Boring chores

Well, we are clearing up bits and pieces before hopefully moving on to our next happening. The plan so far is to sell some of our goods and chattels, including the beast, but not, so far, the kids. Bill reckons we would get more for them if we broke them into their constituent parts first! Don't worry, only joking!
Anyhoo, been clearing out the loft and have sold lots of old toys and kids stuff, so the slush fund is healthy. Spinky, found a newspaper from 1993 with a pic of yours truly musing about the cameraderie of prawn fishermen...they aint the stories I remember you telling!
So, on the lookout for a new home and new jobs. Other than that boring boring everyday stuff like everyone else.

Golf course antics.

Great views from the living room window over the golf course. Our most recent sightings have been of a female roe deer and her faun. The first night we saw her she was chasing a fox across the greens and away from her baby. The following night the fox was strolling across the golf course, making his way to the houses presumably on the lookout for an easy meal, but not close enough to her for her to want to chase him. So, we got a lovely view of her feeding the faun and then it romping around in the long grass while mum was still around. Am looking forward to seeing them again tonight.
Other sights include a lamprey (I think) at the Cambus o' May footbridge over the Dee. Lots of leaping salmon too, be still Spinky!
Jays in the woods around Killin and Alyth. Nesting willow warblers in a mossy bank by a burn at Killin. The boys were enchanted peering into the nest to see the chicks. And, a blue tit nest in the cigarette box outside the gents toilets in Ballater's camp site (with a notice requesting not to put cigarettes into the box).
A few less heartening things too. The dead fledgling great tit that broke its neck flying into a window in Elgin. Although it gave us a chance to have a good look at its perfection! And a scruffy cat emptying a nest of collared dove chicks. At least it ate them.

Latest travels.

Well, after sunny Elgin we went to Aviemore and did some cycling and walking. Fresh air and midges...I had forgotten how annoying they are! Then on to Killin by Loch Tay. Beautiful part of the world. Had a drive by loch Earn to Crieff and came upon a local market selling lovely local produce. Had a chat to a lovely lady who was spinning her own wool. Just like being in Europe...hmmmm.
Then we went to Alyth in Angus. We had been to Blairgowrie before when we holidayed in Kirkmichael, so decided to go back and see if we still liked it as much. Definitely, yes!
Next stop Ballater. Driving via Braemar was great. You forget how beautiful Scotland is and how remote it can be. The boys liked the low flying jets. Noising up the place and frightening the wildlife if you ask me!
Probably will be heading home next to figure out what to do next as our plans have changed again.

More sunny days...

Hello again people! The strain of home life has been too much to bear, so we have headed off again in the beast for some sunshine and rest. Not gone too far, yet. Up north and revisiting some of our favourite places. Have managed a lunch at Brodie, the beach at Findhorn and at last a trip to Pluscarden Abbey. How relaxing!
We even managed a motor fair in Elgin's Cooper Park and a boot sale. Sad devils!
Off into the hills today and hopefully no more rain, although I like the sound it makes on the roof!

Chuffing along.

Hello again my lovelies. Thought it would be a good idea to do another post to let you know how mundane our lives have become since returning. Back to feeding washing machines and dishwashers as well as the odd trip out to blow away the cobwebs.
We are trying to plan what to do next, although I think the schooling for the boys is all sorted, so we have a bit of freedom.
Any offer of well paid and interesting jobs would be quite welcome, although I think our followers might offer us a cup of tea and some biccies for digging their gardens or servicing their car...no thanks! Quite excited by the prospect if imminent unemployment and the opportunity to try some new (and probably free) things!
Lots planned, will keep you up to date as and when things happen. Not really planning on informing you of the boring minutae! Big kisses.

Final hurrah...or maybe not?!

Don't want to think that this might be the last post (toot toot), so I guess we will have to keep going! So, where are we now?
Well...after St Valery we decided the need to get back to blighty was fairly important. Lots of things to sort (schools for the boys being the most essential-that's going to be a shock to the system!) So, we had an overnighter at Calais (just south actually) and took the tunnel back home.
The tunnel was brilliant by the way. I really wan't looking forward to it, not natural being under all that water! However, we were sniffed for explosives by a frenchman (using an electronic sniffer, not his nose), passport checked, asked if we had gas (comedy moment would have been nice, but didn't want to risk being jumped by armed guards) and queued for about 10 minutes, then drove onto the train 5 minutes before departure. The carriages are really big, although they don't feel too wide with the walkways up the sides. I think I had about 4" to spare between the wheels and the sides!
Then we were away. It takes about 25 minutes to cross, apparently doing 140km/h. At the other end we drove straight out without any checks and into blighty. How depressing!
Decided to avoid London and head for home straight away. The first night was spent in Peterborough. It doesn't sound very promising, but I rather liked it. The sun shining really helped. Got shouted at by irate englishman for going the wrong way up a one way system (on a campsite I hasten to add), then advised by his wife to ignore him...which I managed beautifully.

