Not JC's day

25th November

Not a good start to the day. I returned to the van from the wash block to find a very unhappy husband who had sprained his ankle during the dog's early morning walk. I know a bit about sprained ankles as I have had 3 of them, all in my 20's. The first two happened after a few too many sips and the third occurred when I was demonstrating to a friend how the second one had happened at the same place! Jc's was already the size of a pineapple, so quickly applied ice - yes Wishstream's fridge does that, then a horse pill sized Ibrufen down the gullet. I found one I'd those spongy bandage tubes in my medical box which fitted well and propped his leg up.

The weather was pea soup fog and I had envisaged JC walking in front of the van with his red hanky like they did in London In the fog around 1900, but now that wouldn't be possible! We set off at 15mph with Jc sitting on the bench seat behind me with his leg up and the pups beside and below him. It was just as I imagined our travelling to be right at the beginning. The only thing missing was The Daily Telegraph.

Down to the Tarn and up out of the valley.






As beautiful as it had been over the last week and then we looked back to see the mist in the valley. Amazing.





We have again opted for another Aire tonight. There is a dirth of camp sites open around here and the aires have proved to be excellent. The Aire last night was amazing with its clean WC 's and free electricity and water, but the village of Broquies was completely dead. No bar, no cafe, no shops except for a patisserie that was closed. We ideally need some bread and bits for tonight but arrived at Lacaune at 1.30 when everything was closed. We decided to go on to the Aire anyway and hopefully find something open along the way.

This Aire one is on the Lac de Labuzas south of the ridge of mountains called Monts de Lacaune. It is the best. Yards from the lake with again free electricity.







There is a notice suggesting a fee to stay but the locals say it doesn't apply in winter. There is no water however as this has been turned off and we have been advised that last night it was -3C. So hope the gas lasts. The little electric fire that I use blew out the main fuse again so best to rely on the gas heating tonight.

Jc insisted his ankle was much better and cycled off to Nage, 3 km away, to find provisions. I insisted he take his phone. He didn't find any provisions in Nage and was on his way back when I phoned him and when trying to answer it, he fell off his bike. He is ok but not his best day.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Moored up next to our next van

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Broquies free Aire

River Tarn

24th November

Up early to get some gas. Only joking, we never get up early, but found a great LPG section in our Aires book and yippee there is a LPG garage just down the road. No Jane, not that road, it is closed. Oh, not again. Reversing and 10 point turns and left and right and it was only 1.4 m away in the first place.

Jc fits our new adapter at the garage and hmm whilst we accepted help, I think really that Jc has got the hang of it. Monsieur gas man put his hand on the bottle, knocked the gauge off (which I had carefully wedged back on) and then proceeded to gabble on about the fact that something was missing - the gauge in fact. Anyway, suffice to say that we filled up and by this time there were 5 cars behind us and one was hooting his horn. We decided to abandon filling up with diesel and roared off to the exit. Not exactly sure what we hit but there was a big scraping sound at the back end, and then we were away onto the D88! We stopped a little way down the road but as usual could find no damage. Phew!

The River Tarn is like the Dordogne, deep and slow often tree lined and usually running through high valleys. Absolutely gorgeous scenery although very foggy and as our left for right headlight stickers have fallen off our headlights we have had to apply our trusty electrical tape instead.














































Our route included going through a very long ( about 0.5 kilometres) low, tunnel, which was quite exciting.

We have opted for another Aire en route in Broquies tonight which has a loo, water and free electrics. Perfect.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Broquies

Falling Apart

23rd November

At some point today I happened to be sitting in the passenger chair which was turned to face the table and glanced down at one of the dogs under it. I noticed a shaft a light coming from behind the facia in front of the seat belt mechanisms. Pulling the facia away I could see a small hole and the road below!

