t involve traffic jams, but then – it was Sunday.

Today (Monday22nd) we headed into the hills and visited the Gorges De L’Hérault. This was a spectacular drive in fairly good weather, and the highlight was the ‘Site of Devil’s Bridge’. We were a bit puzzled as to which bridge was which, until we went below the bridges to a widening of the river (very fast flowing) where we could see work going on to restore an older bridge – presumably THE ‘Devil’s Bridge’.

Footnote: Time to resolve the question of ‘bricks’.  Remember? The ones you are allowed to put in the recycling bin with your plastics. Well, in French, those containers in which many of us now buy orange juice and so on, and sometimes even cheap wine, because of their shape, are known as ‘briques’, which does mean ‘bricks’, but in this context the translation should be ‘tetra packs’:

How Nothing Lasts, Nothing Is Perfect, and How We Viewed 5 Properties In One Afternoon.

Well, it would be nice to say ‘so we’ve spent nearly a week now, enjoying the sunshine and the views, and we’re spoilt for choice with affordable properties’ …… BUT, Camp Salagou turned out to be less than perfect regarding the facilities and the sunshine lasted only one day! (Seems to be our ration!) Sunday (Nov. 14th) was WET, so that although we had pretty well decided to move on we stayed put on Monday because even the things we had put out (not the tent) were too wet to pack up. So we shopped and visited a couple of estate agents.

We weren’t quite sure about moving on, it’s a hitty-missy might-get-lucky / might-not sort of thing, unless you have recommendation to a different place. And when you open the van door in bright sunshine next morning to this view:

You begin to wonder whether you’re doing the right thing! But move we did – not far, just 60 kms to a site near Montpellier where we had read that 1) they take ‘Camping Cheques’ (giving us pre-paid, fixed price overnights), 2) they’re open, and 3) they have total wee-fee cover (for a fee!). Well, it all worked out. After waiting at the barrier for over an hour (reception closed 12 – 2 , quite normal!) we came onto this site where we have OUR OWN facilities! These are super pitches which cost 50e a night in summer, but in winter the main toilet blocks are closed and everyone gets on of these! (Presumably it saves on fuel and cleaning) You’re given (on deposit) the key to a corner of a block of four, each containing shower, basin, and WC, with another sink on the outside. Your own private bathroom, in fact.

                                    

                                     

We had plenty of time, so we put the tent (awning) up – first time since Poitiers – and managed to get the positioning better than ever, so that the ‘tunnel’ is trapped round the roll-out blind’s housing at both ends, which we’ve never managed before. The wi-fi signal is good, and I’m trying to convince myself – and Carol – that compared with the frequent visits to McDonald’s, the 24e for the week is worth it!

Yesterday (Wed. 17th) we went back to Clermont to meet one of those estate agents who showed us five houses between 2pm and 6pm! All interesting, most ‘possible’, but none ‘must have’. Details would be boring. A few pictures:

      

        

         

The fifth was a town house which I knew at once we weren’t interested in, and it was getting dark, so I took no pictures.

This morning – slight problem with that nice private bathroom … the loo was blocked! However, after a quick phone call to reception (I’d love to know  how those with no French and inadequate English – see below – would have managed that one! The mime would have been fascinating! – the nice young lady from reception came running to our aid! Well, I exaggerate just a bit, uncharacteristically. Anyway, the ‘technicien’ (plumber) being off till Saturday, she brought us the key to a second bathroom, having checked that all was well therein. It is, of course, adjacent to our own, so no big deal. Today’s been very sunny, lunch outside, lots of organising and washing, then some shopping. I found a pack of small red fish fillets (possibly mullet), so we came ‘home’ to a supper of ‘Filets de rougets au vin blanc et a la creme’ or ‘Pan fried red fish fillets with garlic and shallots, served with a white wine and cream sauce’. I’ll send anyone who wants it the recipe, which I made up.

