Hopping North and Skippy the French ........

Better in the real summer!

We found the site fairly easily, arriving around 5pm to find desertion! Finally a guy appeared and said we were very early:- check-in was at 6pm, but we could unload a bit and come back then. He said he was relieved to see the car GB plate as his Spanish isn't very good! It had stopped raining but it was cold and wet underfoot. We took ourselves off to St Florentin for fuel and supplies and when we returned were made very welcome. We had expected there to be numerous chalets, but there were two - with a large group of workers with white vans in the other! The site itself was also smaller than expected and virtually empty:- hence the restricted hours of attendance!

Even Bob had to take to jeans and trousers!

Our chalet was newly equipped, clean and quite well laid-out, but ....given the weather forecast had two serious problems! First, it was very, very cold. The nice guy in charge went out and bought a small portable heater that stopped ice forming on the bedroom window, and with extra layers and a warm duvet we coped. The other was that the WiFi did not stretch to the chalet, so there was no live TV and to get on-line we had to either catch the office when open or sit (suitably wrapped) outside it. This isn't exactly a desperate problem, but with thunder, rain pounding down on the metal roof and nowhere to go Greyrocks longed for "home" comforts! As the days passed and the grim weather prospects for the weekend became clear we discussed the unpalatable plan of booking into a hotel!

Not as pretty as the du Nivernais

But for a few days we did our best to enjoy what this section of the Canal du Bourgogne had to offer. Brienon itself is a staging post and has some interesting old buildings, St Florentin is larger and we watched some boat action there. Migennes is its end and it joins the River Yonne there. We had a day there (around the newly developed station) but got caught in a thunderstorm and took refuge in a Chinese restaurant for lunch. We liked Tonnerre and spent the only sunny and dry day there, including a late picnic lunch beside the canal, where Ruth had a session on an outdoor cycling machine!

The meteo however was insistent:- Saturday would be foul, and we couldn't face a Bank Holiday weekend en chalet, so we bit the bullet, made our excuses to the nice camp manager, packed Yvette in the rain and set off 20km down the road to a Campanile hotel near the city of Auxerre! Its location - amongst other "modest" and worse hotels - on an industrial estate is nothing to rave about, but within minutes of entering a warm room with a TV and fast internet we knew we had done the right thing!

On a day that was mostly dry, but very cold we retraced parts of last year's Burgundy stay by following the Canal du Nivernais from Auxerre. this confirmed that it is a more scenic and interesting canal than the Bourgogne.

Our Sunday lunch was in Auxerre city itself - in the rain and wind! Before and after we managed  some strolling round the central area and along the quay. Back at the hotel we monitored the count of the second round of the presidential election. We raised half a glass to Macron and heaved a sigh of relief!

The last full day in France meant a straightforward drive - almost entirely on autoroutes - to St Quentin. We ere booked into the new Kyriad, and on arrival found the car park bustling with two busy groups:- one presparing publicity materials and activities for the region of Hauts-de-France, and the other for the cycling team of Shimano. It seems there was to be a major race the next day, and indeed at breakfast we saw many, many bikes in different states of assembly. It was an early rise for Greyrocks too as we had been disturbed since 3am by a great deal of noise from the kitchen next door to the room. (When we appraised management of this we were given our breakfasts for free!)

But we had a delightful experience for dinner the evening before! Following up a lead from last year's overnight in St Quentin we ate early at Crocodile - one of a chain in Northern France - being given seats in the iconic railway carriage outside, relishing the inclusive wine and one of us (guess which!) giving kangaroo a try. Not very French, but good fun!

As we headed further North in the morning the weather improved, and we made a dash into Carrefour fo supplies requested by Chloë and then took a smooth crossing back to the depressingly self-destructive nation that is Greyrocks' place of birth!

May Day:- Bring out the warm clothes!!

 Greyrocks has previously noted the accumulation of Bank Holidays in May in France. This year May 1st and 8th were  Mondays, so we have two consecutive "long weekends", and it was pretty dumb to plan long motorway journeys on the Saturdays, but we did!

