Back into our house!

March 31st

we were given the go ahead to move back into the house, so late afternoon we parked the van on its drive and installed our table and chairs in the empty kitchen. Our belongings were arriving on the 4th so posh camping for us!

We sat and had dinner and wondered why our kitchen was so big?  It felt weird to have so many rooms and space that was all ours.

posh camping

Friday 3rd

I had bought an old Seat Leon which conveniently had a tow bar , so we went to the container and loaded up one of my motorbikes plus tools. I was a happy man.

tow bar = happy man

Sat 4th

We loaded up the last of my bikes just as the removal van arrived to load up - great timing. They arrived at 11am and by 2pm we had a house full of boxes, furniture and dis-assembled beds. We were officially back in the house!

I made up our bed and we unpacked the kitchen boxes first. Cheryl helped us out - thanks to a good friend.

It felt really strange to be back in our own huge bed with so much space around us, but it also was very nice to be back in our lovely comfy house.


Being in the van has proved to us that we didn't need many possessions to survive - wonder if that will last?

Finally a big thanks to all of the folks who have viewed my blog, hopefully you have found bits that you enjoyed. I am amazed at how many hits it has had from people all over the world.

thanks to all of you- cheers!

Last Day - shopping!

Tues 24th

After doing some laundry in Montreuil we headed up the coast to Boulogne and Auchan. Diesel first as at 84p a litre it is a bargain. We loaded up the trolley with beer, wine, cheese and especially for me coffee! 

But first a real treat, we had saved a pack of proper Brit  bacon so we enjoyed really delicious hot baguettes for lunch . Double yummy.

The van just swallowed up all the boxes of booze without complaint - should have bought more?

Damp and grey Auchan - very British weather to finish...

Almost back - Le Crotoy & Montreuil Sur Mer

Sun 22nd march

We enjoyed the drive up the coast north, via Dieppe for LPG then onto Le Crotoy on the Baie De Somme. We have been here before several times and enjoy the walks along the beach and into the town. Today it was busy with weekenders despite the cold north wind. The aire was relatively quiet with a mix of French and Belgian vans. The surface had been improved with no visible potholes, last August the French were not paying to stay as they had decided the surface was terrible and until improved they were not paying! 

beach walk

Mon 23rd

After a stroll along the beach we packed up and headed north to Montreuil Sur Mer which is actually inland. Another favourite of ours we have visited many times over the years. The aire is very close to the town centre and very quiet at night. We walked along the ramparts before retiring indoors for tea and a snooze in the warm sunshine. Very relaxing..............

Montreuil free aire - near town square

Montreuil ramparts - lots of trees chopped down

Tues 24th

As I sit here typing up our blog Tina is in the laundry as we need clean clothes for our return to the UK tomorrow. In 24hrs we will back in Blighty so today we are stocking up on wine and beer before spending our last night of our year away in the carpark at Escalles. Very mixed emotions - we are both looking forward to being back but at the same time do not want our adventure to end.

Sully Sur Loire & Veulettes Sur Mer - heading further north

Fri 20th

After a long drive (for us) north west we rolled up to the free aire in Sully Sur Loire, this was at the end of an avenue of trees adjacent to a fantastic Chateau right on the banks of the Loire river. Up until then we had been underwhelmed by the southern end of the Loire we had driven along. The setting here more than made up for it. The aire entrance was a wiggle through some stupidly tight posts and boulders - if we had been in a longer van it would have been impossible.

As the light was fading we went for a quick stroll, this was a good decision as the forecast was for rain tomorrow.

Chateau Sully Sur Loire

pity it was overcast

Sat 21st

Another longish drive for us over to the Haute Normandie Coast a favourite of ours. There are lots of nice seaside towns with good aires, our choice was Veulettes Sur Mer which we last visited 2 years ago. It is a very low key, under developed town with some amazing Arts & Craft houses. We weren't prepared for the bitter NE wind which was very chilling. In the evening we walked along the promenade to a restaurant where I enjoyed moules frites for the first time in ages. YUM! Tina had a very nice turkey escalope, we waddled back to the van ready for a nice long sleep.

