Home Free and Ready for the Next One!

I just thought that I would post my final report to let you know that we arrived home safely on Tuesday morning at 0005 hours having been first off the ferry at 1835, the first time this has happened in 41 years! Mind you, I must have been so excited at this occurance that on leaving the port, I got in the wrong lane and instead of journeying up the M20, we found ourselves on the M2! It was funny because as we disembarked, Linda said to me, "do you need me to navigate?"  and of course I very confidently said no. You couldn't make it up really.
Anyway, all the worries about the migrants around Calais proved completely unwarranted as we didn't see a single one although the entry to the port took much longer than usual and perhaps was a reflection of the extra precautions that are being taken.  If any of you saw the report on Breakfast TV this week about the problem, it was nothing like our own experience.
So here we are back to normality and reflecting on a great holiday which could have been exactly the opposite if we had taken the road to Slovenia and Croatia instead of Italy and then France.  The weather for the last three weeks was fantastic and we really enjoyed the final part of the trip around Troyes and the Champagne area.
We covered a grand total of 3,172 miles, most of them towing and achieved average fuel consumption of 24.22mpg.  We put 595 litres of diesel in the tank at a cost of £717.08 and the most frightening fuel consumption experienced was towing from Troyes to Calais when I managed the grand average of just 18mpg!!  Mind you it was into a very strong headwind but I also need to realise that my right foot is far too heavy sometimes when I tow the caravan.
Having spent four weeks together in the very close confines of a caravan I am happy to reflect that we remained civil at all times and actually still love one another despite Linda winning the Scrabble Championship for the first time!  Gutted but I'm putting a brave face on it.
I end my blog with something started by my brother Rod who after a holiday would ask a series of questions including the following - "What did you learn about someone that you didn't know before the holiday?"
Well I learned that Linda does do hills on a bike and I remain full of respect for what she achieved that day in the Drome.  Mind you, I also learnt as well that she can swear like a trooper but I can forgive her that because I did lie about it levelling out around the corner.
I leave you with a final photo of Linda powering ahead of me as we raced around Lac D'Orient and hope that you have enjoyed the blog of our adventure?

We're Coming Home, We're Coming Home. But Who's Coming With Us??

Well here we are with yet another blog but no real story to tell you today other than we are now living on our nerves but more of that later!

We woke this morning to the patter of heavy rain on the roof and after a brief discussion (with myself that is) we, sorry, I, decided that it was time to continue the journey North and nearer to home.  Initially it was a bit grim but we ran out of the torrential rain and into the clear skies but rather cooler sunshine of the Calais region.  The journey today was a mere 255 miles but most of it was against a pretty strong wind and I was able to watch the fuel tank empty rather more quickly than usual!  That said the Freelander yet again proved its value as a tow car and so here we are having negotiated nearly 3000 miles close to the Port of Calais.

But being close to the Port brings its worries and every time we leave the van for a short while, we conduct a thorough search on returning in the expectation that we will find a couple of Somalians hiding in our bed boxes and one fastened to the spare wheel carrier with a couple of metal coat hangers!  Apparently, these boys are very ingenious and I understand that I have to hit the P&O check in desk at more than 30mph to avoid them jumping onto the top of the Freelander or caravan!!  To overcome this one, we are covering the roofs of both vehicles with a very generous helping of margarine and lard before we head for the port and treating this as the final part of our adventure.  However, don't be surprised next time you visit us to find a couple of house guests called Abu and Jamil!

I must also quickly return to a recent topic, The Crazy World of Linda Coy because yesterday we had another couple of additions.  The first when we visited the local market and Linda at the last minute going off to buy some new potatoes while I returned to the car.  When she reappeared without potatoes, my words were, "I can't believe that market didn't have bloody potatoes?"  A shriek and a start from the blocks like Usain Bolt and she turned tail where she had come from.  Yep, she'd bought and paid for the spuds but just forgot to pick them up!  

The second incident also involved potatoes only this time of the chip variety when we decided last night to accompany our bbq chicken and salad with some frites from the site shop.  We only needed a few to compliment the excellent fayre before us but I couldn't believe it when I turned around and saw Linda returning with enough chips to fill a wheelbarrow!  After we took what we needed, we were able to distribute the remainder to the other 125 occupants of the site and still have some left to re-warm for our tea today! Priceless.  

Picture shows our final Elevenses.  Things have reached a sorry state when we are down to a packet of Madeleines!  Mind you, they are totally delicious.

