They're back and so is the sun!

Although the weather has been a wee bit off we have still managed to sit around the pool and have a swim every day and the food around here is amazing so we haven't suffered. Well with the possible exception of our waistlines!!!

Still we did manage to continue to have the occasional disaster, which hopefully prevents this blog from being completely boring throughout. like when Joan came back from breakfast and I saw her earring lying on her pillow. We spent the next hour stripping the bed and moving the furniture to find the gold back thing. I said let's just get a new pair and then we'll find it so we bought her a new pair and two days later as predicted I found it, sod's law.

In an effort to make the most of our last week we went to  Stuart beach, a lovely stretch of sand on the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was perfect and although the sea was a little lively, nevertheless we ventured in for a plodge (Geordie for paddle). I was very surprised that the water was quite warm and decided to go in further to have a swim. (Ok so I needed a pee).

What happened next was with hindsight, totally predictable. We were jumping over the larger breakers, when Joan shouted "Bryan, mind your glasses!"  I decided she was right and started to get out. At this point the sea picked me up, whipped off my glasses and threw me back on the beach. It then swept a huge wave over me in an attempt to drown me I think or to distract me whilst making off with my spec's. Either way I ended up being hauled upright by a very concerned Joan, spluttering and coughing. Me not her.

Fortunately I had a pair of prescription sun glasses in the car, but that night I had to drive back from the restaurant with a pair of Joan's PINK reading glasses. Being America, finding someone to make a pair of bi-focal glasses virtually while you wait, was not a problem, so we did. I got an eye test, and two pairs of really nice glasses for £140, marvellous. So that was ok.

Obviously now all will be fine for the last couple of days, err, no.

Kay & Tom organised a barbecue with their next door neighbours and they produced some really delicious burgers and side salads. It was just lovely sitting outside chatting and drinking in temperatures around 75 deg. Sadly all good things etc and we arrived at our last day together. We started with a trip to the beach, but kept well clear of the water. Basically because there were flags flying to indicate dodgy sea life and dangerous rip currents, plus of course my glasses were new. On enquiring we learned it could be anything from sharks to jelly fish that sting. Then back for some last minute packing.

Tom bless him, insisted on driving so I could enjoy some wine without worrying about drink driving. We started at a very nice waterside bar, then went on to a lovely restaurant. Finally we drove to Stuart old town where the ice cream shop was still open and just sat outside eating the most wonderful ice creams that taste divine. It is impossible to describe just how yummy these ices are, and they make something like 30 different flavours mmmmmmmmm!

So, it was finally time to say goodbye, the time we had all been together was marvellous but we were missing home, it was time to go. That didn't make it easy though and there were a few wet eyes in Stuart that night.

The next day having told me NOT to get up too early, as I always do on the day we travel, Joan awoke at 5am! She had managed to check in on line last night so all we needed to do was get to the airport by about 1.30pm. About 11.30 we were going around the airport again having missed the exit for the rented car return, thank God we were early.

So there we are, nothing can possibly go wrong now, the bags are checked and we just need to get through customs and security. Err, well actually it can, somehow my belt vanished so I spent the rest of our journey home ensuring I didn't lose my trousers!

Finally our good friends Pam & Colin, reliable as ever, met us and took us home, plus Pam provided some delicious home made scones and a pint of milk. So here we are enjoying a lovely cuppa and Pam's scones with a nice layer of butter on top.

So thats it, hopefully this has not been too boring to read, I enjoyed writing it anyway. It is my attempt to put into words what a wonderful time we have had. The perfect holiday, good food, wonderful friends and lovely warm weather.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

The rotters! They took the weather with them.

Tom & Kay went on a cruise Sunday 23rd and the weather went with them! In fact Joan and I have had to change all our plans. We intended to go to the Gulf coast on Saturday for eight days but due to this being the peak season in Florida, we were advised not to travel there on Saturday as the weekend would be the busiest time, so we returned to Orlando for the weekend with the intention of going to Clearwater on Monday.

Watching the weather forecast on Sunday we realised that rain was forecast for Florida and the Gulf coast was going to get the worst of it, so we changed our plans and decided to stay on the East coast and find a hotel near the beach.  We drove all the way down the coast and found that for most of the way there were no hotels at all! It was mostly private estates of holiday properties. The couple of hotels we stopped at were sort of isolated, so all we would have would be the beach, no restaurants even.

Eventually we reached Stuart where we know the area. We were quite tired by now so rather than continue to drive south in the hope of finding something that suited us we decided to stay here for the week. There are loads of lovely restaurants, lots of shops and a super beach 5 miles away. Ok, not a hotel on the beach, but loads to do.

Thanks to our friends Tom and Kay we already know all the great places to eat and how to get to the beach. As we hoped, the weather has not got as bad as it is on the Gulf plus the temperature will dip today and then go straight back up to 70+ for the rest of our time here. Our hotel is cheaper and the pool is heated and just outside our door, I think we made the right choice.

