We are home

Well we decided to change our travel plans at the last moment and passed by Abbeville after a shorter journey than expected from Poitiers and so caught a ferry late on Wednesday evening instead of waiting for Thursday afternoon. The main reason for this is the fact we have a number of family events over the next few days and arriving home one day earlier has helped a lot.
We finally arrived home with the caravan at about 1130 pm and we were safely tucked up in our own beds just after midnight. This was a great holiday and we just love the Lot Valley region of France although next year we plan something perhaps quite different so lets see what happens.
So this is the last Blog from this holiday and now we get down to arranging all the details for the company reunion we are planning at the end of October 2009.
Ah its all go!!

18th-21st July 2009 we are on our way home

The last few days have been quite busy really and also with very mixed weather.

On Saturday evening we met with our friends in a very nice restaurant in a hilltop village called St Cirq Lapopie. The food was excellent and also of a reasonable price considering the quality of the meal but it was absolutely necessary to try some wine which we did rather well we think. As we were leaving the restaurant they had closed some roads as there was due to be a firework display which we watched whilst walking back to the car. Unfortunately the authorities decided to switch of the street lights which would have lit our walk back down a small lane with a big drop on the side but somehow we made it. It was a great evening to be amongst good friends.

On Sunday the weather forecast was not great for the next few days and with rain promised and so we took down the awning and then spent the rest of the day relaxing with a swim and reading. Noel is helping new friends from the site Peter and Jane set up a Blogger site so they can keep their family up to date with their three months travel plans and this required several glasses of red wine and a later night than expected.

Monday we did some shopping in Gramat and then took it easy by swimming and reading, yet again, before starting work on sorting out the van for our next few days of travel. This takes always a little quicker each time we do it but it is necessary to make everything safe over bumps etc and travelling at 65 mph. In the evening we moved on to using the Google photo programme Picasa but this time we stayed on diet cokes. Unfortunately neither of slept well and so we were up at 6.30 am for a cup of tea and then moved on to breakfast rather slowly.

On Tuesday morning we left the site at around 0900 and Peter and Jane came to say goodbye as we headed off to the motorway taking us North via Brive and Limoges and in to Poitiers where we turned East to our camp site at Lake St Cyr. www.parcdesaintcyr.com where we arrived in 36 degrees of heat at about 3pm. Gosh its hot here but anyway we did a brief walk around the site and agreed that it is great for families with children but not suitable for us for a long stay unless out of season. The beach of the Lake was crowded with loads of kids who enjoyed very much to scream quite a lot.

At 7.45 pm the thermometer just clicked down to 32 degrees and we sincerely hope it cools down soon or it will be difficult to sleep. The site weather forecast for tomorrow is 17 degrees and rain, let's see what happens in the next few hours.

Tomorrow we drive via Tours to Le Mans and then on to Rouen and finally to Abbeville which is about 70 miles short of Calais which we will go to on Thursday morning.

 

14-15th July- 2009 A mixed couple of days

The 14^th was a little slow as the weather was warming up and it become difficult to do things as the heat intensifies.

So the day was spent in the usual boring old way of reading, emailing and swimming and eating and drinking. In the evening we visited the couple with the big 5^th wheeler and spent a nice and enjoyable couple of hours chatting about many things and a great evening it was too. They are doing a three month tour of France to celebrate last year's retirement.

On the 15^th we decided to go to Sarlat as it had been recommended to us as a nice little town. The journey there was fine and we took the main? Road via Gourdon and when we got to Sarlat it looked like Regent Street on the Saturday before Christmas as, you guessed it, market day was in progress and people come from miles around for this event. Not us we thought and drove out the other side without stopping except for the traffic jams. There were tourist coaches and motor homes and cars parked absolutely everywhere and without any type of obvious organisation and so driving was difficult.

We took the long way back through the country after purchasing some sandwiches for lunch and arrived in Gourdon where Noel was going to have a haircut as he had recently lost his sight as it was growing down over his nose and when swimming it was a nightmare. Well 15 Euros and 25 minutes later the sun reappeared in to Noels life and so on to Carrefour for the weekly shopping and we decided to have fish tonight.

When we got back we had a quick swim of about 45 minutes which cooled us down and then back for dinner and an evening of reading.

