Final Week - Blogabond

Tuesday 18th August

Over breakfast, reading the local paper, several articles on the back page grabbed us. This page is always a category of disasters and deaths and the reporting of this is usually done with a certain gusto, which is somewhat inappropriate to English eyes. One that didn't really fit into this category, must have been included because it was a slow news day. In Japan, a motorcyclist was in court for throwing his excreta at people he passed; his explanation to the judge was that he had too much stress at work.

Roger announcing the delivery of another pair of glaces

Went for a last blog and ice cream at Roger's – Les 4 Rivieres. We thoroughly enjoyed these as the heat of the day built up. Roger welcomed our custom as usual and on discovering we were off tomorrow, advised us to watch our speeds. We had noticed in the local press that the police were having a crackdown on the A86 and A20 but his advice was appreciated.

a modest little ice cream

We did our shopping and returned to the site at about 3, hoping that the heat would begin to reduce so that we could take down the awning a little more comfortably. It stubbornly remained at 32°C for the rest of the day, so we were absolutely streaming. However, we were all done by 6:30 when we went for a shower to cool off in preparation for our trip to The cafe at Rivieres on the road to Roche Canillac. On arrival, we noted it had a new name, so it is under new management. It no longer specialised in fish and when we asked if there was a table for 2 in the empty restaurant, the chef had to be summoned to see if he would cook for us. Fortunately he must have liked the way we looked as he said 'yes, of course'. It was explained that everything was cooked to order so it may take some time. We said we were in no hurry. The set menu offered a choice of starter – I had a huge tomato, sliced and in each slice was a piece of mozzarella; there were little pieces of tasty cheese around the edge of the plate and a drizzle of olive oil with basil. It was great. Sue had melon with parma ham and port that she made short work of, so I imagine it was good too. I then followed with a steak accompanied with stuffed fennel and potato, while Sue had Duck in an apple sauce and stuffed fennel. This course was very good too. The regulation cheese followed then the sweet of ice cream for Sue and crème brulee for me. It was excellent rustic and unpretentious cooking.

Back on site we were exhausted and tried to make an early night of it. There was no way – it was still very muggy and hot. Slept fitfully until it began to cool a bit in the wee small hours.

Wednesday 19th August

Up reasonably early to finish off disconnecting the van from services and readying it for the road. It was 22°C by 10 am so clearly going to be very hot. After a quick shower, we were ready to hit the road Monsieur opposite with the wife beater T shirt kindly offered to help manoevre the van. In the course of our brief conversation it transpired that he borrows his van from his parents who store it nearby. I mentioned that with 2 youngsters he must have quite a carful getting home afterwards. His brother is an engineer with Renault and it transpired that he will be able to replace his picasso with an Espace. That should solve his problems!!

On the road all went well until the car had to work up some of the hills on the A20, when it became apparent that the problem with heating is still there despite having had no problems since the run to Pierrefort. It was noticable particularly when going slowly in traffic or when toiling up the many hills around Limoges, when the coolant went from a steady 90°C and increased to up to 120°C at some points. I watched it like a hawk and took what action I could to contain it without letting it get out of hand. With the outside temperature climbing steadily to 38°C, it was quite worrying. By dint of nursing the car carefully to minimise the work the engine has to do, we were able to get the 145 miles to Chateauroux, where we were to spend a couple of days anyway. I rang RC motors to get a steer on which fuse may be at fault – checked the fuses, the fuse is not at fault. I had to ring NU rescue and explain the situation. They organised for a breakdown truck to pick the car up and take it to a local garage for repair. They would ring me the next day, after the garage has assessed the problem. One of the unlooked for benefits of the careful driving was the fuel consumption went from 19mpg on the way down to 21mpg on the way back, despite the conditions. And it has to be said that I was still travelling much of the way at 60mph!

Our pitch was a nice one with shade and there had been a little bit of wind to make the heat more bearable but it was 36°C on arrival and only began to cool marginally by 9:30p.m.!

