British Soil

So this was the 11 month trip of our nearby European neighbours

Our best year yet we feel and so much nicer for the addition of our trailer and scooter

How did we manage before?

An early morning ferry crossing from Dunkerque and a leisurely drive northwards sees us back in Blighty and settled on a nice CL near Stowmarket

Our nearest neighbour 'Cyril' makes a regular appearance each evening gathering those all important nuts

We are here en route to Dethick to see Emilja & Richard and make the acquaintance of their new addition to their family, Lola

Its fair to say that Lola has it sorted

A rescue dog with a superb temperament and seven years old

We take in Bury St Edmunds and its lovely central park one day, enjoying our stop over in a nice part of the country

Strolls around the town and a memorable initiation for Richard to the pitfalls of dog ownership in a town (two bags worth & outside Macdonald's eating area)

Yes its fun isn't it!

Next day we go beach walking at Aldburgh and Lola has the 'parents' trained quite well with the 'tennis ball thrown in the sea routine'

We had a great four days catching up with Emilja & Richard and will see them again when we pass back through in a couple of months

So here's a random bike picture, namely Fozz

Taken in France a week ago when we hatched the idea of trading him in for another scooter

Poor Fozz, he's done everything we've asked of him and more…

He's taken us in to the Euro big cities with ease and whizzed up the hills in Bavaria. Done the shopping, the laundry and took us out of an evening in to some lovely villages for an apero…

BUT….

A 125 can't do that long term and its not fair on him really is it, carting us two around all the time

SO….

The plan is hatched and his photo is sent to Wigan Yamaha where Howard, the keen salesman, is very happy of course to give hime a new home ultimately and sell us a new Tmax Scooter

A quick glance would say they are similar bikes but that's about it as 'Max' (Easy name that wasn't it!) is a bit bigger physically but has a 530cc engine bolted to the frame like a standard motorcycle 

This puts it in a different league scooter-wise as all the info I can get tells me it rides like a 'bike' and handles 'two up' with ease

There will be many occasions in the future when I will hark back to this day and the odo reading...

This is full tilt on a continental road and obviously not me..

But Numpty here replicated it (not the lean angle) when I rode the first half mile from the CL near Wigan down narrow twisty lanes on the WRONG side of the road, just like I'd done on Fozz for most of the last year

To say I was shaken when I discovered the full horror of what was happening would be an understatement but that's how easily its done I'm afraid (one life gone)

Having scrubbed the tyres a little I go back for Nina and we trundle to the local pub where we have surely the largest pie offerings ever. Tasty yes, but actually far too much food

Back 'Home' in Dethick and we settle in to a new routine in a beautiful part of the UK it has to be said

Deb sends us this shot of her raiding the thread shop as there's a sale on and Nina is on the case immediately hoping that she's not missed the bargains

Squinting in the rare Brit sunshine we beat a path for the Mick & Deb's place and that much anticipated catch up

Mick makes the huge mistake of proudly showing me his beer stock

Ok my beauties, do we start from the top, the middle, or the bottom?

All made by Mick, with his own label, and I have to say after trying a pale ale, excellent tasty beverage

The stuff of impending headaches me feels….

Fontaine Francaise

Some peaceful lakeside stopovers are done en route to an RV with Britain

One of these is at Fontaine Francaise in the Cote d'Or dept of Burgundy

Beat this for idyllic 

Mum and her children….

On a grey day we stroll around the small village and walk in the grounds of the old chateau

Nina fancied this as her personal des res, offering up a hidden fortune no doubt to renovate it to its former glory

The short cut to the chateau looks like body piercing stuff!

Looks big doesn't he?

Just a squirt keeping guard...

Sunshine next day and she's out cross-stitching for England

Our adopted puss

An exited schoolboy (me) comes skipping back from the village that evening after a stroll around

Pacha and his kebab van sit centrally in the square

Nina is dragged to her RV with all things Turkish….

Bonjour La France

Apologies to my regular 'reader' as its been a while since last posting due to us crossing the French border and of course suffering from the inevitable complete lack of free WiFi here

When I did get a signal on my MiFi device the signal was so poor I couldn't do anything anyway (apart from paying the daily connection fee!)