Of course one thing you can do in any weather is shop, and Joan is a black belt at it. Also we have grandchildren so off we went. Then having had a long argument about just how big they are we Face Time them and discover something, they grew, so next day we were back in the shop changing a couple of things for the next size!

Tomorrow it will be cool enough to walk to the ice cream parlour mmmmmmm.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan
xxxx

Still in Stuart getting fatter!

We say getting fatter because everyday Kay or Tom would say, hey today were going to this great place and it was, and the food was amazing plus of course the company was great. They have some fantastic Seafood restaurants in and around Stuart and we tried quite a few of them.

If we ate at a restaurant at lunchtime we often had our evening meal at their house and Tom made some really great salads. One night we wanted to get a taxi so as not to worry about having a drink, but Tom insisted on picking us up and taking us back which was really good of him as our hotel was about 6 miles away. He continued to do this from then on. It's not that I drink a lot but they have a zero tolerance of drink driving and I'd had enough contact with the authorities thanks.

They were preparing for their cruise and had some other prior arrangements so although we saw a lot of them every day, we had some "Us" time as well.  One day we spent some time at the pool and another we went to a lovely beach, where we intended to have a swim but the waves were just far too dangerous.

On Thursday late afternoon we went to a Mexican restaurant called Guanabana's near a place called Jupiter and it was fantastic. We ate and drank far too much as before six o'clock food and drinks were half price. Google it and see how amazing the place is.

They persuaded us to stay an extra night so Joan could go for a manicure and pedicure with Kay on the day we had planned to leave. This also gave us time to enjoy their amazing ice cream shop which I took full advantage of! Then about 4.30pm we went to spend our last evening together. They fed us again, plus we met their very nice neighbours who we had met about 8 years ago when we visited them. It turned out they had been at the same restaurant as us last night but we didn't see each other. I think they hid.

 You would think they were fed up with us by now but Kay and Tom urged us to come back for our last two nights for a final visit on our way to Miami to get our plane. Who could refuse? Certainly not us, so we booked our room before we left today, Saturday 22nd.

After a very restful time a little drama was well overdue and we managed to inflict some on ourselves  with ease! Because rooms are at a premium on the Gulf coast we decided to go there via Orlando after the weekend. Joan was going to buy me a better Apple  iphone, yippee! By now we know where to go and made the journey with ease, parked and went to the Apple store. We met the same young lady we had dealt with before and spent a couple of hours chatting and getting the phone.

When we left we could not locate our car! The temperature was in the low 80's and we are desperately searching the rows and rows of cars. It's very boring and complicated why this happened but suffice to say it wasn't our fault and we did finally find it after 30 minutes.  However not until Joan had lost several pounds!!!! But she didn't freak out, bless her.

Love
Bryan & Joan
xxx

I got an iPhone! Well every cloud etc.

We slept like two little logs, which was not difficult as the bed was soo comfortable, it was like sleeping on a cloud. We had to try and sort my blooming phone out which had gone into melt down mode and just kept cycling through its turn on then off steps. I am sure it just needed to be attached to a computer and told to behave but it appears to be female and will NOT be told anything.

Having located the repair people and been told all they can do is reset the whole thing so all data is lost, which would not help at all, we opt for the sim being cut down to fit an iPhone as advised by the Apple store. So reluctantly I accepted that I had to buy an iPhone, Yes!!!! Now all we had to do was get it to work outside of the shop which even with their help took two more visits plus downloading the manual.

Next day we went to see Mickey Mouse at Disney world which was very good and very tiring, but it seemed we were back on track. It was the next day that all the upset really hit us and we were just in overload meltdown mode, especially Joan, who suddenly decided she couldn't face another busy day and the I4 was too busy to drive on. It was then that I realised she had been worried sick and got stressed to hell, so we settled for a day just around the heated pool, followed by a short trip to a Thai restaurant and an early night, just what we needed.

We left Orlando and drove at a leisurely pace down to Stuart to meet up with our American friends Tom and Kay. The plan was to find our hotel and ring them, but in the event we could not locate it. It was made doubly difficult as lots of the streets were closed for an arts festival!!! The joke is, after 8 years I actually remembered where they lived, so finally we gave up and drove there. As usual the welcome was very warm and Tom had shoved a cold beer in my hand and a glass of red wine in Joan's, almost as we walked in the door. Just what the doctor ordered.

They then sat us down and produced 4 huge steaks plus baked potatoes and a nice tomato salad with Palm hearts, oregano etc , it was delicious. Then they showed us to our hotel which apparently we had almost found.

 Next day they took us to Shrimpers for lunch which is a nice restaurant we had been to on our last trip here where you sit by the water and watch the Pelicans.  Our mission today is to buy a fishing reel for Joan's brother Jim. Normally we would worry about buying anything for somebody else it's hard enough to buy for Joan! However Jim is such a nice chap it should be ok. So far we have been to 4 Walmart stores where he says they are sold and not found one. Then we discovered that nobody has ever heard of his first choice, plus the other one can be delivered in 7 to 10 days, err we leave on Friday. However Stuart is a sea fishing and boating Mecca so Tom took us to a tackle shop where we got the reel plus it was loaded with the correct line so we feel pretty smug now.