It Started With a Monk

As I have already reported, we are now sitting amongst the rolling hills and vineyards of the beautiful Champagne region of France.  But the production of this drink of Kings didn't start here.  No, champagne was originally created by monks in the Languedoc region in Southern France and of course the most famous of these was Dom Perignon.

They brought it to this area because the chalky soil and climate provided ideal growing conditions and it remains this way today although now, only three types of grape are used in its production, Pinot Noir, Pinot Menier and Chardonnay.  Other grape types are used around the world but the industry here is very strictly regulated, even down to the amount of grapes the producers  can harvest per acre and the controlling body also sets the date when the harvesting can commence.  In the case of 2014 it was the 8th September and so here we are watching a massive amount of activity as the grapes are hand picked by thousands of workiers spread across the undulating terrain.

It is an amazing site and it would appear that very many of the workers are either from the travelling community or Eastern Europe.  We say the travelling community because as you drive around the region, there are a huge number of temporary caravan sites set up in farmers fields and many of these are accommodating some of those amazing caravans you sometimes see in the UK.  We have also seen buses transporting workers around the many vineyards.

Being here at this time has worked a little to our detriment because we tried to take a tour of one of the champagne houses but were told that nobody did them at this time because of La Vendanges.  They said that it would be too dangerous because of the amount of activity. La Vendanges incidentally is the term given in the locality to the harvesting which is now underway.

It really is a beautiful place and is viewed as one of the quieter tourist areas as most people pass straight through it on their way further South.  We can vouch for the peacefulness and are thoroughly enjoying our time here.  A couple of photos attached today showing the rolling hills and vineyards.

Augustobona Tricassium - Better Known as Troyes

We last visited the city of Troyes in 2011 and we remember it well, not for everything that is interesting and beautiful about it but for the lashing rain that befell our visit!  Well yesterday was different and we saw it in a different light, that provided by blue skies and glorious sunshine.

It's a very historic city and sits on the River Seine just over 90 miles from Paris in the Champagne region of a France.  It has been in existence since Roman times hence the name above and became very much an international centre for commerce.  It became the hosiery capital of France and a little known fact is that the measurement for gold, the troy weight, evolved from the city's name.

Its centre on a map is supposedly laid out in the form of a champagne cork but quite frankly, Linda and I both agreed that it looked more like a man's appendage but enough said about that!

The centre of the city is filled with amazing and beautiful half timbered houses and gothic churches.  Many of the houses are in a poor state of repair and there is a huge restoration project underway on them in order to retain the very historic look and feel of the centre.  

There are ten churches and a Cathedral in Troyes and the most wonderful thing they display is their stained glass.  Troyes has been called the "Sacred City of Stained Glass" and has the greatest surface area of stained glass windows in France, some dating back to the 12th Century.  One of my photos attached shows the effect of the sun on one of the windows in the Cathedral.  It doesn't really do the beautiful colours and the effect true justice but I thought it was worth a try.

The final piece of information that I will disseminate about the city is that it is twinned with Chesterfield and perhaps you will understand why when you see the spire of one of the churches.

We had a lovely day in Troyes yesterday and I would recommend it as a place for anyone to visit.

Drought Update

If you have been taking any notice of the contents of this blog, a couple of days ago I included two photographs, one showing Lac D'Orient three years ago and one today and questioned whether this was due to drought?  Well today we got the answer and no it isn't drought.

Apparently the three lakes that we are close to are all artificial and are designed to avoid the Seine flooding Paris and its environs by drawing off water during the rainy season from November to June.  It can draw off additional water if rains are particularly heavy during the Winter months.  Then from July to October when the Seine is low, they release the waters back into the river and hence the lack of water  in the lakes when we arrived.  Last time we were here was in June when the lakes were at their highest and of course now in September they are at their lowest. Everything has become clear and proves that these Frenchies are devilishly cunning. Photo attached shows the lake at its low point.

The Crazy World of Linda Coy

Fire! I beg you to burn.

Now many of you out there will remember the Crazy World of Arthur Brown but tonight I am going to write about not his crazy world but that of my dearly beloved.

Today, although it happens most days, we have had a couple of examples of the upside down, back to front, parallel universe world that Linda actually inhabits.

