My New Secretary Application Letter

Deer Sir,
I waunt to apply for the secritary job what I saw in the paper. I can Type real quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting.I think I am good on the phone and no I am a pepole person, Pepole really seam to respond to me well.I´m lookin for a Jobb as a secritary but it musent be to complicaited.
I no my spelling is not to good but find that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety. My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,I can start imeditely.
Thank you in advanse fore yore anser. .hopifuly Yore best aplicant so farr. Sinseerly, Peggy May StarlingsPS : Because my resimay is a bit short - below is a pickture of me taken at my last jobb.


Noel's response:......Dear Peggy May,It's OK honey, we've got a spell check and high chair

This cannot be true????

The following article has just appeared on the BBC website. See my comments later.
Surrey 'has best quality of life 'People living in an area in the Surrey stockbroker belt have the best quality of life in Britain, a survey has found. Earnings in the Elmbridge local authority area are among the highest in the country at £1,112 a week and 95% of householders enjoy good or fair health.
The area has the highest average house price outside London at £457,461, the Halifax home insurance survey found.Hart in Hampshire, Wokingham in Berkshire and Chiltern in Buckinghamshire, are just behind.
More sunshine.more than 75% of Elmbridge residents own their own home and the area enjoys two hours more sunshine a week than the British average. A total of 16 out of the top 25 local authorities with the highest quality of life are in the South East."Looking across a range of indicators it's clear that residents in Elmbridge in Surrey have the best quality of life in Great Britain," said Halifaxeconomist Tim Crawford.
"However, house prices in Elmbridge are the highest outside of London, showing that residents clearly have to pay a premium for their high standard of living."
Chief Executive of Elmbridge Borough Council Mike Lockwood said: "Whilst we can't take the credit for the sunshine, we are delighted that Elmbridge has received the recognition it deserves. "
Noels comments
There is no mention of the following negatives.
1-The quality of road surfaces In Elmbridge is extremely poor and downright dangerous in places.
2-The traffic pollution and noise together with amount of traffic jamsd on the M25/M3/A3, to name but a few.
3-Heathrow Airport is about 6 miles from Weybridge, as the coughing crow flies, where there is the highest poluted area in the UK. One Airport surrounded by motorways etc

Stress, What Stress!!!

Oh, The Joys of Air Travel

The following happened to me about four years ago as I was leaving Indianapolis on a Friday afternoon for London via Chicago with American Airlines.

My meetings that day in Indianapolis had ended a bit earlier than expected, I was due to leave from the Airport around 5.30 pm and fly up to Chicago and connect with the London flight from there. The Airport Hotel where I was staying had sent round a notethat morning to say that the Hotel would be fully booked that night and so no room extension time would be possible, in other words get out latest by 1pm.

So rather than hang around in the Hotel reception area for a couple of hours I decided at 2 pm to head to the AA terminal to see if there was an earlier flight to Chicago which would give me extra time in transit rather than the 65 minutes allotted. There seemed to be lots of people in the terminal when I arrived and considering the time this was surprising. Anyway I checked in and asked about an earlier flight and the check in lady said there was a flight which should go at about 3.30 pm, great I thought. As there were no bags to check in, nothing like travelling light, off I went to the AA lounge or so I thought. When I got to near the gate it was full up with adults and children and the board with my flight number was showing it was delayed from 1130 AM, this morning what I thought, how can this be, what is going on?.
So I went to the gate attendant who said that Chicago Airport had been closed most of the morning and the flight I had been put on was the delayed earlier flight and she did not know when it would leave. Come back to the desk in about one hour or so and we will give you an update. As time went by it was reaching 5pm and no sign of a flight. So I rang American Airlines to check on the alternatives, they said there was a flight from New York to London that night but they did not have a flight from Indianapolis which would connect. They also mentioned that the weather was so bad they did not think there would be any flights out of Chicago at all today.
So I sat on the floor of the Airport departure lounge and turned on my computer and looked at the ABC flight book. I could not change airlines as I was travelling on restricted tickets and as a flight via Chicago was most unlikely today let alone tomorrow morning, and as there were no Hotel rooms in Indianapolis (there was a marching band competition on), I decided not to hang around here but find some other way to get home. AA had a flight from JFK Airport New York at 9am the following morning and so further investigation showed that there was another airline with a flight to JFK that evening from Indianapolis and so I purchased a ticket. Know I needed a Hotel Room at Kennedy and this took a little while to arrange. My new flight from Indianapolis was not due to take of until about 6.30 pm.

So having made the new arrangements for flights and Hotels etc I started to walk to the new gate, on the way I passed the original gate, and just as I was passing by the girl on the AA desk shouted at me that I was going to Chicago and that whilst I had been away from the gate the flight had loaded and they were leaving in five minutes so get on board quickly, which I did and I don’t know why but I followed her instruction.
I sat down in my seat and suddenly thought what the hell am I doing here?, I have booked another ticket to JFK, I have a Hotel at JFK and changed my seat with AA from Chicago to the JFK flight, so what possessed me to get on this AA flight to Chicago which will, knowing my past luck, will or will not leave. I could not get off the aircraft as the door was closed and we were being pushed back and very soon afterwards in the air. I thought what a stupid thing to do Groves. What happens if the flight to Chicago gets delayed, what happens if they have a flight to London but I have cancelled my booking, then Icould be stuck in Chicago Airport with thousands of other people? What a fool!!! I need my head examined but I guess it was the pressure of the gate staff to board the flight, I suppose years of waiting to board flights I guess.
I was very aware of the need to get home as I was leaving on the Monday for the Far East for two weeks and I would like at least one night at home before leaving. My travel plans during the past few months were very heavy.
My mind on the flight to Chicago worked overtime and kept going over the various scenarios, could I change the AA flight ex JFK back to Chicago, what happens if the flight was cancelled from Chicago, what happens if it wasn’t cancelled but they had given my seat away., what should I do about the Hotel at JFK, was the other airline looking for me in Indianapolis as I had a boarding pass, my mind was a in a whirl. Anyway after a few minutes I realised that nothing I could do would make any difference and so as per the Beatles song, Let it be.

As we got closer to Chicago and let down for arrival the snow outside the window got worse and I thought here we go, perhaps a diversion to somewhere else, but no we landed about 20 minutes before the London flight departed. Those of you who know Chicago Airport will also know that is a very large Airport and it took me almost 30 minutes to get of the first plane, go though security and get to the new gate. I arrived breathless and sweating from the run of about 10 miles it seemed like and asked what the flight position was. She said that the flight had been delayed by one hour and yes we still have your booking on this flight and who did you change it with as it had not been changed? Wow I thought, had I gone to JFK I am not sure what would have happened. She then checked the flight for the next day from JFK and said I was not listed and the flight was totally overbooked anyway and with my restricted ticket the chance on getting on this flight was remote, In fact all JFK flights that Saturday were over the top for some reason and it would be unlikely for me to get a seat. WOW.

So, whoever made me get on the flight from Indianapolis (perhaps my fairy godmother) had without realising it enabled me to get home to my family for two nights prior to leaving for the Far East rather than hanging around JFK indefinitely.

Just out of interest when I got home on the Saturday I decided later in the day to see if the weather affected New York, and it did as most of the flights that day from JFK were heavily delayed or cancelled.

Stress, what stress!!

A Day out in London

It was Jennifer’s Birthday today and so we decided to take a day out in London and also include my wish to visit St Paul’s Cathedral, more of that later.

A pleasant train journey, I must say that South West Trains are very good, over the past year they have been on time and always new and almost clean trains. Well done. Any way I digress.

The first stop was Jennifer’s birthday present which was a visit to Rigby & Pellar Ltd, the famous London based ladies underwear shop right next door to Harrods. We arrived at a very nice looking establishment with a doorman resplendent in a smart uniform to let us in. There was already a small queue of ladies of mixed age waiting for the measuring service sitting in a line awaiting the ministrations of an attendant. Jennifer said do I want to sit down and wait? , but the thought of passers by looking at this guy sitting in a line of women waiting to be measured for a ‘C’ or ‘B’ or even a ‘world’ cup did not appeal and so I did a walk around Knightsbridge. One hour later and a little lighter bank balance we left for St Paul’s Cathedral.

Not many people know that when I was a young lad in my early teens I was a choirboy with a great voice and was asked to join a small select choir outing to St Paul’s where I and another thousand choristers sang for our supper for a couple of hours. It was an amazing experience for me and obviously for my parents, my father was obviously quite overcome by this occasion and only just having come from a cocktail party decided to tell my mum “isnsht it bloody lovely” the only trouble was that they were sitting in the whispering gallery and so it echoed all around.

St Paul’s Cathedral is undergoing a complete restoration with most of the inside complete and about half done on the outside and it looks magnificent. For some reason they say not to take pictures, not sure why, perhaps they want to sell their own books but anyway I sneaked a few shots. This is a beautiful building finished by Sir Christopher Wren in 1710 and it is huge. We visited the crypt and also the whispering gallery where we listened to the organ being tested or tuned and up here in the heights the sound was most impressive. It is well worth a visit. I have added a link of St Paul’s to the site. My only negative comment is that why in a house of God do we honour those past warriors of war and not the peaceful people?