One of the great things about visiting Kay & Tom is they always have a family dinner when we are here and we get to meet up with everyone. That means ten people around a table chatting and laughing. It is the sort of close family who live in the same town,  so what you get is a lot of noise and stories and just a really great loving atmosphere. Plus an amazing Caesar salad made by Tom and several helpings  of a lovely broth type soup made by Kay which is a family tradition and was so filling I didn't want any breakfast. Joan's favourite was the dessert, ice cream with pecans, salted peanuts and fudge sauce!!

Sadly in all the excitement we forgot to take a picture so we could remember everybody.

March 12th 2014 will certainly be remembered by us!

This is our first trip this year and if it had continued as it began I think it would have been the last!

So March 12th 2014 started for us at 4am and our dear friends Pam & Colin arrived dead on time and whipped us to the airport. Bags checked all the way through to Orlando, great. It was all going too well so BA threw in a 30 minute delay which upset Joan because for her birthday Jamie & Tim had bought her executive lounge access so we wanted to take full advantage of it. We did enjoy a very nice breakfast and sat and read some upmarket magazines and the papers. All very civilised, a thoroughly enjoyable way to fill the waiting time for our Orlando plane.

The flight was very straightforward and we managed to sleep a bit and enjoy a film. About an hour out from Orlando I managed to get a dodgy tummy, not good on an airplane! This was the start of our troubles as upon landing they announced, ok you can switch on your mobile phones now. As mine came on a very scary lady with a gun got on and said DO NOT PUT YOUR MOBILE PHONES ON! It is an offence under USA law. So I frantically tried to put it off. It would NOT go off and worse it started making a noise announcing that it was coming on and was scanning this and that, oh boy. I tried again and it went into sort of melt down mode whereby it kept switching on making a noise then going off. So I frantically whipped the battery out, that stopped it and we proceeded to customs where they take your finger prints and photograph your iris. It is 5.30pm and just a half hour drive to the hotel so we should be there by 6.30 at the latest.

The man then says will you come with me please, firmly but still polite.  Joan is now rapidly descending into panic mode, but she had to go and get the cases as if they remain on the carousel they probably blow them up! I am trying to tell her we will be alright but I didn't realise she was worried about driving to find our hotel in the dark. I on the other hand am keeping a weather eye out for anybody coming into the room and pulling a pair of rubber gloves on! Finally after everybody else has left the arrivals hall a chap walks in, says he doesn't know why but apparently somebody in Washington queried my prints and he then stamps my passport, says hope you have a great holiday and let's us go, phew! So we are all set just pick up our pre-paid rented car and we are off.................................NO!

It is now getting very late and we've been up about 20 hours, when the lady at the desk says she is sorry but she can't process our car from the voucher we have although she does have a car in our name waiting? How the hell that works is totally beyond us, but it's ok because we have the confirmation email on our iPad. This says, thank you for your payment of £359 for a Toyota......etc etc. from Avis! No that won't do as we have NO RECORD OF YOUR PAYMENT. So Joan says,  which bit of thank you for your payment on your official headed note paper are you having trouble with? Quite politely I thought, considering we've now been up 22 hours.

At this point I get them to agree that if we leave them a credit card payment we can sort it later, yes? Good lets go. No this card is in Joan's name and the booking is in mine and our other credit card is also in her name. Oh boy now I am getting angry. We don't wander abroad with loads of cards we take a special dollar card to America, why? Because they use dollars there. Now the next bit is our fault I admit but Joan has forgotten the pin which is on her mobile...........at home. Sigh.

Finally with the help of the girl, who to be fair has been battling with her manager all along, we get a car. It's enormous, and it's dark out so apparently in Joan's eyes this means I won't be able to drive, especially after 22 hours without sleep. She is in serious panic mode and yes we did miss a turning and have to go back but come on they drive on the same side as they do in France. Plus she seems to forget the 3000 miles I drove when we went to New Orleans! Anyway finally we got to our hotel at 10pm exhausted but fortunately it was very nice with a really comfortable bed.

We knew we would have to eat but we're too blooming tired for very much so just settled for a starter and a beer. Finally to bed, goodnight B&J xxx

Well we're all speaking English but it's too hot to really be England!

Wednesday 25th September

Précis:- We tried to contact Kaye, had a swim and sat around drinking. The end.

Another scorcher and we are hoping to hear from Kaye and get to see her B&B at Oiron. We have contacted her and sort of expect she may turn up here anytime, unfortunately we don't have her number so can only email. The good thing is wifi here is quite reasonable so we can catch up with things and email her again. It's too hot to worry and the pool looks really inviting so in we go for a nice swim.

I'm not sure what else we can do to contact Kaye, let's see what tomorrow brings.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx


Kaye's place at last, what a transformation!