Incident one relates to her navigational skills which over the years and prior to the advent of Tom Tom have only ever of been of the highest order, possibly even on a par with John Blashford Snell and Ranolph Fiennes.  The only drawback is that she doesn't know left from right and so when you come to a junction and she sticks her right hand up in front of you and says go left, then it is a touch confusing!  Over the years I have become conditioned to do exactly the opposite to the instruction I receive but just some times, she throws in a curved ball, gets it right and then gives me a rollicking when I do the opposite to what I have been told!  It's a condition that appears to be worsening as we grow older but what it does do us make every journey an adventure.

The second incident today revolves around our day in the city of Troyes, pronounced Trois for you non-fluent French speakers like moi and specifically in relation to lunch that we decided to enjoy in this historic place ( I will write about the city tomorrow).

We took a pavement table under clear blue skies, perused the menu and I advised Linda what I would like to eat prior to taking a quick toilet break. I had chosen something classically French today - Steak Hache, bien cuir, avec frites.  A good fat boy lunch.

We sat enjoying our drinks, chatting amiably and watching the world go by until our food arrived.  That was when it became really interesting because instead of being served burger and chips, my plate contained a galette (a French type of pancake), ham wrapped inside it and topped with the most magnificent of fried eggs. The waitress looked a touch surprised when I advised her it wasn't my order. However a sharp intake of breath from Linda and the most grovelling of apologies and I realised that this was indeed to be my lunch.  It really provided final proof that she takes absolutely no notice of anything I say - when the order should have been, "steak hache" it came out of Linda's mouth as "Galette Le Complet!"  Can anybody out there come up with an explanation?

The funny part about the whole incident though was that my lunch was totally delicious and so next time we eat out I am going to follow the same process and see what delights the waiter or waitress bring me.

More about Troyes tomorrow but a couple of photos attached to whet your appetites and one of Linda prior to Galettegate! 

Lorries, Lorries Everywhere

I am happy to report that we have safely completed our 400 mile journey from the Drome and are now sitting happily in our gypsy wagon waiting for the start of the Great British Bake Off.  Yes we do have the comfort of satellite tv with us as we wander around the highways and byways of Europe and are able to keep up with the most important things happening back in the UK, most importantly the Bake Off and Who Do You Think You Are?  Scottish independence refererendum?? What's that???

The journey up here has re-emphasised to me just how big the haulage industry is across the continent as we spend virtually the whole of every trip overtaking heavy goods vehicles.  It can be quite wearing but fascinating at the same time as we note the vast number of nationalities represented including Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Transylvania and Portugal to name just a few.  Virtually every service area is full of wagons often making it difficult for us to find a space but to date we have been lucky.  Mind you it's not easy to get much sleep when you are parked up for the night alongside a refrigerated vehicle!

So here we are in the Champagnes-Ardennes region and today has been incredibly hot and humid.  We are paying the price now as a storm rumbles around but we don't mind that overnight and we did enjoy a lovely bbq in the late evening sunshine.  We also managed a 12 mile bike ride and as Linda's training programme intensifies, I am starting to struggle at keeping up with her average speed over that distance of 15mph.  I am having to have two beers at the end of the ride to get liquid back into my system.

The photos attached tonight are both of Lac D'Orient, only one was taken in 2011 when we were last in this area and one taken today.  Quite a contrast and we don't know if this is down to drought or other factors.  I intend to find out but in a way hope it is drought and that it lasts for a few days more.

We're On The Move Again

With the wonders of modern technology I am filing tonight's blog from an Aire on the A6 Autoroute North bound.  Contrary to my earlier post regarding the overwhelming smell of urine on these service areas, I am happy to report that we have secured a parking slot tonight where the smell is more of eau de diesel rather than eau de pee!

It was a late decision made today to leave the Drome because the weather proved to be much nicer than had been forecast.  In fact it was yet another hot and sunny day, the tenth in a row and we did debate about staying longer.  However, we decided to believe the French Meteo forecast for tomorrow onwards which predicted a decline to rain and frequent storms and by 5pm we were hitched up and ready to go.  

It's a bit of a chore packing up the caravan even when there are two of you to complete the task but on the only photo I am posting tonight, I would ask you to look closely at the effort that Linda was putting in as I slaved over awning,  groundsheet and the nuclear reactor in our van, commonly known as the chemical toilet.  I could write a whole blog on the Thetford cassette toilet but I am keeping my thoughts and ideas secret at the moment as I believe that I can harness more energy emptying just one of these than I can from a roof full of solar panels.  Oh and don't ever mention splashback to me!!