Footnote: Everyone Speaks English …. 1) Dead on two o’clock on Tuesday another van arrived and the couple popped in to reception just ahead of us – not deliberately, we were parked at the side finishing lunch. When I went into reception, the young receptionist was struggling bravely with visitors who evidently had no French, so they were using English as the ‘International Language’. Hers was fine. His was below basic. ‘What time do you want to leave tomorrow?’ …. ‘Tomorrow, yes’ …. ‘Yes, you want to leave tomorrow, Wednesday, –‘  ‘Wednesday, yes’ …. ‘Yes’, I need to know WHAT TIME (pointing to wrist) you are going to leave.’ …. ‘Leave, yes’ I couldn’t see their van’s number plate clearly, I think they may have been Finnish, so I wondered whether to offer help in German – or take a long shot in Esperanto, but anyway, English (which everybody speaks) wasn’t working! She gave up.

                                                               2) There’s a notice in the bathrooms in three languages (anyone want to guess the third after French and English (sort of)?) Carol asked me if I’d spotted it, in a rather amused, cheeky sort of way. I hadn’t. The ‘English’ version ran ‘Please keep clean your sanitary. Thanks for the other.’

Hmmm ….    

How Harry Couldn’t Cope With A Gravelly Slope and How We FINALLY Found, If Not OUR Place, Then At least A Place In The Sun.

Saturday 13th November: ‘It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive’. (Who said that? Answer as a comment, please.) But if the traveller’s hopes are realised at the end of the journey, then both the hoping and the travelling are rewarded. So we travelled, we travelled up hillsides, we travelled down hillsides, we travelled beside rivers and we travelled through the rain, then trough the drizzle then through more rain, then even when we reached Languedoc, where the Viaduc de Millau should have looked like this:

(Photo from 2 years ago) – we could hardly see it! We crossed it in fog! (At a cost of 9e20, the only toll we’ve paid since leaving Garth View.) But still there was that hope … that hope that there WAS sunshine in the south! Carol thought she saw a break in the cloud …. Na, whatever it was closed up and the rain came harder than ever. BUT … round a few more corners, and there WAS a blue horizon! GO, HARRY! Through a tunnel, and that was OUR shadow on the wall beside the carriageway!

We were nearly at Salagou Lake, where we stayed in 2008, but the site we stayed on then is closed now, so we came round to the other side where the ‘Municipal’ at Clermont L’Herault is not only open but quite busy. We signed in, after an ‘incident’ (see below) and after parking up on a pitch of our own choosing, went back to the town for a big shop. This morning, Saturday Nov. 13th, we enjoyed our first outdoor breakfast:

But I’ve missed one of the most challenging moments so far! The entrance/exit at the site in Penchot was on a steep slope, down in – up out, and not tarmacced, just gravelly. Getting in was no  problem, and as usual for a one-night stopover we left the vehicles coupled. So we approached the exit (at about 12noon) without any worries, BUT …. Harry gave up on the slope. Reversing any significant distance with the A Frame is out of the question and, anyway, ‘taking a run at it’ would have been impossible 1) because the approach was a right angled bend and 2) emerging onto the road would have been dangerous. Two more attempts and the conclusion was there was no choice but to uncouple and re-couple on the road. The whole thing took most of an hour, but, never mind – at least the rain held off, having hammered on the roof all night.

Today has been a stay-at-home, catch-up-on-washing day. But we made time to look at the lake and take some piccies. Including a very strange fruit tree, which even a local man couldn’t recognise, the view across the lake to where the other site is, and the village where, two years ago, I said I might like to live! ….

Footnote (1) Barrier Rage! Rachel commented a bit back that it was good we didn’t get into campsite rage with the Flying Dutchman; last night it was near-miss barrier rage! We arrived here, stopped at the stop line (as you do), and someone’s hooting from behind. An irate French Female approaches the van ‘On veut entrer’ (We want to get in) ‘You can – you can pass us’ ‘Where can we pass you?’ ‘Here on this side – there’s room for a car between us and the barrier’. By now her husband in the car had worked it out and was already at the barrier, putting the number code in. ‘Oh’. No apology, no ‘that’s all right, then,’, just into the car. I said ‘La probleme EST?’ which probably isn’t French, but only Carol heard it. We went into reception. Man comes thru from back room – simultaneously, Frantic Frogess bursts in the front door – ‘La barriere ne monte pas!’ (The barrier wont go up). I said, quietly, to Carol, but in French ‘I thought we were here first!’ The man said ‘What code have you put in? What name is it? When did you arrive’ Checking the computer …. ‘ah, yes, you were going to leave today – that code isn’t valid any more.’ – ‘We weren’t going to leave’ – ‘Yes, look – till the 12th; you should have let us know if you were staying longer.’ Eventually the code was re-activated, and, again without a word to us, she made to leave. I smiled. She scowled. She got back into the car and looked back at the reception. I was still smiling at her. She scowled again. Fortunately that sort of thing a unusual here. I said to Carol ‘I hope we don’t turn out to be neighbours’. The man said, with a sigh, but a smile as well, ‘Eh bien, M’sieur-Dame?’

