Beer and Castles Route, 27 May

It was a hot, hot morning. We had vaguely thought of going swimming, but I wasn't feeling  quite 100% so we didn't. The Swan Whisperer did go for a walk round the town, mainly to get rolls for lunch, but once that had happened we set off.

The German summer seems to be very like the British one - three fine days and then a thunderstorm, and the thunderstorm caught up with us when we stopped for lunch at Bad Blankenburg so I really didn't want to go and look at the castle. So we drove on, out of the rain, via the Goethebrunnen at Bad Berka (which we couldn't see as there was nowhere to park), and then via the outskirts of Weimar, dominated by the Buchenwald memorial, to her at Bad Frankenhausen, the end of the route. We still have the inside of a week left, though, and a couple of adventures planned, so watch this space....

Beer and Castles Route, 26 May

Today's drive was mostly through deep valleys with hills covered with pine trees. Our day started with a trip to the supermarket, and then we headed towards B85 again. Our first port of call was a Border museum at Heinersdorf, but, sadly it was closed - I think you need to ring up and book in advance to see it. However, we saw a fraction of the old wall, and the notice that explains that this was where Germany, and Europe, were divided until 1989.

It wasn't quite lunch time, so we drove on for another 20 minutes or so, rejoining the B85 at Pressig, and stopping at a random lay-by for lunch. It has been a hot day and we were glad of the picnic tables provided.

After lunch, our first port of call was Ludwigsstadt, where there is a rather spectacular railway bridge, but its wasn't very easy to see. However, it turned out that back in the day, Ludwigsstadt had been the last (or first) railway station in West Germany. And, indeed, before that, on the border between Bavaria and Thuringia. The next town along, Probstzella, had been the first in East Germany and the old station building is now used as a museum of that time.

Fortunately for us it was open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (the first time I have ever seen Sonnabend used instead of Samstag for Saturday), and although the man on the desk had such a strong regional accent we couldn't understand a word he said, we got in all right and spent a very happy hour seeing all the hoops people had had to jump through to visit their relatives, even from West to East.

When we finished there, we drove up to a village called Leutenberg where there was a castle that is now a hospital. The SW went to see it, but I was too sleepy.

And so we went on to Saalfeld, passing another couple of castles on the way, and are parked up here for the night. A free car park, but no services here; however, as we used them this morning, we don't need them today, and I believe there are some at the local garage in an emergency.

Beer and Castles Route, 25 May

The Swan Whisperer went for rather a longer run than he meant this morning as he thought he was heading up the hill to the Plassenburg castle, but missed his path. Oh well, no harm done this time....

After breakfast we walked up to the museum. It was in fact three museums in one - a museum of brewing, one of baking and one of herbs and spices. The woman on the ticket desk said she wouldn't recommend we did all three in one morning, so we just bought tickets for the bakery and the herbs and spices one. The brewing museum was said to be as big as the other two put together, so I'm glad we didn't try to tackle it.

One of the disadvantages of being officially old is that you already know an awful lot of the stuff in museums, and there wasn't much about milling flour and baking bread that we hadn't already come across before. An interesting history's section, though, going from the Egyptians to the Romans, then to the middle ages and early modern period, with some interesting information on the legislation in the various city-states that comprised Germany until very recently.

Then on into the herb and spice museum which began with a trip along the Silk Road, bringing exotic spices to Europe, and where they went by sea (and the kinds of vessels their were transported in), and a but about the land route north of Venice. Then some descriptions of the various herbs and spices in everyday use and a history of their use in cookery and medicine. All very interesting, but I was tired. Our entry fee entitled us to some bread to eat on the spot and a sachet of herbs, rather nice. I believe if you'd been to the brewing museum you got a small glass of beer.

We walked back to the motor home and then on to a local bakery to see if they did the sausage in bread that this area is famous for, which they didn't and we felt bad for disturbing her lunch, but she told us where we could find them in the town, which we duly did and ate them (and very delicious they were, too). Then we bought a few bottles of the local brews, and it was time to say farewell to Kulmbach.

Our afternoon drive first went up to Weißenbrunn, where we saw a famous fountain,  the Jungfergettl Brunnen, which is a fertility figure with water pouring out of her boobs. Then to Kronach, where we caught a glimpse of the Festung Rosenberger, and so to Mitwitz, where we would have liked to have seen the Wasserschloss, but when we got to the car park an officious official told us we couldn't park there - although why not just for half an hour - and insisted we move on, despite our pretending not to understand.

Then we decided to leave the route for a détour to Coburg, where we saw the castle that Queen Victoria called her second home, and I think a glimpse of the one where Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. But again, parking was difficult, and I was incredulity thirsty, for some reason, so we drove on a little way to Neustadt bei Coburg, where there is a very nice aire, like the ones we have spent the past few nights at - free, but you pay for electricity and water if you want them.

Beer and Castles Route, 24 May

After breakfast, and after using the services, we drove a few kilometres up the B85 to Sulzbach-Rosenberg, where we had a very pleasant walk around Sulzbach (we didn't go into Rosenberg). While I was in the supermarket, the SW found a scenic route and a car park which he said might be nice to have lunch in. It was, but it was a long old drive to it and because I was hungry I felt a bit car sick. Oh well, lunch soon sorted that.

But it began to rain and there was a thunderstorm while we were having lunch. I fell asleep, but I gather the SW went for a short walk. We set sail for our aire for tonight, in Kulmbach, but added in a détour to see the Rathaus in Pegnitz (not very impressive) and the Opera house in Bayreuth. Which is large, which it had need to be, but in no way beautiful.  The SW said that if it hadn't been so wet he'd have parked up and we could have seen it close up but it was too wet to want to do that! I agreed! 

Then because it was wet and rush hour and we didn't want to go on the motorway, the Sat-nav took us round the houses on minor roads, so we saw a succession of pretty villages, including Trebgast.

This seems a very nice aire. It's free, but suggests a voluntary donation of €3. Electricity is provided but seems quite expensive, so we've not taken it tonight. There are services, but we probably won't use them.

Beer and Castles Route, 23 May

Today was All about Amberg. As we don't have to do grandparent duty as soon as we get home, the Boys being in Scotland that week, we have postponed our return for two days, so have plenty of time to play with. So we had a fairly quiet morning, after the Swan Whisperer had been for his run, and then walked into town via the city walls.