It was surreal leaving the caravan site as we were the only people actually staying there today.  It's never happened before and I think it unlikely it will happen again.  Even the owners and staff had left before us and we had to switch off all the lights and lock up.  A fabulous place to stay though and we would recommend to anyone.

And so 200 miles gone, 200 to go and this time tomorrow, Linda will be drinking champagne from my trainers!! Not...

Les Eglises de France

Oh dear!  Things were going so well with the blog and I have received some really nice comments to date.  However, I was given a rude awakening today when I was the recipient of a minor grumble regarding my dissitation on the night sky in the Drome.  It worries me even more in light of today's filing being on French churches but I will try and make it a tad more interesting.

For anyone who has visited France, virtually every city, town, village and even the smallest of hamlets usually contains a church.  It all stems back from the Country's wholesale adoption of the catholic faith which still holds strong today - well not as strong as you might think - and resulted in a cathedral and church construction boom, the likes that has never been repeated.

There are some wonderful examples from the Cathedral of Notre Dame to those in the Drome which are only large enough to handle a congregation of five and one of those includes the Vicar! 

I have attached three photos tonight, the most interesting one being La Chapelle Saint-Jean D'Ollon which is close to our base here and is situated on the top of a 500 foot cliff! You really do need to be a believer to attend the monthly service here as it involves a mile walk up a 1 in 4 gradient!

To end on a serious note, the Catholic Church is in serious decline here as more than 35% of the population profess to having no religion and only 1 in 20 attend Mass.  Many of the churches are now being sold off and converted into houses, restaurants and even clubs.  As far as the Chapel near us is concerned, I predict that if it is ever sold, the local base jumping club will be the purchasers! 

Star Gazing in the Drome

Do any of you, like me, look upto the skies on a clear night and wonder just what or who indeed is out there?

Well the last week has provided us with lots of opportunities to do this as every night that passes appears to present a more magical sight.  Last night was simply stunning and I found myself laid out on one of our relaxer chairs looking skywards.  It's a shame that I can't present you with a photograph of exactly what I could see but the view was an astronomer's paradise.

Part of the beauty of stargazing here must be the almost total lack of light pollution.  In fact, when I stepped out of the caravan last night, I firstly walked into one of the loungers and then fell over one of the guy ropes on the awning!  If takes a while for the eyes to adjust to the darkness here you know.

It has been fascinating during the last week watching the "super moon" develop.  Super?  I would say it was spectacular! I took the opportunity to view its surface through binoculars and the detail was stunning.  It appeared to me that a chunk on its right side was missing.  Perhaps it is made from cheese after all?   It must have provided an incredible sight when viewed through a telescope.

Apparently there are 100,000 million stars and in excess of 100,000 million galaxies that we know about. The oldest thing to view in the sky is the Keystone of Hercules or as us lesser specimens know it, M13.  It is a mere 9 billion years old and still going strong.  How do we know these things?

Mind you, did you know the planets move across the sky and that stars stay fixed? 

I feel that I am offering an element of education with my musings which I find quite satisfying but I end today's blog by returning to my own theory about what is out there.  I think that the universe and beyond is so vast that there is a 61 year old called Alistair out there somewhere just completing his nightly blog from the Drome.  Mind you, he probably wasn't stupid enough to buy his wife a sympathy card on their anniversary.

Photo attached of me falling over the lounger but also a couple showing perhaps why the area is so dark.

41st Wedding Anniversary. Celebration or Sympathy?

I hope that you read my blog regarding our 41 married years together?

What I forgot to include was the faux-pas I committed on the day and which truly demonstrated my lack of understanding of the French and their greetings card industry.

Being the last minute "lulu" that I am, I had forgotten to get an anniversary card before we left the UK but to me, that was, "pas de problem." After all, there are plenty of newspaper and greetings card shops in France and all I needed to do was slip off discreetly and acquire said card.

Proud of myself, on the day I handed over the card to Linda waiting for the reaction to the beautiful display of Calla Lillies on the front and my personal verse inside.

I didn't expect a burst of laughter but understood very quickly the reason!

Apparently, I had given her a Sympathy card rather than an Anniversary one!  Perhaps there was some kind of sub-conscious Freudian intervention here and that really what Linda actually deserved was sympathy for the 41 years she has now suffered with me? 

On the other hand, perhaps she still loves me despite all my foibles??

Proud picture of the offending card is below.

