Taking The D Roads - France 2022
Sunday 17th July
Day 1
We woke after a very restless night, both Adele and my self have been suffering with a summer cold so had broken sleep due to coughing all night. We eventually gave up and got up at 7.00am.
The van has already been packed, just got to pack the passports , tickets, paperwork and to top up with water.
Adele popped into town to get some fresh bread for sandwiches at tea time, we had planned to have a full English breakfast but neither of us really fancied it so had a little cereal.
The morning rolled on and before we knew it we were ready to go, we topped up with LPG and diesel then took the M42, M40, M25 & M20 down to Canterbury where we were staying the night on the town 'aire de camping car' £8.00 for the night ready for a quick getaway tomorrow to the tunnel.
Adele took Izzy for a walk around the area, she has been so good on the trip down but must have been plating her legs (Izzy that is, not Adele)
We had tea, freshly made salmon sandwiches, its so hot a cooked meal was not an option, then chilled out, the thermometer was reading 37.6 inside and 38.9 outside and its going to be hotter tomorrow.
By late evening we had a cooler breeze coming through the rear doors hopefully we'll get a little more sleep to night.
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| Canterbury 'Aire de camping-car' |
Monday 18th July Day2 Woke 5.00am after a very hot night, well over 20 degrees in the van, we decided to get up the alarm had already been set for 5.45am so not worth getting back off to sleep. After washing I took Izzy for a morning strole around the park & ride not the best morning walk we have ever had, the sun was already out but there was a fresher air around this morning by the time we had got back breakfast was ready, we were only having cereal this morning as we needed to be of before 7.00am for the 25 minute journey to Folkestone to catch the Eurotunnel train. We left spot on 7.00am, the ANPR cameras picked up our registration at the barrier and we paid our £8.00 overnight parking charge, the drive out to Folkestone was pleasant and uneventful. We arrived at check In to find the all the booths were self check In, being our first timers this was not helpful but all worked well, we got our card that had to be taken to the pet control centre so that Izzys paperwork and microchip checked, she passed the check, we were told that there were no spaces on earlier trains so would have to wait for 45 minutes, we had a good explanation of what we had to do and given directions to the dog exercise area, we were then given our windscreen ticket. Izzy had a little walk and posed for her photo.  Back at the van it was hot, very hot but only had to wait a few minutes before the display boards said our ticket reference could proceed, the queue for passport control was quite long, four out the the six booths were open, Uk customers were fine all went well, on to French customs who were just changing shifts, they had a chat with each other before stamping our passports, we moved another 100 meters before being stopped by Eurotunnel staff for the obligatory gas check, I went to show where the gas taps were as we had an underslung tank but didn't check just said ok, he never even looked. We moved on and proceeded to lane 14, we just stopped and we were called onto load the train. Now this will be interesting, driving onto the train but in the end it was easy and very straight forward, first gear & handbrake on, all done. After the safety announcements we were off, we could feel a little rocking movement as you would on any train, the outside lights went black and we were in the tunnel.  Thirty minutes later light appeared and we were in France, so easy, so quick. We were off the train in minutes and out on the French roads which were very quite, probably due to the weather it is HOT, we took the scenic route through the French country side down to Boulogne-sur-mer to get supplies. Adele stopped with Izzy as its so hot, we can not leave her in the van in this weather even with all the skylights open. Forty five minutes later and €88.00 lighter I returned with supplies, although that did include a bottle of Henri Bardouin, pastis for €20.02 that's over £30 back home. After filling up with diesel €1.93/ltr (£1.65) we headed towards Montreuil-sur-mer and our first French Aire du camping car, we arrived just after 2.00pm to find only one space left, the aire was just off a small road each bay was block paved with an area of long grasses between each bay, we parked up and had lunch. By 3o'clock it was 38.9 degs inside the van unbearable and felt even hotter outside in the sun, we shut blinds, opened doors and roof lights and just melted, Izzy was really struggling, we covered her in wet towels in an attempt to cool her down.  