Footnote (2) DON’T use SatNav! That new Michelin Guide we bought gives co-ordinates for the sites, so I was dead chuffed on Thursday to put the site’s co-ordinates in instead of just the postcode.   ……

The photos show the spot where we re-coupled yesterday morning. If I’d followed TomTom the evening before, we have ended up on narrow tracks, doing hairpin bends somewhere up that hillside! Fortunately, I’d already said to Carol, having already picked up signs to the site, ‘I’m not turning off this road unless the site is signed.’ She liked my plan …

Now, name this fruit:      

How The Sunshine Didn’t Last and the House-Viewing Grew Increasingly Frustrating.

Well, it wouldn’t, would it? After all, we are here in the longest spell of continuous bad weather within living memory! One man who met us to open up a neighbour’s house told me he’d never seen his barometer so low in all the years he’s lived here! So the rain started hammering on the roof again, everything outside got wet (so did some things inside, unfortunately, and that’s another story) and visits had to be made with waterproofs and umbrellas at the ready.

On Monday we saw two properties, both interesting, but neither a front runner, though the second was a lovely house with fine views, then on Tuesday we thought we would see up to five places, but, for various reasons, saw only two. The first was a splendid house with big rooms and a swimming pool (though this needed ‘refreshing’), but just TOO MUCH land with it. The amazing thing is that we could have paid the asking price and have had money over, given even a reasonable price for Garth View! The second was in a position to fulfil all dreams! Right on the river (which doesn’t flood) and a little canal at the side, I would have bought this little bungalow there and then, till I said “I suppose we should look inside”.

                    

               

                 

It was COMPLETELY ill-designed! We’d have wanted to take out almost every interior wall and start again; tiny little bathroom (no bath, just shower) very limited living space with kitchen, dining, lounge, all in one; an impossible little room adjacent; a small bedroom, then a totally wasted, large space which may once have been the garage, with a staircase going up to, again, a ridiculously small ‘mezzanine’! We could have wept! (We nearly did!)

** No prizes, but can anyone make out what I’m looking at in front of the house ? **

So, once more to our place in the wood ( over the plateau where they grow and sell fruit, down the steep hill to the lake, and up the equally steep hill on the other side ….), and Carol prepared one of her ‘specialites’ (I wish I could type the accents on this – or knew how to), Spaghetti Bolognaise, and we slept only to realise in the morning that it HADN’T been hammering the roof with rain during the night! In fact, there was another brief (oh, so brief!) period of sunshine. So I ran round the site again – twice! Then we packed up, coupled the vehicles, and at about 12.20 (it’s good to get an early start on travelling days!) we left Mervent, down the steep hill to the lake ….. But when we got to the plateau (where they grow fruit) – it was drizzlin’ again! 

However, as we travelled east past Niort and South of Poitiers towards Limoges, there were periods of pleasant, even warm sunshine. Joining a section of toll-free motorway after struggling with Limoge’s twilight traffic, we found an ‘aire’ which was just perfectly designed for caravans and motorhomes; diagonal sections of parking, allowing forwards in and forwards out, divided by trimmed hedges with picnic tables between. Only drawback – the toilets, though fairly newly built were all ‘old-style French ‘hole-in-the-ground’ type, so it was move on or use on board facilities … we stayed and had a classic 3-tin meal, followed by a VERY cold (outside) night.

In fact, at a different time of year we would have had ‘our own’ breakfast table, because by parking in the end lane, no-one else would have had access from the other side.