It Isn't Just About the Eating

You will have seen a couple of previous posts which have merely provided visual evidence of what we get upto at or around 11am most mornings.  Typical of us really that it revolves around food!

Today, yet another beautiful, warm and cloudless Drome day and sitting down to one of our favourite pieces of French patisserie, I decided that a little research was due about the Mille-Feuille.  Its translation means a thousand leaves and it is also known in some parts of France as a Napoleon.

Its origins stem back to 1651 when a description was first given and typically it is made up of three layers of puff pastry alternating with two layers of creme patissiere.  Sometimes this pastry cream can be substituted with jam - for us that's a desperately poor substitute!  The top layer can be dusted with confectionary sugar but more usually and in our case preferred, it is covered with icing or fondant and finished with brown stripes made from chocolate.

All we know is that they are the perfect accompaniment to a good filter coffee and that no one back home seems able to produce them to the standard of a time served French Patissier.

It's been a slow news day here so I hope you don't mind a little background on our daily eating habits?

To The Young Ones Amongst You, How About This For Next Year's Challenge??

If you've just read the previous blog update, you will have seen mention of Mont Ventoux, a name that brings fear into the hearts of professional and amateur cyclists worldwide.  We have spent today on the slopes and summit of the highest mountain in this area and close up and personal, I can understand the fear that it engenders.

It has been a regular feature of the Tour De France over the years, the last time in 2013 when eventual winner, Chris Froome, crested the summit tape in a time of 59 minutes.  That is a staggering time when you consider it alongside some other statistics:

The length of the climb from Bedoin to the summit is 21.4kms

The height at the top is 1,912 metres

The actual climb is 1,639 metres

The average gradient is 7.6%

The maximum gradient is 12%

The fastest ascent was by Iban Mayo in 2004 at just 55 minutes (was it clean though?)

Someone once climbed it 11 times in 24 hours (he's still receiving treatment for a very sore arse)

I can confess to it being a hard climb in the car as well as you follow and try to overtake this snake of cyclists as they seek the summit.  Some look in total control whilst others look anything but and it is fascinating to see the different shapes and sizes taking on this challenge.  The other intriguing thing is to watch people on mountain bikes having to use twice as much effort as those on pure racing bikes costing thousands of pounds.

The most famous cyclist in respect of Ventoux was Tommy Simpson who died on its slopes on 13th July 1967.  It is a very sad tale because at one point, he was rolling from side to side on his bike and actually fell off.  He sought help to get back in the saddle but unfortunately, just half a mile from the summit he fell again with his feet still clipped into the pedals and died where he fell.  It was very sad that amphetamines were found in his jersey and in his blood stream although the cause of death was classed as heat exhaustion.  There is a wonderful memorial to him at the place he died and for many cyclists this is a place of pilgrimage as the photos demonstrate.

It is a desolate place at the top when you come out of the forest that covers the lower slopes and wind speeds in excess of 200mph have been recorded on the summit. Today, the temperature at the top was just 12 degrees compared to the near 30 degrees at the start point in Bedoin.

For anybody with a sporting bent, this mountain draws you in and challenges you to have a go.  Having completed the climb out of Settle over towards Malham last year, Mont Ventoux need hold no fears for you young ones so how about it next year??

41 and Counting...

Yes, it's time to tick another year of domestic bliss off and look forward to what the forty second one holds in store.  Who would have thought that I, sorry I meant she, could survive 41 years with what can only be described as a paragon of virtue!  Yes, we've had our ups and downs.  Today it was up Mont Ventoux and then down Mont Ventoux (more about that later) but we've come through them all and as I remember the Vicar saying all those years ago, it does look as if for us two, its "till death do us part." Personally and at this stage, I'm more than happy to run with that and I think Linda feels the same way.

We've enjoyed a truly lovely day in the warm sunshine of the Drome including a lazy three course lunch in the village of Malaucene and are now back at our site enjoying a bottle of something fizzy.

Photo attached and here's to the next 41.

A Day the World Must Never Forget!

11th September 2001 is a date firmly embedded in the minds of Linda and myself as we were making one of our frequent visits to America, a place that we truly love.

On that fateful day, we were in San Antonio, Texas and were really excited at the prospect that morning of visiting The Alamo, the place where Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier met his maker.  Dad had often spoken of this place and it's defenders and I can remember thinking how excited he would have been to be in my shoes.