"Fete des muguets" & freezing!

The second was from Lattes to our overnight in Cahors, and involved passing round Toulouse at lunchtime, but we survived - missing some "nasties" reported close-by on the radio. In fact we put the stay down as a great success. (We have bad memories of unintended encounters with Cahors, and the weather forecast was bad!) We arrived early and sat in the sun outside the Campanile hotel with beers and sandwiches.  It was hard to believe we were on our way North! The topography of the Tarn area is stunning.

By next morning the meteo was insistent: orange alert for two-thirds of France, with high winds, rain and hail. we set off in fear back up the A20:- destination Confolens and our old friend George! it was a smooth (free) run on this scenic road, and even the non-motorway bit after Limoges was fine - with threatening skies, but no weather events! We met up at the brand new house (occupied for only a couple of weeks!) and during an extended lunch the storm started with a vengeance - including the hail! During a slight let-up we drove down into town and checked in at the hotel: L'Emeraude. It is known by an almost rhyming and medical name by the local ex-pats, and it is - indeed - past its golden age, but friendly, adequate and we had a good dinner there!

Next day we had a lunch date with George but beforehand girded the loins with freshly unpacked warm clothes and headed off to beat the bounds of Confolens. We bought a bunch of lily-of-the-valley as is traditional and stopped on the old bridge for a photo opportunity. Five minutes later we were running back to the car as another thunderstorm started. Lunch was at Lesterps where we have been twice before - and the food was well up to standard!

It rained for most of the day and we had a long drive the morning after (in Greyrocks terms) that was also mostly in the rain - frequently torrential! Frustration was not helped by a major diversion adding 20 slow miles North of Limoges and more HGVs than normal after the Bank Holiday. We were bound for Brienon on the Canal du Bourgogne and had a booking for a week in a chalet on their campsite. We hoped there would be good heating!

Agde, Asses and Les Amoreux, plus Populism and Poplars,

Greyrocks is in France again, and until a couple of days ago could report glorious unseasonable sunshine for the whole ten days!
We arrived in Barcelona with great ease and walked out to the pick-up point for the hotel shuttle. This is something we have done numerous times ruing the clothes more suited to the Canaries, but this time we were seeking shade. Just as well, since it took 45 minutes to arrive! Still - a good value dinner and comfortable room, followed by an efficient run back to the airport next morning. We used the once-daily coach service up to Girona airport and as we passed the Parking saw Yvette with her bonnet up:- something amiss with the battery and/or electronic warning system! We spent the journey into France perturbed by it all, but made it to Stop Numero 1 - Grau d' Agde.

The Left Bank of Grau d'Agde - nice eateries!

 Greyrocks has three favourite campsites with mobile homes in SW France, and generally uses two on any migration, but it is a while since we were here. It seems the last time was at the most recent Autumn 2012, and in that time the site has changed hands, the seafront been pedestrianised, and a brasserie has opened right next door! All good news! After settling in we made a late run to the nearest supermarket and found that a branch of Hippopotamus had opened there! So faced with a teeming mass of French Easter holidaymakers on missions everywhere we took an early dinner there and were very pleased with it, so another reason to be cheerful! People were swimming in pool and sea, and there were signs of sunburn:- not bad for mid-April!

That says it all! Fingers crossed!

The bad news was that despite numerous attempts to mount the "new" bike around the campsite failure persisted, so Bob's rides out were lone (and probably longer than would have been the case if accompanied!). These included some trips on the tiny ferry that crosses the river near its mouth. This service has also been tarted up since the last visit and the two boats are captained by a couple and painted respectively pink and blue! One day was dedicated to "sorting out Yvette" and included a drive to an industrial estate in Béziers, where history also repeated itself in that we spent an age trying to find the Fiat dealer. We were then told it would be better to have Yvette seen in Agde, so it was back there and to another industrial estate.  Here a jolly customer saw the GB plates and asked if we were seeking asylum, and the boss said he would look at her but after his lunch! In all we killed four hours waiting around but came away with the newest and most annoying false alerts solved and the cause (poor battery connection) solved. We rounded off the car-centred day by having two new tyres fitted - involving more waiting for an appointment and then the service! 