BUT, once it got warmer, the drizzle started again (we’re using the word in the Cumbrian sense, of course), and it’s been relentless all day! Possibly the worst day so far, but the competition’s keen! Still, we’ve motored on in the belief that there will be sunshine in the South from Saturday, and we intend to be there! We left the motorway just south of Brive-La-Gaillarde and passed thru Cressignac where we saluted the hotel where we spent a night on our way south last year, came across country – increasingly hilly and beautiful country, crossing the Dordogne we’re not sure where and then following the Lot to the village of Penchot where, having bought an up-to-date Michelin Campsites Guide, we had reliable information that a suitable park was open. There’s even a wi-fi connection (pronounced wee-fee) – if I trek through the drizzle (Cumbrian usage) to the games’ room to get it. Well, I’ve paid 2e for it so here goes ….. Hope someone reads this! 

How it finally stopped drizzlin’ and how we like what we see around here.

Sunday 7th November: To be honest, we were getting a bit FED UP of the incessant drizzle! So it was nice to wake up this morning to a hint of sunshine thru the clouds, which developed into a largely sunny day. When we left Poitiers the tent had been too wet to pack away, so we stuffed it into Sally’s boot and it’s been there ever since! We’ve lived with the clutter of ‘travel mode’, unable to clear the van of ‘stuff’ and set up camp the way we would like. But this morning I actually felt able to get a few things out of the garage ant set up a washing-up station outside the van!

Our three nights here are over, but we have so much still to see, that we are certainly staying another three if not four or more. We live in perfect peace, apart from the owls and the occasional oak apple falling on the van – and the rain hammering on the roof, of course, so perhaps ‘perfect’ isn’t the word.

The ground is carpeted with oak leaves, with some beech mixed in, and today, having taking the warden’s advice when we arrived about where to park, our spot has had sun  on it all day. So before we went out we got the tent out of the car and spread it out and by the time we came back it was dry enough to pack away.

   Another ‘event’ this morning was that, inspired by the location and the change in the weather, I got my trainers out (Yes! I brought running shoes!) and ran round the site before breakfast! It wasn’t much, but it did happen, honest! We’ve had no commitments today – estate agents don’t work Sundays – so we’ve taken the opportunity to drive round the lake (very low, like at home, and created by damming the Vendee river just below its confluence with La Mere and a minor tributary). Even at this time of year there’s a thriving activity centre, but curiously, to our way of seeing things, it’s closed on Sundays.

             

                      

       

Now, about the house hunting. Unlike the chap in Mansle, who didn’t show us anything we were really interested in, and who seemed to lose interest in us completely once he realised we weren’t ‘money in the bank, ready to buy’ clients, the agents here have been very understanding of why we’re here and what we want, and we’ve seen some really nice places at appropriate prices. I don’t think whoever’s reading this wants a house-by-house account, but the ‘front runner’ at the moment is a bungalow on the edge of a village called St. Hilaire  la Palud, on the Marais Poitevin, with totally open views over fields, all-day sunshine (when it shines!), and a very thoughtful senior-citizen friendly design. Not only that, but there’s space for a swimming-pool, and money enough to have one put in if we wanted! Moreover, it’s not available till next September! (This one would involve selling Garth View and NOT buying a place in Cumbria as well.)

   

  But let’s not be hasty! We have appointments for viewings tomorrow and Tuesday, and another agent should be calling us first thing in the morning to talk about half a dozen properties we’ve seen on the net in which we might be interested. Then there’s Languedoc ….

I haven’t blogged much about food so far! I mentioned ‘Harry’s Omelette’ last time, and the brunch on the barbecue, but apart from that it hasn’t all been McChicken @ McDonalds! There’ve been a few ‘3-tin Meals’, but some creative in-house cuisine, too. We’ve had duck steak, the inevitable ‘Specialite de la Maison’, Lapin au Van, and last night we sampled quail, available in the supermarkets at very low price, and I used a recipe in one of the books I brought from home for ‘Pigeon and Parsnips’. Really good, we thought. This evening was liver in red wine – ‘Foie au Van’ as it may become to be known because we enjoyed it and will do it again. I would have put on all the warm clothing necessary, including scarf and woolly hat, and sat out under the stars (it’s still not drizzlin’!), but Carol doesn’t see the fun in that!

Footnote: Funny French: Getting used to French radio (one of the last things your ear can adjust to – harder than television) I heard a discussion about digital readers, ‘lecteurs numeriques’, in the course of which I heard the French (?) verb ‘podcaster’. Can’t help wondering what the ‘Academie’ thinks of that!   