We had risen early and headed over to the motel breakfast room to grab something to eat when we were met by the tv screen showing the first of the twin towers on fire and the tv presenter reporting that a plane had flown into it.  Everyone in that room was viewing this as a terrible accident when of course we watched the second plane crash and knew immediately that this had been no accident but the worst terrorist attack in history.

We actually tried to carry on that day as normally as we could but it was impossible as the horror of what had happened and was still happening continued to unfold. Our visit to The Alamo became a blur and remains that way to this very day.  The shock all around us was palpable and slowly as the day went on everything seemed to grind to a halt and shut down. 

We felt that we just wanted to get home to be with our own family and hug them and tell them we loved them, something that thousands of Americans would never be able to do to their own loved ones again.

But the skies of the world had been shut down and so in the short term there was no way out of America. Instead we decided to head down to the coast to Corpus Christi, possibly a mistake as this housed one of the largest military bases in the US! It was a ghost town and we actually struggled on our first night there to find somewhere to eat.

While we were still in America, we found out that Sarah, now fully trained and awaiting her formal contract with BA, had had it withdrawn and therefore no longer had a guaranteed job.  For the next few months she went back to work at the Building Society.

But of course what happened to us was of no significance when you think about the families who suffered such catastrophic loss of loved ones on that day.

I'm sorry to bring another serious and thought provoking note to my blog but it was something that we will never forget and the date always brings back particular thoughts and feelings for both of us.  Remember, if you haven't done it already today, tell someone you love them.

Reflections on the Freelander 2

Now I must start this blog by saying that I am not a fan of Jeremy Clarkson and the juvenile antics that he and his two chums get upto on Top Gear.  However, I do quite like his Sunday Times column when he actually reviews and writes about specific new vehicles.  If anybody sees similarities between this blog and his column, then I've done a reasonable job.

Of course, I'm not writing about a new model of vehicle but a cast off that I bought from my daughter in 2013.  Things have reached a sorry state I am afraid when you have to buy your children's old cars!

In all my motoring years and they now exceed 44, I had never previously owned a 4x4 and so agreed to buy it from her with a certain amount of trepidation.  In the short term this trepidation proved valid as I had to replace a clutch that was only 30,000 miles old but Land Rover, bless them footed half the bill agreeing that this was a rarity.  I place no blame on Sarah as the clutch on a Land Rover is far more user friendly than that on a 777 and to date she hasn't managed to burn one of those out!

And so to my love affair with this piece of metal which has been fully consummated  during our current adventure.  We hook it up to nearly one and a half tons of metal and without fail, she starts first time, does everything we ask of her in all weathers and effortlessly delivers us to our next destination. Most of the time, I'm not even aware that the caravan is behind us, that good is this vehicle and for any of you that have followed me with caravan in tow (Barry knows only too well) I don't hang around.

Mind you, when doing 70mph on the German autobahn with caravan in tow, I did find it rather disconcerting to see other vehicles  coming past me at speeds in excess of double what I was doing! Overtaking there can be just a tad scary at times.

Anyway, she is the finest tow car I have ever driven and I look forward to Sarah's next cast off when she looks to trade her current Freelander 2 in for that Land Rover Discovery she so covets.

Today's Elevenses at Domain de L'Ecluse

We love French patisserie.

French Markets - La Joie De Vivre

Tuesday 9th September and we awoke to the most perfect morning following a dramatic storm and accompanying light show overnight.  Wow! 

Tuesday here means a trip to Vaison La Romaine and its weekly market, one of the finest you will visit anywhere in France.

I have included more photos today to try and present a picture of this event which draws people for its variety of produce, really anything and everything you might require. 

It remains a fascination for us to wander around the stalls and watch trade being completed.  Fruit and vegetables most of them grown locally, meat and fish, cheese (how I wished I liked cheese), sausages, honey, garlic, olives and wine.  Everything is here and you are encouraged to try before you buy.  It's a gourmet's heaven.

My own purchase today was tapenade made from locally grown black olives.  Spread some on a fresh baguette and wash it down with a crisp cold white.  It's one of nature's finest experiences.  Another one is to enjoy a crepe au natural.  Freshly made and covered in sugar.

Vaison is not just famed for its market.  It was a Roman settlement and it is fascinating to wander amongst the ruins which have been excavated and which are still being uncovered today.