We finished the day with a quick dinner at Wagamama’s Asian fusion restaurant on the South Bank and then went to the IMAX to use up some free tickets to see Superman Returns. The visual effects were good but the story line was poor, alright for kids though.
A nice day out.
All photos can be seen at http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/album/105698

The Hertz Rental Car Neverlost System Episode

This is a story about some travel in the USA and the difference in language and how it affects your life.

About three years ago I was in Dallas on business and leaving with a colleague, John to fly to Newark in the late morning with the plan that we drive to the Logistics division of our company in upstate Connecticut. As John had not originally planned to join me on this trip I had previously asked the office to make sure that they booked me a hire car with a Sat/Nav system which they confirmed had been arranged. When you are travelling alone in traffic it does make it easier if you have some assistance.

Anyway, we were pleased with this arrangement as our flight was due to arrive in Newark Airport, New York in the early afternoon so that at least the road signs would be clearly visible. The flight from Dallas was four hours late leaving due to bad weather somewhere and so we arrived in Newark around 6.30 in the evening. By the time we arrived at the car hire depot it was raining and getting dark. However, I reminded us both that we have a Sat/Nav system so there should not be any problem finding our route.

We signed all the car papers and I asked them to confirm the Sat/Nav and the young lady says they do have a system, it’s not built into the car as we expected, and it’s called the Neverlost System which is just what we wanted. She added that anyway where we were going was straight up the I-95 and you don’t need a system for that. However we insisted that we do need it as we may have difficulties and so she handed over this box with a Motorola cell phone in it. I said “what is this” as I have the same cell phone and don’t need another one but she countered this by saying “this is the Neverlost system and very easy to use”. Mind you she said “I have not used it myself, but I think you press this button and tell the people who answer where you want to go and they send you a route plan to the cell phone.” Not quite what I had expected though. I asked “who are these people we phone” and she replied that she was not sure but the system does work and anyway just follow signs for the I-95 and we would be fine.

We left the desk and headed for the car with a certain amount of trepidation as it was now pouring with rain.
My colleague did not want to drive and so he would operate the ‘Neverlost’ system and I would drive. We plugged the phone charger into the cigarette lighter socket, turned on the phone and pressed the button and after a couple of minutes waiting the chap at the other end of the phone asked for our route. We want to go to …… in Connecticut and due to John’s Midland accent the operator could not understand our destination and so I said I would speak to him. After a few minutes discussion with some confusion he said OK, he said wait a moment and the cell phone will receive the routing instruction and you then just start your journey and it will tell you where to go.

So trustingly we waited a couple of minutes and off we went, and of course within less than 300 yards of the Car park exit there was a major airport turning and nothing came from the phone??. So I stopped and John played with the buttons in the half light as cars streamed by. So we called the telephone operator again and said that nothing was happening, they said did we press a certain button to start the system and we said no as there were no instructions. They said they would resend the data we should wait a few minutes and try again. Which we did and nothing happened. This time we could not stopin the middle of the junction but kept going and by some luck and no judgement we actually took the correct road marked to the I-95. Again my colleague rang them and said what is happening as we are not getting any instructions. They said just listen to the phone and follow the instructions and then promptly they hung up. Great!

By this time I had seen further signs for the I-95, plus many other road signs going North, South, East and West and was not sure which direction to head until we came to a toll booth. The last thing we wanted was to be on a Toll road going in the wrong direction. We were both getting very upset by this so called system as it suddenly started and told us to turn left out of the Airport Car park and proceed in a Easterly direction when we would receive more instructions. At this point we were at least forty minutes drive away from the airport, so what should we do. It was not possible to reverse all the way back to the airport so as to meet the instructions on the cell phone and so we called again.
The guy said where are you, we said somewhere in USA trying to head for Connecticut. Where do you guys come from, I said would this help our route planning if we answered his question, he said no but then suddenly we got cut off and the screen on the phone went blank!!!

Both of us having a technical background, John far more than me we decided that when all else fails reboot. We rebooted the cell phone and waited for a signal and eventually we received one, we pressed the start button again and it said please turn left when leaving the Airport Car Park exit. Bloody hell!! It was pouring with rain and cars and huge trucks were tearing past and we were parked on the nearside line with indicators flashing wondering what to do.

So again we called, this time a nice lady answered who said you have a nice voice, where do you come from??? I said England but I was trying to get to …… in Connecticut. So where in New England are you from, I said Weybridge and after a moment she said she could not find Weybridge on the System as it only worked in the USA and sorry she could not help but have a nice day and hung up.

This is very silly I said, let’s hope the road we are on is the right road and so with great difficulty we pulled out into the fast moving traffic and headed for the toll barriers. By pure chance we were in the lane where there was an attendant rather than the ex Las Vegas slot machines where you chuck your coins in when driving past.

I pulled up at the Toll booth and said, Excuse me Sir I think we may be lost and we are trying to find the I-95 North to ….
He looked up and said Hey, where are you guys from?? We said England and he said and what are you doing here on such a miserable night. We said trying to go north on the I-95. Don’t worry he said you are on the right road and in about ninety minutes you should be there. At this point he suddenly noticed the Motorola cell phone on the dashboard and said “Is that a Navigation system?” at which point we laughed.

So at least we were on the I-95 and for the next half an hour John fiddled in the semi darkness with the cell phone and also found a small sheet of instructions on how to use the system which had got attached to the hire car documents. Not sure how this got there.

So after rebooting the cell phone for about the fourth or fifth time John called the number again and explained our problems. The guy on the end of the phone said he was sorry to hear about our problems and that the ‘Neverlost’ System was not perfect as it was first of all a very small screen, which is not possible to see in the dark and also the sound often did not work and they were working on that. Anyway where did John live as he has a strange accent. John politely explained where he was from and then said we are trying to get to the Holiday Inn in ….. and how could we make this machine tell us what to do. The guy said “where are you coming from” and we said Newark Airport, “that’s easy” he said just take the I-95 and get of at Junction…. “What about the ‘Neverlost’ System??” He said turn it off, take out the battery and then reboot and see what happens.

So we followed his instructions and turned on the cell phone again, pressed all the right buttons and the screen came to life with an arrow pointing up confirming we were on the I-95 North and get off at the next junction which was actually correct as by that time we had almost reached …..

At last, after about 80/90 miles, with countless phone calls and continual rebooting this machine it started to work about one mile from our Hotel.

We arrived after eleven PM both tired and hungry and so I said let’s have a drink, I think we have earned it. Sorry Sir, the bar closed at 1045 PM and the restaurant is also closed. Next door was a Wendy’s drive-thru which we did a walk through and sated our appetite and thirst.

Well, on the way back to New Jersey, as we were going to the Hyatt it of course planned a route to coincide with the closing of the ….Bridge after an accident and so we were stuck on Manhattan Island and waited in the queue for the Lincoln Tunnel for well over two hours.

Never again will I take the ‘Neverlost’ system.

I think I will use the train in future…………..

ETHIOPIA Our neighbours adventures

Our neighbours from Weybridge, Jerry and Mura Sayers have moved to Ethiopia for two years having joined the VSO. Their life is both very interesting and also challenging and I am sure they would not mind if you were interested to read their travel Blog It provides a tremendous insight into the the way the Ethiopians and also our friends live.
See the link http://www.jandminassosa.blogspot.com/

OH DEAR, Velly Velly SOLLY+++

Dear readers of this Blog
I understand from my sister that the web link to Bodyworks was not correct as it linked to a 'Adult site'. This would appear to be a mistake on my part when entering the web address as I left out a letter 'S' in the address. For those of you who may looked at this site , my apologies

Wednesday 19th July- Farnborough Air Show

A very pleasant and also a very hot day was spent at the Farnborough Air Show.
The many exhibition stands provided considerable interest and the best part was the air display which commenced with the Airbus A340-600 which took off at an alarming rate and then almost stood on its tail. I guess it must have been very empty. This was followed by the Airbus A 380, the new 'Whopper Sized' aircraft, which also made a tremendous take off.
There were lots of Military Aircraft as well, but we enjoyed the show but with the heat around 36 degrees Centigrade it was rather warm.
I hope that you enjoy the pictures so click the link

http://noelgroves.phanfare.com/album/104208

Saturday 15th July-Time to go home

We left Avallon after buying some picnic type food for lunch and headed North but with the intention of completely avoiding Paris. The journey in the North was mainly via miles and miles of roads bypassing many farms growing cereal crops.
As we went further North the temperature was dropping bit by bit and by the time we reached Calais at about 4.30 pm it was down to a cold 22 Degrees Centigrade.
A quick boat trip home using Seafrance, I think we prefer P & O as th ships seem to be in better shape. We arrived home at about 9pm an so to our own beds..
Well thats the last installment for this French holiday and we start working on out next travel plans for later this year.