The SW had found a load of plaques that commemorate the history of the town placed to celebrate its 975th birthday in 2009, which he wished me to translate for him, which I did very badly but we got the gist of it. We then entered the inner city by the nearest available gate, and then walked round the pedestrian area until we got to the market square where we had lunch. Beer, of course, and the most enormous Currywurst you have ever seen!  We decided we didn't rate the local brew as much as Regen's,so haven't bought any.

Then it was time to visit the Air Museum, which was not, as you might suppose, about flying but about air itself. There were a lot of rather dull pictures and sculptures, and then some exhibits you could play with, like an air-controlled  pinball table and a flying carpet (they didn't let you sit in it though). It was all quite interesting, but only quite. 3 stars I think.

Then we headed back to the town square and ate ice cream, and then headed back to the motor home. Alas, my tummy has gone back on me a bit so I haven't wanted much  supper and have slept a lot of the afternoon and evening. The SW went to the supermarket but appears to have gone to Birmingham by way of Bethnal Green as he sends to have gone all round the houses. Not that it matters - he enjoyed the walk.

Beer and Castles Route, 22 May

Another lovely morning, so after a leisurely breakfast we headed firstly to the supermarket to stock up on eggs and fruit juice and so on . This took longer than it might have done as the supermarket was in a mall, and there might have been some window shopping....

However, once I had finished, we drove up to Weißenstein to look at the ruins of the castle there, and then back to buy some beer, which I had forgotten to do (the SW had to be dissuaded from buying an enormous crateful, as the idea is to taste the different beers in the towns we pass through). And then finally we set sail to Amberg, which is a lovely town and has services, which we were beginning to need rather badly. We arrived quite early and the SW went for a walk, and he has been trying to persuade me to do like wise ever since, but I am having a tired day and tomorrow is another one.

Beer and Castles Route, 21 May

This is still the Oberstdorf Plus tour , but I have renamed it to fit in with where we are on the holiday.

So we woke up in Passau this morning, and the Swan Whisperer went for a run even before he'd had his tea, which I thought unwise, but he said he'd had a lot of water. As today is a public holiday in Germany the shops are not open, but it does mean parking is free. So after breakfast we drove into the town and parked up under a bridge over the Danube, and then walked around the Old Town, looking into the Cathedral and then walking to where the Inn and the Iltz join  the Danube. And back along the bank of the Danube, which wasn't as nice as it might have been as it was wall-to-wall river cruisers tied up!

We then drove out of town and had lunch in a car park cum children's playground somewhere, and then drove on to this town of Regen. Some kind of festivity was obviously just finishing as we arrived, and the traffic out of town was horrendous! But the Sat-nav took us to our home for the night, which is in a pub car-park, which you can use if you eat in their restaurant. They even supply electricity for an extra €3.  The Swan Whisperer went for a walk and got soaked - the weather had been lovely all day and then suddenly it poured! And as soon as he got back to the van, the sun came out again! 

The meal was delicious  and very good value for money, only Google Translate let me down by not knowing any of the words I didn't know! I ended up with pork slices and noodles, with salad, and the SW had venison goulash with a dumpling and salad. Then he had a plum strudel and I had ice cream.  There was a Bavarian band playing, rather too loudly for indoors, I thought, but enjoyable none the less. 

And back to the motor home with another one next door whose dog whined very loudly the whole time they were at dinner, and they parked far too close to us. They have pulled all their curtains, even though it isn't even trying to be dark, and we think they are watching television. They might as well be at home!

Oberstdorf Plus, 20 May

I have done nothing much today except sleep! I woke up at my usual time and got back into bed with a cup of tea only to awaken two hours later. Forced myself out of bed and into the shower, and we had poached eggs for breakfast. The next thing I knew, we were stopping for lunch in a place called Rosenheim, which seemed quite pretty and we found a car park that was free as it is Sunday.

After much we set off again, and I slept again until we arrived in Passau. It was a lovely afternoon and we sat in the sun for a bit, reading,and knitting - I knitted, anyway - and then the. SW went for a walk, and I got supper, and now I an ging to bed even though it is not yet 9 pm.

Oberstdorf Plus, 19 May

We were up early this morning to get everything ready to move the van. After nearly a week of static camping, this took a bit of doing - switching electricity to 12 volts, making sure everything was put away and all the windows and cupboards closed, etc. Somewhere in all this we had breakfast and I went to the supermarket, and then we used the services and finally done up to the Oybelehalle car park above the rink. This is free with the tourist card so we obtained our ticket and then the Swan Whisperer went back to the camp site to give them back and get his deposit back. 

Then it was the final day of competition, including free dancing, artistic pairs and the elite skaters, including the incomparable Midori Itô and Gary Beacom.

And then a quick drink to toast a friend's birthday, and we were away. We are spending the night at a place called Marktoberdorf, about an hour's drive away, and the post-Oberstdorf exhaustion has hit. All I want to do is go to bed!  But it has been a lovely week, and wonderful to see old friends and make new ones.

Oberstdorf Plus, 18 May

The sun was shining this morning, and I could see mountains I hadn't seen all week! It was very cold until the sun rose, though, whereupon it was difficult to get out of bed as it was so lovely in there with the sun shining in!

The Swan Whisperer and I walked down into the village as I thought he might find a pair of trainers he would like in the cheap sports shop there, and eventually he did. There were some sandals there I rather coveted, too, but, alas, not in my size. Good thing, really, as I didn't really need them. He then went off back to skate on the public session, and I went to Müller and to Woolworth's to buy some more "tossies" for people as I was running out of soap, bd then caught the bus back to the motor home via Norma for orange juice and mushrooms.

Then to the rink to watch various friends skate, including  a very long Silver Ladies II (why can't one's friends all be drawn in the same group?), during which I may have fallen asleep. The SW had gone out for a walk with friends.

Finally back to the motor home for dinner and now the SW has gone back to the rink to watch the pairs, and I've gone to bed, as I'm cold!