France was - of course - gearing up for the first round of the presidential election. Greyrocks has remarked before that there is little sign of overt commitment to any candidate - just a bit of fly-posting, but every polling station has a line of numbered regulation-sized posters of the contenders. Our nearest had Le Pen's pleasingly adorned. The result would not be announced until we reached Lattes!

Plans for Place Jean Jaures - not there yet!

Meanwhile we had an "awayday" in  Béziers - mindful of the fact that it has a very nasty mayor! This was not lost on Jack - Chloë's fiancé - and they were the reason for the visit. They were on a week's break in Toulouse and the city made a sensible and interesting meeting point. (Unfortunately extortionately expensive for them, whilst we had a ten minute train journey at pensioners' rate!)

But the canal hero remains!

He's missing too!

It was a gloriously sunny day and all the travel arrangements worked perfectly, but some of the tourism experiences were a bit lack-lustre! Having met at the station we walked up to the centre! The geography was well-known to us, so the effort required was not unexpected and we aimed for a drink in the main square. This is named after a famous socialist - so we had to go there to cock a snoop at the current administration, but it was en panne - just a huge building site! Bob went off in search of a tourist map and we found a little but friendly bar that was open.  C & J went off to see - amongst other places - the Cathedral site of the 1209 massacre. We needed a gentler stroll and followed the map to the Arena or Amphitheatre. We had recently watched an interesting series on Greek (and to some extent Roman) Theatre, and thought this would be fun! To say it was underwhelming is to understate! There are a couple of columns and a portion of the site is a public garden. That was it! So we wandered the streets - found a few random points of interest and ended up outside the closed cathedral. C & J were there too, having got lost and then misunderstood the opening times. But at least the view from the ramparts - extensive and beautiful was worth it!

 So we went with the flow and had a couple of beers at a nearby brasserie , and this morphed into a long and very pleasant lunch. Just time for a leisurely stroll down to the station passing through the "Plain of Poets" and past the fountain of Triton! What a surprise:- under extensive renovation and nothing to see!

All that white stuff! Apparently "bourre du peuplier"

A great day en famille in spite of the glitches! We were soon back in Agde and took the bus back to the site. 

 

The move on the following Saturday would involve a short motorway drive, but it was pretty hairy, being a sunny day with most French pupils on holiday, and most of the Netherlands towing their caravans down to Spain. The Info on the radio told tales of two-hour hold-ups not far away. We were lucky and beat the Reception lunch break at the Camping. Unfortunately the mobile wasn't ready, so we had to shop and then return. When we did we were greeted like old friends. We commented on the lovely sunshine and one member of the team said "Yes, and the snow!!" Throughout our stay we have had to fight off the wind-borne seeds of a variety of poplar which is much in evident hereabouts! At times the swirling and layers on all surfaces really do resemble snow! Furthermore the donkey on the other side of the fence from our unit has reproduced and there are now four of them braying through day and night! Not quite paradise, then; but we have once again the super-luxury mobile home and it's a delightful, friendly, well-located campsite!