12-13th July 2009- There’s a Lotta Hot in the Lot Valley

Well it's really become quite hot over the past few days and this has meant we have not done so much as it's been too hot. Yesterday the temperature got up to about 38 degrees centigrade and most people around the site either cleared off in their air conditioned cars or headed off to the swimming pool like what we did!, Great English ay and you can tell Noel went to Heston University.

On Sunday we watched the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Germany and pleased to see that the tall 'ozzie' guy Mark Webber won the race quite comfortably. It's also good to see the Red Bull team winning although neither Jennifer nor I can stand the stuff. It's quite amazing really that the race teams that are doing well are the ones that did badly for years, Brawn previously Honda and Red Bull previously Jaguar. It was a good race and sitting in the bar with a glass of red wine watching the race was a most enjoyable but warm way to spend the afternoon.

Several new people have checked in to the site over the last couple of days including a couple with a British built 'Fifth Wheeler' caravan/motor home/RV whatever you call it. They are a nice couple and they very kindly showed us over the van which has one of those sides which extends out when on site and this provides a lot of extra room in the lounge. The central bed is five feet wide and they have a very good size bathroom and shower but what do you expect for a lot of money . However it was well built and they are delighted with it and they say it is easy to drive. See web link for more info if you want to see what a 5th Wheel van looks like.
http://fifthwheelco.com/build/the/celtic_rambler/

There have been various bits of good news coming from home over the past week which is very nice. Apart from nephew Martin and his photographs, see earlier blog, his elder brother Peter and Sharon his wife have just had a baby girl born in New York. Joanne our daughter and her fiancé Tim seemed to have sold Joanne's house and have had an offer accepted on the house they want in a nice road in Walton on Thames and finally, the local police seem to have caught the group of men from Chertsey who travel in a white van in Weybridge nicking anything that stands still and that includes our boat, our friends boat and a multitude of garden equipment and a number of motor grass cutters. Nothing personal but they should hang the bastards but cut of their hands first Middle Eastern style. However we doubt we shall get our boat back and are now eying up the old Queen Mary currently located in Dubai and only partly refitted due to the current economic challenges and so a good deal could be had we think.

Anyway back to reality, only a few more days before we meet our friends for dinner in St Cirq Lapopie and then head off home and so this French Blog will become less frequent as we travel North through the wastelands of France and avoiding the various tribal factions and watching out for the wild sheep and other prehistoric animals.

11th July 2009- The good weather is back

We awoke this morning to a cloudless sky and the heat building nicely. This was going to be a good day we thought and therefore we are staying put.

Noel had a number of emails and Blogs to attend too whilst Jennifer carried out one of her favourite occupations called washing. Most of the day was spent lazing about and swimming and reading and generally taking it easy.

On the emails which arrived today was one from Noel's sister attaching one from his nephew Martin the photographer, Martin did the photos at the Wey Road and Round Oak Road Residents Association street part which was held in 2007, has been acknowledged by the Professional Photographers Magazine for his recent work which includes photos he took when recently visiting his brother in Iraq. This is brilliant news as recently Martin has been having some worrying health problems and this is just what the family needed. Martin's work will also feature at the highly prestigious Photo exhibition called Foto8. To see more of Martins excellent work use the following link and also listen to the interview.

http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/Exhibitions/Audio-Exhibitions/Martin-Middlebrook

Martin has also redesigned his photographic website which can be found on the following link

www.memephotography.co.uk

 

Jennifer and I are absolutely delighted with this news and hence have put on this Blog

The rest of the day was spent reading and looking forward to the German Grand Prix which is due on tomorrow. Come on you Brits!

10th July 2009- A trip to Fijeac

It was a bit grey again today and the weather during the past week has not been as expected and although it is not cold it is really not really warm enough to enjoy swimming and sunbathing.

As we had not been to Fijeac for quite some while, many years actually, and so we headed off their using the back roads and as usual there were some magnificent views across the hills and farmed fields to little villages etc. We had been watching the on board SatNav which confirmed our road position when we came across a high barbed wire fence alongside the road which looked more military than a public fence and then suddenly the road we were on completely disappeared off the Sat Nav. Strange we thought? but we continued on and after about a mile or so the road suddenly appeared back on our SatNav. We are not sure how this happened unless there is a military establishment which is not mentioned on the map blocking some signals.