Both Jc and I had been suffering headaches and had smelt diesel exhaust whilst driving and put it down to the fact that as this is basically a truck the exhaust is quite close to the cab if you open a window. So within minutes I had Jc pointing a torch down the hole with me under it looking but to no avail. At one point all that could be seen in the main Aires car park in the centre of Albi were 2 sets of legs. In fact our motor home neighbours (also Burstner owners) were so concerned that they were standing above us when we emerged.

We agreed to try again when it was dark and I finally found the problem. Large flat metal sheets covered with some sort of ply I think ( probably for insulation) are seated and fixed onto the main metal frames. Any gaps are filled with mastic to make the van air proof. And they had missed a bit of mastic and oddly it was just above the exhaust outlet. So with a bit of tape and some extra filliing to make the facia fit better, we are now fume free and I will buy some filler once I have found the right word in french for B and Q,

Whilst looking for this I decided to check the gauge on the gas bottles. One is completely empty and the other completely full. I really don't believe it so I gave both gauges a tap and one just fell off. The thin plastic clips had broken off. Honestly, there is no quality control these days. And it means we need to fill up with gas as we don't trust the gauges.
After last time I am not looking forward to that.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Car park Aire at Albi

Toulouse Lautrec and Ducks

23rd November

There is a permanent Toulouse Lautrec gallery here next to the cathedral which we both thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, whilst I don't do galleries very often this was definitely worth a visit. Because everything closes from 12.00 to 2.00 and we hadn't finished we decided to change our plans and stay another night so we could return in the afternoon.

After that I went off in search of Orange (another time) and Jc took the dogs for a walk along the Tarn. On returning back to the van après a little shopping trip, I saw a towel hanging over my bike on its rack and the top hatch of the van wide open. The heating was obviously on as smoke was pouring out of the exit vent. Something had not gone right.

Gybo had rolled in something which according to my husband was not from an animal, and he had spent the last hour trying to clean her up. A bottle of toilet duck stood empty by the side of the sink which was the only form of disinfectant that had come to hand. In my experience Jc has never cleared up anything like this and he agreed it had been the worst hour of his life. So we now have a rather smelly van and a dog that smells like a (toilet) duck!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Albi

22nd November

It seems we are DOING Medieval at the moment. Yesterday we had lunch in Najac, and this morning we moored up in a delightful Aire on the edge of Cordes. The villages could have been used in Lord of the Rings. They are stone and wood mostly with the fish scale roof tiles. All very attractive. I can't include pics here as i use my ordinary camera when away from the van, and this only talks to my laptop, so need time to transfer etc. All the other pics are taken direct using my iPad. However, I did take some of the views on the drive through other villages which include St Martin - Languepie.






From Cordes we made our way to Albi of cathedral and Toulouse Lautrec fame. I plumbed in Jane Tomtom and directed her to navigate to the Aire in the centre of town. She did a really good job at first and we were soon in the hub of the city. As we got closer to our destination she suggested we turn into a new looking road which has those small designer tiles from wall to wall. Hmm, as we drove down the cast iron bollards lining the road got closer together and we seemed to be travelling down a sort of walkway that was about 6" wider than Wishstream. Jc had to do a recce on foot to find a way out and alas this was half blocked by a van. There was a lot of forward and backing. 15 point turns, tacking, and a bit of swearing, and we managed to get through with an inch on either side. Jane then sorted herself out and we finally arrived in a massive and very full car park. Believing in my Aire guide and Jane we drove around until we found the 'camping car park'. Phew. It was as bad as arriving in a harbour during a storm and having to sort out a mooring,

The Aire has nothing in the way of loos or water or anything but is completely free to motor homes for a 48 hour stay and it is right in the middle of the city, one minute walk from the Cathedral and the shops.

