Saturday 27th August – Chill out day

We all decided that a chill out day was due and so we hung around the pool and sunbathed and had a really relaxing time.

In the evening Roger and Sue had organised a dinner at a German Restaurant where there would be a BBQ and also some of Rog and Sue’s friends would join and so a party of 13 would spend the night enjoying german sausage or so we thought. Although Roger had visited the restaurant earlier in the week to agree a table plan whilst the friends had done the same we arrived at 8pm only to find every table full and the owners being terribly evasive and blaming each other for the mix up and they also became rather rude and so we left and went to a Swiss Restaurant where they went out of their way to accommodate the 13 people who suddenly without notice descended on them. A great evening ensued and the food was excellent and portion sizes too large for me and so we drank a few gallons of Spanish plonk before heading home around 11pm. We should have done the right thing by going to bed but we did not and ended up perhaps drinking to much of Rogers brandy supply before retiring around 2 am.

Friday 26th August- On to Moraira to stay with Roger and Sue

We had to repack the car to accommodate John and Lyns baggage which took a little while and although we got it all in it was rather packed with little space left anywhere.

Alicante is only just only and hout away from Moraira and so we did not hurry but took the coast road and popped in to little villages here and there and eventually stopped for an iced coffee where the owner of the café took a liking to us and introduced us to his special coffee of Absinthe Liquor in crushed ice and it was most potent.

We slipped ion to Benidorm for a quick look to find the fish and chips and Watneys Red Barrel but we must have been at the Spanish end and not the  end where the Brits go, oh well another day.

We arrived in Moraira where just down the road we dressed the car with British Flags and put on our red and white Brit gear and arrived to great laughter. Unpacking the car was completed and shown to our respective rooms where Roger and Sue has made iup some signs with our nick names, what a lovely thought.

The  pool beckoned and so we spent the afternoon relaxing, swimming and chatting before enjoying a lovely dinner of Chile Con Carne with one or two glassed of wine before hitting the bed which was still rather warm after the hot day and sun beating down.

Thursday 25th August- Saragoza is a nice city

After an early breakfast in the Hotel we walked out and across the river to the old part of town which was mostly closed as it was still rather early for the shops to open. The large open squares are dominated by the Basilica which is massive in size and very impressive inside although we wer not allowed to take photos which is a shame. There was a service taking place at one end of the building whilst the confession boxes were also busy with people waiting for their turn. We walked up and down the old streets looking in the shop windows and taking a few photos here and there. And then back past the Basilica where Jennifer noticed all the statues on the outside were little boys, Humm!!

We did a little shopping in the supermarket for lunch time and then checked out of the Hotel and down in to the very hot and crowded garage, boy they make them small in this country and extremely tight for our Land Cruiser.

Leaving Saragoza we followed the signs to the Motorway and soon heading at 75 mph in the direction of Valencia travelling through pretty boring hilly and rocky countryside and just outside of Valencia we pulled off at a petrol station and restaurant area to have our lunch and was appalled at the amount of rubbish lying around the place. Then on to Valencia which we by passed and followed the road to Alicante where we arrived around 5.30 pm and it had been 38 degress centigrade en route but in the air conditioned car you did not realise is.

The AC Hotel was very modern and the rooms nice and we waited for our friends John and Lyn to arrive from the airport and then later in the evening we had dinner in the Hotel as we were all a little tired and with no wish to traipse the streets looking for a restaurant. And so to bed.

24th August 2011- We are leaving for Spain

A littler late leaving after a good breakfast and the weather looked bad ahead and eventually we had heavy rain and grey skies as we headed towards Toulouse and then towards Pau through the countryside and after a few hours we found a supermarket where we had a good salad as the thought of having lunch in a car with the rain pouring down was not to appetising. So about mid-afternoon we arrived at Pau then headed up in to the mountians and through the long tunned in to Spain where immediately the weather changed and the temperature climbed about 18 degrees centigrade and then down the mountains the other side heading for Saragoisa where we planned to stay the night. Halfway down the mountain road we were stopped by a police road block with tough guys with guns which looked a little worrying and so we hid the cocaine and marijuana and ecstasy pills and hoped for the best but they let us pass through with a nice wave and no smile.

Arriving in Saragoza we headed for the Ibis Hotel which is nicely placed in the centre of town and across the river from the really interesting area of the old town. We found a little café just down the road from the Hotel and had a light snack as that was all we needed as we were both rather tired after a long day driving of about nine hours and much longer than indicated on the Sat Nav.