The town also suffered a devastating flood in September 1992 when the Ouveze river peaked at fifty feet above its normal level and 32 people from the town died.  There is some amazing footage of what happened on You Tube.  Very frightening.

Today however, it was a joy to wander around the market and the town in warm sunshine and enjoy everything that is so lovely about this part of France.

A Sporting Update on Eldwick's Answer to Laura Trott!

I have commented on a previous blog about Linda and cycling.  She loves it...NOT!

We did lay out a considerable amount of money before we came away on an almost new Specialised Vita ladies bike in the hope that this replacement for her Halford's special might mean her discovering a new love for outdoor exercise.  In fairness the Appollo Haze weighed so much that when I fastened it on the Freelander's roof, it actually bowed and increased fuel consumption by 30%!  I remember particularly her first words when getting on this new bike, "I don't do hills."

Well she has dispelled that myth with an amazing performance yesterday when she rode for exactly two miles, uphill, non-stop!  There was one point when she got a touch tetchy with me as I shouted encouragement around a bend saying, "it flattens out soon."  It didn't of course and the string of obscenities following me up the hill are still reverberating in my ears today!  But do you know what?  She didn't give in and full credit to her when she reached the top without stopping.

Unlike coming down Mont Ventoux like me, she feels ready and confident of making the climb a la Chris Froome.

Our friend Paul knows exactly the route we took yesterday and can confirm the effort required.

Photo is attached of Linda at the top of the climb.  Total respect.

Elevenses at Domain de L'Ecluse

The picture says it all!

The Place to Buis

I am updating this blog today, Monday 8th September on a beautiful sun filled morning in this little part of paradise.

Buis-Les-Baronnies is a village situated in the heart of the Drome Provencale an area truly undiscovered by the British who normally pass straight by on their way to the better know Provence area and of course the resorts of the Mediterranean coast.

It is surrounded by wonderful mountains and hills - in fact it is a popular centre for climbers - but it is also filled with olive groves, vineyards and acres of lavender fields all of which provide wonderful aromas and sounds. The area enjoys its own micro climate and clearly this is a factor in the wonderful growing conditions that prevail.

Talking of mountains, we have a view from the site of Mont Ventoux, a mecca for cyclists worldwide and a regular stage of the Tour De France.  I shall be attempting this myself over the next few days when Linda drives me to the top of the climb, past the hundreds of cyclists who do this on a daily basis and I make the 15 mile descent.  Yep, sod the climb, the descent will be much more fun and far less strenuous!

So you will gather that the stresses and strains of the first week of our trip are fast becoming a distant memory as we settle into a daily routine of visits to French markets, consumption of wonderful patisserie and great bbqs complemented by good wine.

I am sorry that some of the excitement of not knowing what comes next has perhaps disappeared but I will try and paint a picture in more infrequent blogs of just what this magical area has to offer.

Paradise Found

We are now 11 days into our Croatian adventure!  Well as you already know it has turned into a French one due to the abysmal weather experienced in every country we have touched so far.  We have wondered if we made a massive mistake aborting our plan but yesterday we met an Austrian family who confirmed that the weather continues to be appalling over both their Country and the ones bordering onto them to the South and so we felt further vindicated over the decision we made.

That said however, our move to a site at La Colle-Sur-Loupe was not without its problems not least of which is the horrendous traffic that blights the Monaco/Nice metropolis. Every twist and turn of the roads in this area brings problems and the site that we were on for three days suffered its fair share of noise from the nearby roads.  Motorbikes are a huge noise polluter but we can understand people opting for this form of transport as they try to negotiate the many traffic jams.

It seems from my writing today that a black cloud is following us everywhere and providing down side after down side.  Well today things have absolutely changed for the better as we moved from the Meditteranean Coast to the Drome and one of our favourite areas and favourite caravan sites in the whole of Europe at Domain de L'Ecluse close to Buis Les Baronnies.

This is a place we have stayed twice before, once with Ann and Paul and in the last two years, we appear to have been the only Brits to stay in this paradise.  We intend to keep it a secret.  The site is set amongst vineyards and olive groves in one of the most beautiful areas of France.  As I write this today, the only sound I can hear is the slight rustling of the leaves, bees making honey and birdsong. It is truly heavenly and as if the a foregoing wasn't sufficient, the temperature is a very pleasant 30 degrees.

The attached photos tell the story - a cold beer, a pure azure sky and the whole of the campsite to ourselves.  What could be better? 

No doubt it might start raining tomorrow but we plan this to be our haven for the foreseeable future.