Away to look at the Cathedral which looked like the one they put up in Guildford around 1965. All bright red brick. But this one is 12th century and apparently the biggest ever built. Inside it is magnificent!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Albi Aire

Chilling out

Went to see Gill's old house. A delightful cottage which they completely renovated over the years. The views are spectacular and if you know anyone looking for a place In this neck of the woods, it would be worth a look. See www.maisonhart.com

Had lunch in the fascinating 12th century village of Najac regarded as one of the prettiest villages in France.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:La fouillade

Gill and david

20th november

Change of strategy re dog travelling. I have positioned the hated 3 peaks dog mattress between the two cabin chairs. It is filled with a sort of spongy stuffing which I think puts them off when clambering onto it normally as it is a bit like mounting a water bed. However, now it is wedged between the seats and offers some protection from the bumps and noises of the road. Joy o joy Gybo settled down and we didn't hear a noise from her for over an hour when Kicker decided to push in alongside. She really gave him a good snarl but at least it took her mind off the road.

Warm, comfortable night and slow drive along the River Lot and scenic drive to Villefranche de Rouergue. A medieval town with fantastic architecture where we parked up and found a cafe for lunch. Luckily being a Sunday, the shops were closed or we could have been there a while!

On to the La Fouillade in the Aveyron region to visit my ex boss Gill Robinson from KHBB days. She and her husband David bought a small house out here some years ago and have recently built a larger one closer to the village. We manoeuvered Wishstream onto the lower drive area. Ideal for a camper van with stunning views across the valley.




Gill prepared a delicious typical Aveyron meal:

Pâté de fois gras
Confit du canard with Aligot
Pear Clafoutis

Gill and David have 3 cats and one dog and whilst Kicker was brought up by Bosun for the first 3 years of his life, he forgot his manners when one of the cats made for the cat flap and a serious fracas was only just avoided.

I think we both appreciated the home comforts and also having others to talk to. I haven't seen Gill for years and it was lovely to catch up and reminisce about some great advertising stories including the time when we were on a business trip in Jerusalem around 1982 and had the mad idea to hire a car and see the sights. At Jericho there was a lot of shooting and the soldiers who approached the car were surprised to find 2 English women sightseeing. They told Gill to get into the footwell, to follow close behind their truck, keep the doors closed and be back in Jerusalem before dark. It wasn't until last night when we chatted about it that I fully realised the implications of it all and the fact that we had Palestinian number plates. But it was a great trip.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Aveyron

The Lot Valley

19th November

Beautiful and sunny- Saddle bag19c

We are now pretty desperate for a launderette so this morning I phoned ahead to the campsite we had planned in and they confirmed they had one. The site is located by the River Lot in Decazeville and the trip on the way there was gorgeous passing through Beaulieu sur Dordogne, Bretenoux and St Cere. And worthy of a visit another time.

The camp site like all the rest we have visited is virtually closed despite the fact that they say they are open all year. The launderette is one Bosch washing machine costing 5 euros. I enquired about a dryer and the lady in the office explained that the machine did dry a bit but not completely. So attached some bungees onto any available hatch knob and lever and Wishstream has become a Chinese laundry for tonight! Jc not very happy about having my black bra hanging over his blue cheese pasta though.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Decazeville

The Dordogne River

18th November

Really sunny day - saddle bag temp 13c

The Dordogne river is the most spectacular we have seen and the scenery really picturesque. Stopped off at Argentat to look around. Lovely little town right on the river, with good shops and pretty houses.








Saw some places for sale,about the size of Magellan around 350,000 euros but what would we do out here. Jc says we would keep bees and tend our garden and read books. Hmmmm!

Mostly the road followed the river and there are numerous camp sites along the route but all were closed. I suspect a great location in the summer. We will be back.