Its Time to GO home

Well after a quick breakfast we started out packing. It's quite a long job really and lasts about four hours to take the tent down, pack up the cooker, let down the air bed etc etc and finally pack the car. We could not hurry to much as we had to make certain the tent and porch we fully dry before packing and after a heavy due it takes a couple of hours to be fully dry.
Anyway we left Ebreuil around one pm and headed North with the intention of using the side roads and avoiding the motorways. We had not planned a stop just we would stop when were tired and ther was suitable accomodation available. We had packed up tent etc when the sun was getting hotter and at 4pm it was still 34 degrees Centigrade and as most French Hotels do not have Air Conditioning we thought we would hold out until we found a suitable place. Our previous stays in Hotels without aircon was not good.
Anyway after a very nice drive through wide areas of farming areas and then hills and very twisty roads, it almost my arms out we decided thet we would head for Avallon and try to stay the night there.
So we arrived at about 6 pm and found a very nice, but expensive Hotel with aircon, and we decided to stay the night here. As the Hotel was expensive no doubt the restaurant would be as well and so we found a nice little place in the middle of town whilst taking some photo's.
The place was fairly quiet and the the restaurants seemed mostly empty and considering it was Bastile Day this surprised us.

Thursday 13th July- Last Vichy visit

Our usual trip to Vichy and shopping and the weather getting hotter all the time.
There is a lot more tourist traffic on the roads today and also when we got back to the site we now had tents all around us. This confirms our our earlier view that we will leave this week in fact tomorrow we have agreed upon.
The Dutch group of boys next to us seem to be in trouble with the site owner, not sure what is happening but there tent and surrounding area is very messy. Also, during today two minivans and two cars turned up with a about 14 yound girls aged between 12 and 14 I guess. They tried going in the river for a swim and the noise was appalling.
Time to leave.

Wednesday 12th July- A boring day for readers

Well today it was so hot we decided just to have a quit day and contemplate our naval's or books. The site is beginng to fill up quite nicely for the owners but not to our taste. There are Dutch Caravans, tents arriving everyday. We like it quiet.
The weather for the nextfew days based on the internet reviews shows some more stormy weather arriving, no doubt after the last few days being very hot.
On considering the weather and also the amount of campers now arriving, we have decided that we will most likely leave here on Friday.

Tuesday 11th July- Ahoy there my hearties!!

After a good breakfast of fresh croissants we drove to Menat to start our river tour. It's still early in the season and so the place was fairly quiet although a German family turned up. We donned our life vests and signed our life away so that if things went wrong it was our fault that we lost the canoe, paddles and everything else . We started with a frantic minibus drive for about twenty five minutes though the hills to Chateauneuf . If we survive this minibus ride then the rest is a piece of cake.
We arrived at Chateauneuf and put the canoes in the water with the only instruction being keep left for the next 100 metres or so. I said what about the 12.9 kilometres and he said keep to the middle. So we left and very soon after came to our first rapid which was not too bad and was a bit bumpy as the fibreglass canoe bumped over the large boulders.
Well we made the first rapid ok not knowing about the other twenty five or so, some we got stuck on and Noel had to get out and move the canoe whilst on others due to water pressure we started out ok but ended up going backwards at about fifteen miles per hour through a rock stream.
The journey took almost 3.5 hours to do the twelve kilometres and by the times we arrived back at Menat we were tired and very wet. At one time Noel was sitting in six inches of water which was slopping around inside the canoe.
As this was going to be a very wet trip I decided not to take my nice camera just in case it went overboard, this was a wise move but a shame as some of the views were really spectacular.
After a shower and change into dry clothes at the canoe centre we knocked back a few beers and had a pizza and chips lunch and headed home for some rest which we both sorely needed.
The temperature today was around 32 degrees centigrade and so we both got a little browner today but it doesn’t hurt yet.
No doubt the muscles will start aching tomorrow morning but the trip was great very enjoyable and one that we wil do again sometime but perhaps with a cheap camera to record the views.
Well, I am writing this at ten pm and its beginning to get dark and the bugs are beginning to find the screen of the computer and so it must be near bed time for us old folks.
I forgot to mention the amount of bats flying around at night, more than aeroplanes at Heathrow.

Monday 10th July– The weather has improved greatly

With the weather improving in leap’s and bounds, we went for a short drive in the hills surrounding Ebruil as well as visiting a store where Jennifer could by some shoes to walk in the water as we are planning a canoe trip ourselves. So we went to the boat location to check out all the details and book for tomorrow.
The area surrounding is really beautiful with rolling hills and woods and old villages etc, this is a very nice part of France and we shall return next year all things being equal.
We went passed a Château which is built like an English Castle called Château Chouvigny, it was a bit late for good photos and also difficult to stop in the small streets, perhaps another time.

Sunday 9th July- Take it easy day

A quiet Sunday watching the canoes go by on the river, reading books and the high light of the day was the cows coming down to the water to drink. Must be getting bored anyway both reading good books. Other than that not much to report

Saturday 8th July- Ebruil Flea Market Day

We walked in to town as we had read about the flea market taking place but we were not prepared for the scale of it.The main roads through the town had been closed off for the day and there were well over 150 stalls selling anything and everything you possibly not want. From food to postcards and car bits and pieces there was so much stuff you could not believe it.
There were quite a lot of local people and only a few tourists and it was very much a local affair.
With all the roads closed I am not sure how the traffic fared as the roads were covered in cars with very few, if any, gendarmes to control the event.
We had a relaxing afternoon and later in the evening David and Marjorie from Alan Rogers Ltd came to join us for a glass of wine as they are departing back to the UK tomorrow after three months here. It would appear that over the years they had also travelled a lot in America as well as Europe and so we had lots to to talk about. The Alan Rogers French Camp book currently has 600 reviewed sites and this will increase to around 900 for 2007 book. Actually the amount of sites that you see just driving around is incredible however there some pretty rought ones as well.
David told us about one site they went to review where it flooded several times each year up to about five feet and the showers were build at the wrong angle so that the water ran out under the door on to the ground instead of going down the plug hole- this site does not appear in the book. There were several other stories about sites they commented on and it was quite an interesting evening.

Friday 7th July- Shopping and Internet

The weather again was not to good and so we headed in to Vichy for some shopping and also to update the Blog at the Internet café. The more we go to Vichy the more we like the place. We bought some Salmon and we grilled it with a bottle of good white wine. Not much to do when the weather is like this.

Thursday- 6th July- What to do today???

The weather looked very grim today following the last few days of storms and so we decided to take a trip out to look at the country side and check out a few more camp sites.The journey took us though the Sioule Gorge which is very beautiful with striking hills and the fast flowing water upon which you can hire a canoe and paddle through the gorge. We drove to Menat and enjoyed the rolling farmed countryside and small rivers. We stopped for lunch in St Pourcain sur Sioule by which time it had temporarily stopped raining. A very nice couple of salads later we left the town which is much larger than you think. There is also a Louis Vuitton factory here no doubt making expensive handbags for the rich and famous.
It then started to rain heavily again and the black clouds were rolling in to cover the skies and so we went back to Ebruil which had only a little rain in the day.
We had a quite night reading books, listening to music on our I-pods and had a Beef Bourguignon from the camp site take-away, most enjoyable.
Lets hope there is a quieter night and no more thunder etc.

Wednesday 5th July- Its watch the weather day

When checking the weather forecast on the internet in Vichy it said that the next 10 days would be a mixture of good and bad weather. Tuesday night did as was stated but there is due to be more rain over the next few days but improving by the end of the week.
So today we wait and see how the weather performs just to be sure that we don’t leave the tent exposed.
So to kill the time we roamed the camp site to meet a few people and take some photographs. When we were here last year we met a couple who used to be teachers and now retired and they work part time for the Alan Rogers Organisation who produce camp site reviews around Europe. David ,don’t know his surname , and his wife spend about one month a year travelling to camp sites and checking them out and then filling out reports which are included in the French Camp site book. After this is complete they spend the next two months at this Ebruil site and help the owners keep it looking smart, I also assume they do not pay to be here.
In the evening watched France beat Portugal- this was good news.

Wednesday 5th July- Its watch the weather day

When checking the weather forecast on the internet in Vichy it said that the next 10 days would be a mixture of good and bad weather. Tuesday night did as was stated but there is due to be more rain over the next few days but improving by the end of the week.
So today we wait and see how the weather performs just to be sure that we don’t leave the tent exposed.
So to kill the time we roamed the camp site to meet a few people and take some photographs. When we were here last year we met a couple who used to be teachers and now retired and they work part time for the Alan Rogers Organisation who produce camp site reviews around Europe. David ,don’t know his surname , and his wife spend about one month a year travelling to camp sites and checking them out and then filling out reports which are included in the French Camp site book. After this is complete they spend the next two months at this Ebruil site and help the owners keep it looking smart, I also assume they do not pay to be here.
In the evening watched France beat Portugal- this was good news.