Thursday 26th September

Précis:- Joan contacts Gluiness book of records with new record and we finally meet up with Kaye. .

Awoke early to a cloudy sky, is that it for the fine weather we've enjoyed for nearly all of six weeks? Hope not. At last Kaye sends email and is coming at 10am, so Joan says well I'll just check the bank then as we have wifi.

BIG mistake, she goes white as a sheet and her blood pressure hits new all time record high as the screen says you have NO accounts!?!?! After I gently coax her off the ceiling we find a number and call the bank who keep her on hold for nearly 20 minutes. Finally a very pleasant lady apologises for the delay, tells Joan all's well, it is only a software problem and she has 500 more calls to answer!

Kaye arrives and whisks us to the house she has transformed to a really lovely B&B. We are amazed at what she has achieved and are so impressed, it really is amazing. Like all massive jobs like this she has had her drawbacks but it certainly seems to have been worthwhile.

We enjoyed our visit and went off to a lovely little restaurant in an adjacent village for lunch with her son and his young lady. The only down side is it rained for a couple of hours! Time to go home I think, campsite bills paid, a couple more stops and we will be at Angela's on Monday night. Joan just said, "do you realise we've been in shorts ever since we arrived in August?" Oh yes, and it's been great!!!

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx


Friday 27th September

Précis:- we go to an Aire and fail ordering a glass of wine.

Awoke to thick mist and lots of dripping moisture everywhere, don't get me wrong it hasn't rained it's just Autumnal. We got a nice early start and as we only intend doing a fairly short day unless we hit major road works we will arrive just after lunch. This proved to be true and we pulled into the Aire which is actually the town hall car park just after 3pm which was a bit of a worry as they had a sign up saying it was free from 5pm until 10am,  oops!

As it turned out the whole place was being refurbished so nobody seemed to mind when having been joined by another van we levelled up and got our chairs, wine etc out and sat in the sun. Being outside the town hall we were in the centre of the village and after a pleasant stroll around the various eating establishments we decided where to eat later, plus most important, found where the bakers were for the morning.

That night we went to our selected bistro and I excelled again by ordering Joan a large glass of red wine in French. Then I nipped to the loo and came back to discover a very puzzled Joan sitting with a whole bottle!

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

Two days in one as really apart from driving we did nothing.

Monday 23rd September

Précis:- started on journey home, drove a lot, spent night on Aire, drove some more. The end.

We left Beach club Charlemagne around 10am and drove to Agde where the entire population were apparently intent on buying food so having managed to get a tank full of diesel we decided to get out quick. I am convinced that France is determined to rebuild it's roads to get out of the recession. Everywhere we've been there are major road works, it's amazing.

Anyway we finally got to the Aire at Cournon d'Auvergne which is attached to a campsite so we could easily walk in and us the facilities, however ours were cleaner so we didn't bother. We arrived at about 4pm and it was red hot.

All the way there Joan had been worried because it only took 15 vans and it might be full by the time we got there. (Joan, as you all know, has to have something to worry about otherwise she is really worried! ) There was one van there and we were able to park in a quiet little shaded corner and relax with our chairs out and long drinks, smashing.

After a very peaceful nights sleep we awoke very early and because we had no Baguette I settled for cereal with a promise of bread for lunch. We really needed to get to a supermarket for food and also of course diesel. Being early we thought it would be simple, big mistake! Clermont-Ferrand is a very big city and like the rest of France is being rebuilt with the resultant traffic jams. We managed to fill up with extremely cheap diesel and after   Circling around for half an hour I lost it, and drove out of town ignoring the b....y sat nav. who had been recalculating every few feet!!!!

When you are heading north from here it is virtually climbing straight up. I'm not kidding it is a long climb up and up for ages and really the rest of the journey is spent going down hill pretty steeply. Our destination was just past Limoges and when we finally had a break I said to Joan, surely we are so early if we go diagonally across on some smaller roads we can go direct to Airvault saving a day?

The total distance was 215 miles and Joan was worried as it took 7 hours, but I did get two snoozes on route. This little campsite at Airvault is really funny, it's like I imagine Singapore was in the 30's, it is full of English people being very English. Don't get me wrong they are all very nice but it is so strange not to see any other Nationalities here plus, they all seem to know each other and come every year. We haven't seen a rolled umbrella yet or copy of the Times but there's time.

Happy Birthday Carole we hope you have a good one xxx

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Well all good things etc but, WOW, we've just seen a humming bird!

Sunday 22nd September

Précis:- very hot again, paid bill, saw humming bird and prepared van for journey home, went to beach. The end.

Another really hot one overnight but this time we left all the skylights open and ignored the noise. Then it was time to get the van ready with water etc for the journey home as its free here and you pay for it on the aires. Plus we don't normally carry much but from now on we will be using the shower quite a bit.