Oberstdorf Plus, 17 May

There was not a lot I wanted to see this morning so did a load of washing and went into Oberstdorf to ťry to buy a new rücksack, successfully. Then back for lunch but the washing wasn't dry and we couldn't get any more tokens until later. I had a nap, then cooked a frittata to take down to the rink to eat while watching the Bronze and Silver pattern dances. After which I began fading fast, so we went back to the motor home and had ice cream and a cup of tea before a slightly earlier bed than usual!

Oberstdorf Plus, 16 May

I knew when I went to bed last night that I was going to have trouble getting up, and indeed I woke with a splitting headache (no, I had had precisely one Apérol Spritz) and after we had used the services I went back to sleep again for a couple of  hours . So we didn't get to the rink until  the early afternoon, but in time to watch the Bronze, Silver, Gold and Masters Ladies III classes. These are basically women in their 50s (I think the age category is actually 48-58) and even within each class (except perhaps the Masters) the skill levels are very different.

We popped out for a quick bite to eat in the restaurant during a section of skaters we don't know, but otherwise more or less stayed put.  Three days down, three to go!

Oberstdorf Plus, 15 May

The second day of competition started off very wet indeed. We watched our friend who was in the first class of the day on the live stream! 

There wasn't a great deal I really wanted to watch during the early part of the day. The Swan Whisperer, who had wanted to go for a walk this morning, decided to skate the public session instead and I stayed in the motor home, knitting and reading. But then the rain stopped, so I went to Norma (the supermarket next to the motorhome park) and bought some necessities. I had arranged to meet the Swan Whisperer for lunch at the downstairs snack bar in the rink, which I duly did, and then we watched a couple of classes before he decided to go for his walk after all. I went into town and pottered around there for a bit, and then came back to the van and fell asleep with my head on the table which was uncomfortable and I was chilled when I woke up. It felt good to get back into the nice warm rink!  

We watched some of the Silver Ladies III, and then had a quick, but delicious, dinner in the rink restaurant, before coming downstairs to watch the skating until the end of the day. And got back to the van  just as the rain started!

Oberstdorf Plus, 14 May

Today was the first day of competition. I woke up early, feeling much better, and as I knew the Swan Whisperer wanted to go for a run, woke him up too. He went on his run, and then we had breakfast and were all cleared up and ready by 08:30 so we could be at the rink by 9 and on duty on the accreditation desk, which we did most of the day, with a break in the middle for lunch (Käsespätzle, mmmm), after which I went shopping and then round the town on the Ortsbus. Bought some red wool to make a cardigan for the other great-nephew, having finished the one for the first during the morning session. There will be masses left over - enough for sweaters for both grandsons, shouldn't wonder!

When we finished being on duty, we went and watched skating for a while, and then went back to the motor home, but it was raining and although we had our macs with us we were cold and wet! Supper was just rolls and cheese after the enormous lunch!

Oberstdorf Plus, 13 May

We got up at a reasonable hour, for once, and I went to get rolls for lunch while the Swan Whisperer got breakfast - the bakery was only a few minutes walk. We got away just after 09:30 and, apart from stopping for an hour for lunch, made a very quick and easy run of it, arriving here in Oberstdorf at about 15:30. 

Alas, my lungs, although massively better most of the time, do not seem to like being at altitude, and it rather feels as if someone has wrapped a very tight belt round my ribcage underneath my boobs. I hope I shall adjust, but I really don't feel like strenuous exercise just now. So I didn't go to the team GB get-together, but I did go to the rink party and official opening of the games, seeing old and new friends, hugging and being hugged, trying to catch up with news when you couldn't hear a word people said.....

And so back to the motor home and A Nice Cup of Tea before bed.

Oberstdorf Plus, 12 May

The first few days of this holiday are always one long, long drive to get us there, and today was no exception.

We started off with a walk, however, around the open-air area around  the museum, including the slag heap, which was interesting as it showed how nature was recolonising it gradually. 

Before heading off properly, we stopped at a supermarket for rolls for lunch and one or two other things, including a cake for supper pudding.  But I forgot to buy eggs.

The Swan Whisperer decided he would stop to buy diesel by the Moselle, more or less en route, and we would probably find a place to stop for lunch. And, indeed, we found a lovely motorhome aire just by the river, and had just settled down with our bacon and avocado rolls when the people who belonged to the caravan behind arrived and made it clear that we were to move so they could move their caravan. Which they ought not to have parked there in the first place, as a caravan is so not a motor home. And then, to add insult to injury, I dropped my second roll! 

So that was lunch ruined, although partially redeemed by both ice-cream and strawberries for pudding! 

And then we drove on and arrived in Mannheim at about 16:30, in time to have a cup of tea and a rest before our niece arrived, and to follow the end of the day's stage of the Giro on the app I have installed for the purpose. 

We had a lovely evening with the niece, including a long three-way conversation with the SW's brother, who is on his first Continental motorhome holiday and loving it! He has yet to venture this far, but I bet he will one day.  The niece very kindly gave us some eggs, which  we swapped for half a jar of Marmite! 

And tomorrow the last long leg south to Oberstdorf and the competition.

Oberstdorf Plus, 11 May

Is there anything nicer than waking up on a fine morning in Cité Europe and realising that it is the first morning of your holiday?

We didn't hurry to get up, but drank our tea and caught up with things. We finally got up about 08:30 and had breakfast, and then I went and did some shopping in Carrefour. I was annoyed  because I'd used a trolley, as I wanted a 5L carboy of drinking-water so of course my wristband didn't register my step count. Fortunately, the other app I have on my phone did.

Then we were off for the first long, dreary drive across Belgium. We stopped briefly to get rid of used coffee, and for lunch and another walk at the Strépy-Thieux canal lift,

and a third time as the SW needed a break. It wasn't actually too bad as it was fine and the traffic wasn't too awful, for Belgium. And finally we got to the far side of Liège, and the aire at Blegny Mine that we stayed at in December. It is somewhat fuller now, funny that!

The SW went for a walk while I read and knitted and then he came back and we got supper. I've gone to bed, although I've no plans to snuggle down just yet - it's only 21:00!

Oberstdorf Plus. 10 May

It's that time of year again, when we set off to Oberstdorf for the annual. ISU International figure skating competition.