How Orange made us see Red.

Soon after we bought the French phone, which is pay-as-you-go, or in French ‘prepaye’, we got a text from Orange saying we could access our account online and that 160.37e would be taken from our account on November 6th! That’s about £140!! Why? And what account? We hadn’t given any account details, but we had paid by credit card. We fretted for several days till we could get back to the ‘Phone House’ (Carphone Warehouse) shop where we bought it. Closed for lunch!  There was an Orange shop in the same complex, we went to them. ‘Je ne comprends pas du tout’ was all the assistant could say. (He could have phoned Orange – the firm he worked for!) We waited till well after the given end of lunchtime; no sign of Phone House opening – it was travelling day, we had to get on. We phoned the Orange customer service number from the info with the phone. I explained I was English and spoke fairly good French, but it would help if the ‘advisor’ would speak slowly. ‘Would you like to speak to an English-speaking colleague?’ ‘Ca pourrait etre aimable’ (That might be helpful). Short wait ….. “Mr. Thompson!” (I hadn’t given my name) “How can I help you?” I explained the situation and read the text aloud. “Mr. Thompson, don’t worry – it’s a mistake; that text is not for you. That text is for the person who had that number before you. You should not have received it. Mr. Thompson, don’t worry, you have no contract, no money will be taken. Bonne journee!” ‘Have a nice day’ seems so much more natural in French than in American! we all say it, it’s almost an essential courtesy. OK – it’s an odd thing to have happened, and it shouldn’t have happened, but the service on the phone was exemplary, and very re-assuring.   

How a boat trip on the Marais was wetter than we might have hoped, how Harry’s long awaited repair might  get attended to and how we spent an evening in the dark! (not to mention how we established the difference between ‘rockets’ and ‘fuses’ and how things are looking up on the house-hunting front …) 

A visit to the Marais Poitevin has been an outstanding memory of mine since the first exchange visit Henri IV – Boothville maybe 35 years ago, and I’ve been promising to take Carol there for some time now. Unfortunately the weather has changed and there was more rain overnight, though not as heavy, but time is running out and we decided to go for it anyway. Good thing we did, because tomorrow, November 1st, le Toussaint, is a public holiday and the last day this year when the boat trips are available.

  The Marais is also called La Venise Verte (Green Venice) and even with the grey skies of today (compared with the blue and blazing sunshine of that day in the seventies) the name is well seen. I’ll put up an album of the photos, so look out for it, but if you take the ‘guided’ ride, you sit facing forwards while a young man skulls you round a circuit of at times very narrow channels. Around here even the cattle travel by boat! Unfortunately, and this was ‘our’ skuller’s first and probably only trip of the day, there was one brief but very heavy shower about halfway round. Even a couple of well-clad huntsmen, complete with guns and dogs, were sheltering from it. Still, it made us feel ‘at home’! (We hear bad things of the weather in Cumbria – high winds and fallen trees, for instance.)

Back on ‘dry’ land, we found two estate agencies on opposite side of the square (it’s only a little town!) and again we were amazed and what we could buy with the money we might have available. We’re now seriously thinking of moving closer to the Marais (and the coast) to have a better look around. Problem is to find an open caravan park ….. 

But that problem was postponed for a few days yet. I felt we hadn’t done Poitiers thoroughly enough, so we went back on Monday and visited the famous ‘Notre Dame La Grande’, the outstanding example of Poitou’s Romanesque architecture:

  Carol was enchanted with the interior, and the whole place is in total contrast with the much more grandiose Cathedrale St. Pierre, endowed by Henry II (of England), Compte D’Anjou, and Elienor D’Aquitaine. (Those visits to Poitiers in the 70s and a thorough instruction in the links with Henry and Eleanor (Henry played by Peter O’Toole in both ‘Becket’ and ‘The Lion in Winter’ as film buffs of the 60s will remember) meant that I was able to answer Judith Keppel’s £1m question before the answers came up – pity I never got to answer one of my own!

Poitiers is also home to possibly the oldest complete place of Christian worship in Europe, the Baptistere St Jean. The building appears to have sunk, but in fact the reverse is the case – the ground around it has risen during some 17 centuries of development and is now over two meters higher than it was when the baptistry was built.