I should have thought of this sooner because Joan has gone into wifely overdrive with the van cleaned, washing done and she's baked a cake! The van smells delicious I can tell you, I can't wait to taste it. Then around to the office to pay our bill and we are all set for a fairly long drive tomorrow.

As we leave we see an amazing sight, it's a humming bird. Oh boy this is an amazing thing, it is so very tiny but you can actually see it's tongue sipping the nectar from the flowers. We may try to get a picture before we leave tomorrow but it is so very small and moves so quickly it might not work.

Next of course is a last trip to the beach and it's definitely time to get into the sea if we are ever going to do it. Gosh we did it and it was freezing, but fun as well. Can somebody please tell us why it's so cold, the Mediterranean is supposed to be warm isn't it?

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

Good grief it's even hotter today and the wind has dropped completely.

Saturday 21st September

Précis:- we went to a market then a car boot and had two trips to the beach. The end.

Last night was soo hot we had trouble sleeping, then I realised I had shut the skylight as the noise from the road last night was bad. Opening it didn't make any difference as there is no wind at all. It was so hot that we felt it would be best to keep off the beach.

We had been told about a huge car boot sale and a local market so decided to wander around those until the heat of the day had subsided a bit. I should explain that we have lost a washer to our "hose to tap" attachment and have been unable to replace it. It's odd because I was sure I would be able to get one in any supermarket but we've been trying for days with no luck. Still it gives us a reason to wander around and if we see any suitable wine glasses as Joan would like two.

Most places only sell them in sixes but at a boot sale we might be lucky. Having been assured it was only about 15 minutes away, (we never learn), we did finally get there and it was huge as we had been told. Wandering around for ages we had finally given up and were all ready to leave when we saw a huge van with just about everything you could possibly want for caravans or campers. I didn't see what I needed but Joan said I should ask, and after I had managed to explain what I wanted, the lady turned around rummaged in a box and sold me one.

After a leisurely lunch we stupidly went straight to the beach where we both struggled to stay awake. Realising that to fall asleep in sun this strong would be stupid we rapidly returned to the van. About 4 O'clock we returned to the beach for a very pleasant couple of hours. Then it was time to shower and change and return to the restaurant for a really delicious Thai Green Curry.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

What's that? Oh yes I remember, it's clouds.

Friday 20th September

Précis:- it was very cloudy and hot, then it was sunny again so went to beach. The end.

We awoke this morning to wall to wall cloud, but it's still very warm. We decided as our time on this site is getting short and after that we will be on aires a lot we would take the opportunity to make sure everything is fully charged. Next we catch up with all the Internet stuff and by lunch time normal service has been resumed and although it's still quite windy we are back to sunshine and blue skies, so off to the beach.

I'm afraid we have been let down by the French postmen, they obviously have not had the full training.  I have followed a couple of them but they have NOT thrown a single elastic band on the pavement and a couple of mine have broken, I'll have to buy some. Tried a restaurant recommended to us by the Norwegians we met and an English couple here. They were right, it was excellent although a bit more expensive than most of the others, and we plan to return tomorrow for a Thai Curry.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

Well we certainly made the right choice coming here.

Thursday 19th September

Précis:- Wall to wall sunshine, check out beach, swim in heated pool. The end.

Not a cloud in the sky but a bit windy. After breakfast we visited the beautiful beach with miles of lovely fine sand in each direction but it's a bit early so we went for a wander around the shops and cafes close by. After lunch we decided, as it is a bit windy to go to the heated pool for a swim, there are 2 pools BUT only one is heated. The other is b#@$#y freezing!

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Off to Avignon, well yes, but we didn't actually get there!

Wednesday 18th September

Précis:- still very windy so off to Avignon but too much traffic so back to coast near Agde. The end.

Oh boy, woke up to sun but more storm force winds so decided enough was enough and left for Avignon. I have always wanted to be sur la Pont etc and Joan thought it might be fun. As we approached Aix-en-Provence the traffic started to build just as it had when we approached Besancon and I said right that's it, head south, so we set off for Agde on the Mediterranean just past Marseilles.

Lunch and major shopping for heavy things like potatoes, water and booze then off again.

My trusty navigator looked up a campsite at a place called Marseille-Plage we had heard of from Thor and his wife, a couple of Norwegians  who had the biggest camper van we have ever seen. They took us in for a look around and it was just pure luxury but how he drives it is beyond me, it's the size of a huge luxury coach but he swears it does 20 mpg.

Anyway, this campsite has 5 stars, a heated pool, close to the beach and 4 hours free wifi daily, ideal. It had been red hot all day and the winds had dropped so by the time we got here we definitely needed a Radler ie shandy. We found a lovely spot with full sun most of the day and amazingly the couple next door, Allan & Lorraine were the people that Thor and his wife had been telling us about at Frejus, it's a small world.

We lay about in the sun for the rest of the day then ate half the £10 chicken we bought, then went on line, gosh 43 emails, 3 of importance!