However, at home, they have been building new flats on the top of our block, and refurbishing it. Its been a total nightmare and gone on for far too long, but this week they have got to the part where they resurface the back yard. Of course, the site manager buggered off on holiday without telling the contractors that the garages were in use and people needed access to them. We knew this week would be impossible, though, so parked the car in the Youth Centre until last night. But it was obvious that we would not be able to bring the motor home up, so we had to load everything into the car, very early, to get away before the workmen came.

We weren't quite sure that everything would fit in the car - we have done this before, but there's a difference between going away for the weekend and going for three weeks! But it did, and we got away shortly after 7.00 am. We stopped at a Tesco to buy breakfast sandwiches and orange juice, and arrived at No 6 at about 9.30. After coffee, the Swan Whisperer went to get the van,and put stuff in it, and then I did the putting-away while he took the dog for a walk and the others went for a little drive round.

By this time it was lunch time, and after lunch we set off. First port of call was a Homebase in Shoreham for gas, and then it was motorway all the way, and we got on the Shuttle an hour earlier than we had booked. So I had time to get a few things from Carrefour (which shut early as it is Ascension Day) while the Swan Whisperer got supper.  Sadly, I wasn't very hungry, for some reason, and am very tired, so am going to have an early night.

Bread and Beer festival

A  hot bank holiday, for once, and we decided to stay local, and go to the Brixton Windmill Bread and Beer festival, which is held in Windmill Gardens, about 15 minutes' walk from where we live.  I hadn't been to Windmill Gardens for six or seven years - I think we took The Boy there once when he was still in a pushchair, and now he is nearly 8, but the Swan Whisperer says he walks past it on his way down to church.

The gardens were rammed when we arrived!  The main bread stall, the Old Post Office Bakery, was totally sold out and deserted, and there were very long queues for beer stalls (not surprised - it was hot!).  There was a van from a local coffee shop, but that was not so popular.  The Friends of Windmill Gardens had a colourful stall, too.

Any maypole dancing was obviously over when we arrived.

but the Morris Dancing was still going on very happily:

There was also a sound stage, and you could queue to go inside the Windmill itself, but we didn't do that.  We did, however, spend some time reading posters about the history of the mill.

It's not the first time, obviously, that we have visited it - I think it closed to the public in 1990, but we certainly visited it on an Open Day before then, when the Daughter was little.  It's good that there is still a working mill in Brixton, even though the flour is now ground by electricity rather than wind power - it hasn't done that for a very long time.  The sails do turn, but are in poor condition and need to be repaired, which I think is the next thing the Friends are hoping to do.

We were surprised by the crowds - not the numbers, that was not surprising on a lovely day.  But the demographic was primarily white, middle-class young families; more Walthamstow than Brixton!  Whether the demographic has changed this much without our noticing, or whether people came from further afield and local people didn't bother, we didn't see anybody we knew.  But it was a pleasant interlude in a busy day!

South of France, 4 April 2018

So we woke up this morning and the sky was blue!  Ah well.... so it was a matter of getting up, getting breakfast, clearing away, and then heading to the terminal via the services at Coquelles.  We got a crossing 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, and were home shortly after noon, UK time, with plenty of time to unpack and put things away before lunch! 

Next time we're off will be to Oberstdorf in May, and we have not yet decided what we will do after that.

South of France, 3 April 2018

We had parked up beside a lake which, of course, the Swan Whisperer went for a run round this morning!  After breakfast, I decided to walk round it, such took half an hour, about 6 minutes longer than I was really able for, but nice exercise, and there was a heron!

We then drove back to Calais, stopping in Rouen for diesel and in an aire for lunch, and then in the Baie de Somme for a cup of tea. And then in Coquelles we stopped in at the motor home place where they exchanged the bin with no questions asked, and made sure the new one was not broken.

And so to Cité Europe, where we did a last shop (except for bread for tomorrow's lunch), and then ate in the Flunch, which was pretty dire, but I enjoyed a nice piece of lamb. 

When I woke up here two weeks ago, the sun was shining brightly and it was a lovely day to start our holiday. Tonight it is raining, as it has been all day!  France making itself easy to say goodbye to?

South of France, 2 April 2018

We left our friends at about 14:30 after a lovely lunch, and headed north. We are on the homeward run now, and tonight we are parked up outside Chartres. 

Cooked supper and delighted to discover the ice-cream still frozen in the freezing compartment of our fridge. It has worked so well these holidays, as had the heater.

South of France, 1 April 2018

Hallelujah!  Christ is risen!  Easter Day has been pretty much a rest day - we had arranged to go to an English service in a village near Lezay, to meet our old friend who lives in the area, which we did, and then went with her and her church to an Easter lunch in a local restaurant, and back to hers, where we passed a very pleasant and peaceful afternoon and evening, and are now spending the night.

South of France, 31 March 2018

Our 39th wedding anniversary dawned bright (sort of), so the Swan Whisperer went for a run, and did get rained on, but not badly. We filled up with water at the walnut farm, then made our farewells and went into the nearby village of Sers to do the vidanges (emptying).  

Then we drove into Angouleme and had a very cold walk round, too cold to be enjoyable, really. We thought we would go to the nearest E Leclerc to get diesel and groceries, but although we got the former, we couldn't find anywhere to park that didn't have a height limit, not impressed!  So we drove a little further and found a Géant, which was (gigantic, I mean) and I forgot to get milk, which was annoying, but we think we have enough to do until Tuesday, as we are staying with a friend tomorrow. 

After lunch I had a bit of a nap, and then we drive over to have a look at the Charente, and to a village with an ancient church whose name escapes me, but which was very pretty. And then on to Lézay, where I had booked us into the restaurant we ate at with a friend some years ago now, and the aire is just across the road, very civilised!  Food delicious, but rather too much for me!

South of France, Good Friday 30 March

It rained in the night. A lot!  I woke quite early to the sound of rain on the roof and then drowsed off again. When we finally got up (the Swan Whisperer did not go for a run this morning!) it was still raining, but as we ate breakfast it changed to sleet and then to snow!  It even began to lie a little, to the point that you could see where we had been when we moved off! 