So ages ago remember there was this football tournament on…Euro 2016

We spent a few days travelling up from Benidorm staying on some new found aires tucked away in towns or wineries (what a surprise)

The night of the winery stay saw internal van temps of 40 degs in the evening so off we Fozzed in to El Masroig where we were the only guys in the bar to watch the Germans lose their semi final, but many thanks go to the guys who turned up later and gave us a free bottle of wine from their particular winery which they own

Our 'host' winery where we spent too much money really

Another night another semi final, viewed in another bar in Vilafranca del Penedies and how I wanted to go and ask this shop owner if he did Ham, on the way to the 'match'

We had a few nights at two of our favourite Spanish stops, namely Morella & Restaurant Can Janot at Navata where we had the buffet lunch yet again and even joined the evening's village's musical get together on the terrace

The music was laid on by the local hired DJ who played Caro Emerald songs for around 4 hours continuously with no change of artist or genre till way late, odd that!

After having inputted the wrong co-ords and making it half way to Andorra (and the hills) we finally divert in to La France, do the washing again at Leucate Laverie, and settle down in late 30's heat in Bedarieux

This is where the culture shock hit us midships and hard!

Dead village, almost nowhere open for an evening's hard earned glass of wine or beer, and certainly no shops to browse around with the rest of the local populous 

Thats the difference Im afraid between the two countries, France & Spain, the Spanish just get going around 5pm and everyone turns out to be sociable and stroll the strolls talking, eating, drinking and well, living a life!

France is just 40 years behind all the time. What do they do behind those closed shutters?

The kids must be bored rigid!

While I'm ranting I might as well say it here, we loved Spain and its grown on us. OK they have a long siesta but make up for it by utilising all the remaining time to get out and socialise and enjoy life

Even at lunch the cafes are open serving sensibly priced beverages of all forms and offering a wide selection of tapas. I miss it already!

I've rambled on so the pictures have lost continuity. The river shots are of Lunas, next aire down the river, and a total contrast to Bedarieux. Three cafe/restaurants open (in summer) and a river to throw yourself in to cool down (which I did)

Too hot for this pooch

Ever northwards and those rain clouds appear. Bizarrely we are pleased at the relieving coolness which soon wore off after just one day's grey skies...

We spend four nights on a lovely aire at St Christophe en Brionnais with free Lekky too!

Visits on Fozz to nearby La Clayette, Marcigny & Anzy le Duc are the order of the day amidst much better weather and bluer skies

The roman tower at Anzy le Duc

The house that Pete & Nina wanted but alas had gone before my retirement came

How strange now what our plans were back then and what we finally did...

That aire and the ringside Boules spectator seating

Happy bunny

Charming Charolles, a regular haunt of ours from years ago

On to Marcigny and the bar where the patron makes a fuss and genuinely remembers us

They are tied up in respect for the massacre in Nice just a few days previously

We finally move on to a lovely aire next to the voie verte at St Genoux le National

Its very hot here with no wind and we suffer a bit I'm afraid

The morning next day sees us break out the bikes and tootle on down the track to Cluny

(I have to report here that I'd fallen off the bike again the week before in a classic 'Big Off' style and my confidence is quite shaken and was left cursing the wretched thing)

I remember laying on the ground a full five minutes swearing, still attached by the cleats to the bike and holding my previously busted elbow in panic thinking it had fractured again

A bloody knee and sore arm was all so decided not to chuck it in the hedge bottom

The ride back from Cluny was made more pleasant by finding this fine establishment

As if the 'Gods' were taking pity on us they present a nice German guy and his open, yes that's Open, trackside beer emporium stocking a wide selection of proper beers that he drives each month to Germany to collect

My initial reaction was 'Pat. you'd love it here!' and was amazed in a later Whatsapp liaison with him that he'd actually seen it and done it a while ago, the very same tiny 'Holy Grail'

Small world innit?

We relocate to an aire further north in Burgundy at Cissy (yes that's for real) where the guy leaves you alone with free lekky but just asks that you pay for what you drink from his fully stocked outdoor wine fridge…Heaven

Two nights here and this guy passes by our fields

and buzzes the friendly horse

Thunderstorms are coming and the farmers are working till the early hours to get the hay in

A shot of us on Fozz

Quite poignant really as its here that we murderously plot his demise…

A lovely super-practical bike that does more than it really should. Trouble is we've reconnected over the past year with 'two wheel fun' and quite fancy some more low down grunt…

We envisage longer trips away from the van and safer riding in strong winds so the call is made to the garage and the deal is done

As I post this we are back in Blighty and still have Fozz for a few days before his bigger brother arrives so will update then...

Anyhow, the storms arrive and we fall just short of running naked in the rain to cool off ( a blessed relief no doubt for all concerned!)

A trip in Mersault one fine day and we discover the village has had a big makeover and looks just fine

This I guess is what France is all about, beautiful quaint architecture and fine wines

Timeless chateaux abound in secret villages and if its peace and tranquility you yearn for then France is surely top of the destination list