Veulettes Sur Mer - aire below

view from inside WW2 pillbox

Van repaired, Lac Annecy and sunshine!

Tues 17^th

After a night in the carpark behind the Fiat garage we handed over the keys to the van and retreated to the waiting room. We were made very welcome and soon had spread ourselves out and were tapping away on the free wifi. As my jaw was still very painful after being flattened in La Rosiere we went into the nearby doctors. No receptionist, just a waiting room where we sat for 5 mins before the doctor himself came to invite us into his room. Not dislocated was his opinion but an x ray to determine if it was fractured would be prudent. I opted to have this done when we return to the UK next week, partially to save more time spent waiting around and of course money!! We already had anti -inflammatory tablets so more expense saved. Overall it was a very efficient and fast experience.

Back to the garage where we eventually got the van back at 4.20pm.  Naturally they had closed at 12 – 2pm for lunch, as most of France still seems to. Frustrating waiting all day but the van was fixed and of course it will be paid for by our warranty.

We drove to Faverges where there is a free aire with great views – but the guide doesn’t mention it is right on a busy road.

Faverges aire

Weds 18^th

Over breakfast we had decided to stop near Lac Annecy as the weather was great. 18 deg C and blue skies. We drove to Verthier on the south end of the lake to a tiny campsite we had spotted last April.  It was as we half expected closed but I asked if we could just park up. No problem the owner Francois said as long as we were independent and required no services. Brilliant, €10 for 2 nights with the whole site to ourselves with views to die for. We were in heaven!

closed campsite!

After a cycle ride for me and a scoot outing for Tina we retired to our chairs outside for a late lunch and soaked up the views and warm spring sunshine. Very relaxing.

Lac Annecy behind me

Thurs 19^th

Another warm sunny day was forecast so I decided to cycle around the lake, which is about 28 miles. After breakfast sitting outside (on March 19^th!!!) I kitted up and arranged to meet Tina at the far end of the lake. What a beautiful sunny morning but there definitely was a fresh mountain chill to the air to make me pedal along quickly to keep warm. We met up as arranged and decided to just head back to the van for lunch as we were a bit late for coffee.

breakfast outside in the warm sunshine

 We did try to have just a drink at a restaurant / bar but were resolutely ignored for well over 10 mins. “Sod this” I said, “they are not getting one cent from me!”  this is the first time in all our travels in France that we have had such bad service, which is a real shame.

misty Lac

view from cycle path

Still, the cycle back was mostly downhill followed by a lovely road hugging the lakeside. Thankfully the service back at the van was prompt as I was by now starving. Thank you Tina.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting in the sun and then we cleared out the van garage and repacked it ready for our drive north tomorrow. Our return date is starting to approach faster and faster, where has all the time gone?

Val Cenis ski area - Lanslesbourg

16th March

Today we are  moving down the valley to Modane as we have our garage appointment at 8.30am tomorrow morning to have Moya repaired under warranty. We will be parked overnight behind the garage to avoid a very early start. Another glamorous free parking spot!

After a bit of a cleanup we caught the free shuttle bus down to Lanslesbourg for a walk about. We only travelled about a mile but it was a different world weather wise as it was snowing. We had had a dusting of fresh snow overnight ( had to clean the solar panels to get them working) but they had at least 10cm of fresh snow.  Talk about microclimates.

view from van yesterday - slopes above

Lanslebourg - snowing and windy

We have enjoyed our time here and are seriously considering returning end of  next Jan before the dreaded school holidays when it will be colder and the snow cover  more reliable.

The Maurienne Valley - beautiful

Weds 11^th

bar with a view 

Grand Motte - 3456m

After some lovely days skiing in Tignes we were collected at 9.00am by Sue to drive up to La Rosiere for a day’s skiing. This meant we had to set the alarm to make sure we were up, breakfasted and had all our skis and kit ready.  It was another lovely sunny day as we drove up to La Rosiere at 1850m. we were soon on our skis and taking the mega long draglift over into La Thuile in Italy. We really like skiing over there as the snow is usually better and there is less folk on the pistes.