By 8.30pm it was still 32 degs, far too hot to eat so just nibbled on bread, pate & rilletts. Its now 10.30pm and we can just about feel the temperature cooling, I took Izzy for a short walk to check out the service point, she seemed to be a little brighter now, hopefully out wet towels cooled her down enough, retuning to the van it was gone 11pm before we lay on the bed to try and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be even hotter, what are we going to do? Tuesday 19th July Day 3 We woke at 6.30am having had a surprisingly good nights sleep, the sun was out but the was a breeze and the air was a little fresher, I took Izzy for a walk into the top part of town to see if I could find a Boulangerie, there was not one there, luckily we has croissants from yesterday's shopping trip, we had fresh fruit salad, croissants and coffee. Over breakfast we decided that although we could stop on the aire for another 24 hours it was in direct sun and that's not an option today, we found an area of forest, Foret Domaine D'Hesdin where we could park up and see the last day of these extreme temperatures in the relative coolness of forest shade, we had a pleasant drive though some lovely French villages an eventually found a park up in the shade.   We spent the rest of the morning relaxing and writing the diary before having lunch. After a bite to eat we snoozed in the shade, its still 36 degs, too hot for Izzy. By late afternoon it had cooled enough to take a strole though the forest. It was 4.00pm by the time we left the forest in search of an over night stop, we found a private aire a few miles away so went to check out, it was a the side of hill over looking a small French hamlet but there was no shade at all and they wanted €10 plus another €3 each for a shower. We decided to return to Montreuil-sur-mer, when we arrived we once again took the last place. It was unbearably hot, we drank lots of water, opened all the windows and roof lights in the hope to get some breeze, Izzy was covered in damp cloths to try and keep her cool, as Adele started to prepare tea the wind started to build we hoped that it would cool things down a bit, it didn't. It was 9.00pm before we ate and to be honest neither of us wanted any thing but as it was has hashe we did eventually enjoy it, after tidying up I took Izzy for her night time wee and I noticed a French MoHo on the aire we were at, had left their side lights on, I told the elderly lady in my poor school boy French, she looked horrified looking all around her van then smiled and thanked me. After I realised that I had mixed up Feux de circulation (traffic lights)with Feu (fire) know wonder she was in a panic, I had implied her van was on fire we sat with a cold-ish glass of panache hoping that tomorrow would be cooler as both us and Izzy needed a break from all this heat. Wednesday 20th July Day 4 What a relief! after a surprisingly good night we woke to much better temperatures, only 19 degrees at 7.00am, we showered and took Izzy for her morning sniff around the aire, back at the van fresh fruit salad, croissants and coffee were waiting, over breakfast we decided to book Izzy in with the vets that was on the road to the aire for her worming tablet when we returned to England. After breakfast, armed with Izzys papers, worked out what to say ing French and google translate for what we didn't understand we entered the French vets, we need not have worried, the young girl assistant helped, speaking a little English and us with our little French Izzy for booed in for the 1st August 9.00am.   From the vets we took the short strole into Montreuil-sur-mer, a lovely old town, we found the old Hotel de France that was said to have inspired Victor Hugo write 'Les Miserables' from there out to the old citadel but couldn't go in as the were put up a stage and lighting for a months performances of 'Les Mis' we instead took the ramparts walk around the old town, it was a good job the temperatures have dropped from the last couple of day because we would not be able to do it in 42 degrees.   Back at the van we had lunch before moving on towards Thiepval, time was getting on so we stopped at an aire in Peronne, it was just of the road but over looking lakes and the river Somme behind us, we were the only ones there, we parked up just as it started to rain so no walk around the lake tonight. As we were getting tea ready Izzy had a turn, we are not sure what happened but she couldn't move her hind legs, when she did move she just collapsed, we were both very worried, after half an hour or so there was no improvement so I contacted the local vets and asked if they could see her tomorrow, things didn't look good at all. By 9.00pm Izzy started to be able to stand, she wanted a wee, we carried her out onto the grassy area behind the van and she managed to take a few steps before once again falling over. We Has little sleep, we kept on checking her though to the early hours, she slept most of the night. Thursday 21st July Day5 We woke 7.00am ready to take Izzy to the vets to see what could be done, if we needed to return home or if we need to leave her. Low and behold she was up and walking, perhaps not quite as before but certainly not falling over to collapsing after every step, I took her for a gentle walk, she did her business and back at the van jumped up the step with little or no effort. Over breakfast we contacted the vet and said that we would cancel the appointment as she was back to near normal, we think that it was probably all the stress from the extreme temperatures recently and the strain from walking