Off again, closer to Scotland with every mile...this time to Powburn in Northumberland. We kept driving past Alnwick castle on all our visits down south looking for motorhomes, so this time we promised to visit. The camp was idyllic. Really busy with it being thew last weekend of the school holidays, but the number of birds singing and the peace and quiet (once the kids had gone to bed) was lovely. Visited the castle the next morning. Lovely gardens with impressive cascade down the hillside. Looks a bit like a scorpion...only wetter. The weather was fabulous, although the hard winter you lot had meant that many of the plants were not out. Had a few funny moments with kids playing in the water spouts and fountains, which were freezing. They breed them hard up here if that was bathtime!

After all that fun we went to Dunfermline and caught up with the folks. Had a very pleasant couple of days eating, chatting, boring people with photos! Then back to Aberdeen to tackle the monstrous pile of mail and final demands! One bonus is that the flat now seems really big. And, I can pour cooking water down the sink, rinse lettuce with lots of water without worrying about tanks, spillage and waste. Simple things! Did I mention the bath? I did threaten to be in there for a couple of hours, but I didn't want to soak my tan off, as there aren't the sunbathing opportunities here at the moment...because it's bloody snowing! Welcome home...

St Valery sur Somme

Right you two...it aint a chatroom! Only joking. Nice to see a bit of family history and poetry making it on to the blog.

Got one of my own, which has always been a favoutite of mine.

What is this life, if full of care
we have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
and stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass
where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see in broad daylight
streams full of stars like skies at night

No time to turn at beauty's glance
and watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can enrich
that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if full of care
we have no time to stand and stare.
W H Davies

Hope that one hit the spot. Needless to say, lots of standing and staring has been done on this trip.

Euan went on a pony today, and no, we never got along to see the trains. I had no idea you were such an anorak John!

Amiens to Abbeville

We are currently outside Abbeville, not far from the beach and town of St Valery. At a really big camp full of statics and tents! Only planning on spending a couple of days before getting back to blighty.

Despite all the british tourists there are hundreds of owl pellets (have collected half a dozen for a rainy day activity) and the most amazing array of solitary bees which are thriving in the sandy soil. Have spotted the odd parasitic wasp eyeing up the opportunities! Heaven...well, for someone like me. Have also discovered piles of rocks with crystal centres (can't remember what you call them, nodules maybe?)

Amiens

Found a great camp on the outskirts of the town, all newly built and lovely. Found a great spot by the river and ponds that form in the low lying ground. Adopted a hedgehog and fed him with scraps. The bats that came out and flew amongst the trees at dusk were so fast! Pipistrelles I think. There is a cycle path alongside the canal which takes you straight in to town. We went to the local zoo which despite its size was pretty impressive. Not too many animals, so the enclosures were all of a decent size for them. The gibbons were hilarious and very loud...Bill has a new ringtone on his phone!



The boys were impressed by the snowy owls and the bits of rat that were half eaten and strewn around the cage!



NOTE; if you are ever in Amiens and need a belt shortened, key cut, or shoes re-soled or heeled go to the shop next to the Hotel du Ville. There is a wonderful lebanese man who runs a shop and is so helpful and very charming. He has lived in France for 35 years and has a great shop complete with zebra skin over the counter and lots of shoe lasts on shelves! I lost the card he gave me, but trust me, the service is second to none!



Other places worth a visit are the cathedral and the town centre itself. There are fabulous post war deco buildings that are beautiful to look at!

After Paris...

We travelled north, not too far, to a wee place called Bresles, outside Beauvais. The campsite was full of travellers who were mostly british and working in France. The atmosphere was not pleasant, so we decided to move on...rapidly. The outside toilets, openair showers and flooded sinks didn't do much to improve on initial impressions.

We moved to an aire in Beauvais. Fabulous place perched on top of a hill overlooking the unfinished cathedral. The town was mostly destroyed during the war, but traditionally there was a tapestry industry in the town which survives to this day. Apparently the French government supports the industry by commissioning works for their embassies and public buildings. Seems like a good idea to me!

Vertiginous view!

Thought I was uploading the view from the top down to the ground. However, this one looks pretty good too! It wasn't misty when we were up there.

Gay Paris...

Guess who got to drive through Paris? I have to say that I managed beautifully, despite the nervous passenger sitting to my right. I took a wrong turn and ended up just along from the Arc de Triomphe...about 8 lanes of cars, no lines on the road, so no lane discipline, just point in, hopefully, the right direction and go for it! It worked for me...thrilling!

Made it to the campsite on the outskirts of Paris at a place called Maisons Lafitte. Parked beside the Seine, lots of barges up and down the river full of freight, and a main rail link closeby. Chilled out for the rest of the day and planned our trip to town.