Hopefully, more pictures of beer and blue skies tomorrow.

Happiness is ...

I didn't know whether I would be updating my blog or not today and I finished last night's by suggesting that I would be writing today in praise of the Land Rover Freelander 2.  Well I'm going to save that for another day and do you know why?  Because the sun's been radiating its warmth on us all day and at one point today the temperature touched thirty degrees.  As Fred Flintstone would say, "yabba dabba dooooooooo."

We have just had our first bbq of the holiday and as I write this we are consuming a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the warm evening air.  It's a French one as well and cost us €3.  Outrageous.

If any of you want to take the time to check, the forecast for this area for the next week is very settled and so we feel vindicated in making the move West.  Our neighbours on the opposite pitch are from Austria and they reflected how it had been raining in Salzburg for three weeks continuous and that we had been exceptionally lucky to get the half day that we did to do some sightseeing in the dry!

We are actually sitting in a site at La Colle-sur-Loupe which is approximately 7km from the Med.  It's a lovely site but with one major drawback.  Our pitch is surrounded by trees which don't allow us to pick up the Astra satellite and watch the Bake Off and Who Do You Think You Are?  I have asked for a reduction but their reply was "what is the Bake Off?"

Anyway happiness prevails and I have attached two photos tonight.  One is of our bbq - jerk chicken and pork sausages. The other is of an outfit that pulled onto the site at Lake Garda the day before we left. Now for those of you who profess to have motorhomes, I am afraid they are just cheap imitations. The thing that swung it for us was when he pulled it forward slightly onto the next pitch, opened the tail gate and slowly released his Smart car!  So over the top but we and indeed the whole site were very impressed.

Serendipity? I'll Give You Serendipity!

Well we finished yesterday on a high note having enjoyed a wonderful day at Lake Garda and today we had planned to visit Verona.  The best laid plans often go astray and so ours did as the heavens opened yet once more at 2am this morning resulting in further loss of sleep.  By 8am this morning, the site was deluged and we opened our curtains to see a very wet and bedraggled bunch of campers competing in a synchronised, "who can get your tent down the quickest" competition.  It wasn't a pretty sight but again caused us to focus on our next move.

Do we head South away from the rain of Lake Garda or head West again to where we know the weather is truly settled?  West being France.

Who would have thought that we left the UK heading for Croatia and within a week we have touched France, Germany, Austria and Italy before finding ourselves back in France and close to the Mediterranean.  We could have saved ourselves about £200 in petrol and £100 in tolls but do you know what, we are having a great adventure, are still smiling and above all else we are still talking to each other! Amazing.

We have pitched camp to night in a site close to Grasse and looking at the forecast for the area, it does look as if sun is the order of the day and right through the weekend.  Mind you, our arrival will probably be causing the weather gods to gather round a table as I write and plan the next tempest.

I may have nothing to write about tomorrow and I certainly have no pictures to accompany tonight's effort.  If I do write anything, it will be reflections on the Freelander 2 which has been nothing short of outstanding during our first week.

Serendipity

For those of you who don't have a literary bent like what I have, the term serendipity means "a happy accident." Well that is how we feel at the moment about our change from Croatia to Italy.

Today, we have been enjoying the 27 degree sunshine and clear skies of Lake Garda and have taken the opportunity to test drive Linda's new Specialist bike around the lake shore. To be honest if Linda's bike handling skills continue to improve at the pace set today, then Laura Trott may well have some new competition as the Olympic Games in Rio draw closer!

Lake Garda is a beautiful area but the major drawback for us is that it is so incredibly busy.  Apparently it is the last holiday fling of both Germans and Dutch who invade the area in their thousands at this time of year just prior to their children returning to school next week.

The site, Camping Del Garda is the antithesis of everything that we love about caravanning.  Nearly 1000 pitches, children all over the place and Karaoke and disco blaring out until 10.30 at night.  And yet, it is a safe and secure environment for families to enjoy and last night we slept the sleep of the dead so it can't be all bad.

We ventured briefly out in the car today and discovered a wonderful town and market at Desenzano Del Garda.  We also discovered their wonderful array of Gelateria which made me think that I had died and gone to heaven.  I insisted on sampling everyone of these establishments and so 23 cornets and 35 Euros later I was unable to eat my tea!  

Tomorrow, we are continuing with the literary bent when we try to seek out Two Gentlemen in Verona.