However, we were at about 800 or so metres, and almost as soon as we headed off we began to go downhill and the snow changed back to rain, which became more and more showery as the day went on, and by lunch time we were in bright sunshine. This was in the village where Richard the Lionheart was killed, called Chalus. The castle he had been investing at the time is still there, but the SW, who went exploring, found it was only open in June and July, so we came away and drove very cross-country to this walnut farm in the Charente where we are spending the night. They showed a film about the harvest of their walnuts, but sadly, they didn't seem to know about pickled green walnuts, so delicious!  I bought some, of course, and then the SW came back from a walk and eventually I got supper. Spring is really here, now, with flowers out and even some trees beginning to show green.

South of France, Maundy Thursday 29 March

We are in the middle of nowhere - I think in the Limousin area - and seem to have taken a very long time to get here. We woke up quite late, and after breakfast drove into Sévérac-le-Chateau, aka Sévérac-en-Aveyron, to shop. At least, I shopped while the SW went for a walk.

Then we had coffee and caught up on social media as there was quite a good signal there.  And then it was a matter of driving all day - first up the A75, which is always lovely, and then what seemed an inordinately long way across country, very pretty and reasonably good roads, to the Limousin area and this very nice aire. It is free, although the services aren't, but they are out of user for the winter anyway, and we only need to empty our grey water, having done the rest at the farm where we stopped last night. No electricity here, but we have been joined by two other motor homes so far, so a popular stopping-place!  All the same, I could wish we were still in the Midi - it is noticeably colder here!

South of France, 28 March

Leaving the Mediterranean today, sadly, to begin to head north again. The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, so what else is new (my phone will now do that phrase automatically!!), and I went on to the beach for a few minutes. Then we crossed the roundabout to go shopping - had I known how close the supermarket was, I'd have walked!  

We headed off towards Montpellier and the A75, although the Satnav took us all round the houses. Nice to see a bit of Montpellier, though, although we didn't go into the centre, of course  We thought we could get diesel, but the canopy over the pumps was too low; however we got some in the end. Then up the A75 - such a lovely road - and out to Roquefort, where we stopped for lunch and then the SW bought a huge hunk of the eponymous cheese, which I think will have to share with the family.

We decided we'd like to see the Gorges de la Tarn, which we well worth it, although we didn't think quite as spectacular as our beloved Gorges de la Bourne in the Vercors. But we're glad we went there, although the road out had about 8 or 9 180° hairpin bends in it!  Yuck, but we knew it would be.

We thought we were stopping the night in Severac-le-Chateau, but the Aire is, in fact, at a farmhouse just outside. Obviously run by people who have their own motor home, as it has everything one could possibly want, and very cheap. So we are comfortable for the night.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we did go under the Millau Viaduct, as spectacular as ever!  No photos this time, though.

South of France, 27 March

I was too hot in bed last night, and nearly foraged for yesterday's t-shirt to wear instead of my long-sleeved pyjamas. And had trouble getting up this morning so was only just heading into the shower when the Swan Whisperer came back from his run.  

After breakfast I went for a walk and looked round the fish market. They had some good stuff, but none of it was cleaned and the thought of cleaning fish in the motor home - no. Just no!  So I came away and we went to a supermarket in Fos, and then drove down to nearly the mouth of the Rhône to catch a ferry across it. We were afraid it would be cars-only, but no such thing, there was even a public bus on it!  

Once we had crossed, we found an aire in Salin-de-Giraud we we had lunch, and then lovely drive around the Etang de Vaccarès, during which we saw horses, flamingoes and cattle, just as one should, and down to Aigues-Mortes. We thought we might come back to the place I had carefully chosen for us to spend the night, but the Swan Whisperer decided otherwise, so we are now in an aire in Le-Grau-du-Roi with a plastic roller-coaster on one side and a block of flats on the other (to be fair, there is a pedestrian exit to the sea, but I am unimpressed!). At least other motor-homers are quiet - once you have closed the blinds for the night, you very often wouldn't know there was anybody else around!

South of France, 26 March

I woke up this morning to hear a cuckoo!  Well, I suppose it is nearly April, and they must be here before they arrive in the UK, but one very seldom hears them there any more (not that one ever did in London).  The Swan Whisperer went for a run while I got up and got breakfast, and then we made use of the services and topped up again with water, although we didn't really need it. Then we drove to Marseille via Aix-en-Provence.

We didn't stop in Aix, largely because time was getting on, as we had arranged to meet an Old School Friend of mine for tea this afternoon. OSF is married to a Frenchman and has lived in Marseille for many years. She kindly took us to a place where we could get our headlight repaired - the bulb had gone, and it is not an easy job without the right tools. However before that we stopped in the centre of Marseille and had lunch and a walk round, which was lovely. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, sunny and warm and bright blue skies.

About 5, we said au revoir to the OSF and headed east towards the Camargue, and are parked up for the night in a place called Carro, right on the sea front. It is very windy - I think we are in for a noisy night!

South of France, 25 March

The kind people at the lavender distillery offered us a tankful of water, which we accepted with great pleasure. We were not exactly early this morning, as the loss of an hour for European summer time means we are two hours later than we were this time last week. Not too bad, as we have had several days to get used to being an hour ahead, and anyway, we had an early night last night.  But eventually we set off, heading first of all to a supermarket - more and more French supermarkets are open on Sunday mornings now - and then the Swan Whisperer said he wanted to visit Digne-les-Bains.

I do wish he hadn't - the most awful mountain road up over the Col de Cabe, 11.800m, and hairpin bends to match!  Thank heavens for seabands!  We stopped for lunch once we had come down a little, in a random lay-by, and then headed on. I slept a lot of the way. Nothing much to see in D-les-B, and we couldn't find the aire (although we did find diesel and a cash point, both of which we needed), so we came away and followed the tourist route (more hairpin bends, and a rather bumpy road, which the SW hates) down to Gréoux-les-bains, where we had planned to spend the night. I think we have been slightly ripped off, though, because it is (I think) €10 for the night, including electricity and services (we had to move to get to the electricity), but there are other services on the way in and plenty of free parking in the town, so am not very impressed!

After a cup of tea we went for a short walk to see what the was to be seen (not much, aside from the spa), and I cleverly found a short cut back to the aire!  It is very much milder here, although we are still at 316m.  Apart from the hairpin bends, it has been a lovely drive, lots of olive trees and lavender, and different kinds of fruit trees, some of which are beginning to be in blossom, but many look absolutely dead!  It is amazing how varied France is!  One of the reasons we enjoy our trips so much, I think.