Staying at another Passion vineyard tonight. Completely out in the country. We moored up and then took the dogs across the fields meeting the grand pere of the family who explained that the vineyard had been in the family for years and years and now his grand fils was in charge. We knocked on the door of the big house when we got back and in my bestest French asked if we could taste. ( degustation they call it)The very young man led us to the cellar and poured out 2 measures of some orangey liquid. This was the vin blanc and in my opinion degustation it was. I smiled and despite my thoughts swallowed the lot. Jc made some nice comments and asked to try the red. This was even worse in my opinion and by now I am looking around for something else to buy to save any embarrassment. The shelves were stacked with tins of Confit de canard and pâtés and as I plumped for one, Jc said "well, I think I would drink the white as an aperitif with ice."
At least we are trying the French produce an d supporting the cause.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Brivezac

Saddle bag Temperature

17th November

Our Fiat Ducato must be the only modern car not to have a built in thermometer or else it is just not working. So yesterday I set up the remote one that talks to the weather station that we used to have on the Good Ship Wishful and now have mounted on the bulkhead by our table. Because I haven't got anyway to keep the remote part I have put it in the saddle bag of my bike which is mounted on the back of the van, so any readings will need to be adjusted for saddle bag warmth or shade! However up until now, it hasn't been that cold but as this is day 1 of the new toy we were shocked to watch the outside temperature (or saddle bag temperature), drop last night to -2C. Spain here we come!

Kicker

It has been pointed out that there is no mention ok Kicker in my posts. So need to rectify that. He has been amazing and completely untrue to form. In the car he is the neurotic one shaking and panting and yet in the van he puts himself into the bed under the table and goes to sleep when we are moving. He does get a bit upset if we go over a particularly bumpy patch and after a long drive will express his feelings in short sharp barks. Also he has become jc's dog as you will have seen in the photo on previous post. Cuddling up to him whenever possible and waiting by the back window if he goes out until he gets back.

At night they both start off in their beds but Kicker quietly snuggles up with Jc in the night at some point.

Gybo

17th November

A lovely sunny day and great drive through the Auverne and into the Haut Vienne. Leaves are turning and it reminds me of the scenery in the lake district. Gybo sat between us on Kicker's hated newThree Peaks bed and didn't make a sound for the first hour. I then took over driving and she did her usual. The main objective seems to be to get as close to my legs as possible and then fix a stare on my face which she will keep for the duration of the rest of the journey. Not sure what this is supposed to make me do unless she thinks we are going to dump the van, rent a house and get her favourite sofa out of store. I suppose her life has changed a bit from a day of slothing out on the Designers Guild sofa with just one walk a day and the opportunity to bark off any passing pedestrians at HER gate. Now she hardly gets any sleep as the 'creeping' strategy takes up a lot of time and then when we moor up, it is off out for a lovely walk, and then back to a bar for a whine under the table while Jc and I imbibe in the local vin. However today, Jc had an afternoon nap, and finally, she did too.







We chose this camp site for 2 reasons. Firstly the name Le Lac seemed to smack of a Lake quite closeby and secondly because in the 'caravan club' site directory, the listing included lndtte. This means 'washing machine(s) with or without tumble driers, sometimes other equipment available.

So it was a disappointment to find that Le Lac is across the other side of the enormously fast and wide dual carriageway. The 'lndtte' is more irritating. There is a large commercial top loading washing machine sitting on the verandah of the loo block next to a large tumble dryer. I arrive with my weeks washing and flip open the lid to find the bottom almost entirely hidden by leaves. I suppose they have got in there as someone has left the lid open. On enquiring if there is another available, the patron who previously spoke very good English explained that the launderette is closed, but there is one in the village.
It's not easy this camping lark!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Egreton - le Lac camping

No idea where!

16th November

Not a good night. Reminded me of our caravanning holiday down to the south of France when the car died and we sat in a garage by the side of the road whilst my father went home to England to get another car. All of us got ill. Nuff said, but you don't want to be ill in a camper van!

The day was just as bad. Travelling to an address in some out of the way place to find no room to park up. The road surface was so bad I wondered whether all the nuts and bolts on the furniture and fittings would all jangle themselves loose and fall apart before we got there! Gybo hated it and sat with her paw on my knee for the duration.

We are now moored up in another free Aires site just by a village called St Dizier leyrenne. Dead as a dodo but near a lake and good walking for my pups.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tree house

15th November

A great Wishstreaming day driving through gorgeous countryside and forests. The sun is out. Jc at the helm and the pups and I are sitting cuddled up on jc's bed surveying the scenery. Along the route today there were a number of villages that are worthy of a visit another time, including Payrat le chateau and eymoutiers.