There appears to be quite a number of houses that have recently been renovated or in the process of being renovated with a high preponderates of English cars and we can understand why this area is so popular. House prices are cheaper than the Dordogne and are in a area which has a low population count and is very quiet with lovely villages and a few medium size towns nearby where you can get most of your shopping. We arrived in Fijeac around 1215 and just as the shops are shutting which they do until 2.30 and in some cases 3.45 and so the place was very quiet but some restaurants were busy. We grabbed some sandwiches and headed to the river to eat them and watched the multitude of fish going by.

We did some shopping of essentials and then headed back the same way as we came and got home around 4pm and Boy! it was getting cooler- this can't be right?

We have now made site bookings for our return journey and will stay near Poitier the first night and have booked the last night near Abbeville which leaves us enough time to leave there and drive to Calais and pick up our mid afternoon boat.

Tonight we had a new fish we had not tried before called Lingue Bleue, we are not sure of the English equivalent but will find out soon but it was a firm flesh fish and very tasty.

We are both deep in too books at this moment but finished up the evening with two instalments of Black Adder II which were very funny indeed.

We understand that the weather will start to improve again tomorrow but let us see

6-9th July inclusive- Not a lot going on really

Well over the past few days nothing really exciting has happened and so the Blogs are being amalgamated a little bit to save time. There comes a time when you feel that reporting on yet another shopping trip followed by lunch and a swim in the pool gets a little boring. But that is what we have been doing for the past few days but with the exception is that we are now planning our journey home.

The big question was would we be able to see my sister and brother in law in France who live near Rennes on the route home or not and not is the keyword here. So then should we come back on Ferries that arrive in Portsmouth but from the ports of Cherbourg, Caen and Le Havre but they tend to be more expensive and so we have decided to go back to the usual Calais to Dover route again. We have also been planning our sites and where to stay en- route home and which route home would we take, back via Paris with its heavy traffic or via the West of Paris with less traffic. So we are to travel from here via Limoges to Poitiers, where we will spend our first night and then leave Poitiers and travel via Le Mans and stop at Abbeville or Amiens for the second night before catching an afternoon ferry from Calais the next day. So we have booked our first site and also the ferry but we are just finalising the last night's location.

The site here has, following the weekend, become very quiet again and as I write this Blog there are perhaps only six paying guests on site at the moment and when you consider there are 75 emplacements, six wooden chalets and four mobile homes it becomes a challenge to meet anybody. In this respect it cannot be making any money for the owner which is a damn shame really as they have a put a lot in to this site.

We purchased some fish from the Carrefour Supermarket earlier this week and the quality is of a very high standard indeed and it was most enjoyable.

When writing this blog today, the 9^th July, we have been on a morning walk to Carlucet which is the local village and there is not much there and even less going on and even the Church door was closed. But this place is on the Pilgrims trail from North West Spain to somewhere which we have yet to find out but we have not seen any pilgrims to ask yet. Noel has scanned the horizon looking for ox carts and men in long white robes but they seem to be on holiday somewhere in Benidorm.

Tonight its BBQ night with some good Costco rib eye steak and Cumberland pork sausages and all without wine Uhhh!

4th July 2009 –American Independence day in Carlucet

For some strange reason that we cannot possibly fathom out is that the French do not celebrate American Independence day, I wonder why??

Anyway it was a nice day again but we decided to do very little and generally take it easy. The day was filled with washing, reading and relaxing and of course the obligatory swim and we are both above the 12 length mark after stopping for large gulps of oxygen en-route. There were a few more people at our swimming pool today which is a bit disconcerting but then we were getting greedy. To celebrate the American holiday we decided to have dinner in the restaurant and it was really quite busy as about eleven people turned up to eat which was good for the owners as preparing dinner for two can be a bit of a letdown. Jennifer had the Fois Gras which she said was excellent followed by the remains of the Duck as in 'Confit de Canard' which she enjoyed tremendously. We sat close to another English couple who had arrived the previous evening in a 35 foot RV, he was a builder from London and specialised in internal walling and floors etc and he commented he had come on holiday as there was no work for his 35 workers.