Tuesday 4th July- Groves Independence Day

We headed via Gannat en-route to the City of Vichy, it was about 32 degrees Centigrade by the time we arrived but the town seemed fairly quiet. As soon as we came out of the car park we saw some English Flags and then on the pavement were some more flags with different information on them. It would appear that there will be a Rugby Tournament soon and they are using the signs and flags of the participants to advertise the games. Mark Knoppfler of Dire Straits was on the Scottish flag , I thought he came from Newcastle????
Vichy is a very nice City, although it does not really feel like one with its small streets and old houses. This town has money as the shops were mostly of expensive clothes and many of the Paris fashion houses had outlets here. This place is also famous for the spa mineral water and in the centre of town is a bubbling pool, fully enclosed in a fabulous old building, please see photos.
There are many taps running with the different types of water but the temperature of the water from the tap differed from say 38 Degrees Centigrade down to 22 degrees, We triedsome but warm water never really taste nice although should I get rheumatism then I am sure it will help me a lot.
After shopping at a CORA Hypermarket, this is really a great shop with an excellent choice of fresh vegetables, fish, cheese and fruit etc and we bought some salmon-en-croute for dinner.
We also checked our email at a rather nice internet shop before leaving town for our camp site. As we got closer to Ebruil the clouds got darker and darker and as the weather was promised for some thunderstorms we closed the tent down for the worse. And we were right to do this as the storm that came was very powerful and at one point we had hail stones the size of large peas hitting the tent. Unfortunately I had l left the camera in the car as I would have liked to take a picture but did not want to go out in the thunder and lightning and hail and rain.
This storm went on for about six or seven hours altogether with small breaks and then the strong winds arrived and I thought we might get blown away. A Belgian family got washed out of their tent and another older couple in a camper van also got a little wet.
This new tent of ours made by Outwell is fantastic and it has stood up to all that’s been thrown at it so far, we would certainly recommend anybody wishing to buy a new tent to strongly consider this brand.
So we had our dinner in the tent with the wind howling and the rain pouring down and we were dry and warm.
One of the challenges of camping is keeping the white wine cool in the hot sun, but here in Ebruil we put the bottle in the river to cool, it's not as cold as a refrigerator but it’s the best we can do. Red wine is Ok as also put that in the river as well to keep at the right temperature.
We had to get up in the night as the tent shook in the strong winds just to check the tent was secure.
Oh, I forgot to mention the football. The match was not great but the TV reception was very poor and you could only see lots of white dots and even the ball disappeared sometimes. One of the camp helpers got up the building and tried to adjust the satellite dish and then I noticed that tree branches were right in front of the dish, after they cut down the branches we watched the second half and could see everything. Sorry Germany, Italy did to you what you have done to others in this series.

Monday 3rd July- A day to recover

After the exertions of the previous day and also as the sun was really warming things up we decided to stay in the shade and read our books, perhaps not very exiting but it was a very nice way to spend the day by the river, watching the few fishermen trying their luck whilst enjoying a good book. The day passed quite quickly really and so we decided that the next day we would take some activity and go in to Vichy for lunch and some shopping.

Sunday 2nd July- To Ebruil

We left Clermont- Ferrand as it got warmer and the sun came up. The outskirts of CF are not the most attractive of Cities and headed via the small roads north to our camp site in Ebruil. Some of the countryside in this area is really quite beautiful and it all looked great in the sun.
We arrived around eleven in the morning and by 2.30 we were fully set up and ready for a late lunch.
Ebruil is a small but lively town about 30 Kms from Vichy and the camp site is set by the side of the River Sioule with plenty of trees for shade.
We decided earlier in the day that as the Camp Site has a take-away we would have dinner there and so we had Lamb and veggies, French style of course, it was very good together with a bottle of Bordeaux wine.
And so we went to bed listening to the sound of the river passing by.

Saturday 1st of July we're off to Clermont-Ferrand

We left St Cere after a walk around the town to take some pictures and headed in the direction of Clermont Ferrand. Our plan was to visit and check out other camp sites en-route for perhaps another holiday. You can read all the blurb in the book but a personal visit adds a lot.
We looked at about six sites en-route and we both agreed that only one was suitable and that was because it was small whilst the others, althought quite big and empty it would be like living on a housing estate.
We arrived in Clermont Ferrand at about three pm to look for a hotel and quickly found the Kyriad Hotel in downtown CF which had wireless internet. It also had air conditioning which also helped as it was still very warm outside.
We watched a game of English football or more like it - how not to play and then headed out for dinner. It was Saturday at 7.45 Pm and the place was deserted and the Hotel restaurant was also closed. In the town square there were a few people listening to some African music but most of the place was closed. We evenutally found a restauant and then saw an increasing amount of people heading for the town centre.
France was playing Brazil and in the town square was a big TV and when we got there it was packed with about 2000 people to watch the game and so we joined in watching the second half and the win over Brazil. The people went mad and jumped in the fountains and groups of cars went around town pressing on their car horns, it was bedlam but good fun. And so to bed
We have decided that we will go direct to the site in Ebruil where we stayed last year and have some days by the river.

Friday 30 th June Pack up and GO

Up early to start packing but as there was a ground dew we could not fully pack everything until the tent was dry. It seems to take a long time to close everything down but there is quite a lot to do. We said our goodbyes to our neighbours with whom we had watched the games and I think they were sad to see us go as the site was nearly empty.
We headed off in the direction of Tulle and stopped the night in a nice little town called St Cere where we arrived just in time to see the first football match, such good timing and whilst I watched the footy Jennifer had time at the hotel pool. Dinner that night was in the historic town square and it was still very warm at ten pm and so we did a walk around the town but I had forgotten to bring my camera. Will need to come back in the morning and take some pictures.

Tuesday 27th till Friday 30th- Time flies without the Internet

Not having access to a daily internet connection and our failing to keep it up to date means that sometimes there are days which fly by and you wonder what you have done. However most of the last few days were spent either walking in the hills around the Lot Valley, shopping and generally lying about reading and swimming.
We went on a trip to Montaban, not perhaps a great city but at least we had a good lunch.
We also watched most of the football matches although they are less frequent now as we get closer to the end. Englands performance so far has not been great and you cannot put a bunch of individuals together and expect it to work.
The weather has been very nice and warm again during the last few days and the fact we have to move from the location in our camp site which has been reserved from Sunday 2nd of July by another family requires us to make a decision. This would be to move to another camp site or stay within the existing location. To move all your equipment to another location is just as time consuming as moving on and so we will do just that.
We have decided to head for the Auverne area of France where we stayed last time and hope there is space but it is still early in the year and so there should not be any trouble.

June 26th Monday, a better weather day

By midday Monday the weather was back on track and not too hot, I guess it was around 28 centigrade, just pleasant for relaxing in. A few Dutch people left the site today after losing to Portugal in football last night. Not a great game but they were disappointed.
We got an English paper during shopping last Friday and it does not make good reading what with the Stock market slump, and more expected, and Thames water losing so much water each day but it is not understandable why Ofwat would allow the company to repatriate dividends to the tune of one billion pounds over the last six years and not re-investing in the system? Maybe we shall stay in France and not read the papers again!!!.
Well off to watch Australia play the Italians and I expect them to win…

June 25th Sunday A miserable weather day

The weather following the storm was a day of grey skies and cool breezes and about 16 degrees centigrade so we took it easy with reading.
The camp site we are staying at is at a place called larnagol, about 25 miles east of Cahors. The site only has 49 spaces and as only about 10 places have been taken as its early season there is plenty of room to spread. The site is owned by two Brits from Winchester, Mike had to give up work due to health reasons, he worked for the Hi tech business and travelled extensively. Mike has been mad keen on cars and used to own about ten vintage cars with his favourite being Jaguars. All over the bar are pictures of him at either Goodwood or other race tracks.
Mike spends most of his day riding around on his varios tractors and keeping out of the way of his wife who really appears to controls things here. They are a very nice couple to be with and that is why we decided to spend some extra time here. We watched the abysmal England display, god knows how we can hope to beat the Brazilians or Germans. It has just not clicked as a team, we live in hope.

June 24 Saturday

On Saturday we decided to go for a long walk in the hills surrounding Larganol, It was a very pleasant walk although we did not see to much due to the very high trees and shrubs etc. After that we spent the rest of the day poolside, great.
After dinner we watched the Football again and during this time it started to rain light at first and then heavier and then heavier until the lightning and Thunder came back and ran for about two or three hours during the night. This disturbed our sleep a bit as the noise of the rain on the tent, the brightness of the lightning and the claps of thunder made it difficult to relax. Anyway there is always tomorrow to recover

Thursday 22nd June- A quiet day was had by all

Well the weather was a bit grey again so we took it easy. We went for a short drive to look at some other campsites for information purposes only.
We had a great steak tonight.... Not much to report really and still watching the football. Japan were unlucky and played their hearts out but lost to Brazil

Thursday 22nd June- A quiet day was had by all

Well the weather was a bit grey again so we took it easy. We went for a short drive to look at some other campsites for information purposes only.
We had a great steak tonight.... Not much to report really and still watching the football. Japan were unlucky and played their hearts out but lost to Brazil

Wednesday 21st June- Weather is variable today

Since the storm the weather in this part of France has been a bit mixed or variable as they say on TV. We had another easy day of not doing much except talk to the neighbours. The Camp Site is still quite empty with mostly Brits and Cloggies (Dutch) and there is plenty of room here as the individual sites are quite large. Some sites we have been to in the past are quite small where you have difficulty parking your car but not here as could park forty foot container with ease.
As some people who read this may know we are intending to buy a caravan next year to make it easier for our future European travels. Whilst waiting for the ferry in the Dover Harbour we were approached by a guy who wanted to know what we thought of our Toyota Land Cruiser as they were thinking of changing their Toyota Amazon which drinks diesel like no tomorrow, his words not mine. We then got around to talking about caravans and we mentioned that we had in mind the Bailey Louisiana which is a double axle model and he said that he was going to do the same but many sights in France do restrict entrance to such vans.
It would appear that by law, the French camp sites cannot stop ‘The Travellers’ who wish to stay the night and pay and so the only way to restrict them is not to allow twin axle models which all travellers seem to have. Oh we thought as this would affect us.
On this site we have a British couple with a twin axle van who we discussed this with and he said that over the past year they have only had one problem in this direction!! We will think more about this before we purchase our van.
The England game last night was Ok in the first half but I think the team lost the plot in the second half and Mr Rooney was very pissed off at being taken off!!.Anyway, we will watch the Holland versus Argentina game, this should be good we hope

Tuesday 20th June- Thank god it’s stopped raining

With very little rain in the Lot valley during the last few months the rain last night must have been fully absorbed in to the ground almost immediately it landed as the grass was hardly wet this morning.
We spent a very peaceful day reading books and with the odd snooze to help us get over last nights sleep interruption. We are going to watch the England versus Sweden game tonight, let us hope that the boys play well as Sweden has always been a team which seems to have a knack of beating us, and they nearly did.