We have plumped for another France Passion place but this time it is a farm in Evaux le Bains. The place is a rambling set of linked buildings mostly in delapidation and homes all the animals.







They farm ducks, chickens and make sausage from pigs and grow mushrooms as well as offering meals and b and b in Gites.




I wouln't say it was a clean and tidy place but a real French experience. There is an amazing tree house in the grounds which would have impressed Tarzan and I am enclosing pics here especially for my niece and nephew Will and Isobel who also have one in their garden which we often use as a cocktail bar called 'Treetops'.



We agreed to have a evening meal which was served in the one part of the building that has been done up. The old cattle barn, which still has the hay rack in place. It was a bit like being entertained in someone's home and a real treat.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Evaux le Bains

Faffage

14th November - Sancoins

Wild camping, which is what happened last night. i.e. no energy supply other than our own, makes you realise just how much energy we use. So we checked the gas to find one bottle completely empty and one completely full. Hmmm. Unlikely. Of course we have automatically assumed that LPG is easy to get here. Wrong again. Found a website showing the garages that stock it in france and decided to head to Bourges where we know ther is a camper an service garage and we might get a replacement cover. The staff there speak no English RIEN! But with a bit of persuasion we managed to drag 2 of them into the van and show them the hob and the now cracked shower fitting. Suddenly the younger is sitting iN the passenger seat and pointing down the road to another place. Here a very efficient young lady came out with a clip board and started making notes of the van. Oh dear! After much confusion we walked out with a new glass cover which we would fit ourself and I would put some electrical tape on the cracked shower fitting.

On to the garage for LPG but no they only sell GPL and I am assured this is not the same stuff by the patron there. Also the nozzle doesn't fit our system. Mon dieu, what now. Away to find a Mcdonalds and some wifi. Apparently GPL is the same as LPG and you need an adapter and these can often be found on the autoroutes. So about turn and change our plans to include the dreaded peage. Sure enough the Aire on the autoroute had the gas and the adapter to borrow but the attendant said it was 'interdit' to use this gas in a domestic system. After an awful lot of insistence he took advice elsewhere and we were filled up. What a palaver.

Now moored up in our first free Aire. Beautiful, quiet, free water and loo.


























- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue Marguerite Audoux,Sancoins,France

Sancerre

13th november

Parked up in the vineyard of Bernard Fleuriet in Manitou Ratel 5 km from Sancerre, having just sampled some of his wines. Last night Jc announced we were eating out and treated us ( well the whole trip is a treat really) to a proper French meal in a smart restaurant. The dogs came too and lay beside our table in this formal place with people looking at us rather oddly. However the food was delicious and the house wine, a Sauvignon Menetou Salon was too so we decided to sniff out the grower. And here we are. Being a member of 'France Passion' these growers allow you to moor up on their land for free provided you are totally self sufficient. Jc threw most of his tastings away out but I didn't so very relaxed now. We also bought some Sancerre Rouge!

Otherwise a mixed day with the patron of the camp site going berserk at Jc about emptying the loo in the wrong place. Apparently there is a booth in the gents for this but as I did the rece and don't use the gents i didn't see it, so we decided to use one of the normal loos. A shame as we had 2 blissful days there.

Sitting in the van après midi today, we heard a noise which seemed to be coming closer. It was hundreds of geese flying in a t - shape as if giving an aerial display. Quite amazing. Saw a second smaller group later on. I thought to myself that my Dad would have known where they were going. Presumably we are on a migration route,

Our first night au natural. No mains power, no loos! Hope the gas lasts out.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Manitou Ratel

Camping

11th November

All our camping savvy friends had told us to buy a low wattage heater for use when plugged into the mains. The sites charge a one off price for electrics and why burn gas when you can use their power for nothing extra? Why low wattage you ask? Because the sites electrical systems are so dodgy that plugging in an appliance often blows a few fuses so low is best!