the ramparts yesterday. We packed up and took the short drive out to Thiepval memorial, something we had promised to visit years ago. Back in 2016 we bought a poppy pin made from shells found on the fields of the Somme, to commemorate 100 years of the Battle of The Somme, with it came a card remembering a Private P. Banks of the 1st Battalion Cameronions (Scottish Rifles) we said then that we would one day go and pay our respect to this Unknown (to us) soldier. We arrive at the memorial with grey skies and light drizzle thinking of Pte Banks and the anniversary of the death was yesterday, 106 years ago (20th July 1916)    Clutching a wooden poppy cross in my hand we walked up to the monument, you can not be moved by all the names carved into the stone, over 72000 of them, we found Pte Peter Banks, laid our poppy cross and spent a moment of silence in respect for a man we never knew but owed a lot. We left Thiepval with a lump in our throats and a tear in our eyes. We were now moving on eastwards it was really too late to make it over the Champagne region tonight so found an aire in a village called Blerancourt, it looked, in the book, like it was in someones back garden, when we got there it was in someones back garden. We had hardstanding in a hedged area, there was water, grey & black drop but that's all and its free, its worth saying that its also the quietest aire we have had so far with only the sound of a cockerel and the distant church bells. Parked up Adele read as updated this diary, we had pastis to the sounds of crickets as we got ready for tea. Friday 22nd July Day6 Woke 7.30am after a very good nights sleep, its so peaceful at this aire, I took Izzy out for her morning walk, there was not a soul about, back to the van for both our breakfasts. After we got the van to leave but first had to drop the waste, the grey was straight forward enough a drive over grate, the black was a little more confusing, there was a sign over a drain but it was right next to the fresh water tap, seems wrong but needs must so dropped the black, rinsed the area clean but decided that we would be okay for water for another day. We put in the coordinates for Mutigny and had a really pleasant drive along the D roads of France, through undulating countryside until we reached the Champagne region, here the landscape changed from corn, wheat and bright sunflowers to vines and lots of them. It was now lunchtime so needed to get bread as usual we were late so tried to find a boulongerie but all were closed or nowhere to park, we ended up a a supermarket having driven through Epernay in the lunchtime rush hour. Shopping done we decided to take the road out through the vineyards for lunch and eventually came across an aire overlooking rows of manicured vines, here we would stop have lunch and probably stay for the night.   Lunch over we watched as the workers in the field tended to the vines, there were bunches of Champagne grapes but had someway to go before the vendange in the autumn. By mid afternoon we were ready for cake, I had looked at the patisserie counter in the supermarket, there were dozens of delights to be had but settled on a couple of millefeuille. That will do until supper which tonight is Merguez sausage with French lentils with a glass of VDP D'Aude to wash it down and of course cheese. Saturday 23rd July Day 7  We woke early as planned, washed and packed up to take the short drive through the vineyards back to Epernay, we wanted to find somewhere to park the campervan close to the Avenue de Champagne so that Izzys walk was no longer than it needed to be. The drive through the vines was wonderful we found row after row tabled as Moet & Chandon, all neatly manicured, the vine hung heavy with bunches of grapes ripening in the early morning sunshine.  We arrived in Epernay well before 9.00am and managed to find on road parking on a side road within feet of the Avenue.    We wandered up and down both sides admiring the beautiful buildings of the Champagne houses, we spent some pleasant time walking around the gardens of the Marie. One draw back with coming so early was that all the tasting houses had not yet opened so a Champagne breakfast was out of the question. Back at the van we made plans for the rest of the day, shopping was first on the list, bread, of course and something for tea the next couple of day. Shopping out of the way we took the 'Route de Champagne' south of Epernay, we went through some lovely villages and drove through countless vineyards, some names we knew others we did not. Before we knew it it was time for lunch and found an idyllic spot, Le Mont Amie, high above the vines, we drove up the short but steep road to find a wonderful picnic spot. It was almost 3pm before we left to look for an aire for the night, we needed water so back tracked slightly but once we had found it the service point was out of order, we looked at another but appeared to be noisy. The was one on the list which was a French Passion aire, not Free but was not too far away, when we arrived it was full, we were just about to leave and the owner came out to explain that they were full but we could stay on the grass oppersite but there was no electricity, that was not a problem and thanked her very much, asked how much, gratuit, free, we parked up under the shade of a horse chestnut tree. We needed water, so we decided as we were to use all the services and we were not charged we would but a bottle of their Champagne, Adele went to madam for a bottle of their Brut Rose, the owners were well chuffed we had bought one.    