South of France, 24 March

We are a day ahead of ourselves today, as we realised that the place I had chosen for us to spend the night was on the horrible road between Valence and Le-Puy-en-Velay that we drove over once and never again!  And really, it was not far between the two places I had chosen for last night and tonight, so we thought we'd push on, and then have a day in hand.

We had a bit of a fight with the Satnav, which wanted us to go over the Plateau de Vercors, but those awful hairpins down to Die?  In a motorhome? I don't think so!  So we came mostly down the N7, which was lovely, a lot of it along the banks of the Rhône.  Stopped for lunch somewhere in a random car park, but warm enough to have the skylight open, and it is definitely Spring here in the south!  The birds are shouting their heads off, and we are parked up in a lavender distillery which has a donkey and dwarf rabbits and Guinea-pigs. At least, I think they are dwarf rabbits, not rabbits and dwarves, which I thought for a mad moment, but the lack of a comma in "lapins nains et cobayes" reassured me!

South of France, 23 March

Our first port of call this morning was the Cora in Marsonnay-La-Côte for groceries, diesel and gas, and then we went to Nuits-St-Georges, where there was what three Swan Whisperer thought was a vineyard but turned out to be a seller of local eau-de-vie, etc. So he bottled that, but we went to a winery for a dégustation and ended up buying a bottle of not-very-nice wine, but still!  Then we went to find the aire which was the main reason for calling into the town, as we thought the services were probably open all year round as, indeed, they proved to be. So we used them, and with the van full and empty in all the relevant places, we drove down to Taizé, where we had lunch in the Community car park. We didn't go in; the place was full of young people, mostly German, and we think we are too old to sit in the floor, queue for hours for a meal and certainly to sleep in a hostel!

It was a lovely drive today, through the vineyards of Burgundy. We've done it several times before, of course, but it was nice today not to be in a hurry and not to have a deadline to meet, or any place we really had to be!

After lunch we drove down to Cluny to visit the Abbey there. Our tickets provided for entry into a museum, too, but we were not very impressed by the exhibits which all seemed to be bits of stone. So we went into the Abbey proper - a film about the old church destroyed in 1789, which I regret to say didn't hold my interest, and then a look round where it had been. To be honest, I preferred the cloisters and the huge garden!

Then I went back to the van and made a cup of tea while the Swan Whisperer climbed a tower, and he came down with some lovely pictures of the view from the top.

After he had drunk his tea, it was time to move on and we had a lovely drive across country to this little village of Marlieux, which is a France Passion goat farm. They let one get far closer to the goats than the place in Alsace where we sometimes go!  Lovely!  And I bought some cheese and some honey, and soon it will be supper time.

South of France, 22 March

Well, the snail farm was very slow!  I suppose it was too muddy to show us round, and there was nobody around in the morning to ask. So we drove the couple of kilometres to the Parc des Félins, which was super, even though we only managed to see about half of it. Because they try to keep the cats in environments as like their natural ones as possible, many of the enclosures are huge and took a lot of walking round, especially if you had seen all three of, say, the cheetahs at the first corner! 

There was some splendid roaring from some of the lions - I didn't get my act together in time to record it, but it was amazing!  By this time we were right at the other side of the park, and I was getting tired, so we caught the little train back to the entrance. We decided we'd both had enough, even though we hadn't seen any of the American cats, so called it a zoo and moved on.

First stop was an E Leclerc in nearby Provins for milk and bread, and we had lunch in their car park. Then we drove south and east (I slept a lot of the way, and we had a break while the Swan Whisperer also had a nap) to Velars sur Ouche where we hoped there would be services - there were, but we don't really need them and you needed a jeton to use them, and it wasn't really meant to be an overnight place, so we drove another ten minutes down to Marsannay-la-Cote, where we used to spend the night on our way home from the Mountain Cup. The services here are out of use for the winter, but we are comfortably parked up and I'm about to get supper. We will get services in Nuits St Georges tomorrow. 

Meanwhile it is raining. I love the sound of the rain on the roof.

South of France, 20 and 21 March

We are not, of course, in the south of France yet, but that is where we are headed! 

Yesterday I should have been on grandparent duty, but woke up with a sick headache and had to ask the Swan Whisperer to go instead, which he kindly did. I felt better in the afternoon and got up and started packing the motor home ready for departure.  It was a late crossing as the SW had a Circuit meeting, so we set off at about 10:45 pm, with me dressed warmly in pyjamas, bed-jacket, dressing-gown, warm socks and slippers, wrapped in a shawl and with a rug over my knees!  We had a good run to the terminal, and about 20 minutes to wait before we were called, during which I got rather cold. We were surprised how many vehicles were crossing at that hour of the morning; at least 7 or 8 coaches, and the high vehicle section of the train was nearly full.  But we were off at last and it was not long before we were arriving at the Aire in Cité Europe, having had a snack and then washed during the crossing. I had filled hot-water bottles before we left, so we had a lovely warm bed to snuggle into.

This morning we didn't really stir until about 09:00 local time, and there was still a bit of sorting out to do, so I did some shopping and we headed on, first to the caravan shop to buy a new bin (but, alas, it was broken so will have to go back), then diesel, and finally a long, long drive on motorways to this place east  of Paris (and very slow along the Francilienne as it was rush hour) which is allegedly a snail farm, but they haven't tried to sell us anything, just let us park in the farmyard as the normal field set aside for us is waterlogged. 

We have discovered that there is a feline conservation centre very near here, so plan to visit it tomorrow before heading over towards Dijon.

Off again!

I suppose we are quite sane, heading off to France again this time of year?  But the thaw has come, and it is much warmer than it has been.  And we are hoping that maybe, in the South of France, we will have the sun on our backs for a day or so.

This post, as always, is to goose Network Blogs into checking daily for new posts - will update from my phone, and add photos when I get home again - Wednesday 5 April, unless things go desperately pear-shaped between now and then.