One from Pam & Colin in Ibiza enjoying the sun, and one from Joe & Ingrid down in Croatia, hope your weather has improved and your having a good time, were so glad all went well at the wedding. Then Kathleen & Ken are in Germany with iffy weather but hopefully that will improve soon.

Watched a few episodes of "Modern Family" and to bed.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

There's wind and then there's WIND!!!

Tuesday 17th September

Précis:- terrible high winds as we went to the market, found easy cycle path for last bit. Exhausted and scared we got home safe. The end.

Wow, the winds are really strong but as we have been looking forward to going to a proper market we decided to chance it. This sounds a bit dramatic but I assure you we were lucky that there is a cycle track all the way, as twice when we got to a place where there were no trees or bushes to shelter us, we were blown almost onto the road! There was a lot of traffic as the road runs right through the market and there are several zebra crossings

There are a lot of Bamboo bushes along the side and they were whipping around in the wind making it even more difficult. Then we suddenly came to a tree that had been ripped out and thrown across the route with just enough room to squeeze through. At this point a little voice said,"do you think we should go back?" No way I said we are nearly there!

Then I looked at Joan and she was as white as a sheet and totally out of breath. I assured her we were almost there and just then we came to a cycle track sign which we had wondered about in the past and decided to try it. It was perfect and sheltered, plus it took us straight to the start of the market and had somewhere to lock the bikes, brilliant.

The wind had obviously depleted the number of traders who'd come but it was still pretty good and we bought a couple of things, olives & fruit. Then braced ourselves for the journey back. I foolishly assured Joan that the wind would be with us now, but of course it wasn't and when we did finally arrive back we were exhausted.

At times like this you have to admit perhaps we are not as young and fit as we were and actually spent the rest of the day just resting, eating and drinking. Time for dinner and Sister act.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Same old same old really

Monday 16th September

Précis:- it was sunny again, went to beach and swam in sea, the end.

The female of the species is very strange as all chaps know. When do they get the chip inserted that means Monday is washing day? Well it is, apparently and as the sun is shining and I stupidly put a line up for our towels we're doing washing today. However we did spend the rest of the day on the beach plus the sea was actually quite warm so we swam in it, great.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

That will teach us to talk about the weather!

Sunday 15th September

Précis:- it rained, the sun came out again so we went to the beach, the end.

Blimey! Well that will teach us to talk about the weather lasting. It started to rain about 4am and of course we had forgotten to bring the towels in so somebody had to nip out and get them in quickly.

When I got back...... ( well you didn't really think Joan would go did you? ), the trees that provide the much needed shade during the day had also kept the rain off the towels so they were only a little damp, unlike me!

This morning it was still raining and a lot cooler, but about midday the sun broke through and it was nice and hot again. So we missed the big market we were looking forward to but did get to spend a bit of time in the pool. The evening is again really warm but windy and the Norwegian couple we've been talking to say it's going to be hot again Monday so fingers crossed.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

I said it was near the post office!

Saturday 14th September

Précis:- finally found Lidl, went to beach, ate Pizza the end.

As there is a market in Frejus today Joan wants to go so we determine to get an early start and also catch the tourist office in one of it's rare open phases and locate Lidl for supplies. The market like the previous one was a disappointment, I think Harrod's are cheaper! We were in hysterics when Joan said can you imagine the crowds and mass hysteria if Primani opened over here.

Anyway having spent a while wandering around and managing to get the map from the tourist office we located Lidl and realised how close we had been the day before. It was actually the next blooming street We then proceeded to overload our bikes and stagger home (still no brandy! How can you buy 30 kinds of whisky in France but not brandy).

After lunch we relaxed for a while and at about 4.30 went to the beach for an hour. As we walked back to the van an English bloke engaged us in conversation. This came as a great surprise as we had on a couple of occasions wished him good day and been ignored so naturally we thought he was just a miserable bugger.

It turns out he's 86 years old and has been coming here for 20 years, the last few on his own since his wife died. he's a bit of a card and had us standing there for sometime while he regaled us with stories of 2010 when this place was flooded and he had to rescue himself in the middle of the night as no-one had alerted him when the site was evacuated.

When he woke up at 3am, he battled through a raging torrent of water and mud which was chest deep to find the Police and Fire Brigade at the site entrance who on seeing him were now concerned as to whether anyone else was still in their vans. Last year he burned his bungalow down with a chip pan fire.   He drives to Frejus from Calais with only one overnight stop!

Finally as it was now too late to cook we had an enormous Pizza from the on-site restaurant, opened a box of Cotes du Rhone and finished with brandy, lovely.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

A fruitless search for Lidl works out alright in the end

Friday 13th September

Précis:- cycled to find shop, didn't, had really good meal cycled home. The end.

We awoke to another lovely sunny morning and after breakfast met the lovely little girl who is only 21 months old and nips around here in a little wheelchair. She has Spina Bifida  and is as bright as a button and appears to able to say good morning in at least 3 languages already, Dutch, English & French and probably German but we haven't heard her. Her father told us that here is the only place in Europe with wall to wall sunshine and like us he was getting ready to move on, but we all agreed we will stay here if the weather stays nice.