We walked around the old town and as we were both rired we did not bother to get the camera out the car park in the basement of the Hotel which was stifling hot and no I regret no having done so as the vews of the Basiolica lit up at night wer quite stunning. We walked around the old town which was full of cafes and bars for about ninety minutes and then headed back to the Hotel for a good night’s sleep. We planned an earlier morning start so we can look around the town some more.

Tuesday 23rd August 2011- Towards to Lot

We left the Hotel shortly after 9am and took to the Motorway down through Brive to Near Rocamadour where we exited and headed off to the  Chateau LeComte Caravan site where we stay quite often to drop of some towels and other stuff for the owner friends. We stayed about an hour and drove around the site and it was still quite busy but we did not meet anybody we kknow except for the gardener with whom we chatted for a while. We left the site and headed to Laboustide Murat to the Carrefour supermarket to purchase some wine as presents for our next stop with friends in their converted barn which is east of Cahors in a nice area called Puy LeRoque.

We stopped for lunch in the park in the centre of town and sat under the trees eating Ryvita and some brie cheese and tomatoes which was very good and then had a quick 30 minute siesta in the car before leaving town

We arrived at David and Lorraine’s house which is set in a small enclave and surrounded by farmland and very peaceful indeed  there mid-afternoon and also pleased so see they had some other mutual friends staying with them  and so we had a good swim and a few glasses of wine and then a BBQ, a lovely night indeed.

Jennifer went to the bedroom and discovered a bat had got in and could not get out and so there was laughter over that and then to sleep but it was a very warm night indeed with a storm promised for tomorrow.

Monday 22nd August 2011

Noel, it’s your Birthday and yet you are up to get an early ferry from Portsmouth, what’s up with you?

Well, we are off again and this time to see friends in The Lot Valley in France and then on to more friends in Spain before going camping around the South of Spain and up via the Portuguese Coast and back in the Spain again before heading North East tio Switzerland and Germany and it promises to be a long and interesting trip. So here goes.

Yes so its about 0545 bthat the alarm cranked in to life and about 30 minutes later we are in the car en route to Portsmouth to meet up with now famous LD lines fast ferry to Le Havre. We boarded on time and thought wow this is not bad and then by 0815, some fifteen minutes early we left the Port and I was just thinking Wow again and the announcement came over the speakers saying that due to a malfunction in one of the engines it would be a slower trip than planned. So having left Portsmouth early we arrived almost forty minutes late, brilliant.

Le Havre weather was appalling and it was the same for the next two hours as we drove south and it was pouring with rain and dark as night.

We keet heading South and the rain stopped but now we hit some long traffic jams and eventually much later than planned we reached Limoges for our first nights stop at about 8pm.

The Hotel was fine, a small family run place with smallish rooms but all you needed and close to the motorway for a fast getaway. We had a nice  dinner in the Hotel Restaurant and the food was very good and then to bed.

Sex scandal forces Cathay Pacific to postpone ad campaign | News | Breaking Travel News

Sex scandal forces Cathay Pacific to postpone ad campaign | News | Breaking Travel News

Great tune from the film Rock'N'Rolla from Guy Richie

Friday8th July Time to go home

We left the site around 1030 and headed back to the Motorway for Caen and stopped for an early lunch at an ‘Aire’ where there was a man with a van selling frits and burgers alike and on the van he had a T-shirt with the McDonalds man over was printed McSHITE!!! Quite appropriate we thought.

We arrived early at the ferry port after going through some more very heavy rain and after a short wait were checked in and ready to go. We had to wait about three hours and then we were loaded and found out cabin where we had a good afternoon kip and a walk around the ship and an had a very enjoyable meal on board of really excellent quality. Brittany Ferries are brilliant compared to LD Lines. The ship is nice and clean, the staff were happy and very helpful and all in uniform unlike LD whose staff where there normal clothes so you don’t know who is staff and who is a guest.

The ferry arrived at Portsmouth andf then back via the A3 to Wey Road where we had a slight problem getting the caravan in the drive as the neighbour across the road continues to leave his car apposite our drive which makes it difficult to move the van around but in the end we managed it.

A lovely cup of tea and then to our own bed again, great.

We have had a great holiday only marred by the KOI event but hope this is a one off.