Monday 19th June- Its very hot here, I had to take my vest off!

The weather is great today and so we went for a walk to Calvinac, a small village about 2 kilometres away. Quite a few of the houses have been greatly improved during the last three years since we last visited here. A lovely village with great views over the Lot River and valley so please see the photos, there could have been more but the battery went flat on the camera without warning, damn it.
We have some shopping to do today and so will head for town and try to check the email and update the blog on line, lets see what happens.
Well we found the Internet shop in Cahors and as we use our own computer we were directed to a back room to use the line connection. For some reason the AOL software will not operate correctly and so spent quite some time fiddling and then gave up. However with other software was able to update the blog and also put some comments to the photos. There, was of course, no air-conditioning and it was extremely hot working in this room.
We got back to the site late and it seemed very quiet, then a neighbour came and said it was the camp site owners 64 Birthday and he was buying, so off we went.
We also watched the Spain and Tunisia match, again the underdogs nearly won but Spain fought back.
We went to bed as it started to rain and oh boy, how it did rain and thunder and a great lightning show, it went on from about midnight until about 2.30 in the morning and the rain was very powerful indeed. The tent was great and did not leak at all but it was very noisy inside from all the rain.

Sunday 18th June- A trip to far!!

The weather looked a bit grey and so we decided to go for a drive to Puy Leveque where my sister Annette and husband Peter have stayed a few times. They had also found a very nice restaurant in Grezels which was highly recommended and we thought we would try and find it which we did only it to discover it was full booked for lunch. The man said make a reservation next time Monsieur.
So we decided to head for Puy Leveque for lunch, being Sunday not much was open but there was a Hotel on the top of the hill serving and so we decided to go there. Bad mistake this as it would appear that perhaps there was only two waiters for about 30/40 people and so after we waited almost 35 minutes and were only able to obtain a knife and fork and very small bowl of crisps and olives we left and headed bak for Cahors to a proper restaurant.
We had an excellent meal and wandered around the town for a while which was closed but there are as many estate agents in Cahors as ther in Weybridge. viz one Estate Agent for each six shops. We met an Australian lady wandering around the town looking for a Hotel. She had arrived by train for a few days and had obviously not looked at the signs well as had passed at least three hotels without recognising them. So we helped her out with some information.
We were still full from a late lunch and therefore avoided dinner and watched yet another game of football. This time it was the Koreans giving the French a hard time. The score was 1-1 and I do love to see the establishment being upset by the outsiders. as a result of this game. The French spectators could hardly believe their eyes to see how their team was being harassed.
France went in to a day of mourning today as a result of this.

Saturday 17th June- A day of leisure

Following a thunder and lightning storm on Friday we night we awoke to a slightly greyish day, albeit not cold.Having spent the previous day downtown, we decided that a day of rest was called for including a large helping of football.
We both decided to read a book and also went for a swim to pass the time of day, very relaxing indeed. We watched the USA team give the Italian team a tough time indeed and quite frankly for the effort they deserved to win, however, as usual, matters do not always work out this way. I think the Italians were lucky to win although they took considerable stick from their fans who watched a ten man Italian team of famous footballers being taken to the cleaners by a team of nine unknown Americans-does your heart good to see.

Friday 16th June-the Trials and Tribulations of Using the Internet in France

It looked like it might rain today?? and as we had also failed in the past few days to write our blog, even though we had no internet connection, we decided to prepare the script for transferring later in the day when we visit Villefranche and hope to find a good connection???.
We had a great lunch in our usual restaurant right by the river and watched the world go by for a couple of hours. Then we needed to find an internet café somewhere where we can update the Blog and so we went to the local Tourist Office for assistance . No problem they said and a short distance away there was a location for internet connection and so off we trotted. We arrived at this shop that does everything from internet to photocopying, a bit like a small prontaprint and then our problems started.
Madame was more used to people arriving to use their equipment which had passed through airport security and so when we arrived with our notebook computer she looked worried and then we said how does the wireless network operate she called somebody else who arrived five minutes later. Well after 35 minutes of trying to configure the security which The Pentagon would have been proud of, we gave up. Why they needed such a complicated security for internet for this little town beats me and so we went looking for another location. We had been told by the previous place that there was nowhere else in Villefranche that has Internet, but as I don’t trust statement’s like this, we went in search of another link. Blow me, in five minutes we came across another shop which apart from offering PC repairs also provided internet connection and so in we went.
The nice chap behind the counter said that his PC had broken and so we could not use the system, we said that we had our own PC and only needed a cable to get connected. Well finally it worked and one and a half hours later in a small room with no air conditioning, and it was approx 35 degrees centigrade outside, we updated the blog after some degree of challenge. For some reason our AOL software does not work well –not sure why but we still have still to add all the comments for the photos for the past few days but this we can perhaps do tomorrow.
So, with being very satisfied with our efforts we left and went to the Intermarche Supermarket (used to be a K+N Customer) and bought some great pork chops and French original recipe(whatever that is) sausages which turned out to be excellent.
We are enjoying our stay here in Laranagol, the site as mentioned is fairly empty (and no kids) and makes it very quiet. We will extend our stay here for perhaps another week or so or until we are fed up with the area and/or the very hot weather.
The weather has been a bit iffy today with storm clouds threatening but no rain, perhaps tomorrow.
I just thought I would mention that we are sitting here in our tent, its 1015 pm and trying to see the keyboard in the very low light, supported by a torch, but with flying things doing low level bombing raids over the keyboard. One particular largish fly could obviously read as it attached itself to the notebook screen and followed the curser everywhere it went!. There must be a story or morale here somewhere.
Well its time for bed, it’s beginning to rain a bit, lets see what happens.
Italy play USA tomorrow could be a basketball score!!!

Friday 16th June-the Trials and Tribulations of Using the Internet in France

It looked like it might rain today?? and as we had also failed in the past few days to write our blog, even though we had no internet connection, we decided to prepare the script for transferring later in the day when we visit Villefranche and hope to find a good connection???.
We had a great lunch in our usual restaurant right by the river and watched the world go by for a couple of hours. Then we needed to find an internet café somewhere where we can update the Blog and so we went to the local Tourist Office for assistance . No problem they said and a short distance away there was a location for internet connection and so off we trotted. We arrived at this shop that does everything from internet to photocopying, a bit like a small prontaprint and then our problems started.
Madame was more used to people arriving to use their equipment which had passed through airport security and so when we arrived with our notebook computer she looked worried and then we said how does the wireless network operate she called somebody else who arrived five minutes later. Well after 35 minutes of trying to configure the security which The Pentagon would have been proud of, we gave up. Why they needed such a complicated security for internet for this little town beats me and so we went looking for another location. We had been told by the previous place that there was nowhere else in Villefranche that has Internet, but as I don’t trust statement’s like this, we went in search of another link. Blow me, in five minutes we came across another shop which apart from offering PC repairs also provided internet connection and so in we went.
The nice chap behind the counter said that his PC had broken and so we could not use the system, we said that we had our own PC and only needed a cable to get connected. Well finally it worked and one and a half hours later in a small room with no air conditioning, and it was approx 35 degrees centigrade outside, we updated the blog after some degree of challenge. For some reason our AOL software does not work well –not sure why but we still have still to add all the comments for the photos for the past few days but this we can perhaps do tomorrow.
So, with being very satisfied with our efforts we left and went to the Intermarche Supermarket (used to be a K+N Customer) and bought some great pork chops and French original recipe(whatever that is) sausages which turned out to be excellent.
We are enjoying our stay here in Laranagol, the site as mentioned is fairly empty (and no kids) and makes it very quiet. We will extend our stay here for perhaps another week or so or until we are fed up with the area and/or the very hot weather.
The weather has been a bit iffy today with storm clouds threatening but no rain, perhaps tomorrow.
I just thought I would mention that we are sitting here in our tent, its 1015 pm and trying to see the keyboard in the very low light, supported by a torch, but with flying things doing low level bombing raids over the keyboard. One particular largish fly could obviously read as it attached itself to the notebook screen and followed the curser everywhere it went!. There must be a story or morale here somewhere.
Well its time for bed, it’s beginning to rain a bit, lets see what happens.
Italy play USA tomorrow could be a basketball score!!!