Got up early, went to the train station. Really simple journey to Charles de Gaulle etoile, then swapped trains to Trocadero. Came out of the station, turned a corner and were dazzld by the awesome beauty of the Tour Eiffel...wow! Went and queued with the rest of the tourists who didnt buy their tickets online, dodged the touts selling eiffel tower replicas and finally got to the lifts. The first stages were fine, but the last lift was seriously scary. Once at the top the views are incredible, although looking down is bloody awful!

Took lots of pics, got the lift down to the second level, then had a picnic. Walked down the last levels onto terra firma and into the rain. Didnt care, had a thoroughly lovely morning. We then headed for the Musee d'Orsay (one for me). Again, the queues were horrendous, but if you have kids you get to jump the queue with the smarty pants who bought their tickets online!

The museum is fabulous. An old disused rail station which contains a wonderful selection of paintings and sculptures as well as rooms of art nouveau furniture and glass. Heaven. Boys bored...revenge for all the cars!

Now recovering from all the walking and having an easy day.

Troyes

Stopped for some retail therapy at Troyes. We had planned on going in to the old town, but we keep finding that it is really hard to get parked safely, so we went to the Magasins d'Usines (outlet stores) instead. Overcame my natural reluctance to shop and did lots of lounging in expensive deckchairs (lafuma), window shopped at the clothes and champagne shops...really not my thing (apart from the champagne of course).

Found a fabulous fabric store, lots of upholstery fabrics, all €1/metre. Bought lots of fabric for some of my next upholstery projects. Sad woman.

A bit of info about Troyes...it is where the Troy ounce comes from...for measuring gold!

After that we went to an aire at the Lacs d'Orient. Really lovely spot besiden a lake, lots of other motorhomes. Lots of bats, some deer prints on the beach and trees full of mistletoe...again.

Birdwatching diary

The sun came out again today, so we went for a cycle around the walls of the town, took in the views from the various towers and fortifications along the walls. The boys had a ride on a glass elevator that ascends/descends the walls to the car parks below.

As for the birdwatching, it began last night on the way back from the shower block, when I heard tawny owls calling to each other. Apparently she calls him a twit and he says 'who?' Obviously it was pretty pitch black away from the camp lights, but the female landed on the roof of the Norman tower next to the van, which is nicely illuminated, and watched me watch her!

The next thing, she flew into one of the huge trees and he flew silently close by with a mouse or vole dangling from his beak. Presumably a marital offering. We could hear them calling to each other through the night.

This morning I watched the families of jackdaws making their nests and travelling around in noisy gangs. There were great tits nesting in the holes of the trees and I saw another nuthatch travelling all over the tree trunks looking for bugs. It was great because you could see exactly where it was, even when it was out of sight, because of all the bits of lichen that it was pulling off and dropping to the ground.

Family picture in Cabo

Favourite family pic so far, in Cabo de Gata, all smiles and sun tans!

Langres

More travelling news. After Niderviller, whose baker produces (so far) the best 'pain' in France, we went to Nancy. There is an aire beside the canal and only five minutes from the centre of the city. It is a great stop, although much busier than we are used to. Lots of traffic and people wandering around.



The canal barges must be a permanent feature, as they all have post boxes attached to their sides! One even had a log store (for the wood burning stove) under the cabin steps. The aire cost €11.40, which included the space, electricity and access to the showers and toilets in the 'capitainerie.' The man who ran it was helpful, but creepy, so i refused point blank to go and shower without my small army of boys with me! I shouldn't have bothered. While the block was clean and spacious, the showers were freezing!

Anyhoo. Nancy itself is a beautiful place. Stanislas square is a huge space, surrounded by lovely buildings, with statues and fountains and the most amazing wrought iron gates in the corners that are gilded. It must get really busy in high summer.

The highlight for me was the covered market that had fish, fruit, vegetables, meat, pasta, cheeses, wines, cafes and probably even more stuff that I didnt see. It all smelled beautiful and the colours of the fruit and veg stalls and the arrangements of the pyramids of fruit made them look like edible rainbows.

The rest of the town felt very like Edinburgh, which is a good thing in my book!

Familiar faces

We left Strasbourg and came just 70km west to a really small village called Niderviller. We came across an aire/stellplatz beside the canal. The familiar faces were the field full of heilan coos having a look at us over the fence!

There is a german company here that builds and rents boats for tourists. We had a good long natter with the men who work here and got a guided tour of one of the 12 berth boats. Lots of space and no special qualifications required...maybe the next adventure!

pics as promised

Nesting stork...



Racing car transporter at Mercedes Museum, Stuttgart

Wildlife

Well, the sun is shining and we are back to t-shirts and no socks. Yippee. I went to the laundry today...big news! On the way I saw a brimstone butterfly and from the laundry window I saw a pair of jays. We don't get too many of them in and around Aberdeen, so it was a bit of a treat for me. Saw them in Ludlow last year, but they were very shy.

