Summer Holiday, 17 August 2022

It did rain a bit in the night - enough to wet the windows, but not really enough to wet the ground or anything. The By the time we were up and dressed the sun was out.

The USP of Amnéville, where we spent the night, is a huge leisure area with all the attractions one's heart, could wish, from an indoor snow centre and skating rink (I am fairly sure we know people who skate there) to a zoo, via a casino, adventure centre, a plethora of hotels and restaurants, and, most relevant, the "Thermapolis" which is a huge leisure pool complex with various whirlpool baths, Jacuzzis and lazy rivers.

So after breakfast we used the series and drove the kilometer or so to the baths. Which were absolute heaven! As you can see from my records,

you couldn't really swim, but you were whirled round (it was actually quite difficult to get out of the stream when I wanted to get out to spend a penny!) and there were places you could sit and the jets of water would massage your feet and ankles, and loads of places where the jets massaged your knees, thighs, bum and lower back, basically in that order. And one of those really fierce overhead showers that massaged your shoulders! 

The Swan Whisperer and I spent a very happy hour there (the workout record isn't quite accurate, as I think I accidentally paused it when trying to see the time), and afterwards I felt that I really had had a full body massage! Why, oh why, do they not have such facilities in the UK? I have used them in Austria, Germany and now France, but as far as I know, they do not exist in the UK, and they are so wonderful! This one was very busy, of course, being in the middle of the school holidays - children are allowed in from the age of 4, but must be accompanied by an adult. 

Anyway, after about an hour we had had enough, so got changed and went back to the WoMo, and headed on, first to a quick dash round Lidl (no decent coupons this week!) and then a stop for a little diesel and then a rest area for a late lunch. 

I realised, thinking about it, that much as we love Kehl/Strasbourg, going there would be two sides of a triangle, so we looked at the map and found that a town called Homburg was half way, and, better still, there was a free motorhome parking area. It is rather dull, actually, in the car park of another swimming-pool (which we are not going to as it might be rather a let-down after this morning). The easiest way to it was via Luxembourg, so we found a load of petrol stations where diesel was a bit cheaper than in France, and Germany, and called in there. After which I fell sound asleep, and didn't really wake up until we were almost here!