We sat in the meadow oppersite the aire chilling and slipping a lovely bottle of Champagne, before eventually getting tea ready, tonight were having pizza with salad. Its so quite here, we are glad we came across it. Sunday 24th July Day 8 We woke after a very peaceful night, I don’t know if its because we are really chilled now or the after effects of last nights bottle of Brut Rose, nether the less we slept really well. We had planned to have showers this morning, we put the water heater on but it came up with a fault code to say unexpected 240v failure but we have not had mains plugged in for weeks, so showers were off. Adele had her body wash first, the water alarm came on to say we had no water even though I had only filled up on arrival last night, there was definitely water in the tank, I was next washing in between dashing out to turn the buzzer off, I did manage to reset the water heater by doing a hard reset on the boiler but the water buzzer will have to wait. It was a lovely morning, Azur blue skies, no cloud and sunny, so sunny that it was getting hot even at this early time in the morning. We sat with barn doors open having our fruit salad and croissants and a lovely cup of coffee. The plan today was, after getting a baguette, was to continue on the Champagne route from where we had left off yesterday, we drove through some quaint little villages and beautiful countryside. Before we knew it was 12.30pm and time to find a spot for lunch, we had driven past an area of lakes but there were no pull-ins which is unusual for France, we continued on, in the small village of Reuves, en face the Marie was a small carpark in the shade with manicured gardens, a smashing little find for lunch. We sat in the shade with our baguette, pate and salad du concombre, it was so peaceful, I had forgotten how just relaxing was so , well, relaxing not racing about from one sight seeing place to another, we have just been meandering about. After lunch we checked on the last part of the Champagne route we were on, it took us down towards Chezzane, there is a free aire there so that would finish off our route nicely. The aire was just a car park in the centre of town, it looked as if it would be quiet enough and there wasn’t any bad reviews but it was in full sun and probably had been all day, it was 33 deg, too much sun. Checking P4N showed a small municipal site on the outskirts of town, again good reviews so off we went. I checked at the entrance €9.50 per night. I went to book in, first mistake, its been so long since we have been of French campsites I had forgotten my ID, back to the van. We will start again, “avez vous une emplacement for c’soir si vous plait?” in my broken French, madamme came back in her good English, “how many nights?” The conversation carried on in that vane, she asked in English I answered in French, after 10 minutes we were looking for a pitch. The site is a typical municipal, decent amenities block, clean and tidy, pitches are of a reasonable size, no problems for ‘vera’ although on a slight slope and here, included in the pitch fee of €9.50 was a swimming pool with water sides, we did have to pay €1.50 for Izzy and 0.40c in tax, €11.40 in total.  We sat in the shade of the trees snoozing in the afternoon sunshine before it was time for pastis and tea. Tea to night is cote du porc with ratatouille, we had a couple of glasses of wine followed by cheese, it was now past 10pm, still sitting outside the van its still very warm. Monday 25th July Day 9 We woke later this morning, it had been cooler over night and was quite windy, we both had showers, making the most of being on a site, we had planned to have breakfast outside but the wind made it uncomfortable so we sat inside, our new normal again for breakfast, fresh fruit salade, croissants and coffee. Before leaving the site we topped up with water, the gauge is still bleeping to say its empty even when its pouring out the overflow, we emptied the grey and black tanks and put what little rubbish we had in the poubells. Today we were going to head further south towards Langres but not before finishing the last few villages on our ‘Marne Valley’ section of the ‘Route Touristic de Champagne, there are eight routes in all so many have to revisit another time, we started at Epernay and finished in Villenauxe-la-Grande. We stopped off for a baguette for setting the sat-nav for Langres but it is over 3.5 hours away so probably won’t get that far, we found a smashing little spot for lunch, 100 meters off the road along the side of La Seine, we parked up under some trees and enjoyed lunch just watching the river. On the road again, we got to Troyes and decided to find an aire rather than pushing on. At Mesnil st Pere there is large aire and by large I mean LARGE, it takes over 80 units, when we got there it must have been half