I was able to observe some of their feeding behaviour, which was very entertaining. They are quite comical really. They look odd with their striped heads and handlebar moustache that makes their beaks look gapey. They have an odd slightly bouncy walk, like the other corvids, but the curved beak is more like a chough than the larger crows. The way they search for their food is quite dramatic, lots of head tilting and turning over leaves and twigs.

One of them started to wipe its beak on a tree, I presumed that it had mud on it and was cleaning it, but the strokes were almost langorous, lazy sweeps of the head. It had caught something and either it was wiping off the dirt or maybe taking off hairs or legs. Don't know which because I couldn't see the morsel.

At the moment we have an amorous moorhen clucking at a female in the stream behind the van. Spring has sprung!

Bonjour...

Have covered lots of miles in the past few days...or should that be kilometres, since we are in Europe?

Left Masevaux..boo hoo, bye bye to great campsite, nice people, good beer and lovely log fire. In no time at all we were over the border and in to Germany. Motored up to Stuttgart and eventually found the campsite by the river Neckar. There was a circus setting up outside the campsite and we saw the tiger in its truck! Very exciting for everyone until bedtime, when Euan refused to go to sleep with the lights off because he was frightened that the tiger was going to come! Kids, aren't they great?!

The campsite wasn't brilliant, really noisy after being in the sticks, with lots of people hanging about. Anyway, next day we went along the road past the Mercedes Benz Arena to the Mercedes Benz museum! Quite an amazing display of everything Mercedes and some in depth coverage of the events that shaped our recent history and that of the company. Lots of early aircraft engines for the first world war and much more for the second! However it was the iconic sportscars that made it amazing. We were all taken with the high speed sportscar transporter that could do 105mph! More incredible because it was over 60 years old.

I will add some of the pics when I can.

After that we went to a wee village just east of Strasbourg for an overnighter. There were odd croaky noises which had the kids peering into the gloom. It was a pheasant perched in a tree
chatting to the local competition. Once Euan was reassured that it was a vegetarian pheasant he went to bed no bother!

Went to the Burstner garage in Kehl (the German side of Strasbourg) to get some spares for the van. Had a look at some of the new caravans and motorhomes on offer. Wow! Tempted to sell everything and keep travelling. Not sure if the boys would ever forgive us though! The boys were given baseball caps, lanyards, keyrings and sweets. Bill even got given a decal of the burstner logo...he was happy!

Now we are in Strasbourg proper. The sun is shining and and the boys are whizzing about on their bikes. Hoping to head into the Grande Ile tomorrow for some touristy stuff (that isn't a car museum...) and then on towards Nancy.

Saw my first Alsacian Stork today perched on top of a man made platform on top of a chimney, sorting his twigs. Huge! Will post pics of that too.

Still here

The snow has come down again, just as we were getting ready to leave, so...we decided to stay and take it easy for a bit longer.

My pot came out ok, although it developed a crack down one side during firing. Will get the pics off the camera and post them for you.

Our latest bit of fun involved the snowman that the kids built next to the van. His stick mouth went a bit wonky, so we decided to film a little advert like one off the telly about strokes. You know the one...'has their face fallen on one side? Can they hold both arms up and keep them there?' It is quite funny despite the sensitive nature of the subject...The plan was to post it on you tube. If we manage it I will give you the address!

Anyhoo, big love to everyone out there.

Snowy in masevaux...

So, we have finally had some of the snow and cold that you have been struggling with for the past few weeks. We keep checking the weather to see what we will get next, and apparently it will be -15 c tomorrow night. Brrrrr.



Other than that we are all doing well. We have all the gear with us so the snow isn't too much of a bother. Good to be at camp and have access to electricity, otherwise we would be using loads of gas on the heating. We struggled to find gas stations supplying LPG (GPL) in spain, but there are plenty in France and Germany. We have fitted gas tanks, rather than loose bottles, cheaper to refill, but not as convenient if you can't find gas stations.



Cooking advice for other campers. Take a pressure cooker! Things cook in a fraction of the time, use less gas and are better for you (more vitamins). Thanks for the pressure cooker mum! We are having roast chicken today, initially pressure cooked, then finished off in the oven...yum.



We will be moving on again soon. This time to Stuttgart. Not sure how long we will be in Germany for, then heading back towards blighty via Paris. I am hoping to buy some things for re-upholstering at the famous fleamarkets! I have been avoiding all large purchases as we keep the bikes in the garage, despite having the cycle rack on the back. Might have to sneak some lovely upholstery projects in the back when a certain someone isn't looking!

The jug is in the 'oven' for firing today. There were no big bangs or popping noises when I put it in, so I may have some pics of my craft day for you...don't hold your breath!