So it was after our lovely day when I am on the phone to my mother that Jc plugs the fire in. The lights flicker a bit but all stays the same, although the fire is now not working. Jc doesn't like my cheap ebay fire so takes the opportunity to slag it off and mumbles about binning it until i point out that the mains system is now not working which is why the fire doesn't.

Now camping is not that dissimilar to sailing except that you don't die if the vessel gets holed and your bed is unlikely to be horizontal in either of it's two planes. However Jc mentioned only 2 days ago that when you go camping things always go wrong! (I didn't know that!). So, like sailing there should always be a Plan B and of course we had one. We don't need mains electrics as we have a solar panel topping up our batteries and lots of storage in them anyway. And the fridge runs off gas. So no worries there, and whilst we are on our lovely adventure I know it might sound a bit odd but I do like to keep to my routine and tonight Yusef is going to show Zainab his true colours in eastenders and I am interested to see what colours they are. Jc by this time has disappeared head down under the passenger sear and into the fuse box, so I quietly fire up the big sat dome and whilst giving encouraging comments on the electrical system am able to watch the drama unfold.

Then all goes dark. Which means we need plan C but we don't have one. There is some heated discussion and I haul Jc out by his legs and suggest we find the Burstner manual. The electrical section in it ranges from page 147 to 214. About half an inch thick and all in gobbledygook. But luckily there was a troubleshooting section which referred to another chapter and there we found lovely individual floor plans or maybe we should call them technical drawings of each of the Burstner quadro models. Finding ours, the very first thing you notice is an arrow pointing to the wardrobe with the text 240 VOLT FUSE. And so it was and life was resumed. However, the true colours of Yusef had already been shown!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Sully sur Loire

The Loire valley

JC here.

A Foggy day.

After a night of raindrops on our head, we discovered that our bikes were still in place and the pikeys had kept their hands to themselves!

Set off at about 11.00 with commander Amanda at the helm who led us straight into a foggy day on the plains between Chartres and the Loire but as we dropped down into the Loire valley it all cleared and a weak sun appeared. We found the site without any problem and hove to on a pitch looking right over the river, ,it ain't arf big. But no barges as there were on the Seine?









Discovered later that it is a National holiday , 11th November. Why don't we do that?

Walked into Sully sur loire this afternoon, small town, big chateau, very old, very French, sorted out a couple of restaurants on whom we can bestow our presence, munificence and rebellious dogs for dinner tomorrow night?!

The moon is full, the dogs are howling and supper is ready so that is enough for tonight. Maybe I will get the chance to wax lyrical again next week.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Sully sur Loire

Getting into it

10th November

Sunny 16C

Jane Tomtom took us an interesting route today as we asked her to avoid autoroutes. At one point we drove for about 5 miles down a tarmac road through the most amazing sloping crop plain that got Jc all sentimental and said it reminded him of the battle of Agincourt. His memory is better than I thought! The sun was out and it was a glorious Wishstreaming day. If it wasn' t for Gybo whining it would have perfect.

Checked in at the Des Bords de l'Eure camp site in Chartes. The maitre tent chapee advised we took a spot on the right of the camp as the gypsies had taken over the left. Apparently they are alright but they won't be invited back next year. Hmmm. Lucky we've got my bike raleigh lock, narco gas alarm and big boy Kicker dick to protect us but i won't be sleeping easy tonight.

A text came in from Lyn coincidentally just as we arrived suggesting the riverside walk into the town. I don't expect she will mind me telling you that when she last did the walk she stopped for a wee and fell in! actually she might mind! Anyway we decided to risk it and had a lovely afternoon walking around the town and we even poked our noses into the cathedral which is vey special.