Next travels are to Frasnce and Spain and Portugal in late August and September although we may come back via Switzerland and Germany, anyway let’s see what happens

Thursday 7th July- Woke up before the 0645 alarm-but it got worse

You know what its like when you have planned an early start that you always wake up early, well we do. So at 06.50 we were drinking our cup of  tea and then followed by a swift breakfast and by 0730 were manoeuvring the caravan from the site with the movers, thank god for movers as it would have been impossible to position the caravan on the site and move it around.

At 0750 wee drove down through the site to the wash block to empty the loo and have a quick shower and by 0810 we leaving the site as the heavens opened and the rain just chucked it down, thank heavens we had started earlier than planned.

Wer headed North up the Motorway via Brive and then on to Le Mans where we went round the East of the City to then on to Beaumont sur Sarthe where we arrived at the outskirts of the town at about 1630, not bad really considering we a a couple of Loo stops and almost an hour for lunch.

Jen had also put on the Sat Nav to give extra help and as we headed in to the town we had to look for a D road on the right to the campsite, the Sat Nav was going bananas saying turn right and Jennifer was saying I am not sure if this is correct and after taking the D road it turned to be the wrong one and so we went round in a big loop and started again but took a different road and the Sat Nav lady seemed very happy only the road it took us down was designed for small cars and not 13 metres of car and caravan and the roads got smaller and smaller, over and old Roman brick bridge, and there is no way to turn around as the roads were only about six metres wide and we finally arrived at a junction with no chance whatsoever of getting us to turn right and the road ahead said NO ENTRY, Bl**dy hell what to do when suddenly out of the blue and old guy appeared and understood our serious problem and took over traffic control and told cars to turn around or go back and then waved us quickly up the one way road the wrong way which thankfully rejoined the D road we were looking for, boy that was close as we could have been there for years otherwise.

The Municipal site we had booked in advance and in the email it confirmed that a twin axle caravan was acceptable but when we arrived there was this big sign saying NO twin axle caravans and units weighing over 3.5 tons and we were a twin axle and weighed 4 tons. Could it get worse but anyway I went to reception and said we had a booking and they let us in phew. Nice site and the wash block was the best so far although perhaps not enough shower cubicle’s if it was busy.

In the evening we drove back in to town to a nice restaurant in the Hotel where a few minutes later loads of motorbikes and cars tuned up as they were part of the Tour de  France but thank heavens they were not sue to go through where we were.When we had walked through the Hotel bar suddenly Jennifer spotted the guy that had helped us earlier and so we thanked him and he gave Jennifer a big kiss. 

An excellent meal and we went back to a hopefully good night’s sleep as we don’t need an early start tomorrow.

Wednesday 6th July- Last day at Chateau Lecomte

We had a slow morning doing odd jobs Noel checked the tyre pressures of the car and caravan also the nuts which old the wheels on using and using a Newton wrench but they were all fine. We closed down the on board water system and then went in to Gramat for some last minute shopping, Gasoil for the car and a lunch in the Leclerc restaurant which turned out to be very good indeed.

Upon return to the site we did some last minute emails and also paid the bill for our stay. On the way back we met a couple who we had previously met on site some two years ago and they were from Edinburgh and had stopped over for a couple of nights. As per usual when your neighbours see you are leaving their inevitable long discussions on routes and where to stay and just to visit the shower block can take almost one hour what with all the stopping and talking en route, caravan people are a friendly bunch.

We wrapped up the last bits and pieces as we plan an early departure at around 0800 so that we can reach our next stop North of Le Mans around 4.30 ish. And so to bed.

Tuesday 5th July- Awning down to today

We had originally planned to rake the awning down late afternoon and pack up all associated equipment but as the temperature is promised to be at least 31 degrees Centigrade today we made the decison over breakfast to start pretty much straight away.

It takes about three hours to pack all the awning and equipment away as it is necessity to clean it first as it will not be used again this year and needs to be in good nick when packed.

Following a light lunch we spent the rest of the day at the pool and sunbathing and were pleased that we had did the clear up in the morning as now it is very hot, where’s the beer mother!!

Sunday 3rd July and Monday 4th July- Not much really

Following the BBQ we had a quiet day just sitting around reading and then spent some time at the pool enjoying the sun and the swimming.

Our new by fold up bikes have really proved their worth on this holiday and it gave us good exercise and makes it considerably quicker to get to the wash block or the pool .

The weather the last two days has been fine but we do iunderstand that later in the week it may change a little and so we have to plan when to take the awning down. Watched over two nights the last couple of episodes of ‘Spooks’ really very good and may now buy series 6.