It would appear that this is their first trip in the vehicle and not without its problems. Whilst dumping the contents of the 'Loo' after seven days the tube broke and covered him in stuff we don't want to talk about. The he reversed in to a wall having forgot his motor cycle was on a frame on the back and finally had some scrapes in the narrow county lanes. Jennifer who loves to read maps was able to help her understand the map legends and also how to recognise roads with bridges that only have 2.9 metre headroom which of course would not allow them to take their 3.2 metre RV under.

It was a pleasant evening although a bit humid sitting outside on the patio overlooking the pool, but we survived the experience. We were hoping for an American to turn up and by a round of drinks but no such luck.

3rd July 2009- Rocamadour historic hillside town

Another nice morning and to visit the historic old hillside town of Rocamadour was our target this morning. We departed the site around 9.30am and drove through an ever increasing amount of hills and valleys and woods until we rounded a bend in the road and there was Rocamadour clinging to the side of the hill. We initially stopped and took some photos before driving down to the bottom of the hill where we parked. When we briefly came here last time in late July you could hardly move but today there was hardly anybody here.

They run a little 'Petit Train' from the car park up the steep hill to the town and so we hopped aboard as we were aware that there are many steps in this town and so took the easy way there. The town was built on the side of a hill to honour the Saint 'Amadour' and as it was built on a Rock nee Roc hence Rocamadour. The town is quite commercialised with many shops selling expensive leather wear, handbags and shoes etc and many more selling cheap trinkets and junk from China. Do you really need a radar controlled Cicada (grasshopper) which starts making a noise when you pass close by. There were many restaurants and cafes with fairly high prices and some of the boards with prices have tape on them which indicates to me they have a low and high season price. We walked up to the very top which we understand is about 220 steps of various shapes and sizes until we reached the Church which is split in to a number of different rooms for prayer. There was even a priest on hand to hear confessions but as we thought he could hardly spend a couple of days needed with Noel we did not bother to stop.

The scale of this town and how it was built clinging to a side of a mountain is very impressive indeed and perhaps 'Bob the Builder' could learn a lesson or two. We walked through the shopping arcade? or streets as they are called and purchased a nice ice cream to cool us down after the stiff stair climb and also bought some food for lunch. We headed back for the car and drove then to the very top and took the last couple of photos of the town and then decided to do a tour back to Gramat and then back to the site. We took some back lanes and when we came to cross the main road to Gramat there had been a terrible accident and it looks like a car had side swiped a lorry in the middle of the road and then rolled over quite a few times and then was unrecognisable as a car. There were at least six police cars, two ambulances and three fire brigade tricks there on the scene. We drove gently to Gramat for some shopping then went back to the site.

We had a pleasant dinner of special French sausages which had been cooked and allowed to cool with salad. Mr Noisy and his friends were packing up to get ready to leave on Saturday and wont it be quiet here when they have departed.

A nightcap in the bar and tried to send some flowers to Noel's nephew and his wife via Interflora and it's a little bit annoying that you go through absolutely everything and almost get to the end but if you don't have the recipients telephone number they won't accept the order. What a pain, will try again tomorrow.

They say it might rain tomorrow (whoever 'THEY' are)

NB I note that Phanfare has stopped working since receiving a software update? will try to fix soon

2nd July 2009 – And the rains came but gently!

The sun was shining brightly first thing this morning but then promptly disappeared after breakfast allowing some big dark clouds to roll in. Could it really rain on a Thursday when in fact all the French weather forecasters were saying it would rain only on the Saturday? Whoops wrong yet again, so by about mid morning it started to rain quite hard and lay the dust on the road and brighten up the flowers and grass etc. It did not last long, perhaps for a couple of hours.

Jennifer did some washing and Noel sorted out photos and files on the computer until about lunchtime when the rain had pretty much gone. We spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing and listening to I'Pods etc and very pleasant indeed. We were about to go to the swimming pool when the noisy lot from further up decided to go and so we changed our minds. Talk about grown up kids! Ever since I made my comments to them on Wednesday night to 'put a sock in it' they have been making loud snide comments about me. They even turned up their music loud so they all could make a loud Scchhh noise. This lot is about mid forties but act like ten year olds with screeching wives who would be best suited to the beaches of Benidorm or similar. A nice jail with stocks would be even better still.