Friday 16th June

It looked like it might rain today?? and as we had also failed in the past few days to write our blog, even though we had no internet connection, we decided to prepare the script for transferring later in the day when we visit Villefranche and hope to find a good connection.We will probably have lunch somewhere before spending time on the web. UPDATE TO FOLLOW......
This entry has 1 comments:
Comments added
Dear Noel and Jen, if near Puy L'Eveque do check to see if the town is less tatty than last year!! The Belle Vue Hotel is very expensive for a meal in the restaurant but go at lunchtime for a snack and a great view or in the evening and sit in the front conservatory where the food is lovely and company lively.Yes, it is Grezels for La Terrasse - a one horse town but you must try the restaurant - we tried to find the telephone number but have obviously given it to someone else!! If in the area do go to Bonaguil Castle and sit by the lake en route with a picnic - heaven - always alone when we have picknicked there over the years - have a lovely time for us as well - have a wonderful time you two and get out of the Lot midday sun.............! There is a huge campsite near Puy L'Eveque owned by the Dutch with swimming pool and everything your heart desires (apart from the Dutch of course) - don't know whether it is open to all but worth a try as you can canoe from there. Otherwise feel free to swim in the Lot as it is perfectly clean and if it didn't have an adverse affect on me, anyone would be safe! lots of love from meComment from pulmanaria -

Thursday 15th June

We started the day with a six mile walk, or thereabouts, to take a few photo’s of a small town called La Toulzanie where the houses are built into the rock face and the cliffs overhang the houses. We would worry like hell, if we lived there, about them falling down however some have been there since 1864 and so must be quite safe. It was very hot still with the temperature around 32 Centigrade and so back to the campsite for a cold beer and lunch.
We spent the afternoon reading and swimming before the England vs Trinidad and Tobago game, what a farce until England scored two goals in the last few minutes. We must have missed at least 10 chances.
A nice dinner of Melon and ham concluded a very relaxing day, and so to bed.

Wednesday 14th June

We decided to try and find an internet connection in Cahors which we did but for some reason it would not allow us to access AOL using their software. We could access our email however and ploughed through the 40 odd messages.
As mentioned, we could not use the normal AOL software and therefore could not update the blog, hence the empty pages so far. We will try another connection somewhere else and see if it will work then. Some shopping at Carrefour for some essentials and back in time for a swim and relax in the sun.
Dinner was planned as a BBQ only the bag of stuff we had bought ( Noel had bought) was not charcoal but vine twigs that are placed on top of the charcoal to add flavour and so back to the gas grill. The steak was great and then we watched the football on the TV, shame Germany beat Poland in the dying seconds of the game.

Tuesday 13th June

A quiet day around the campsite then getting used to the area with a walk around Larnagol. We had a chicken dinner prepared on the gas grill and drank a bottle of wine, a very nice way to spend the day indeed. We took a few pictures around Larnagol that evening which we hope you will enjoy.

Monday 12th June to Larnagol

An early start to Larnagol and we put up the tent in quite a strong wind which did not help us at all as we thought that the tent might blow away on several occasions. But in the end we succeeded and were set up by early afternoon. A trip to Vlllefranche de Rouergue for some food shopping. As it was Monday most of the shops were closed and so no access to internet or email.We had our first alfresco dinner under canvas and slept well but it did get cold at night.

Sunday 11th June Le Blanc to Bouzies

After a very pleasant night we left Le Blanc and headed South in the direction of Cahors, again keeping to the minor roads and through the Dordogne in to the Lot area of France, the scenery was quite beautiful en route.

After a very pleasant night we left Le Blanc and headed South in the direction of Cahors, again keeping to the minor roads and through the Dordogne in to the Lot area of France, the scenery was quite beautiful en route.
Our journey was much faster than we expected and we arrived in Cahors around 1400 hrs and so decided that we would pay a visit to the house we had previously rented in Calvinac, about 35 miles east of Cahors to see if Jock and Eve were still there but found they had left three months earler.
Our plan was to look at the several campsites in the region and pick the most suitable, the first one we looked at was near Calvinac in a place called Larnagol. It was a site we knew from previous visits to the area, it has only 49 placements and is now run by an English couple from Winchester who are also friends of Jock and Eve, small world. Mike was a major car enthusiast and has two of his old cars on site. This site was nice and is also quiet , there are only about a dozen groups on site and so we decided that we would look no further.
We spent the night in a Hotel in Bouzies called La Falaise where we have previously stayed and had an enjoyable meal but the weather was very hot and so difficult to sleep .

Saturday 10th June Aumale to Le Blanc

We left the Hotel and departed using only the B roads or the occasional Route Nationale, and had a very pretty route through some very attractive countryside. We bought lunch in a Supermarket and stopped by the side of the road in the Forest de Dreaux for a brief lunch. As our journey had not been fast and as we had stopped early the previous day we decided to press ahead to find a Hotel much later in the day and we ended up in a town called Le Blanc.en-route we stopped for a coffee break in a small town right next to the church only to find a wedding taking place and so minutes after we arrived the church emptied and the bride and groom went in a carriage and pair around the town followed by the guests in their cars, about 50 cars in all, and they used their hooters to celebrate the wedding. This caused quite a traffic jam but they did not care!!!
A number of Hotels were signposted and we looked at two and then saw a sign for another called Domain de L’Etape 3 Kms out of town and so we thought that this might be quieter being out of town and so we went on though country lanes until the road went off the SatNav but we kept going and came across a very nice Chateau where we finally stayed the night. The restaurant was closed in the Chateau and so we went back in to town for dinner, not very good though. Note the Chateau only had two other guests apart from us, so it was quiet.

Friday9th June Weybridge to Aumale

We left home at around 0700hrs, I like to be early for the ferry just in case!!!, and lucky we did. The traffic lights were out on the A3/M25 junction and this caused a 20 minute delay, a great start.o n the way to Dover we saw many cars with English Flags but did not realise that most of them were heading for Dover like us until we got close, the last mile took almost 35 minutes and so we actually arrived on time. A very misty Channel Crossing on the Seafrance boat we arrived in Calais around 1400 hrs local time. We headed south on the A16 so as to get out of the environs of Calais and Boulogne and stayed on the motorway until we reached Abbeville.
Whilst on the motorway to Abbeville we went past a group of about 6 Morgan Cars and two Porsche, we think they were heading for Le Mans where the 24 hour race will take place next weekend. We left the motorway and blow me five minutes later the Morgans turned up behind us again. So we pulled in to let them go and five minutes later they turned up again behind us, we assume they had got lost at least twice.

We pulled in to this very attractive town called Aumale and although is was still a bit early to fix Hotel arrangements we came upon a nice historic hotel, one of the Logis De France chain, which was quite nice and so we decided to stay the night.
We did a walking tour of the town and took a few pictures. We came across a Circus Group who are visiting the town complete with Lions, Zebras, Bison, Llama and Camels and some others that we could not see in the cages. We do not like to see wild animals being kept in this continual state of transit and so decided we would not go but enjoy dinner in the Hotel instead.
The opening ceremony of the Football World Cup was on TV and so for a short time we watched and were a bit concerned about the German Football team wearing lederhosen?? They kept on slapping their Adidas shoes, I guess in anger or chasing flies.

Well that’s it for tonight as the bar will open soon..

Note, we may not have access to Internet Connection on a frequent basis like USA but will update when we can. However we will be keeping daily notes so that when we do
get access a daily report and pictures will be available.

France- Here we come

Well we have got the travel bug again and as we bought a new tent earlier this year at the Birmingham NEC Caravan and Camping Show we have got the urge to go and use it.
Following a healthy BBQ with some friends last Friday night we have sold our old tent, actually less than one year old , to my niece who lives near Pershore. We delivered it to them on Saturday and helped them to erect it for the first time. We then had a night in Malvern and dinner with my sister. Anyway I digress, back to camping.
So on Sunday when we got back from Malvern we decided to try out our new tent. We are extremely pleased with it and it only took us about one hour to erect, we will do it faster now we understand the best way to erect it. A bit disappointed that there are a couple of stitching errors which should not be there on a new tent but they are not serious and in any case we have no time to change it. So on Friday this week we leave Dover for the sunny shores of Calais and start heading to the Lot Valley but will take our time and only use the main 'RN' Route Nacional and smaller roads and avoid the motorways.
Being of a retired status, the need to get on the Motorway with pedal to the metal is not necessary any more and so we shall swan our way down over a few days, take a few pictures and stop where we want. Should be great. We plan to take our new mode of transport a Toyota Land Cruiser LC5 which appeared on the scene a couple of weeks ago and this will create a lot of extra space for carrying all our camping equipment and my wife's clothes ( and my husbands shoes.) rather that struggle to fit them in the Toyota Supra.
The French diary should start by this weekend for those of you interested to follow the ravings of a retired logistics guy (and his long suffering wife). I promised Jennifer not to take pictures of Trucks and Warehouses and/or sit at an airport taking pictures of my beloved planes but concentrate on the scenery and other places of interest.Written by noelgroves . Link to this entry Notify AOL
This entry has 1 comments: (Add your own)
Hi Noel & Jennifer,We were delighted to be amoungst the friends you mentioned at your recent BBQ, and we had a great time, compliments to the chef, the steaks were especially good! Thanks for the hospitality.Good luck with the camping trip, if the current weather is anything to go by we are sure that it will be a lovely time in a super setting of Southern France.Go on Noel sure you will want to play spot the Kuehne + Nagel / ACR truck, should be quite a few about!!!!Have fun......Ant & Tam