Thursday 20th August

Another hot and stuffy night, although not as bad as last night and a lot better by morning. We managed quite a good night's sleep. After breakfast decided that we should plan on not having the car 'till friday, and thought we probably woudn't get any news on the car until between 10 and 11 so asked at reception where the nearest supermarket was. We were told no more than we absolutely needed; Carrefour was in the centre of the town. We thought we may have misheard as Carrefour was not marked in the centre on the map supplied by the campsite. Super U was and it was in the town centre next to a hotel. It was a 20 minute walk and appeared to have disappeared when we arrived there. Although there was a welcome breeze, the temperature had by now reached 28°C and it was quite warm though by this stage we must have got a bit acclimatised as we found it wasn't as impossible as it would have been a few days ago. We asked a lady who inevitably wasn't local, where the nearest supermarket was; she was looking for groceries and would like to know herself, she said. Our next contact was more successful and she said that the nearest was Carrefour, which was down by the station about 10 minutes walk away, access was by a passerelle. There was a tourist info centre next to the station and since we couldn't see any evidence of the Carrefour, popped in there. Yes the guy said, the other side of the station, if we were on foot there was a footbridge from the station car park. Sure enough, we found it where advertised; a huge Carrefour. By now it was about 11:30 and just as we were choosing our trolley, the 'phone rang. The car had been checked over, the fan was working and the thinking was that the main reason for the problem was the ambient temperature being so high. As it hadn't got into the critical stage, it was clearly within the working abilities of the car. We were told that the garage asked us to check the car but there would be no charges, according to the man from the RAC. (However, I was not surprised to find that the 48 minutes that the checking took, were indeed charged.) We decided that since the garage would probably close between 12 and 2, and it would take us an exhausting 30 minutes to walk, we would hire a taxi. An obliging customer service lady at Carrefour offered to order one for us, which we gladly accepted. We picked up the car took it to Leclerc (we didn't trust ourselves to find Carrefour again with the confusing one way system), filled up with groceries and fuel and went back for lunch at the site.

George Sands House

In the afternoon, we paid a visit to George Sand's house about 40 minutes south of Chateauroux. While it was quite interesting and we had the obligatory guided tour (understanding about one word in 10 of the enthusiastic verbal gushing of the guide) the heat and the time taken over each room meant that it was a bit of a trial. Apparently, Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant was an ardent feminist and as a female writer had to adopt the male nom-de-plume George Sands in order to get published – and this in egalitarian post-revolutionary France. (No mention of our own George Eliot). She was apparently the most productive and successful female writer in the world (no mention of our own Jane Eyre or Beatrix Potter, although it has to be said GS's output was staggering).

George Sands house from the garden

I am sure that I understood that she frequently had house guests and a lot of the presentation was a somewhat breathless account of how marvellous her dinner table must have been; with references to Chopin, who apparently visited several times, Flaubert and several other creative geniuses I can't now remember. (Subsequent research has revealed that Sand had several affairs, including one with Chopin who must have been a very regular visitor and a lesbian affair with an actress; she corresponded regularly with Flaubert, and she took to dressing as a man – but I am sure that there was no hint of her eccentricity in the presentation, just an emphasis on how the great and the good beat a path to her door. She must have been quite a woman leading a bohemian existence which could only have been possible because of her family background; this would have made her a natural attraction to creative people). The gardens which were supposed to be special were a particular let-down. However, it was an interesting trip.

One of the side effects of the trip was it gave me an opportunity to see how stable the engine coolant temperature was. Rock steady at 90°C! Although the ambient temperature was probably less testing at only about 31°C – and of course we didn't have a ton of wood and metal attached to the towball!