Having run out of beer and wine and getting low on brandy plus a few other food items, we decided to try and track down Lidl as they don't seem to sell brandy at the other supermarkets. As we had already been unsuccessful our aim was to go to the tourist info and ask. As we'd been doing a bit of tidying etc we didn't get there until 12.32, they close for lunch for 2 hours at 12.30! So we tried on our own but after cycling around a bit we ended up in St. Raphael sea front and as it was nearly 2pm we decided to eat in a restaurant.

I don't know what really makes us choose between one place and another. I know we all look at the menu but it's more than that, is it full of locals? Perhaps we should get a government or uni grant to do a paper on it, about £50,000 should do. Anyway as we stopped outside "Les 2 Filles" something made us stop and look at their menu. Moules Provençal, leapt out at Joan and grabbed her attention, plus a very cheery owner sort of pulled us in, while a lady just leaving said, "you won't regret eating here." We promptly locked the bikes up and sat down.

About an hour later a very happy Joan hiding behind a huge pan of moule shells refused a desert. As for me I was supposed to get one but could not manage it so they knocked a bit off the bill, very nice. Then we went down onto the beach and promptly fell asleep! By the time we got started again and cycled home it was too late to go to the pool even.

Lots of Love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Well it looked like a short cut!

Thursday 12th September

Précis:- found they had other bread, went on long bike ride by mistake. The end.

Well at last we managed to get a really nice baguette from the shop, they obviously sell the rubbish first. But sadly the Carole & Joseph's Oxfordshire artisan deluxe gooseberry conserve ran out, and unlike Harrod's they don't deliver. Quell disaste!

We then headed for St Aygulf, the next village, on our bikes as they said there was a market on. As it turned out it was a flea market and not very big either so a bit disappointing really.  The journey there had been a bit hairy over the last bit as there was no cycle path, but when we were ready to go back we saw a road which looked as though it cut the difficult bend off and went where we wanted to go so we decided to take it on the way back. BIG mistake!

We cycled for mile after mile and finally arrived on the other side of Frejus at the point where we had come in off the motorway the day we arrived. I knew where we were immediately and just had to convince Joan. We had managed to convert a simple 2 mile trip into a very long ride plus I had NOT put my little bike computer on so I was definitely not flavour of the month. As I've said, my fitness is not great but I did it without a problem and after a spot of lunch I slept for ages, so we did very little today but relax, ho hum.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

Went to McDonald's and taxed the van

Wednesday 11th September

Précis:- it was very hot, we did the blog, taxed the van, went to beach and pool. Had bad news. The end.

Today is supposed to be the cool cloudy dull day. Obviously this was one of Michael Fish's weather reports because it was the hottest this week! So we delayed our trip to the beach until after mid-day and only stayed an hour then returned for a swim in the pool as it was at least 12 degrees hotter than the blooming sea.

Earlier we'd been to publish the blog and get emails and thanks to Pam we've managed to get the van taxed. You don't realise, (well we didn't), that by the time you come home from such a long holiday your road tax is out of date. You can do it on line but you need the special number from the form the DVLA send you. We were getting a bit worried because Pam & Colin are off on holiday but it arrived just in time, thanks Pam.

I've just had a bit of bad news, my dear friend John Douglas has died and sadly I will miss his funeral, but we are thinking of Mavis and his girls and will be next Tuesday. The thing is, in a way it's a happy release because he was pretty ill but he will still be missed greatly.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Lots of sun but really strong winds, hot though.

Friday 6th September

Précis:- very hot, went to Mac Donald's and published blog but couldn't manage to get photos on. Swam in lake, had huge thunderstorm. The end.

Another red hot day dawned and having nipped along to Lidl for a few supplies and a baguette, of course, our next job was a short ride to MacDonalds to finally publish the blog. This proved to be as easy as pie except we had a problem getting pictures on it. First Joan had all the pictures so far on her iPad mini and secondly it wanted us to use Flickr or Picaso neither of which are at present on my iPad and I am not sure how to get them either. So here is more blog sans pictures.

Next it was down to the lake for a swim as we would hate to wake up tomorrow and find it cold and miserable and miss our chance, Joan said. I was not so sure and when somebody daft enough to swim in the North Sea says, " oh it's lovely and warm!" You tend to be a bit cautious, well I do as I am a bit of a wimp. However it was actually really warm and so hot out of the water that I was almost dry before I got back to my towel.

I really hate it when she's right, so when a bit later it really got dark and then a huge thunderstorm erupted, Joan of course crowed about insisting on the swim.  Being in the mountains the storm was great to watch as it flew around the tops but we made sure we didn't get caught in the rain when it finally came, as it came down in buckets!

Love Bryan & Joan xxxx


Saturday 7th September

Précis:- Still hot, disappointed with crossword download. Rode bikes again. Another storm. The end.