Our latest adddition to the family...at least this one doesn't eat much!



A blanket of snow over everything...

Creative day

Found the most amazing craft shop in Narbonne that had lots of twinkly sparkly things...heaven. Got some less twinkly, sparkly charcoal and drawing pencils! Have been drawing a lot more as part of art lessons for the boys. We began with a hairdryer, not the simplest thing, but requiring a lot of observation. Joshua rattled off a fair attempt in 20 minutes and I was still sitting there an hour and a half later with my masterpiece...

Am thinking that teaching is not really my forte, especially when I am having a lot of fun. We decided to try pottery yesterday, to try and recreate some of the Roman pots we saw in the museum in Millau. Once again I had lots of fun and made a jug. The boys make a collection of sausages and lots of puddles, got messy, cleaned up and played Jenga.

Next time I promise not to play too, that way the kids should keep going with the mess for longer! Don't expect me to say that too many times...

Ladies at bus stops...

In response to Spinky's comment...Hmmm, yes we saw the ladies waiting for buses too. I like how they bring their own chairs, not every layby has a bus shelter after all! There are a lot of them on the french border too. For the younger followers benefit, not everyone has cars in southern France & Spain!

Waiting for buses...a bit like an environmentalist working for an oil company. Ha ha ha. Sorry Spinky, couldn't resist.

Campsite fun

Isn't it great when you can get access to the internet whenever you like. Maybe I'm not as much of a technophobe as I think!

So, after our visit to Mulhouse we decided to come to a campsite at Masevaux. After a few weeks of camping at aires we needed access to washing machines, showers and space! I don't want you to think that we stopped washing just because we weren't on a site. It is just a bit harder when you have to decant all the stored stuff out of the bathroom before you can take a shower. Also, in winter many of the aires shut off the water, so you have to be pretty careful with your water supplies.

The campsite is great. Excellent facilities on site, and access to the local pool, tennis courts and games fields next door. Believe it or not the owners are Scottish...small world. The cafe on site, where the wifi is, has great beer and a wood burning stove...toasty!

On our way in to the village we saw the storks that Alsace is so famous for. The other thing that I noticed was the quantity of mistletoe growing in the poplar trees (mostly). The last time I saw any amount of the stuff was when we were in Shropshire. I believe it is commonly associated with fruit trees, and there are loads of orchards around there. I have also seen banks of snowdrops emerging from the ground, although it is pretty cold up here.

We emerged unscathed from the storms that tore through France the other day. The civic police in Thann advised us to move from the aire, away from the big trees, to the car park opposite. However, we were pretty sheltered. When we walked to the top of the hill above the town to see the ruined castle the noise from the trees was incredible. The castle tower had toppled (not in the wind, thankfully) and remained complete, like an oversized polo-mint (other mints are available!) It was really disconcerting walking around it.

Some of my other observations...

When you walk in to a shop you must say hello to the person behind the counter, and you can expect them to come out and help you regardless of the number of people waiting to be served, and, the waiting people stand patiently until you are done. It may be different in cities, but so far, this is my experience. Fab!

Our bird life has gone from mediterranean exotic to scottish garden typical. Apart from the long tailed tits. However, it is nice to have birdsong in the morning, regardless of what is singing.

All the shops have the most amazing window displays. The florists shops are incredible. At the moment it is all white easter bunnies, lovehearts and mini-daffodils. Even the library in Thann had streamers taped to the windows, sculptures on the shelves and paintings on the walls.

Roundabouts are mini works of art. Oddly enough, Spain had incredible roundabouts, despite the roadsides being littered with all manner of jettisoned plastic and dead animals. The French ones relate to the specialities or history of the region. We have seen 20' amphorae at Narbonne, massive replica roman columns caught mid-collapse on a hillside somewhere east of Dijon and sculpted families of wild boar...probably the only safe ones!

Despite all this diversity everything else is remarkably similar.

Bugatti Royale

Still not sure that I have the hang of this blogging you know! Wrote my last post and than added all my carefully chosen pics which ended up last to first and before the text...

Anyhoo, this is the Bugatti Royale. One of only six ever made. I have pics of the wooden frames that they used to form the running boards and wheel arches around. They are huge. The tyres are bigger than the ones we have on the motorhome! There was also a film running showing modern car production where the body panels are pressed, then welded by robots. How things change.

Various observations...& pics

Hello again my lovelies! We did our trip to Mulhouse (pronounced Moo-loos) and went to the car museum. Ah, for those decadent days when the capitalists squandered their millions on consumer goods and forgot to pay the workers...

No, honestly, the cars were incredible and what a collection. A real history of the development of motor transport. But such excess. Apparently only six Bugatti 'Royales' were ever made and there are a couple in the collection. I really enjoyed the old original vehicles that were really only bikes with more wheels and fabulous upholstery. You can see why some crafts thrived but then eventually were replaced by cheaper less labour intensive alternatives. Although, I think that you can see some things coming back through necessity...small, economical motors.