The decision was taken to avoid shopping in the town and to use the trusty Claude Butler as the method of food shopping transport. This plus jc's steed are precariously stored on Wishstream's back end and both were given some admiring glances by our neighbours on the camp site. But the idea is sound. Ideal to just pedal off to the Supermarche and fill up my panniers. Then back to a bench in a wood where there is wifi whilst Jc puts the Coquille St Jacques in the oven!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Chartres

Sane Seine

9 nov

Mousseaux sur seine - Camping de Loisirs de groux

Last nights camp site was not good. Negative polarity on the mains and luckily Lynn and Geoff had warned us about this and given us their adapter. Thinks. What are they going to use. Perhaps they can recognise these dodgy places. Also the place was a tip and you realise how much like sailing this trip is. You set your sights on your destination and by the time you arrive you are too tired or dog stressed to go and find somewhere else. Anyway we found a great supermarket and managed to fire up the sat dome for The Jury.

Gybo was a bit better on the short journey today and I didn't sedate her and here we are on the Seine. Beautiful river and campsite ok but everywhere so closed up we feel we need to push south tomorrow, so sedatives all round.

Pan pan

8th November

Weather: drizzle and 13 c

I am calling today a Pan Pan as it wasn't serious enough for a Mayday and as there was no medical assistance required so I can't say it is a Pan Pan Medico either although Jc could have benefited from some Valium and/ or a packet of fags! (keep up you landlubbers!) So all going very well this morning until Jc left the gas on the hob slightly on and then closed the plate glass cover over the top and put the hot kettle on it. OMG. The explosion was amazing and it took a few seconds for either of us to believe it. We are both gutted and we are only on day 2.

The rest of the day went a similar way. All previous plans relating to taking the slow route through the B roads and villages went to pot. By the time we finished clearing up it was midday so GET ON THAT AUTOROUTE. The journey reminded me of our trip to the south of France in the 70's in the ford zodiac. I remember the constant changing of gears, crawling up the hills and whiz zing down the other side. Jc says I am hopeless with the gears and I say 'why didn't we buy an automatic'.

Arrived at at Les Terraces campsite at Igooville around 2.15. The book said quiet with charming views over the seine. Mentioned something about access which my navigator ignored. It took 30 minutes to get the beast into her allocated slot nearly taking the hedge down and I nearly had to throw a bucket of cold water over her poor front tyre. Jc then trod in the dogs water bowl to complete his Pan Pan day.

Day1

Drizzle and 13 C

Despite sedation and hourly drops of dog rescue remedy Gybo has not taken to our new travelling lifestyle. I'm hoping she will sort herself out before JC declares Wishstream a dog free zone!

I was last in Le Touquet about 20 years ago with my great friend Sonia and her husband and daughter Abigail. Then the seafront was lined with gorgeous 3 story houses that had an element of dutchness about them. Today these are dwarfed and sometimes hidden behind enormous highrise apartment blocks, presumably weekend places and today they are all closed up.

However the beach is fantastic and home to sand yachting and speed sailing because of its large expanse of firm white sand. We had our walk in the drizzle and Gybo had the time of her life. The moules frites were ok at the 'Paris Plage restaurant' who not only allowed dogs but brought out their bowl of water before Jc's Cote de Rhone!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

How did it all happen

When talking about the trip with friends this week, I couldn't remember how the whole idea came about. JC reminded me that it was while sitting in the cockpit of the Good Ship Wishful at the end of June. We already had an offer on the house and had just received an offer on the boat.  My words were something like. "I think it is time to turn the page and open a new chapter. So lets just sell everything, buy a camper van and B...... off." JC then said, " And I jumped at it". which translated into proper JC speak sounded somthing like. "That's a good idea." So only just over 4 months ago, and here we are with the Eurotunnel crossing booked for 12.20 tomorrow. Gybo has got her anti stress pills, and I have decided to take Kicker's new 3 peaks black bed, which he absolutely hates. But you never know what might happen. We are going to be in Le Touquet's Stoneham campsite tomorrow night hopefully enjoying a Moules Frites, then back to Wishsteam to watch Julie Walters new drama on our very clever freesat TV! and so.......The adventure begins.