Our USA trip reflections and observations

Well we are now back in the UK and settling back into Weybridge life. Since we got back it has not stopped raining and it must be the wettest official drought in history. Hose pipe bans and the Water Authorities asking us to be more careful with water. Turn off the tap when cleaning your teeth etc., whilst they lose vast amounts though broken pipes. What a place. The Government has fallen down very badly and Tony Blair and his mates are in an absolute mess what with ‘two shags Prescot' the deputy PM for those not aware, and the Home Office has lost the plot completely. Ah well. I think I will stop reading the papers. Back to the American trip.
The People
We met some of the most interesting and friendly people you could hope to meet. We received lots of helpful advise on places to visit, routes to take and restaurants to try. The only rude person we met was the Mexican controlling the hire cars leaving Las Vegas Airport. I think he must have got out of the wrong side of the bed/border that morning, but he was the only person who was rude.
The Scenery
Absolutely brilliant. Our favourite place was Zion Park however Yosemite was marvellous whilst the granddaddy of them all, The Grand Canyon was amazing. We visited many US states and the different types of scenery was always pleasing. The road through Death Valley National park and also US route 50 ( the loneliest road in America- they even write books about it) was magnificent. Some of the old historic towns were extremely interesting and in some cases quaint. You could just picture the horses tied up at the side of the road whilst the master tries a few glasses of hooch and chats up the locals. I believe we may have seen more of the USA than many Americans who live there which considering the size of the Country this is not surprising, we could only touch the surface in our 50 odd days. We did meet a guy who was seeing the USA and would spend three years in his RV doing it, makes our attempt quite pityfull
Anyway it was absolutely, well worth the visit. If you can drive yourself, which is also easy, you can see far more and even when you get lost you will always see something new.
The Roads and driving
The roads were in most cases quite excellent. Considering that a number of roads we went on receive harsh treatment from snow tyres and chains they were in a pretty good state of repair. The surface of the roads we can only dream about in the UK. Many of the roads we went on were through and over high mountains, sometimes covered in snow and you felt that an attempt had been made to make the views from the road as scenic as possible for car passengers. Full marks.
With regard to driving we found most people to be very courteous and they always stopped at pedestrian crossings unlike this country where they start hooting if you don't hurry!! We only read of one person being shot in a road rage incident whilst we were in Scottsdale, not bad really. We saw more active police and many cars stopped for speeding and we noticed far more speed restrictions and signs than this country.
The really good bits
Undoubtedly the best National Park for us was Zion National Park and of course not forgetting the Grand Canyon which was extremely impressive. We had a great time with our friends John and Denise in Nashville and the evening at The Bluebird Cafe was really memorable.
The wide open spaces and looking left for 40/50 miles and the same to right and then almost seeing the earths curvature in front was truly memorable. We shall certainly return.
The not so good bits
The amount of poverty was surprising. I have been visiting the USA since the mid 1970’s, usually only the main cities but have never experienced what we saw on this trip. Why this is I don’t know, I guess it's a combination of many factors from Local and Country Government, the lack of education, the feeling of not being wanted. I don't know but it’s too much for a country with everything to be this way. When you see the way the Government is wasting money you do worry about the civilised world.
The Food
The price of food was generally much cheaper in the US than UK. We tried many of the food chains from Applebees and Cracker Barrel, Subway and The Olive Garden and of course the odd Burger King. The food quality was great and in many cases the quantity was far too much for a Brit to attempt. We would occasionally share a starter or otherwise it was all to much. You cannot eat out all the time and so we occasionally resorted to buying microwavable foods or just had a salad in our hotel room. The only bad food we had was at a so called Japanese Restaurant in Ashville, North Carolina. Any decent Japanese person going there would commit Hari Kari if they knew this was representing Japanese food in America.
The wine we tasted, mostly Californian was also good, we also tried some imports from Chile and Argentina, also very good but the wine from the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina you can forget. It was also extremely pricey. A Pakistani Riesling is better.
Hotels
We tried most of the Chains from Hilton to Marriott and Country Inns to Holiday Inn and most were very good and not too expensive. We did not pay more than USD 85.00 per night, the exception was our stay at the 5 Star Hilton in Scottsdale and one extra night at the Jackson Homewood Suites. We were also able to use some of my American Express points which I transferred to Hilton and this saved quite some money. Most of the Hotels offered a free continental breakfast. Many had ‘gravy and biscuits’ a particularly nasty start to the day so I went for the corn flakes and yoghurt alternative. We also took our little electric kettle to make morning tea as to make tea in the coffee machines was not good, the tea ended up tasting of coffee, not good really.

Words
You have a great day Good Morning
How you folks doing Good Morning
How is the food for you guys Is the food all right Sir
Did you drive from England to here No comment
Was Diana really pregnant? No comment
Gas Petrol
Trunk Boot
Hood Bonnet
Napkin Don't ask
Next Steps

Well that's it for the time being. We plan to visit France soon for an extended camping trip in the Lot Valley and Auverne region and you will be able to read all about that. In the meantime if you need any help or information about any of the areas we have visited please do not hesitate to ask as we would assist with great pleasure and enthusiasm

As a certain Mr Schwarstanegger says- I'll be back

Sunday 14th May 2006 - Flying Home

We left the Hotel around 0945 and dumped the car with Dollar Rentacar, then on to the airport. Check-in was without any hassle at all which was great.
The flight from Denver to Philadelphia was quite full and we sat in the very back seats next to the toilet, good opportunities for people watching however. The ride was quite bumpy at both take-off and landing. We mentioned to one of the crew members that we were in transit and she said she hoped we would not be delayed as many flights had been delayed and cancelled due to the aircraft refuellers taking unofficiall sickness/leave etc to celebrate Mother's day. A strange thought passed through my head with a big beefy guy covered with tattoes waving a bunch of flowers at his mum rather than working...
Anyway our flight was on time, almost, as we were delayed on the runway for about 90 minutes because there was a build up of flights. Apparently the weather had been so bad during the day that the aiport was closed for a short while and that impacted on everything. So in retrospect we were quite lucky that our delay was relatively short.
The flight time from Denver to London took almost 12 hours from start to finish and then back to a grey Gatwick Airport and the challenges of the M25.
Well that is the end of our travels in the USA. We were away from home for 51 days, drove 7311 miles and stayed in approx 30 different Hotels and saw some really fantastic scenery and views that we will never forget. During the next few days we will add our observations of America.
eg- How you folks doing???? in English - Good Morning
Now we had better start saving some money for our next trip....

Saturday 13th May, Steamboat Springs to Denver

A very pretty journey from Steamboat Springs to Denver through the Rocky Mountains and over the 11,315 foot Berthoud Pass. The road through the mountains is an area of mainly Skiing resorts and some looked quite plush. The roads however were quiet as it's not the skiing season.
There was still plenty of snow about but I guess not enough for the skiiers.
We arrived at the hotel close to Denver Airport early afternoon and were able to sort out our re-packing before the next day. As it was to be our last night on this trip to USA we had decided to have a nice dinner somewhere and so we went to the fairly famous Denver Chophouse and Grill near the old railway station. The food was excellent and not too expensive by English Standards.
I talked to our waiter about some of the beatifull sights we had seen and also briefly mentioned some of the bad living conditions that exist. She mentioned that many of her friends were frustrated by the people in the USA who are either very lazy or just don't care about their surroundings and that the Government could perhaps do more but mostly the problem is for the individuals to solve.
After dinner we took a walk along what they call the 16th Street mall and went passed a cinema showing Mission Impossible 3 and so we went to see it. Not bad, a bit noisy but otherwise worth going to see. Some excellent shots of Shanghai were used and it brought back some nice memories of times during our office meetings there and also of our Chinese trip.
Then back to the hotel to prepare for an early morning.

12th May 2006 Rock Springs to Steamboat Springs

We left on a beautifully sunny day and took the longer more attractive route via Green River and through the Flaming Gorge National Park and then on via Manila(?) and on to Steamboat Springs for one night.
The journey was very nice indeed with plenty of hills, mountains, snow, lakes and coloured rock formations and was a well spent 7 hours for the journey. We passed the mountains where they have found fossils of Dinosaurs and we also visited the Utah Visitor Office, they had a magnificent view from their windows overlooking the hills.
So tonight we hit downtown Steamboat Springs, we had been recomended to go to the Double Z Bar and BBQ which prepares Texas style BBQ. It was not bad and quite cheap but not the best I have had. Dallas was better.
When walking through Main Street we noticed that the film Poseiden was on, this is about a huge cruise ship that is turned over by a freak wave and how 6 people escaped out of the thousands on board. Not a good film to see if you like cruising. Think I'll go by train to France next time. A load of old rubbish really.
Tomorrow we leave for Denver for our last night...