On our return I checked to see if the main fan was working and was relieved to see that it was turning. After allowing it to cool, I checked fluids for the next stage as usual and thought I would look in the handbook to see what it said. Essentially, it said that if there is a high ambient temperature and the engine is working hard, it is normal for the temperature to increase toward maximum as long as the coolant warning light doesn't come on – so perhaps the garage are right. (However, it was steady at 90°C when passing Paris at 40°C some 5 years ago, so I'm not convinced). Anyway, we have decided to carry on tomorrow and see if we can get to Guines without incident. As today has been much cooler and tomorrow may be cooler still, we shall see. It is a much longer trip and if there is any hint of trouble, we shall look out for a VW dealer in Rouen. We have also got an up to date Michelin camping guide at Leclerc, so if things start to go pear shaped, we shall be in a position to do something about it.

Supper tonight was lovely pork steaks, barbequed to perfection by yours truly with an excellent salad by herself, followed by cheese and then by yoghurt and grapes. Talk about living the high life!

Friday 21st August

Autoroute near Calais - see it snaking up the other side on the left?

Off reasonably early, though a number of units had moved out before us. TomTom wanted to take us round Paris, so I progammed in a route via Rouen, thinking it would take us the same way as we came. However, TomTom had other ideas and instead of a fair amount of N roads, we followed the autoroute almost to Versailles, then out to Rouen. It was probably a slightly quicker route but not as attractive. Most of the motorway service areas, apart from charging more for fuel, also only stock the E10 unleaded 95, which contains 10% ethanol. Apparently all cars produced since January 2000 can run on this and it didn't do the Bora any evident harm, I only put in a little and topped up with full fat 95 at the first opportunity. This was in Rouen and was serendipitous for a couple of reasons. One was the engine was beginning to get heated in the stop start traffic along the approach to the river crossing; the stop gave it an opportunity to cool a little. The other was a poor lady whose card didn't work in the reader, so she couldn't pay for her fuel; the guy behind the desk was not very helpful, producing the usual, eloquent gallic shrug by way of assistance. She was English and had been trying for some time to top up on her way to Calais; she had even spoken to her credit card company to see why it wasn't working but they had assured her it was fine. Anyway she was absolutely distraught, so we paid for her fuel and she wrote us a cheque for the rough amount; I suspect that the cheque will more than pay for it – we'll send her the balance once we see what that is.

As we drove north, the temperature dropped and when we arrived on site it was a chilly 18°C; some 10°C less than we have been used to of late!

After pitching up, we made ourselves supper then popped down to the bar to see about the internet access that they are supposed to have here. WeeFee is available in the bar area for those with their own laptop – FOR €5 PER HOUR!!! This translates to roughly £4.60 at current rates so final communications will have to wait until after our return.

Saturday 22nd August

We got speaking to the couple next door with a young son in a campervan who have spent 3 weeks doing Europe. They have been through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France again, Spain and France. While we were assured that they had had time to absorb some of the local culture, I couldn't help feeling that it was a little frenetic.

Town Hall

Tomtom guided us to a Calais Supermarket on east side used by locals and I should think completely unknown to most tourists which was excellent for last minute shopping. From here we made our way to Calais centre and had a look at the magnificent townhall and gardens with photo exhibition. There was much honking shortly after we arrived and we were not surprised to see a wedding party turn up in very good spirits.

Peacock roundabout by Town Hall - says a lot about the French

The photo exhibition is one touring the world and contains some fascinating images. Some must have been manipulated in some way as they had sharp edges where you wouldn't expect to find them or a degree of contrast that was unlikely. But they were all extraordinary images, many of them looked like abstract art until you got close enough to see them clearly. Very clever indeed.

View of the beach from the car park

On to Calais plage and a walk on the sand so that we knew we had been to the seaside. It was a beautiful day and the weather was just right to be able to see through the crystal clear atmosphere over the channel to the chalk cliffs of Dover. We were feeling a bit peckish so found a restaurant offering galettes and sat down to order only to be told that there were no galettes or guaffres at this restaurant or indeed at the beach hut we tried subsequently so we settled for an unusual frites and crepe sucre with Kronenbourg!