Twice a year for a good few years, so we know Lattes, its seaside neighbours, cycle rides and where to eat! Bob had to do the rides whilst Ruth did strange stationary exercises, but she walked to the great Lattes Sunday market and bought the Sunday roast:- asparagus with Hollandaise, boneless cooked suckling pig, potato galettes, and some great veg.! In the afternoon we went to sunny Palavas, which was full! By the Tuesday the end to the sunny spell was in sight. A nasty strong North wind was with us, so we took the tram into Montpellier. It was too cold really for being outside and whilst we stood inspecting the offerings of the second-best cinema the perspex cover of the board flew open and clobbered us both on arm and hand! A Parisien onlooker said we should claim free entries, but there was nothing that appealed so we went once again to L'Assiette, ate scrumptious gigot with white beans, and claimed our cheap tickets to the cinema opposite. We saw "Lady Macbeth", which we learnt shortly afterwards was the Guardian Film of the Week. Comfy and warm in the Diagonal and a worthwhile film, but when we came out it was raining, and it did so in buckets for twelve hours! Since then the vicious wind has persisted, so a week of mixed fortune, but still a place we want to return to! Tomorrow we head North and have fished out the warm clothes in preparation!

A sudden burst of Awaydays!

With a couple of weeks to go before migration we suddenly started  going places! More flexibility (!) in the physio schedule and a remarkable improvement in the weather made such jaunts more feasible and attractive! In fact these closing weeks were the best in all the early Aprils that Greyrocks can recall. Almost (but not quite) sea-bathing conditions!

The bad news was that Ruth's knee - whilst good enough for quite extensive painless walking - stubbornly refused to bend enough on the real bicycle - meaning no progress in riding, episodes of depression and detailed discussion about how this knee could be so much more problematic than the first last year! In fact the bike has only been out of our complex once in the whole six-month stay. and that was to be - as it turned out - pointlessly serviced! Still - "things can only get better"!

Plenty of choice for lunch along the prom!

The first of three jolly japes in glorious sunshine was over the sea to Playa Blanca! John and Tracey drove their hire car down from Teguise, and we took the swift Fred Olsen ferry with residents' discount. We had a very pleasant lunch in a randomly chosen restaurant, swapped tales of offspring and heard about their "day from hell" with medical bill and traffic fine, and planned the winter's trip to Goa! So engaged were we in good conversation that the amount of wine consumed by three of us "grow'd like Topsy" and Greyrocks managed to fall asleep for most of the twenty minute return crossing!

Next - to El Cotillo! Greyrocks likes this growing fishing village with its Bohemian vibe, but there is not much to do without a serious walk, so a visit was delayed until this late stage! Almost as potentially interesting would be the return bus trip, which would mean seeing (or even using) the newly-opened stretch of new road:- much behind schedule and controversial in terms of what will ultimately happen to the current coast road and the communities it serves. We got the experience we wanted on the journey, had a walk round, saw the new bus station and had a long lunch in the sun! No longer "sleepy" it receives a serious stream of coach parties, but definitely worth a visit!

Finally there was another visit to our capital - Puerto del Rosario - mainly for a signing-off by the sainted surgeon. Once this was over - with much reassurance and a suggestion of a bit more physio and an adhesive, analgaesic pad - we strolled in the sun (at last!) and went for the season's last lunch with Marco and Elena at El Bounty. This was a long and delightful affair! Once home it was round to the next door neighbours (the nice side!) for an early evening get-together in advance of our respective departures. we don't recall much of the latter part of the evening!

In spite of numerous attempts, varied saddle heights and some mobilisation at the Sports Clinic the final week still didn't bring any success with Ruth on the bike, but we left on Good Friday with hope that the other mount would be easier. Wait and see!

"The Mother of Invention!"

"Who thought of this carnival theme?" It really is a pig, and even the most fervent dresser-uppers were complaining from the day of announcement!Greyrocks was stumped. and the collective brain got stuck on the Jimmy Buffett song:

Einstein was a Surfer

but we didn't think there would be enough fans to make that worthwhile! 

When the carnival poster was published (late of course) the problem was clear to see:- the artwork showed stereotypical scientists/inventors dressed for another theme - including the ever-present Pirates!

We didn't see much of the marching troupes, but they did apparently get a flash of inspiration and turn out with gleaming cogs and wheels! Mere mortals produced a run on lab-coats, shortage of which led to a price-hike in the Chinese shop!

"Matron, heal thyself!"