Petit St Bernard pass & lovely Italian snow

We were not disappointed and had a great days skiing with Sue. The Italian style hot chocolate we had mid morning was like hot chocolate custard! Lovely.

The snow in La Rosiere was very soft as we approached the last lift of the day. As I slowly approached the lift I spotted a skier coming down towards the lift at a fair rate of knots – he didn’t see me and crashed into to me – ouch!  I heard a loud cracking noise and thought my jaw was broken. I had a cut on the chin and a very sore jaw, especially the “hinges” right up by my ears. Thankfully no broken teeth or bones. The piste paramedics were soon on the scene as the guy had also knocked over a lady standing by. I didn’t swear, or try to kill him – honest!

As soon as I saw the “blood wagon”  (stretcher on skis) I had to sit down. I felt a bit pale as shock set in but after 5 mins was ok. The very efficient lady medic cleaned me up and stuck a huge plaster on my chin – but only after tearing off the loose bit of skin. Double ouch.

I exchanged details with the very apologetic guy and told him that he must learn from this and not ski so inconsiderately when there are lots of people about at lifts. End of sermon. 

My face was puffed up and my ears sore but thankfully nothing was broken, plus I now had a good story to tell!

ouch - but my inner ear hurts the most

Thurs 12^th

We left Tignes Les Brevieres after saying farewell to all our fellow Brit camping caristes, with promises that we might see them next year. Next stop was Bourg for laundry, LPG and shopping. It was so warm down the valley that we were soon walking about in tee shirts. Next stop was Valloire in the Maurienne Valley a less well known ski resort to us Brits so we had to go and investigate.

As we were driving up the very tight hairpins to Valloire the engine management warning light came on  “check engine” flashing up. Oh no!  I decided to keep driving as the power was ok and all the gauges read normal. We eventually found the camping car aire after the sat nav sorted itself out. The aire was a mud bath and full. So plan B – the free parking next door along with 3 other vans. Over tea I found the nearest Fiat professional garage by using the internet , it was actually only 18 miles away. Our good friend and fluent French speaker Sue called them and arranged an appointment with them tomorrow at 10am. Result.   Thanks again Sue.

Fri 13^th

Unlucky for some – but not for us!  After an early start we said aurevoir to Valloire and drove back down the mountain to nearby Modane for our garage appointment. It was a very new and impressive setup, we were met by the owners son who soon had the van inside after a brief test drive. We had free wifi to occupy us while the van was interrogated via a laptop as is the way with modern vehicles. Soon Romain appeared to tell us that it was the EGR valve – a well known (expensive) problem. He gave me a sheet complete with error codes. The van was ok to drive home safely. I decided to contact our warranty company who were very positive and said that yes, it was covered and they would rather we had it replaced before we tackled our long drive home as it could fail permanently without warning. I immediately went back in and booked the van in for Tues 17^th am. Romain said we could park overnight Monday behind the garage to save us a very early start.  What a great result as we would have been dreading the warning light reappearing, and the warranty expires  at end of May! Double result.

We left the garage much happier and with no warning light to give us the jitters. We drove right up to the end of the valley to Bonneval Sur L’Arc, this is as far as you can drive in winter. What a stunning setting surrounded by snow covered mountains. After lunch we headed back down to Lanlesvillard a very pretty part of the Val Cenis ski area. We were soon pitched up in the campsite which is very close to the lifts.

Bonneval Sur l'Arc

A walk around the nearby village revealed a real gem of a place with an old centre that had lots of character. It is set in a wide valley with great views in both directions.

Lanlesvillard - Val Cenis ski area

tourist office - specs supplied!