Ideal childrens playground item 100 metres from the ferry!!!!

We were stunned that the car park next to the beach was both huge and free – compare this with most places back home which wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to relieve visitors of some of the weight in their pocket.

View from cap Blanc Nez - Dover in the distance

We drove along the coast to Caps Blanc Nez & Gris Nez and went for a walk up to the headland at Blanc Nez, finding a dead rat on the way. The views across the channel were once more staggering. At Gris Nez there was a huge, free car park with a boardwalk access to the promontory, with again, marvellous views.

View from Cap Gris Nez - Dover in distance

On the way back to the site, the map showed that there was a viewpoint and we duly stopped to take in the scene. We were a little surprised to find that it was of a quarry! We should have seen the hint given in the marker board being sponsored by an aggregate company. Gazing down on a gravel and stone quarry is not really what excites us so we left.

Back at the site we got ready for our meal at the Auberge Les 3 Pays in Guines. We had had an excellent meal here 3 years ago but it had obviously changed hands. We arrived shortly after 7 and were surprised to be their first customers. I have always thought that the best indicator of the quality of a French restaurant is being busy with locals and I should have taken the hint. Having arrived without expecting to need plan B and feeling hungry, we studied the menu once we could drag the waitress away from her computer screen. We settled on the prix fixe menu and placed our orders. After a little while, the waitress came back to apologise that one of the dishes we had ordered was not available! We reordered and chose our wine only to be told that the bottle that we wanted was not available either! We are used to not being rushed in French restaurants and had expected that with no other customers to serve, we would get attentive service but we had bargained without the change of emphasis. It became clear that it was now more of a bistro/ bar for locals with pool tables in the back. People arrived and went straight through the restaurant to the bar. Until, that is a large family group arrived and went through into the back to a great welcome from the resident family. It was clear that they were close friends and the chef came out of the kitchen to greet them. This wouldn't have been very significant if we had not at this stage been waiting for our main course for some time but it was clear where her priorities lay. After our main course, we waited for our dessert; by now the family group had taken up station in an adjoining partition, laid up for them, where the chef was regaling the family. After a while she was reminded by the waitress that we were waiting for our dessert and was somewhat peremptorily dismissed. Anyway, we patiently got through our meal by the end of which we were almost still as hungry as at the beginning due to the length of the waits. To add insult to injury, as a gastronomic experience it only fulfilled the second part of the phrase; if I am generous I would say that the meal was very very average. Being British, we settled up at the first opportunity and left without leaving a tip but many would have just left without paying – I'm not sure that we would have been noticed! We shall not be revisiting! Ever!

Sunday 23rd August

View from the ferry in Calais Harbour - you can see Dover

Up early and away from the site in good time for the ferry. An extraordinary good crossing, apart from one or two noisy and (in a literal sense), unwashed fellow countrymen holding forth. It is depressing to find you are a snob after all!

A good run home with a stop at Oxford services for lunch. No problems with cooling, although we did have a short time on the M25 when the traffic was moving slowly and the coolant started to go a little above 90. I shall ask RC Motors to look at the radiator in due course as I am sure this is where the problem lies in sludging up.

As I look at my diary, to reflect on the holiday, I notice my bare feet which are striped with suntan between the straps of my sandals – zebra feet as Sue calls them (what's she trying to say; zebras have hooves!) Anyway, I think a definition of a good holiday would have to include zebra feet and we have certainly had an excellent holiday.

written by

rickandsuejohnson on September 7, 2009 from Argentat, France

from the travel blog: Argentat de nouveau

Send a Compliment

you are so lucky to visit these nice places...
thank you for posting this, I'm going to go there myself in the nearest future

written by

wow-traveler on October 7, 2009

you are so lucky to visit these nice places...
thank you for posting this, I'm going to go there myself in the nearest future

written by

wow-traveler on October 7, 2009

comment on this...