full, the only parking was in the middle in direct sun, beggars can’t be choosers and its only for one night. We had only just put the handbrake on and opened up the roof lights when one of the vans parked on the side moved off, before you could say”Moet and Chandon” we had taken the space. There is little shade to the side so put our chairs out, now we do know that aires are just park ups and ‘No Camping’ activities should take place but either side of us are French MoHos who have chairs out and tables and their awnings, in fact most of the MoHos have tables and chairs out, so when in Rome and all that, well you know what I mean. As the afternoon wore on, four caravans towed by work vans pulled onto the aire, caravans are not allowed but this did not seem to bother them, they parked for a short while but then left, travellers we assumed. Tea was tartiflette and salad followed by a caramel pudding, once we had tided up the backgammon came out, a week into our adventures and this was the first game played, again it went down to the wire, first advantage me then advantage went Adeles way, in the end Adele won by 1 stone. The sunset looked beautiful so we went for a walk over to the lake, we sat lakeside watching the sun go down, quite the old romantics.  It was gone 10pm by the time we were back at the van, in bed by 10.30pm. Tuesday 26th July Day 10 We woke woke at 7.30am after a surprisingly good night, considering that there are 40 plus vans on the aire we had expected some noise but we heard nothing. I took Izzy for a walk back over to the lake, it was cloudy and a little windy this morning but was a nice walk, it felt like we were on a beach promenade somewhere, which I suppose we were just in land. It would have been nice to stay here another day but if we were to make it to Langres today we must go. After breakfast we packed up and hit the road, 132k to go today we should make Langres before lunch. All good plans etc, on route we noticed a sign for a ‘pont Romain’ so took a little detour, it was a little under whelming but was a break in the journey.  We needed bread but didn’t find any where until we made Langres, we found a supermarket in for bread, out with €46.20 of food, at least were have enough to last a few days. We had decided to stop on the municipal site for a couple of nights, it is right in middle of town, we drove through the impressive town gates, down a couple of narrow streets onto the site, right on the edge of the town walls. The accruille is not open until later, we found a pitch in the corner and set up, we would book in when it opened. I booked in for two nights, the gentleman who booked me in spoke very good English but as always I tried to answer in French, all went well, being a municipal the facilities are basic but clean, no extras at this site but there will be no need to drive being in the middle of town all for €16.20 per night.  Mid-afternoon we had afternoon tea, some lovely strawberry patisseries we picked up shopping and a bottle of champagne, now this is what I called camping.  Tea tonight was bavette steak done on the BBQ with some diced potatoes and a glass or two of Cote du Rhone. We sat out under the canopy with cheese and the last of the wine as the sun went down over the ramparts, we went for a short walk along the walls that edged the campsite before retuning for bed. Wednesday 27th July Day11 We woke early this morning, had showers then breakfast. We planned to walk around the ramparts following the trail in the map given to us by the campsite reception, it should take yes a couple of hours depending on how Izzy walks today, from the van it was 20 yards to the start at ‘Tour de Navarre et d’Orval’ we turned right and we were on top of the ramparts, the walk took us to several original parts of the city walls, Porte des Terreaux, Arc gallo-romain and Porte de l’Hotel de Ville before turning into the town, we had a lovely walk through the narrow streets looking at some really old buildings, we continued to Place Jeanne-Mance, Adele stopped in the square whilst I went for a wander around the Cathedral, whilst I was away Adele met a lovely old French lady who, although couldn’t speak any English chatted with Adele for sometime, showing interest in Adele and Izzy, the lady thanked Adele for her time then crossed the road to her house oppersite. When I returned we continued into town stopping for a coffee but as we got there about a dozen or so Dutch tourists turned up, took over all the other tables and were very loud, it spoilt the ambience for us so we left, we called at another coffee shop but they were not serving outside due to the wasps, so off we went again. We continued following the map of the ramparts and before we knew it we were at the main gates to the town. Having taken some more video we came across another restaurant serving coffee but again the wasps were everywhere, we gave it a miss, there must be a major problem with wasps this year. We returned to the van for lunch, Croques Monsieur au chèvre. The afternoon went very hot, we sat under the canopy reading and having a snooze, as the afternoon turned to evening the site began to fill up again and before long most of the pitched were full. We