After a long session with Professor Google, and determined to avoid insulting both women and male geeks, Ruth came up with Florence Nightingale:- both a statistician and pioneer of nursing practice! Unfortunately preparations faltered in the days before the Big Night when she was laid low by an unfortunate combination of streaming cold, strained back, stomach pain and a scratched cornea. The last of these reached crisis on the day itself, and being a weekend necessitated a visit to the private clinic for treatment. The eye-patch was thought by some to be an "obscure" reference. We did the usual and ate at the American to have some sort of seated view. This year the first two floats arrive almost too early, bearing the Queen and the Drag Queen. They were beautiful, but completely off-theme! The rest arrived much later, bearing drunken Mad Scientists and so on, but the most creative and humorous feature  was a "Trump wall" with US flag, graffiti and a whole load of drunken Mexicans! Right on! There were also some left-overs from St Patrick's Day and the Rugby World Cup!

Bob rose to the occasion with customary nonchalance by wearing hi Goan shirt - and when challenged said he was an Indian faith-healer, offering to lay his hands on certain people! Almost as sexist as the guy in the Rock dressed as a  surgeon in scrubs with the message
"I ain't a gynaecologist, but I'll have a look!"

Behind the bar Claire and Jules were Doctors Smith and Jones with Super Mario faces and hair!
Not a bad evening in the end! At least it didn't rain!

For the "Sardine" burning next evening we went to the Marquesina for the lobster we missed out on in Cabo Verde. Very nice, and we got some sense of the fireworks. Afterwards we looked at the charred remains of the giant fish on the town beach and realised things have changed in the years since we last followed the procession and had a proper view. The framework was about twice the size we remember! And then Carnival was over for 2017!

Purging, Pumping, Petitioning & Pokes from the Past

Between the return from Cabo Verde and Carnival Greyrocks has been busy with largely sensible but uninspiring activities, and the female half has frequently been on the paracetamol!

Having arrived home on Valentine's Day we went out for a very pleasant meal. knowing that the wine consumed would be that last for at least two weeks, as next day would be the start of a Grand Detox. This was needed to reboot Ruth's weight loss campaign which had not been operational since the operation, festivities and holiday away, with alcohol being probably the main culprit. Bob also needed to get some better data from various medical tests. It wasn't fun, many early nights took place, whilst evenings and afternoons in bars almost disappeared, so that friends didn't even realise we were back! The proof was there, however, in Bob's results and on the scales, so after the appointed period we eased up and are trying to go for "quality over quantity!" with the "MoTh" regime of two days per week booze-free.

 The first difficult test had been on the second full day! As we were walking out for the Valentine's meal and walk past a restaurant near the harbour there was a frantic bashing on the window from inside. Out ran a man shouting "It's Bob and Ruth, isn't?" We recognised him as father in a family of four from Up North that was on Christmas holiday for several consecutive years at the old Dunas Caleta complex along with us about twenty years ago! Ruth couldn't remember his name - but offered that of his wife. Now it's ex-wife - but nonetheless we agreed to meet him (and the new one) two evenings later at El Sombrero! This was a real "blast from the past" session: catching up on the careers and love-lives of the three kids, retirement reality and plans, travel experiences and only a brush with Brexit issues to mar a great evening. A gastronomic retro experience too, as they had chosen a place Greyrocks used to visit fairly regularly in tourist days but had gone off the radar. Ruth shared a "witches hat" with fillet steak. As you can see, punters hang portions on the table-top contraption and cook to taste. The juices drip down into the rim where julienne vegetables wait, thus making a tasty broth! The meat was of very high quality and we decided we should return here!

Another bizarre encounter with the past had happened whilst we were in Cabo Verde. Chloë called us to say that she had just been visited by a cousin of Bob, who lives in Wales and was dropping in on the off-chance. He had had no idea until recently that Bob existed:- his own father never having known that his older brother had married. We sent an email and have heard back some of the family history on that branch, and so genealogy may be dragged off the back-burner, where it has been for a year or so!