Brittany and Normandy, 27 February

I woke up in the night and ominously discovered there was no water in the loo. Put the heating on for a quick blast, which sorted that one out (although didn't do very much for my sleep!), but in the morning we found the outlet pipes were frozen, and when they thawed, water from the bathroom basin was leaking all over the rear tyre. So we sadly decided to call it a holiday. We needed diesel, so asked the satnav to take us to a nearby Super-U, which not only had petrol but had a decent mobile signal, so I was able to change the booking to today - incredibly easy, and there seem to be few restrictions on changes for Frequent Traveller accounts. I did have to pay an extra £20 as we were going to be crossing in peak time (although given how few vehicles were on our crossing, I'm not sure they ought to have charged me!), but again, that was easily sorted out. We would probably have spent the day driving up to Calais on non-motorway routes, but because we only had a couple of hours, we went on the motorway and stopped at the Baie de Somme for lunch. Then we headed on and arrived in Calais in time to fill up with diesel - although it was the same price as here, if not slightly dearer - and got a crossing half an hour earlier than scheduled, which was good. And a very easy journey home - we seem to have brought the clear skies with us, even though it is very cold here. But still, it won't be draughty in bed! I'm now going to go through and add photographs to past posts in this series.

Brittany and Normandy, 26 February

Well, I don't know why the Swan Whisperer was unimpressed by Villedieu-les-Poêles; it is a lovely little town!  True, the bell foundry and the other museum were closed - as, indeed, were most of the shops, it being Monday - but we still had a lovely walk round, and visited the church which, judging from the extra seats set out, is doing a roaring trade this Lent!  We were amused by an old-fashioned confessional box with two comfortable-looking armchairs placed tête-à-tête in front of it, presumably so one could discuss one's sins with the priest. 

Even the public loos - which were closed, but whether for good or just for the winter wasn't clear - were built in what was obviously an old water-mill.

Anyway, once we had had a walk, we drove up to Grandcamp-Maisy, where we parked in front of the harbour and had lunch, and then the SW said he wanted to go to some of the Normandy beaches.  I have been brought up to be totally uninterested in them - my father, although proud of his Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, hates talking about his experiences and we have learnt not to ask!  So I am never really interested, and had a nap while he walked round Point du Hoc, and then dozed while he drove to other places and pottered round. 

By the time he had finished doing that, and I was properly awake again, it was 16:00, and still a 2-hour drive to our overnight stopping place. Rather a dull drive, and probably rather expensive, although I always like the Pont de Normandie. And it was dark by the time we arrived here - somewhere in the middle of nowhere that I chose mostly because it was half way between Villedieu-les-Poêles and Calais!

The weather, which has been absolutely glorious almost since we arrived (although bitterly cold), has taken a turn for the worse, and we are hoping the snow they tell us has hit London will not reach us until we are safely home. Meanwhile we are pretty snug in the van, although it can be draughty!

Brittany and Normandy, 25 February

The Swan Whisperer went off for his run this morning, and I got up, washed, dressed and got everything ready for breakfast, and was just about to set off on my walk when he returned. So I went off on my walk - not many walkers, except with dogs, but hordes of joggers and a fair few cyclists - and when I got back, breakfast was almost ready!

After breakfast we decided to drive through Rennes as it was Sunday and we assumed - correctly - that there wouldn't be much traffic. Rather an attractive town, we thought, but driving over cobbled streets is noisy in the van!

Then we came out of town and found somewhere to stop to have coffee - the SW had bought pains au chocolate when he got a baguette for lunch - and then round St-Malo, which we remembered from last time. Then we drive to our halt for today, the town with the glorious name of Villedieu-les-Poêles. The SW had been for a walk but says he wasn't very impressed. I was at a complicated bit of my knitting, so stayed in to do that, but we will have a walk tomorrow morning, and see.

Brittany and Normandy, 24 February

I bottled out of visiting the submarine this morning, as I was afraid it would be claustrophobic, although the Swan Whisperer, who did go, said it wasn't at all, once you were in there. All the same....

So after that we decided to go down to the nearest beach to have our lunch, stopping at a supermarket en route. We were a bit annoyed as we parked up totally in nobody's way and some officious man - not an official, or anything, but probably a local who gets tired of motor homes all over the place - politely suggested we go and park in the aire round the corner, so we did. It has services, so we emptied the loo and the grey water, but it didn't have any fresh water. 

We decided to take the main road across Brittany to Cesson-Sévigné, outside Rennes. We did debate driving through Rennes itself, but I think we had done that last time and hadn't been very impressed. So we ended up here by the lakes, where there is a running/walking course all laid out. I walked round the bottom lake, which takes about 17 minutes at my speed, and feel refreshed for it!  

There are services here, and we think the water is running; it wasn't when we got diesel in the town earlier. The man at the kiosk, who had only just come on duty, said his predecessor knew very well that it wasn't working, and shouldn't have sold us a jeton, and he refunded us!  Only €1.50, but still....  Water here is €2.60, but it looks as though it's working.

Brittany and Normandy, 23 February

This morning was cold and fine again - really lovely, but bitterly cold. We woke up at 6:30, but the SW said the gas had finished in the night and he couldn't change the cylinder until it was daylight, so we went back to sleep again and it wasn't exactly early by the time we'd had breakfast and so on. I went out to Lidl to get one or two things, and then we drove on, first to see the standing stones - field upon field of them, incredibly impressive. 

Then we drove to Lorient to see the submarine pens and so on there. We had hoped to drive across country - and we did, indeed, we did drive round the coast for a bit, and stopped at a Super U for another gas cylinder. I was cross as Lidl had had no fresh milk so I'd had to buy incredibly expensive bio stuff from a little shop at the corner of the car park, and if I'd known we'd be stopping at a Super U, I'd not have bothered!

Anyway, half way there we came to road works and found we were too tall for whatever was blocking the route, so we ended up on the main road, after all. Not that we minded, as we really had had a beautiful drive.

Sadly, when we got to Lorient, I found I had completely run out of energy. I do seem to be very much better these holidays, far more energy, but there it wasn't, this afternoon. So I spent most of it lying on my bed, reading and watching seagulls out of the window, while the SW explored. We decided to stay at Lorient for the night in the hope that I'll feel up to exploring the submarine base in the morning.

So as there was one very near, we ate at a creperie this evening (and very good it was, too!) and are now in bed, even though it's only just gone 9. Our books await!