prepared tea, chicken, ham and cheese parcels with salade, we again sat outside in the evening sunshine eating cheese. We talked over the day, Langres is a nice town, not perhaps as picturesque as we had thought but we have really enjoyed our couple of days here, we would make tracks back north tomorrow. The evening finished with another game of backgammon, a really good game, again it was down to the wire with only one stone between us but this time I came out the winner, so far 1 game all. Thursday 28th July Day12 We woke at 7.30am, both showered and had breakfast. We wanted to get off early as it was a 5 hour drive to St. Quintin but as normal it took longer to get the van ready than we thought but by 10.30 we were on our way, we needed to get some bread and top up with fuel before we hit the road so by the time we really got going it was 11.30ish. We took the main roads as to get more miles under our belt, every thing went to plan and we stopped for lunch for an hour and made it to a very pretty aire at Bruyeres et Montberault by 4.30pm,  we parked up and chilled for an hour or so before tea, porc slices with BBQ beans and a few fried potatoes, we finished the last of the goats cheese then took a wander around the village, the air was still and the village was quiet, stutters closed to keep cool, the village centre had a small allimation, a grocery shop but as ever in France everything was closed up. It was starting to get dark so returned to the van and bed.  Friday 29th July Day 13 We woke later this morning, gone 8.00am, after getting ready I took Izzy for a short walk whilst Adele got breakfast ready, we planned to move up to Arras today but not before calling into the 12th century hilltop village of Laon.     What a lovely town Loan is with its old towered gatehouse and cobbled streets and old walls surround its magnificent cathedral, we found lots of little alleyways dating back centuries. The main streets had ‘sky art’ balloons of different colours hanging between the buildings, there was also one street that had what looked like lamp shades hanging, Laon was a great find, we were really please we made the short detour. We returned to the van late morning and started our way towards Arras only stopping for an hour or so for lunch. Along the way we were looking for LPG, we found a few stations selling it but as they were un-manned the gas was not available. We arrived in Arras just before 5pm and found a quiet park up listed on P4N by the Citadel, there are four parking spaces but only just long enough for Vera, the reviews are good saying that its a very quiet spot for the night. Its been over 29 degrees again today so was nice to be able to sit in the shade of some trees with a cold glass of panache writing todays diary, we have planned to have steak-Hashe for tea but will have to wait a bit until it cools down a little. As the evening wore on we both became a little uncomfortable at this park up, so packed up and found a commercial aire just 10 minutes walk from Arras town centre, once we had worked how the automatic accrual worked we were in with lots of MoHos already there we still had the choice of about seven places. It was gone 9pm when we had finished tea and tidied up. Time for another round of backgammon, slow to start but Adele made some good moves and before long was well ahead of me, but as we have found out, a roll of the dice can change everything, in this game it didn’t and I was playing catch up, Adele won by 7 stones, Oh well, there is always another night. Saturday 30th July Day 14 We woke after another peaceful night, these commercial aires rules are well kept, by the time we went to bed all was quiet.  It was good to run the van on 240v as we are very low on gas, the red light has been on for the last 5-6 day so can’t be much in the tank. I took Izzy for her morning walk but she was out of sorts and didn’t really seem interested so back to the van. Over breakfast we looked how to get into Arras on foot from the aire, google maps said its 12 minutes away so after breakfast we donned the rucksack and followed the map. It was indeed only 12 minutes gentle walk through the back streets to reach the main square with all the picturesque baroque buildings but as it was Saturday it was also market day, so we couldn’t get a really good look around, on the plus side it was a huge market so had a potter around the stalls lots of food but also more clothes and tac than other markets we had been to.   