11th May Jackson to Rock Springs

When we left Jackson this morning it was still cold but reasonably bright en-route to Rock Springs where we also stayed last Saturday night. We went a different way this time via the Snake River Valley and then along the Salt River Valley. Usual beautiful scenery of hills, mountains with snow and wide open spaces.
We stopped at the Fossil Butte National Monument where they have discovered sea life in fossil form from millions of years ago. Very interesting indeed and a very nice place to stop for lunch.
On the way to Fossil Butte we saw several birds of prey, Osprey and Red Tailed Eagles, see the pictures. Beautiful animals but I really need a stronger lens if I wish to continue this type of photography. The Ospreys were building their nest right next to the road, mind you there was virtually no traffic.
In a little town called Kemmerer close the US 30 is a sign for the first J C Penney Store and so we went to see it for interest. In fact it is now a museum but this was the first store to be opened by this retailer.
Over the past week we kept seeing tantalising signs for 'Little America' with the signs mentioning accomodation, food and car/truck service etc, They made it sound like a little country town but when we finally got there (on the I 80 near Green River) we found it was an upper class truck stop. Advertising works as the place was very busy.
The roads leading to Rock Springs were quite interesting with great hills and wide valleys. This was a much better journey than when we did it the other way around using different roads.
We arrived in Rock Springs around 1630, a good time to check in to the Hampton Inn Rock Springs Hotel, not a bad place either as quite new..

10th May 2006 Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Following breakfast came the Board Meeting to decide our next steps. As mentioned yesterday many of the parks are still closed due to the late winter and so much snow etc we felt that to drag it out hoping for a quick improvement would not be the best idea. Also the Americans here are about to celebrate Memorial Day in a big way with many people taking holidays and so roads , hotels etc would be busy.
US Airways offered us flights on Sunday 14th from Denver and so we expect to arrive home on Monday 15th May, perhaps 10 days earlier than planned.
We then went to visit the village of Teton. It was deserted and 95% closed. It is a very nice skiing village and I guess very expensive the Four Seasons Resort Hotel where rooms cost over US dollar 250 even in the slack season plus tips and breakfast up to US dollars 1700, but this includes breakfast!!. Not for us but if you have some cash to burn then this would be a nice place to do it.
We called to try and do a whitewater boat trip on the Snake River only they needed more than two people to make up a trip and so we could not go.
For the rest of the day we planned the rest of our itinerary and then went for a drive to Teton National Park again. We saw some deer and also an eagle and then went for a walk around Jackson to take a few photos.
I forgot to mention , the weather is fantastic today, lots of sun but quite cold still.
Tomorrow we take a slow drive back to Rock Springs en-route for Steamboat Springs.

9th May 2006 Yellowstone Park

Unfortunatly the person who controls the weather up top did not follow instructions as per Weather.Com and so we did not get our bright and sunny start but a grey, cold one and at the top of the 8500 foot Teton Pass, snow and ice.
Not to be detered again we continued but the weather until very late afternoon remained grey and cloudy. After a pleasant journey thro' a small part of Idaho, (didn't see any potatoes though') we finally arrived at Yellowstone National Park. At the check-in point they advised us that at least 50% of the access roads were closed due to the past inclement weather. I suppose that when you get 500 inches of snow in a winter season it's not surprising that things are a little slow getting going. The winter season has only just finished and the summer season is not yet started.
Actually, we decided we are too early in the season for this part of the USA, perhaps June would be better when everything is open and the foliage looks green instead of that 'snowed out' look. However we did our tour and took only a few photos as the weather was not great with occasional snow flurries. We just missed the 'Old Faithfull' geyser and as we did not want to wait another approx 90 minutes or so, in 35 degrees fahrenhite, we went on our way back to Yellowstone West (an aptly named winter shanty town) and went to the IMAX film of Yellowstone.
The Imax films are always very good and they show you the places where you cannot reach by car etc, so it was a very different park that we saw at the cinema compared to the real world.
As mentioned earlier, this area is still getting over the winter season and has not yet starting the summer season. So many shops, hotels and restaurants are currently closed. Also with the poor weather it was difficult to enjoy the park as much as we had hoped for.
A large part of the park is Volcanic Caldera and the largest of its type in the world. The crater is massive (35x45 miles) and you can only try to imagine the power when this thing went BANG!!!
A very pleasant drive back and in reasonable timefor me to prepare the pork chops a'la salsa, which were very good indeed I must say. ( As a man he would say that!!) Over dinner we discussed what to do for the next couple of weeks and we both felt that as the conditions were not right that perhaps we would see if we could get an earlier flight home rather then waste money visiting places which were not really open for business. We would sleep on it and re discuss in the cold light of day.

Monday 8th May 2006- Jackson Hole

We awoke to heavy rain which continued over breakfast time. Anyway, stalwarts that we are we said we would go to Yellowstone inspite of the rain and so we left around 0915.
The weather was getting worse all the time and as we got higher, the sleet and then the snow started in a fierce way so we decided that it was pointless to continue and pulled in to a laybay. Whilst considering our future and the meaning of life one of the large RV's pulled in next to us covered in snow and so with a brief chat we discovered that the South entrance to Yellowstone was still closed as they have not cleared all the road yet. So we changed our plans and as we had just passed Teton National Park we went there instead. Over the next two/three hours that we were there the weather started improving and the sun started to shine. Hopefully the weather tomorrow will be better when we attempt a new attack on Yellowstone Park, this time from the west, where they least expect us.
After a snack lunch we headed back and stopped at Jackson Hole Airport which actually has regular flights to Denver, Salt Lke City and Chicago. Had a cup of tea and headed home for a swim followed by a few beer's before cooking our steaks.
A nice day even after the hassles of weather, however this is only the first day since we arrived in the USA that the weather has frustrated our plans, which I suppose is not too bad really.

Sunday 7th May, Rock Springs to Jackson Hole,Wyoming

The first part of the journey was equally boring as per yesterday but after about 100 miles or so, it started to improve and get a bit more interesting. We arrived early afternoon in Jackson Hole and we are staying at the Homewood Suites, part of the Hilton group. A nice little Hotel where each room also has a kitchen so that we can do some home cooking.
By pure coincidence, Jennifer's sister Valerie and her husband Peter were also in Jackson Hole having arrived about two day earlier. They are on a coach tour of the National Parks and had just returned from Yellowstone Park and so we all had a nice dinner together in a restaurant near our Hotel. Whilst regailing each other with our news it started to really pour with rain which continued for most of the night.
We are planning to go to Yellowstone Park ourselves tomorrow morning.

Saturday 6th May Denver to Rock Springs

Not one of our best journeys as far as the view was concerned. Mile after mile after mile of Interstate as a means to getting as close to Jackson Hole for the next day. We stopped overnight at Rock Springs in a new Hampton Inn, a very nice place although the Internet was down.
The journey took us via Cheyenne and into Rawlins, a hick town if ever you saw one, for a quick Subway sandwich and off again. The Interstate that we were on Number 80 runs from San Francisco to Chicago, as fas as I could see on the map, quite some distance. The road was full of trucks and even the train lines which ran alongside were also very busy.
Anyway we covered the ground, 350 miles, as we could not do the 550 in one day to get us to Jackson Hole.

Friday 5th May, Denver

We awoke to a thick fog and you could not see far from the 7th Floor of the Hotel. Anyway we had discovered from the internet the previous evening that 'Bodyworld 2' was in town and so we decided to try and get tickets.
Prior to going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, we hit the town, well one or two streets anyway. 16 th Street has been turned in to an open mall with shops and restaurants running the length of about 1.5 miles. It was amazing there were free buses every few minutes to take you from one end to the other. Not sure why as it takes 20 minutes from one end to the other. Right hand drive buses too, is this a first in America.
For those who have not heard of Bodyworld2 or 1 for that matter, it has been put together by a German anatomist Dr Gunther von Hagens who has invented a method to preserve the body by a process called Plastination. Perhaps this exhibition is not for the faint hearted however when we got there the place was crowded with school kids all of whom were visiting the exhibition. It is a very interesting and amazing way of showing the body and its complete make up. There were over 200 human specimens including transparent body slices.
Many of the complete bodies were displayed in posed positions such as the skateboarder, or the skiier or footballer so you could see how the various muscles work in the human body. I know this guy has attracted some bad publicity in the past, rumours that he used executed chinese criminals, not true of course.
After a very interesting two hour tour we went to the IMAX cinema and saw a film called 'The Human Body' by Dr Robert Winston. This was a BRITISH film I may add and was very good and well presented.
On the way back from the main Denver downtown, again we saw lots of areas where the housing is appalling, perhaps it was immigrant territory. But as you leave Denver and drive over the hill into the area called Westminster, the housing and surrounds improved and it is hard to believe that this can exist so close to the other area!!
We much prefered Nashville and Charlotte to Denver and so we won't be going back there again except to catch a flight.
The weather was poor during the day and so few pictures were taken. Thank God you all say..