Brittany and Normandy, 22 February

We had a lazy start to the day, and it was 11:30 before we "composted" our tram tickets to go into the centre of Nantes, which the Swan Whisperer had walked around the previous evening. We saw the Chateau that originally belonged to the Dukes of Brittany, and which now houses the local museum, telling, among other things, the history of the town's involvement with the slave trade.  I should have liked to have seen that, but there wasn't really time. 

So we walked on and went into the Cathedral, which has been rebuilt many times over the centuries, and is still  lovely.  And then slowly back to the tram stop, where we needed to buy fresh tickets, as ours had expired, and then we  were soon back at the campsite. 

The restaurant there turned us away as they were full, so we went to one next door which did take-aways and got a sandwich (me) and some pasta (him), and ate them in the van. 

Then we had to organise ourselves to move on, including using the services and remembering to switch off gas and electricity, etc, and headed on to Carnac. We decided to go slightly all round the houses, as the SW wanted to go over the Pont St-Nazaire, which was well worth the detour, we both felt. There was a lovely bridge over the Loire just outside Nantes, too, but the St Nazaire one has a reduced speed limit so there was plectrum of time to look around. We saw a huge modern cruise ship - I quite thought it was a block of flats at first - which was either still being built or was in for a refit.  Super!

And so on to Carnac. Last time we were here, it was full of road works, and we were so turned around by the various diversions that we didn't realise we were here until we no longer were!  Not so this time. We did have trouble finding the Aire, but now we are here, quite near the town centre and also the fields full of menhirs (Obélix's discards?) That surround the town. The SW, needless to say, has gone out for a walk, and I am about to start supper, which would have been pasta, had the SW not had it for lunch, but will now be mince with potatoes!

Brittany and Normandy, 21 February

Today we finally reached Brittany, driving from Le Mans to Angers and then on to Nantes.

Or first port of call was an enormous Auchan on the outskirts of Le Mans; I don't believe I've ever seen such a huge hypermarket!  It took several minutes to walk the length of the associated mall before you got there, too!  The SW, meanwhile, got diesel and made himself coffee while I was doing that, and then we set off properly. 

We took the motorway to Angers, but asked the Sat-nav to take us to the town centre, just because, which it duly did. Then we drove cross-country to Nantes, with the sun shining and generally lovely. We stopped in a picnic area for lunch - I had bought some rillettes du Mans (well, you have to, don't you!), and some strawberry tartlets as a treat.  And some French lime juice squash, which is incredibly tart by UK standards, but refreshing if you don't make it too strong.

Our first port of call in Nantes was to a mechanical museum where there was a large elephant the SW wanted to see. We might have gone into the museum but there was a massive queue, and to be honest, it's not really the sort of thing I find interesting!  So we walked around until we found the elephant, who was just loading up for his next trip, but he was a bit of a fraud, as he moved on wheels and, although his legs moved, they were not used for locomotion.  He was huge though!

After that, we came away and drove through the city to the camp site, which is very nice, and the SW went for a walk while I knitted and got rather chilled, and then he went out for pizza, which we have just finished, and very good it was, too.

Brittany and Normandy, 20 February

The Swan Whisperer went out for a run this morning, while I got up, and then we had breakfast, but what with one thing and another it was almost 10:00 am before we got away. We had hoped to cross the Seine on a ferry, but the operator said we were too long, so we had to reverse sadly up the ramp. But it was nice, as we had to go to the Pont de Brotonne, and to get back to the motorway meant a lovely drive through rural Normandy. Not at its prettiest this time of year, of course, but there were primroses!

We stopped twice en route to Le Mans - the first a planned stop for coffee and a leg-stretch for the SW, and then again because I noticed that motorhome services were advertised at the Dentelles d'Alençon service area. These turned out to be working, clean and free, so we made good use of them!  I was very glad we had, as when we arrived in Le Mans, we discovered the service area we'd stayed at before was now closed. There is a very nice free car park, though, where we have stopped, but no services.

Lunch was the first order of the day, and then I stupidly went to sleep, which meant is was after 4:00 before we got out. We walked up the hill to the Cathedral, and then down toward the Cité Plantagenet.  We saw the the Queen Berengaria museum, which had been closed last time we were here, was now open, so we went in and oh, the disappointment. Nothing to do wth her, or the crusades, or Richard the Lionheart, but an exhibition of local paintings and pottery from the 18th and 19th centuries, depicting local life then, mostly mediocre. So to be avoided!

Then we called in at a supermarket to get stuff for supper and breakfast, and then a very pleasant walk back between the river and the city walls to our car park.

Brittany and Normandy, 19 February

The weather, which had been so lovely all weekend, broke overnight and we woke up to a wet day.  However, we have macs, so we drove over to Arques, and to the former boat lift at Fontinettes. The visitor centre was closed, as we knew it would be, but we were still able to have a good walk all round, and to see the former line of the canal before the modern lock was installed in the 1970s. 

Sadly, we couldn't see the modern lock, as the footpath came to and end and it said No Admittance, so we had to come away. But it was a most enjoyable walk, despite the rain!

After this, we went to a supermarket so I could stock up on this and that, and a pair of slippers, as the pair I keep in the van have unaccountably disappeared. Then we drove as far as the Aire du Baie de la Somme, where we had lunch, and then on down here, to Jumièges, on the banks of the Seine. The journey was very wet and foggy, and one of our windscreen wipers decided to part company from its moorings - luckily it stuck in the ventilation trough - don't know what else to call it - on the bonnet, and we were just by an emergency pull-off, so we stopped and the Swan Whisperer fixed it.  It behaved itself all the rest of the way!

Now the SW has gone out for a walk, and I am knitting and reading.

Brittany and Normandy, 18 February

So we are parked up in Saint-Omer for the night, having had a rather slow journey to the coast, but then we were able to go straight through to the holding pens, and it wasn't long before boarding commenced.  The Satnav was slightly playing sillybuggers, but that turned out to be because it hadn't really found the satellites - I'd used my phone on the way down - and it brought us here with no problems.

The only thing was, why St-Omer?  I knew there was something we wanted to see, but couldn't remember what. Some detective work ensued, and we realised we wanted to look at the old boat lift at Fontinettes. The museum won't be open, alas, but we think we'll be able to see it.

Then it was time to make a sausage hash for supper, and soon I shall go to bed, at least 4 hours earlier than I ever go at home!