Instrument of Torture!

Meanwhile, there was a sudden dramatic development with Ruth's knee. There were two remaining ore-paid physiotherapy sessions to attend after the holiday. These went well given a three week break. She could do the exercises properly and without too much pain, the exercise bike was a success if the saddle was high enough, and the "mobilisation" had resulted in equal flexibility in the two knees. Ruth turned up for the next appointment bearing serious money for a month of sessions, and was told to save her money! It would be better to join the gym attached for just 35EUR and come and go at will. She was introduced to three pieces of equipment in addition to the exercise bike, and was shown what to do with very light weights. Thus at her advanced age Ruth began "pumping iron"! Unfortunately one of the procedures completely crocked her on the second visit, so that one has been getting a wide berth, and she has to go back to the clinic side for the bike as the grown-up ones have defeated her too! As yet she can't manage a real bicycle either for some reason, so "Watch this space" as time runs out.

Finally Greyrocks got very cross one Saturday morning! No "Sounds of the Sixties" on BBC Radio 2! We have been listening to the programme for many, many years, and the decision to axe Brian Matthew caused fury, and the signing of a petition! The replacement:- earlier in the morning and with the ghastly Tony Blackburn - just won't do! Sometimes we have a sudden realisation that we are getting past our "Best Before" date!

Flowers in the rain!

Touchdown at Las Palmas airport and the passengers walk down the steps to the bus. The shock at the temperature is audible, and no-one is dressed for this! Cabo Verde wasn't paradise, but it was sunnier than this!

Greyrocks had booked a four night stay next to the city's main and glorious Las Canteras beach. An easy and cheap transfer by Global bus and city guagua took us to the hotel, where we saw on the reception desk several print-outs from the meteo website highlighted to show that the next two days (a weekend) had orange storm warnings:- wind, rain and rough sea conditions. The hotel room was comfortable and had fast internet (at last!). It had also been chosen for proximity to the promenade, a bath-tub, and a roof-top swimming pool area. Ruth tried the bath and discovered it was too soon in the recovery for her to sit down, and clearly sunbathing - let alone swimming - was out of the question; but at least our favourite restaurant was close by, so we ate there, paid too much for a bottle of wine from the local shop and had a quiet evening of TV!

Ready for Carnaval, or just our usual?

The owner of our hotel in CV lives in Las Palmas and told us that we would be catching the very beginning of the carnival. We set off on the Saturday morning to find out more and discovered that its main static location - Santa Catalina Park - was closed to buses, but that the theme was "Flower Power". That appealed to Greyrocks much more than our local upcoming one of "Science and Inventions"! We walked quite a way round the shopping area, made a purchase in the Lighting department of El Corte Ingles, and took the bus down to San Telmo (the other half of the city!). The sun came out and we enjoyed alcohol-free beers in the park, but it didn't last! By late afternoon it was grey and very cold. An attempt at a long walk down the prom was abandoned and we ate (pretty well) close to the hotel. As we did we saw that it was raining heavily, so it was dash back!

Sunday's weather was atrocious! From the windows of the high breakfast room the view of familiar landmarks was obscured and the sea looked treacherous. Our hotel has seen more glorious times and has a vast "Cafeteria" on the ground floor. After hours of lurking in our room we decided we would go there, but found it closed with only Scandies playing cards and a vending machine! So we girded loins and ran across the road to a humble bar. We were the only foreigners there, many of the rest being single older men tucking in to a very cheap "menu del dia". After one small beer we decided to join in, and declared this to be our Sunday dinner. (Hearty soup, paella  for one and ropa vieja for the other, coffee and and a glass of wine! Great value and shelter from the storm! Nothing more needed for the evening

Monday was somewhat better, so we took the No1 guagua again and wandered round Triana before coming back to Canteras for a tapas lunch beside the sea. "This is much more like it!".  We ate again at the favourite haunt, and flew home next day to hear tales of how Fuerte had suffered a storm over the weekend!