By late afternoon the weather had improved and the sun was shining again but the temperature was down by about 8 degrees centigrade on yesterday which made it more comfortable. After dinner, as usual, we went up to the patio bar to do emails and blogs etc and then had a drink in the bar for a while. Again, a most enjoyable day and evening.

1st July 2009 – By god it’s hot!!

It was really quite warm this morning when we first awoke and the sun was beaming down from above etc etc etc.

Following a good and early breakfast, for us anyway, we headed off to a town called Gourdon which apart from being an interesting town also has a number of good supermarkets. As we left the site the car external temperature was already showing 31 degrees centigrade and so we took a route through a number of small towns and there are some beautiful views which can never be fully replicated by photos. We arrived in Gourdon around 1030 and parked the car in the full sun, as there was no shade where in the car park, and then walked in to town. We immediately came across the Post office as this was most convenient as noel had to urgent letters to go. In the PO they have a machine which allows visitors the choice of six European Languages to choose the service and weigh your envelope or package and issue a stamp. In England we have a local Indian man who does it for you?

We walked along the ramparts and overlooked the valley and also the local cemetery which also looked over the valley and then we turned in to the old town and up a steep and narrow road past old houses built hundred or years ago until we came to the centre where the Church was located. The Church was a beautiful old building and of course being built of local stone with very thick walls the temperature difference between inside and out must be around twelve degrees centigrade. The stained glass windows with the sun shining outside were quite stunning and needless to say the inside of the building had really been looked after. We continued our walk the old town and found a further series of uneven steps and a pathway which took you even higher so that you could totally overlook the town in each direction. In the centre of this open space was an engraved map showing the boundary line between The Lot and also the Dordogne and so you could stand with one leg in the ' Lot Department' and the other leg in the 'Dordogne Department'. Underneath where we were standing was the sound of continuous running water and we decided it must be the water storage for the old town with the water pumped up the hill to the top and then gravity takes over.

By now it was about twelve thirty and we found a rather nice little cafe with plenty of locals in abundance and so Noel had a pizza and Jennifer had an omelette and the food was really very good indeed and we may return here another time. The Carrefour supermarket was down the road and so a little shopping to cover the next few days and we headed home and by this time the temperature had reached 34 degrees. We spent about an hour by the pool to cool off and then a nice shower.

Tonight we had Salad Nicoise before heading off to the Chateau patio to do some emails and Blogs etc. There weren't so many people here tonight but as it was still very warm we waited for it to cool down, about two van rouge's worth, before heading back to the caravan at about 11.30 pm. Let's hope it is a bit cooler tomorrow whilst rain is promised for Saturday.

30th June- 2009 – My god it’s wet in here!!

It was Jennifer's turn to make the tea this morning and so at 8 am she dutifully departed for the kitchen and then only to hear her say it's wet out here. Oh Hell its very wet. Noel being half asleep wondered what she was on about until she explained that there was water all over the floor of the caravan and the carpets were soaked.

After some investigation it would appear that the water pump had started to leak during the night which is not good. If the leak was coming from a joint it could be fixed but this leak was coming from a sealed casing and was dripping quite badly when the direct hose pipe from the mains tap was connected perhaps the pressure is to much. This should not be the case as the water pipe has a pressure meter governing it to one bar and the pump is geared for two bar so perhaps something is not working to well. However as is very hot now at around 33 degrees centigrade the drying of the carpets did not take to long thank heavans as had we been in Ebreuil it may well have taken months.

This affected our morning quite badly as it meant we need to be near the van just to check that ther were no more leaks after we had re instated the exterior water tank and the pump sucks the water out rather than have it forced in. Hey ho jolly camping!!!

Jennifer then decided to do some washing and Noel read and then together we went for a swim in the lovely site pool. Its big enough to really do a few lengths rather than plod for a few yards which is the case for most site pools. It was so warm today that we agreed to have pate and salad as the heat tends to reduce your food demands.

We toddled of to the bar around 8.30 pm for Noel to send a few emails and update the blog etc and chatted to some of the other guests and then suddenly it was nearly midnight as we discussed everything from Michael Jackson to Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and also the conspiracy theories about the events of 9/11 and World Trade Centre Building 3, The Diana affair and also the killing of JFK. A good evening and now it was getting cooler we headed back to the van.