After an hour or so Izzy was starting to flag, her breathing was laboured and she was dribbling, we tried to get into a cafe for a coffee but they were either in the sun or full, we did find one but was frequented by the local drunk so left, we made the decision to return to the van, it could have bought on the problems Izzy had earlier in the holiday should we have continued. Back at the van we had lunch, Adele, crevettes & salade, I had rillettes & tomato salade but we only had yesterday bread so was a little tough. We left the aire mid-afternoon having emptied all the tanks and filled up with water, all included in the price. We put the co-ordinates in the sat-nav for Le Tréport, hoping that we would be earlier enough to get a space, as we reach the town we noticed a Auchan supermarket had GPL (gas) so made the detour to fill up. Having done my research before we left home the filling up was very straight forward, using the correct adaptor and using the claw connector all went well, in the end we only needed just under 12 litres. Onwards to the aire, there are two at the top of Le Tréport, the first was full, the second, a smaller aire had ONE space remaining, what luck, we put our details in and paid the €7.00 for the night, although this time there is no electricity and water is extra. Good job we found the gas earlier. We parked up sat with the barn doors open with the sound of seagulls, the suns shining but being at the coast we have lost that oppressive heat, there is a little road noise but hopefully it will go quite later.  Tea tonight, being by the sea is paella with a glass or two of rose. We continued the backgammon games with another excellent game, it took quite sometime as we were both taking pieces but I had the better luck on the dice and removed all my stones before Adele had got hers into the home area, thus giving me two games win, holiday score now Nigel 3- 2 Adele, I dare say Adele will get her own back tomorrow. I took Izzy for her last walk before retiring for bed, its gone very windy I hope that it clears for tomorrow. Sunday 31st July Day 15
We woke at 8am, the weather hasn’t cleared, in fact its got worse, still windy but with dark cloudy skies and rain, yes rain. We both showered, I took Izzy for her walk, she wasn’t keen, neither was I, long trousers and a jumper today we were only out for a few minutes. We had breakfast, our fruit salade but we had forgotten to get any croissants or bread yesterday so we used an older pain, sliced and toasted with some marmalade. After breakfast we got ready for a walk in to Le Tréport, from the aire its a short walk to the funicular, a cliff railway that takes you down into the town, there are four cable cars running continuously and all free. Adele was a bit nervous about it because of the heights but she was fine once we got moving. The cable cars travel through the cliffs depending 155meters down to the seafront it was original built in 1908 it was partly destroyed during the second World War then was entirely modernised in 2006.  Le Tréport is a nice seaside town with some old buildings in the side streets but the front has some 1960s / 70s apartment blocks which, in my opinion spoil the looks, the area around the harbour was nice and the fish market was excellent, we bought some moules to have for lunch and picked up a baguette traditional from a boulongerie, we had to queue up for bread as the shop was so popular, the cake looked lovely but resisted this time. We continued our walk back in the direction of the funicular as the rain kept coming and going, a shame really, it spoilt our walk a little. We got back on the funicular and returned to the van, lunchtime now Adele made the best with the moule, we didn’t have the normal things she uses, no garlic, no shallots, no herbs so had to make do with butter, wine, salt and pepper.  The mussels were nice but lacked some of the flavour we normally have. We packed up the van to make the 70km journey back to Montrieul-sur-mer for our appointment with the vets tomorrow morning, arriving at the aire it was full so just parked up on the adjacent car park. After chilling with a beer and writing the diary we got tea ready, tonight its chicken with Spanish lentils, perhaps we should have been tempted with the patisseries at the boulangerie this morning. We had another game of backgammon Adele taking another point 3-3 Monday 1st August Day 16 Woke 7.30, washed and took Izzy for a walk, breakfast would have to wait this morning as we had an appointment at the vets at 9.00am, we have checked with google translate for all the words and phrases we needed, hopefully with their English and our little French we should get by, it was just a quick walk from the aire to the vets, we arrived spot on time, we were expected, the receptionist was lovely, her English was better than our French, she had Izzys papers and set us up on their computer, the young vet came and took us into a consulting room, Izzy was weighed, we were told she needed to loose a little weight but then we already knew that, she checked her teeth, her eyes and her heart beat, all was well, she gave Izzy a tapeworm tablet, filled in the correct section on the AHC and put an official stamp on it. All done. We thanked her in our broken French and went to pay, €47.20. Now for breakfast, we walked the few hundred meters into town only to find the only boulongerire was closed, we walked the side streets to find another, that was closed too. The next best thing was a casino local, a Tesco express type shop, we went in, they had fresh baguettes and pain au chocolate. Back to the van. We had breakfast thankful that our meeting with the vet went so well, so for today, we left the aire with the intention to visit Le Touquet Sur mer, about 35 minutes away but when we got there we couldn’t find the MoHo parking, so carried on up the coast towards Boulogne, a nice ride following the coast road. At Boulogne we went and started the shopping, some things to eat and others to take home, the wine shop we will leave until tomorrow, all done it was lunchtime so decided to try out the aire on the other side of town, we went back across the sea front past the old harbour where we used to come in on the catermeran with LD Lines, past nausica, the sea life centre and up the hill.  