Right, am going to add some pics for you all...

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR COMMENTS

I had an enquiry from Ian E about leaving comments. Spoke to my mum and she has left instructions on the blog. You need to go to her two comments that are posted at the bottom of the 'Hola' blog which I did in February. Hopefully that will be enough for you all to follow and leave some cheeky chat for me and the boys!

Come on...I am waiting...xxx

Alsace

What a busy schedule we have! Moved east from Dijon past Besançon and towards Mulhouse on the French, German and Swiss border. At another aire, this time in Thann, and taking the boys to the Schlumpf motor museum either tomorrow or Sunday. Apparently there is a market in the car park in front of the aire tomorrow, so I might drag everyone around that and then buy them cakes for payment. The things you have to do to get what you want!

The rest of the journey should then be; Colmar, Strasbourg, Stuttgart and then probably back to France to Nancy and towards Paris so that I can drag some unwilling people around more galleries and museums...how we laughed!

Bourgogne & Cote d'Or

Decided to bypass Lyon and ended up insted at an aire in St-Etienne-le-Velay. Quite beautiful. We are parked between a field full of vines and a 13th century church on a hilltop overlooking a patchwork of field and vine covered valleys. The village is tiny and clinging to the skirts of the church. The only drawback is the rather loud pealing of bells well into the night...

Needing more sleep we moved on again, this time to Marsennay-la-cote, just south of Dijon. Apparently Marsennay is the only village in the appellation that produces rosé wine. We took the bus into Dijon the next day and went to the Musée de Beaux Arts which had an amazing selection of styles and periods. I thought the mummified cat in the egyptian section would draw the boys [Bill & Joshua] in, but no, Euan and I were having the most fun!

There are free buses that go through the centre of the town passing all the major tourist attractions, so we hopped on to one of them and had a little tour of our own. After that we headed for the covered market to drool over the wonderful array of meats, cheeses and produce on offer. The rain started to get really heavy so we took the bus back to the village in time for tea. I had fotgotten how tiring being a tourist is!

A language lesson...what fun!

Oh, I love the French. They are just to sure of what they expect and make no excuses for it.

We found a fab little aire just outside Clermont Ferrand. We were between the petanque field and the maries offices. To get services from the 'post' you needed tokens. We were too late to buy them from the shop so the next morning Bill went to the office to make some enquiries. Bill didnt do french at school, but he is very polite in english. The lady pointed him in the right direction, in french, and back he came with the tokens.

Later on I went to enquire about transport into Clermont, and as usual started off with 'pardon, mais je ne parle pas français' but am always prepared to inflict my bad french on people. The lady was very friendly and helped me out in english. Hell, the mayor even came out and shook my hand and said hello! It turns out that the lady with the good english is the same one who didn't speak english when Bill went in! Fabulous.

Millau, upholstery shop & dog poo.

We are having a bit of a bridges project for the boys through the trip. So far we have seen the underside of the forth bridges, the Oresund bridge, the bridges linking all the Danish Islands, some very old bridges in Venice and finally Norman Fosters delightful piece of sculpture that spans the Gorge du Tarn just south of Millau. Wow.

As for Millau, quite an interesting place. Previously glovemaking capital of France and before that home to lots of Roman potters. The museum was brilliant. It had everything from fossils to human skulls encrusted with minerals that had dripped onto them in the caves where they were interred. The gallo-roman pottery was abundant as were the stone age tools. Upstairs there was a film on the process of tanning leather and hundreds of pairs of 'gants' of every style, but far too small for modern hands!

Found myself an upholstery shop...much drooling...tried to speak to the man inside in halting french. When I say halting I think the reference applies more accurately to the way in which it stopped him in his tracks rather than the mode of speaking!!!!

As per the title, rather a lot of dog poo on the streets which makes walking around looking up a dangerous occupation!

France...wild and windy.

Well and truly into the depths of winter. We headed for an aire at Leucate Plage between Perpignan and Narbonne. I am sure that it would be wonderful in the summer, mais en hiver...brrr. Managed a beauty treatment as we walked along the beach...the combination of wind and sand took a few layers of skin off...who needs clinique?!

Our next adventure had us looking for another aire at Valras Plage, on the coast north of Narbonne. Unfortunately we got shunted by a far sighted motorist that didn't spot the 8.5m long beast in front of him...thankfully we were undamaged due to the under-run bar that Bill fitted to the back. After that we went back to Narbonne Plage aire for some r&r. Josh kept out of the trees this time! Preferring the safety of rugby on the beach...