Tignes Les Breviere - more fun in the snow

Weds 4th

We planned to move from Bourg St. Maurice up to Tignes Les Breviere at 1550m , so packed up the van once we had done some more laundry. Next stop was Super U for fuel, LPG and food shopping.  Fully stocked we headed up the mountain into falling snow. The road was clear but as we turned off to Les Breviere it hadn't been snow ploughed - Tina was instantly on edge fearing that we would slip off the edge . I was loving it!

bit of snow........

free parking spot

We had loads of grip and didn't need to put the chains on. Once at the carpark we chose our spot and parked up. Shovel out, I cleared the fresh snow from around the van. We had been here 11 months ago but it was snow free and very warm.

The snow was lovely and as always creates a wonderful silence.  We settled in for the evening, heating on, front thermal screen on - snug as bugs in a rug.

Thurs 5th

- 14 deg C overnight - but we were ok. Blue sky day, so ski kit on and off to buy a pass. What a fun day we had on the fresh snow.

bit of icicles 

view down to Tignes Du lac

Fri 6th

Another fantastic day, blue sky and great snow. We were joined by friend Sue again for yet another "terrible" day on the pistes

do not push me over!

Sue and myself

nutter bunjride - ski off attached to elastic rope!

Fun in the sun & snow!

We have had some good days on the piste with sunshine and lovely snow. We met up with longtime friend Sue for a ski high above Arc 2000

clouds below us

hungry work

lunch stop

one very tired Tina at the end of the day

Sat night out - serious business eating!

we woke up to a dusting of snow

waiting on the bus

Haute Savoie here we come ! - back to skiing

Mon 23^rd

Cold and sunny to start but the sun soon disappeared as we drove NW.  We passed over several Cols that were snow covered but the roads were perfect. As we entered the Ardeche the mountains became larger and more impressive. The road down to Privas was brilliant, full of twists with fantastic views down to the valley. The final descent was 10km and 10% - slowly does it. We found a lovely free aire at Chomerac, unfortunately the water was turned off but we had enough onboard for showers.

Chomerac aire

Tues 24^th

Another sunny start to the day but this didn’t last as we encountered rain as we negotiated our way around Grenoble. We were avoiding tolls so used the RN parallel to the Isere river. What a find, very rural with lots and lots of walnut orchards. I mean lots!  We had the Vercor on our RH side and that also looked very impressive. There were loads of cycle routes marked so it must come alive in the summer months, right now it was empty.  

After a quick shop in Decathlon we parked up at the aire in Conflans above Alberville. This is a very interesting small medieval town perched on the opposite side of the river from Albertville. We had a birds eye view down onto the river and the town. They still had their Xmas lights switched on as the French leave them until after easter. We walked down into town as we both had a hankering for steak frites. Nothing appeared to be open the town was empty. Eventually we found a really nice place the lady said “Albertville – ville mort!”  the steak was lovely, we went to bed very full and looking forward to getting up tomorrow to head to the start of our skiing “holiday”.

lost in translation.........!

moody mountains & Albertville behind us

happy to be back in the mountains

Weds 25^th

Lovely sunny drive up to Bourg St. Maurice a place we know very well from many ski holidays. Nice to be back 11 months after we started our trip here. We drove up the mountain to Ste Foy to collect our skis and kit from longtime friends Sue & Andy. It was really good to see them again and catch up with all the swanky new changes in their Auberge. The newly refurbished rooms looked very nice indeed.

Next we drove back down to the campsite, once installed it was laundry and more laundry for Tina whilst I sorted out the van garage and organized our skis and boots. By dinner time we were both very tired and ready for an early night as we had to get up early to go skiing. Yipeeeee!

Thurs 26th

Blue sky day and very cold overnight - 10 deg C.  First time we have had frost on the inside of a window, but we were very snug and comfy the Alde heating system working very well.

After a bit of first day faffing with boots and kit we were soon swooshing down the pistes on fresh snow with the beautiful mountains all around us. We just love being being up in the mountains playing on the snow. There were a lot of folk on the slopes but we know the area well so avoided any big lift queues by skiing over the lunch period before stopping ourselves. This week is the last of the big school holidays so from Saturday it will be much quieter on the slopes. The sun shone all day and we returned to the vans very happy after our first day back on skis. Tina was in her words, "pooped".

blue sky first day back on skis