The storm has definitely cleared the air a bit. It's still warm but a bit fresher with a slight breeze. Off to MacDonalds to download Saturdays paper only to discover that unless I am prepared to draw the crossword out on a piece of paper it's useless. Damn! Well never mind, time to get ready for the off tomorrow. Nipped on our bikes to the supermarket, popped down to the lake again and noticed another storm brewing. It didn't start until about eight o'clock so it didn't spoil the day but unlike last night, this one was to last all night.

Lots of love
Joan & Bryan xxxx

Sunday 8th September

Précis:- it was raining a lot, we left early, couldn't get parked for the night so went somewhere else. The end.

It is still chucking it down but fortunately almost everything's done and we paid last night so we were away by 8.15am, something of a record for us. Apart from refuelling we had an uneventful journey to Sisteron where there is a hilltop citadel with an Aire for camper vans just outside. The weather had improved as we drove South and it was now very warm and sunny again.

Unfortunately several of the dedicated motorhome spaces had cars and even a lorry parked in them! ( now we know how Alison feels). When we mentioned it to a French woman she just shrugged and ignored us.  I wish I'd had the guts to park across in front of them, but hey ho. So although I was a bit tired and hungry we carried on.

A few miles down the road we stopped, ate and checked the maps for another Aire and found a really nice one overlooking a large lake about 35 miles further on. This did entail driving on some very narrow twisting roads and at the end, going down a very steep hill with several hairpin bends but I think the marks where Joan's door handle and seat were gripped will come out. Tomorrow we will get to the seaside, hurrah!

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx

Monday 9th September

Précis:- we drove to a campsite that was supposed to be by the sea. It wasn't! So we drove to one we knew. The end.

Ever since the flooding in 2010 Joan and I have been a bit cautious of going back to Frejus. However having tried a few other places like Port Grimaud and found them lacking as the beach is lousy, we were not sure where else to go? Eventually we found an ACSI sight at Cavalaire-sur-mer which was purported to be only 200 metres from the sea. Now the French have a really weird idea of what being actually at the seaside is. So if you see a place name with sur la plage or a la plage it may be some distance from the actual beach.

Having left really early this morning, (8.15), we were pretty pleased with ourselves at having missed the long horrendous traffic that is always present around St Tropez but could see it building as we approached our target campsite.  We found ourselves looking down a very steep cliff at least a quarter of a mile to the beach, if indeed it was accessible. We would also of course have to climb back up again!

So exclaiming golly gosh a lot, we turned around and joined the now long traffic jam back, and here we are sitting in Camping du Pont d'argens, now called La Plage D'Argens which is about 250 metres to the beach. I had intended to do a 67 mile day today and as it was through the Gorges of Verdun on tiny roads it took nearly 3 hours but I had a further 24 to get to here, poo!

The campsite has changed it's name but it is still pretty easy going and if you can get over the very French fact that the toilets and showers are now unisex, but NOT the urinals Pam, it's great.  That is until you read the bit that says incase of flooding gather your valuables and leave, do not attempt to drive your car/van/caravan. Well apart from Joan, my most valuable asset in France is my bloody campervan mate, so if it rains heavy we'll be off!

We should be ok though as the temperature has been 31 today and is supposed not to fall bellow 25 this week so we've booked a week and will see about next week. The only down side is there is usually a wind here and although it's not cold it can get quite strong. However the supermarket is a short ride away and there are several very good street markets around if we want to bother. One sad thing is the greengrocer we used in the past just across the road seems to have vanished but Joan thinks it may just be it's Monday so we will see.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx


Tuesday 10th September

Another lovely day, but the baguette from the site shop wasn't great, still we managed to eat it. However as the two main reasons for being here are to enjoy the warm sunshine and eat French bread we may be moving on soon whereas we were thinking of staying a lot longer. Still there are several really good campsites in the area just not as close to the sea, but as the sea was so cold today we won't mind.

Then out with the bikes and off to the supermarket where we bought a baguette that hopefully will be ok otherwise it's cereal until we go somewhere else. Stupidly we bought quite a lot of stuff which needed to go in the fridge which has to go in my panniers so we had to return without finding McDonalds, so no blog today.

However we did finally get to the beach and have a short swim. The swim was short because although the chap on the radio this morning assured us it was 24 degrees in the sea, he lied!!! It was really cold. Still we tried it then after a bit we decided to get back and go for a swim in the site pool. This was a good plan as it was about 36 degrees and the pool was 26 and had been 28 earlier, so tomorrow we'll give the beach a miss.

Talking about the radio station it's a hoot, it's a commercial station which broadcasts some of BBC world news and gives the market news as well as playing really good music. The adverts are great, we have been invited to a yacht show with yachts to suit all tastes and several people in Monaco will apparently help us with our investments.  We also know where to hire a private jet or find someone to build us a swimming pool/jacuzzi, it's great.

Funny we've been really busy today but when I wrote it down it doesn't seem much? Oh well we're exhausted and it was fun so God bless you all.

Lots of love
Bryan & Joan xxxx