The aire had spaces so paid our €9.40 and drove in, the site is sloping, some more than others but we had a good few pitches to choose from and went for one on the lower section overlooking the sea. We had lunch, tarte flambé with salade with a glass of panache, the sun had now come out so sat outside of the van enjoying the sunshine, reading and having a snooze, before we knew it it was 6.45 and time for tea, porc slices with ratatouee and a glass of pays de herault.  After tea we went for a walk down to town but it was a little further than we thought so once we had got to the sea wall we returned to the van, we don’t walk Izzy to far, just in case she has another attack like early in the trip. Back at the van it was backgammon time, two exiting games both very different, we were even tonight with one game each bring the holiday championships to 4-4. Tuesday 2nd August Day 17 We woke at 8.30, I took Izzy for a stroll then breakfast. Today is THE shop day, wine, French things, wine, pastis, wine, jams, oh and wine. First stop was to the Auchan to see if they have our favourite pastis and coffee papers, they had, success we also got jams and a few other bits, now onto Lidl for the wine, now I know all the supermarkets have wine but over the years we have always found that Lidl have some great prices, it was so different this year with only being allowed to bring in 24 bottles each, wine shop done it was just a matter of filling up with diesel and we were finished and it was only 2.30pm, now where to stop we had looked at staying at an aire a little closer to Calais but I’m a little wary about it due to the stories of immigrants trying to get into vans so we decided to return to the aire at Boulogne where we were last night, there was once again a fair few spaces except the one we were on yesterday was taken so found another still on a slope but it would do. Lunch was late almost 3pm, rillettes, salade and some really nice baguette and to finish a lovely patisserie, a chocolate, hazelnut and coffee slice. We chilled out for the rest of the afternoon with the side door open, it wasn’t quite warm enough to sit outside, mulling over our French Adventure, we have both had a wonderful time, it was a little daunting to start with it all being new for us in the campervan and especially with the 43 degs temperatures and Izzy being poorly in the begining but that aside we have done well, we found Private Banks, we toured the Champagne region or at least part of it, stopped in some lovely French village aires, we sampled some great champagne sat in the producers front lawn, well the field oppersite and had some really nice cakes.
We had a late tea and being our last tea on this French Adventure it has to be steak-hashe with a glass or two of wine, we finished off the last of the Langres cheese and had the decider of the backgammon championships another good game and the winner is…….. Nigel 5-4 Adele.   We took Izzy for her evening walk, the sun was setting on the day and our French Adventure. Wednesday 3rd August Day 18 Woke to the alarm at 7am, we both had restless nights, maybe due to the slope of the van, I felt as if I was sliding out of bed or maybe because we know we are on the train this morning or Izzy being out of sorts or a mix of all. I took Izzy out for her morning walk and she seemed to be fine, its cool this morning with grey skies and damp in the air, we both returned for our breakfasts, our last croissants in France. We tidied the van, cleaned the windscreen and emptied all the tanks. We left the aire at Boulogne just after 9.00am, we took the scenic coastal path up to Calais, enjoying the last drive in France, we arrived at Eurotunnel at 9.35, we had to go to pet reception before check-in, Izzy and her paperwork were all checked and we were given a pass to put on the windscreen, at check-in we were offered an earlier train, 10.20am at no extra cost so went for it, we drove straight into French passport control who stamped us out of France, then to the British side wherein our old ferry days we would be stopped to do a random search, not this time, the boarder officer was really friendly and chatty, he checked our passports and sent us on our way. The only other stop was to check that we had turned of the gas, this time they did check, asking us to try and light the cooker which, obviously didn’t light. We were on our way, we drove straight onto the loading lanes and on to the train. After about 10 minutes we started to move and were on our way home. We arrived at Folkestone 35 minutes later, drove onto the motorway and had an uneventful trip home. benivanadventures - travels in our campervan Trip Details: Miles: 1477 Ave MPG: 31.9 Fuel Cost: £ 323.72 / £ 1.54 ltr Car Parking: £ 0.00 Nights: 17 Camp Fees: £ 45.63 Camp Ave per night: £ 2.68  |
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