Damn the sat nav...we went north again, heading for the centre of France. I had hoped to have an easy drive up the motorway, but the technology had other ideas! I got sent up incredibly narrow and twisty roads, with snow piled up the verges and freezing mist in the valleys. I may have been pooping myself, but rest assured, Bill was worse!

We ended up in another aire this time really in the sticks just west of Lozère.

Hola!

After our extended bout of relaxation in Cabo we thought it was time to submit to the real world, so here we are, close to Barcelona, with the jumpers and heating on. The sun still shines, but by God it's cold! The only compensation is that the site has a lovely swimming pool with jacuzzi which we enjoyed today. We are heading for France tomorrow, and then ever northwards, the relentless march towards the cold.

On a lighter note I invested in some reading material today. These long termers make extra cash by flogging allsorts, mostly books and copied dvd's. I managed to read one of the six already ('Pomegranate Soup' by Marsha Mehran) which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The other news is that I am finally on facebook, although with intermittant internet access I'm not sure how often I will be looking at it! Big love to you all xxx.

Sharing the good luck...

Well todayI have been doing my good Samaritan after obviously jinxing the lovely couple (Brian & Sonia) who 'live' next door. Brian twisted his ankle while at the gold mine the other day. It was getting worse, so I offered to drive him to the hospital at el Toyo.

We were all impressed at the marble floors and the quick service of the staff. It took one hour to get signed in, be assessed, get an x-ray and see the doctor for a diagnosis. I was particularly pleased when he reached into a bowl, grabbed a handful of pain-killers/anti inflammatories and advised Brian to take two a day. No lollies though!

We are finally moving on from Cabo, back up the coast towards France. Back to cold weather...not too enthusiastic, can you tell?

However, needs must. Got to be thinking about finishing the proper trip as opposed to me sitting on my bum drinking wine and soaking up the rays! Bliss.

Silly mummy...

Ok, latest news, be prepared for a giggle. I had a craft inspired injury the other day. Sitting in the sunshine, I caught a glimpse of a piece of driftwood that we had collected. I know, thought I, that would be the perfect bit of wood to carve into a fish...out came the craft knife, and the whittling began.

The boys collected all the little bits of wood and made mini-bonfires that lasted for a minute. Great fun.

At this point I cut my hand at the top of my thumb. Nothing too bad, just a nick, bleeding stopped almost immediately. In retrospect I should have quit when i was ahead...but no, those of you who know me well will understand, on I went regardless.

Then, don't know how, all a bit of a blur, I cut through the end of my middle finger, through the nail to the nail bed and out the other side, and managed to slice through the knuckle of my ring finger and towards the nail. Blood everywhere, running down my arm...grabbed the kitchen roll and bound everything, squeezed everything and held hand above head until I felt calm enough to let Bill look at it. Yuck.

We used paper stitches on the ring finger, but nothing could be done with the sliced nail, so that got bound up and left. All of this after recovering from a nasty sickness bug the previous week.

On a lighter note, I made stovies the other night (meat and potato stew, for the uninitiated). I know, thought I, I will wear a rubber glove to protect my bandages from wet potato and raw meat. It was a good idea, the bandage was protected. However, rather than use a knife to cut up the meat (don't like knives anymore...wonder why?!) I got the kitchen scissors. The boys were playing in their room a couple of feet away, so when I exclaimed "Oh crap!" they were the first on the scene. I told them that I had managed to snip the end of the thumb of the rubber glove in to the pan. There then followed fully five minutes of hysterical laughter. Nice to know that I can still keep the boys entertained! Of course I should have left it in the pan for a bit of revenge, but knowing my luck I would have got it!

Fab photo's

A selection of pictures from the files...

The castle (someone's house) at Rodalquilar beach




The frog in the sluice at Rodalquilar gold mine




The octopus tentacle and bread at Agua Dulce harbour


The view of the Alcazaba walls to Almeria below

Latest news...

We have had a fabulous few days lately. I am really impressed with Cabo de Gata, it is an amazing area, with lots to recommend it, not least the lack of mass tourism!

We have been going to the local Saturday market where you can buy 2 kilos of oranges for 1€, and they are the sweetest juiciest oranges that I have ever tasted. We found another market on the way to Almeria and stocked up on more wonderful fresh fruit. Had a bit of a drive through of Almeria in our rented car, no narrow street nonsense in 8.5metres of Behemoth (aka Astrid)! I missed the turn for the castle and we ended up in Agua Dulce. We had an impromptu picnic at the beach and then went for a wander around the harbour. Believe it or not the fish in the harbour actually follow you waiting to be fed! The locals come down and give them stale bread. On our visit an octopus (polpo)came up from the depths and took a piece of bread then glided through the water to a safe overhang to inspect its catch! Amazing. We have some pics which I will post once they are on the computer.

We have been up to Rodalquilar to the gold mine and had a wander around the old plant. The plantlife is lovely, lots of herbs, dwarf palm, prickly pear cactus and good old broom and gorse (not like in Aberdeen). We even found frogs and lizards around the sluices and walls of the plant. Visited the local botanic garden and left some helpful hints on interpretation and interactive material for children...still rangering! I have to say that the quality of the interpretation in the visitor centres is really high quality, but is mostly in Spanish in the more remote centres. Headed down to the beach and found a wild camp full of younger travellers in their campers. Came across a fossilised beach and found a really old copper button. Would like to imagine it is a Roman relic, but don't think the Romans had buttons? Someone please fill in the gaps.

The boys loved playing on the beach. we have found a few. Playa de Genoveses beyond San Jose was deserted apart from the natterjack toads in the slacks behind the dunes. There were even tadpoles in the pools...in January!!

Today we went up to the lighthouse at the end of the Cabo de Gata promentary. Before the lighthouse there is a beach called sirens (mermaids) playa. It refers to the seals that used to haul out to pup. Apparently they disappeared in the 70's and never returned. On the way back we went past the salinas, past the piles of salt glistening in the sunshine. Joshua was amazed that they used JCB's to move the salt in to bags for processing. There were flamingos in the pools feeding. I had hoped to see Avocets, but no joy. Lots of bramblings, pied flycatchers and redstarts...heaven...did I mention all the different larks?

We stopped at the beach and built shelters, searched for shells and I sunbathed. The weather was too glorious for words, so I'll stop there.

Actually, I won't. Visited the Alcazaba (castle in Almeria). Wow. Imagine crenallated walls, gardens, fountains and pools, towers with views to the hills, harbour and city. There are excavations within the walls of the old Arab castle and the christian extension with its cannons. The population of wild cats gave the boys lots of fun, seeing who could get closest to touching one. The slums and tips outside the walls are amazing too. Hard to believe Spain is a first world nation sometimes.

One of my favourite pics!

Bill took this pic at the viking ship museum in Oslo & I love it! You get some idea of the scale of the ship by the people standing at the other end. Well worth a visit.

More pics for you.

Agave forest at cabo de Gata

Cabo de Gata, plains & mountains with snow

washed up shells & other stuff in Oliva

Happy Euan with scar from bike crash!

Bamboo washed up at Torrox

Our van dwarfed by a couple of Concordes at Torrox wild camp

So many greenhouses at Almeria...

Another place in Spain...

Well, after a successful couple of weeks in Marbella (enforced relaxation with the odd bout of activity between thunderstorms) we decided to move on. The weather denied me my trip to Granada, but hey, we can always come back!?

We have come back east and are in the south east corner of Spain beyond Almeria (pronounced al-mereea rather than al-meerya). How educational is this...read on, you are learning! This part of the country is part desert and is a nature reserve. It is very unusual. I particularly like the flower stalks of the agave plants. They form a low level forest across the plains, as the stalks are really high and branched, just like a tree. At one of our campsites some wag had cut one down and decorated it with tinsel. There are lots of small perching birds, mostly warblers, won't embarass myself by trying to name or guess the ones I've never seen before!

Forgot to mention that it is called Cabo de Gata. One of the few places along the coast that hasn't been covered in high rises and greenhouses. Obviously popular with full-timers (almost exclusively english). Met one the other day when I whacked a tennis ball on top the roof of his van, not the best introduction, but he was very understanding!

For those of you considering heading south to escape the snow and ice, you can stay here for 10€ a night (a couple, motorhome/caravan, 6A electricity and access to showers with an ACSI camping card if you are going to stay longer than a month. The camping card costs about £15)

Tempting isn't it.

Right, I'm off to go through some of our pics, which i will then post on the blog...hope you like.

Happy New Year

Hope that you all had a blameless New Year...start as you mean to go on! Ours was suitably quiet. Went to bed before midnight and were all woken by the fireworks that went off next door (on the roof of the apartment block next to us). Euan very drowsily enquired if he was seeing lightning!

We have had a few more trips in to Marbella and found the charming old town with its wonderful white-painted houses, old churches and beautiful plazas with orange trees and fountains. Even more satisfying, for the children, was the toy shop with 50% off Lego. Birthday money got spent and then they were eager to get back to the van for an afternoon of building. We detoured to the main street for some exertion...there was a wii display with about 10 machines for trying out games. Joshua, Euan and I all had a shot dodging rolling logs and swinging balls and jumping from platforms! All in a tent so we missed the rain shower too!

Not much else to report. We have had some days at the van, sunbathing when the sun shines (me), also cleaning the van (Bill). Had the odd movie day when it was a bit rainy.

Moving on tomorrow hopefully to a place with wifi so we can keep in touch with you all. I think we are going back up the coast towards Valencia rather than round to Portugal. We figured that the extra driving for the same weather wasn't worth it! That and the infamous Portuguese driving...say no more.