Floating into Spain

Hello Pals.
The foul weather continues to plague us.
We sailed over the border into Spain on a tidal wave of giant raindrops, with a violent tail wind forcing us towards Vittorio Gastez at a rate of knots while the van was being pebble dashed by hailstones!!
Apart from the weather, I’m afraid that the Sat Nav lady had a senior moment and took us on a round trip of €15 worth of toll roads and the sights of the  small coastal  towns around San Sebastián.
Having seen signs for the AP1, the N1 which became the A1, she crumbled under the weight of too much information.
Eventually all calmed down and we cruised down the N1 enjoying occasional glimpses of the sun.
Distant Sierras were snow covered but evidence of a colourful Spring was to be seen in the unfurling of leaves and the pink blossom of cherry trees. There were fifty shades of green from fields to forests.
Then we overtook an idiot ......... who was driving his huge artic using his feet on the steering wheel.
As you can imagine, we both sounded like Victor  Meldrew “ I don’t believe it !! “
Tonight we are parked up in the town of Palencia and tomorrow we head for Caceres. It is wall to wall motor homes, as the returning French Snow Birds from Morocco meet the Springtimers heading south to the Mediterranean.

The wild north coast 

Mellow Yellow

Hello from our last stop in France, at St. Vincent de Tyrosse. Since leaving Canterbury, we have had free sleepovers the whole way to the Spanish border.
Today has been quite ordinary. The black rain cloud continued to hang over France.Sue continued to sound like Victor Meldrew with rants of “ I don’t believe it” whenever she thought about our defrauded cash and the colours of Spring continued to show their glory.
Fluorescent greens from willows and hawthorn, vivid yellow from cowslips and primroses along the roadside, daffodils and forsythia in village gardens and vast fields of rapeseed.
In fact it was all made the more beautiful when the sun finally broke through this afternoon. At last it was off with the shoes, socks and woolly  hats and on with the sandals and T shirts!!  Still a tad too chilly for shorts.
The Bordeaux peripherique was manic as everyone left work early for the Easter weekend. Four lanes of traffic gridlocked in both directions and every slip road backed up. Caution called for.

A happier navigator during a coffee break and leg stretch after the congestion. See the sky?

Day three and not without incidents.

It has been a somewhat long drive but the obligatory, end of day glass of the white stuff, has sorted the weariness issue.
Who ever said that the sunshine begins when you are south of The Loire, is telling fibs!!.
It absolutely bucketed down as soon as we emerged from the Tunnel at Calais yesterday and by the time we arrived at Pont de L’Arche in the afternoon, the van had grown fins.
The level of the River Seine was was abnormally high, in fact our riverside walk was under water and ducks were sat on tree branches. The rain finally abated and left us with a dirty grey sky and the prospect of more rain to come.
Came the dawn and the sun shone down to .......MELT THE FROST!!!
Water pipes escaped unscathed so now there was only the gas tank to worry about. One full , one empty and the LPG pump at the garage just kept blowing out the gas as we tried to fill it. They are supposed to be linked. No worries, we can manage with one tank.
During the night, when it’s cold, we have what’s called a Silver Screen,which we put on the outside of the cab windows,to add extra insulation.In a morning,it’s removed and laid on a bench to dry.
As I returned from taking a photo by the river, I saw a council Workman dragging it along in the dirt and gravel to dump it in a litter skip. “Oi”, I shouted in my best French accent, caught his attention and reclaimed our kit with further French mutterings which included windows and camping car.
His response was the Continental shoulder shrug and a snort.
On a further two hundred kilometers ,to the supermarket and our horror story for today.
Sue went to pay and our Travel Money card was refused. Ok so we used a different card and back to the van we shot for further investigation... we have an app that lets us see what’s left on the card.
£21-72p. What??!!! It also showed that the money had disappeared in Brooklyn USA.
Mobile phone and the man at Thompson’s Travel to the rescue..
Incredibly, by the end of the day our tale of woe had been resolved. We,weren’t the fraudsters, they had discovered and the money was back in the account. What a result in such a brief time frame.
Well done TUI!
Finally, we have a first for us. Tonight’s Aire comes with free electricity and a serve yourself baguette machine.

Ps. We are on the D347 at Angliers.

Start as we mean to go on.

Here we are, parked up for the night on a Motorhome aire, just off the A2 outside Canterbury.
It’s actually a Park and Ride for the city but as the we have visited before, we thought that we’d take advantage of the hostelry at the main entrance rather than immersing ourselves in city culture. Anyway the Archbishop isn’t home for a afternoon tea. Pinot Grigio or tea? Come on, we’re on a trip, retired and living each day as it comes. No contest!! Here’s the proof, the Tarts are supping at The Old Gate Inn

No day passes without an incident and we had two today. Firstly we entered a garage for gas and fuel and whilst Sue was hollering “ mind the bollard “, I was smacking each fuel pump handle with the giant wing mirror that we have on the van. If they had been dominoes they would have fallen in sync. 

Then there was the payment machine at the car park. Being frugal, we noticed that if you arrived after 4 pm you only had to pay a pound In went the coin. Small print said “until midnight”

Sue, being the clever person that she is, made the observation that you don’t pay until you leave because the ticket won’t know how long you stayed. Smug mare. So I got in the van, drove the full circuit in order to get a new ticket so that we can escape at 6 am and not miss the train. 

Feeling a bit of a numpty, I left her to guard our space!!!! My revenge. 

Then we came to the pub. 

Thunder Birds Are Go !!!!

All’s ready for the big departure, with campervan groaning on its axles,under the weight of gas, water, food and outdoor living gear. Why we require 4 chairs, 2 tables, 2 bikes and 2  scooters .... only Sue knows. Every time I mention weight, she adds another item with “ it’s not very heavy “. Then the boules appeared. Oh yes I stamped my foot. Have you ever picked up a set of boules? You could use them for weight training at the gym!! As a concession, we are taking the boules but only 4 instead of the 6 normally used in a game, leaving a few kgs free for a couple of bottles of fresh water.
Oh, talking of water. The other day when I managed to let all the water out of the tank and boiler, it didn’t soak away. Several days later there appeared to be more than ever lying on the surface. I panicked, assumed the worst, and rang the Water Board in case there was a burst pipe on the driveway. Checked the insurance policy. Phew, up to date with payments but no chance of a repair at such short notice. They expect the home owner to be present while they dig up your property!!
Now in headless chicken mode.
Service engineer arrived yesterday, used his special rod to open the metal flap on the pavement and extracted a fancy tissue from the pocket of his bright yellow, high viz vest, to wipe the dirty dial on the meter
Pause for effect ........... the needle was motionless, not spinning like a whirling dervish. The trip’s still on.
You just never know who or what ,might put a Spaniard in the works. John Lennon said that not me.

So here we are, with the front door locked, engine ticking over and Sue, stood in the middle of the road,  holding up the traffic, so that I have a good run up the slope and hopefully don’t leave half the van on the drive. Ok this is it, Thunderbirds are go !!!!! X