We also passed by the Palais De Justice where Joan of Arc was sent to be examined by the scholars to see if she could possibly be genuine about having heard those voices.

Now, a long time ago, Harry had a brush with ‘Mondeo Man’ on a country lane in Somerset, remember? And since then we’ve made zero progress towards getting the damage repaired in the UK. Well, just outside Poitiers, not far from the caravan park, there’s a motorhome dealer advertising repairs, including ‘Carrosserie’ (Bodywork). So we went to see him (we needed gas, too, and that’s been another difficulty, which he sorted). One look at the damaged panel, one phone call and he had a price. No problem to get the part, no problem if we went off to Languedoc and called in for the job on the way back; could be done in a day, one overnight would be better. We paid a deposit on the part and just HOPE it works out.

Leaving Le Futuriste was a bit of a wrench, especially as it meant leaving little Moglet to fend for himself …. In a way it was fortunate that a couple of fellers from neighbouring pitches – one English one French – came across to take an interest in how we hook up the car and the van, so we had to make conversation till the last minute. Still …..

We’d read in our (7 year old) Guide Michelin that there was an all-year-round campsite at a place called Mervent, not too far north of the Marais, so we set the Satnav to take us there. Driving through  increasingly heavy drizzle, which has become the norm now, we found a lakeside village with a wooded campsite and holiday park, but no sign of life at all – we’d telephoned,too, with no reply, but decided to go and see anyway. We turned away and went back to Coulon, where we’d done the boat trip and knew there was a Motorhome-friendly area where we could stay overnight, get water, and dispose correctly of both ‘grey’ and ‘brown’ water. Sometimes these places also have electricity available by coin-in-slot, not this one, but that wasn’t to be a problem for one night. So we parked up, after dark now, there was one other van already there and another arrived soon after. Switched on the interior lights – which work off the leisure battery, which is well charged up, – and – NOTHING; not one light working, not one 12v socket working! Why?? Working by headtorchlight we could identify the TWO fuses which controlled the circuits in question, but I couldn’t tell by looking whether they were blown or not. The fuses in the set which we have weren’t the right amperage!  Lanterns and candles were well buried in the garage, so nothing for it but to carry on by torchlight. We had a nice ‘Harry’s Omelette’ actually, and the night was quiet and undisturbed (from outside – the snoring’s another issue!)

During breakfast next morning, there was a knock on the door and a charming young lady under a large umbrella (still drizzling!) introduced herself as working for the authority and was calling for the 6e. overnight charge. That was OK – it was on the signs, we just didn’t know how it was done. We asked if she knew of a motorhome accessories dealer, – yes there was one in the next town. We had a problem with our electrics, perhaps we needed ‘fusees’ – no, those are rockets, what are they called? ‘Fusibles’. We asked if she knew of a caravan park open, or an ‘aire’ with electricity. No, but she worked at the tourist office in the village and if we called by later, she’d make some phone calls and find out. Really charming!

But the contrast at the motorhome dealership couldn’t have been greater! We thought we’d got lucky cos it was a Chausson main dealer, but – surly and unhelpful! ‘You’ll have to wait; there’s no-one available.’ But they did manage to sell us some fuses and Hey, presto! everything works! (Except the 12v sockets in the cab). But why should TWO circuits blow simultaneously when there was nothing switched on??

Back in Coulon, that charming young lady was as good as her word – or better. Before we got there, she had made the calls and found that the park in Mervent IS open (in theory) and they would receive us if we were there by 6pm. That was no problem. Back thru the drizzle, over the plateau where they grow –and sell – fruit, down the steep valley side to the lake (another dammed river), up the equally steep opposite hillside, where there are houses with wonderful views, thru the village and into the wood. It still looked  closed, but as we wandered about a bit bewildered, a voice called ‘Allo!’ and a very nice man came and said how good it was to meet people travelling at this time of year. The park consists mainly of chalets – empty – with some pitches for tourers. There is NO-ONE here! The man opened one toilet block for us (I can perfectly innocently go to the ‘ladies’!), pointed out where he thought would be best, but said we could park ‘anywhere’, and was very relaxed about payment. But we paid three nights anyway.  And here we are!

This has been too long – congratulations if you’ve got thru it! So I think I’ll leave the house-hunting developments till Chapter 18. Just a few photos to arouse interest: