Mousy Goes To France Day One.. (1 Viewer)

[DBK]

Sweet dreams!

 

[Ali n Tim]

We're booked for tunnel on Tuesday so hope things will be sorted by then Glad to hear you made it ok in the end

 

[Taran_Las]

Persisting down at Calais.

As I hope to leave France tomorrow I have swept up and dusted everything in sight. Please leave France the way you found it. I will return next year to check

Have a great time

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[DBK]

For those in France.

 

[Judge Mental]

I'm not playing that! to awful to contemplate ( please try harder)

 

[Mousy]

So to carry on from the last post I'll update you all about yesterday. Prepare to be bored...we were and we lived it!

We woke up somewhere in France in a school car park. At 2 am in the dark it looked like a secluded place to park, daylight revealed the school entrance that would bring a horde of French mothers and their little darlings. We left the boys sleeping and took the dog for a quick walk. It was 7.30am and sunny. Martin used his school boy French to buy coffee but we couldn't see a bakery. Conscious of the school run we drove off in a hurry heading towards Reims.

We put 100 miles under the wheels and arrived in Reims, we passed 3 bakery's that we couldn't park outside of, finally I spotted a good one. Mr Mousy went in for deux baggets, huit pain au chocolate and huit croissants. Unfortunately it was a butchers. This set the tone for the rest of the day, gadgets not working, the wrong phones left on charge, the cable for the iPad not charging, the sat nav insisting we were in Poland, realising we had left all the aires, French passion and the travel books at home...the list of minor calamities went on. And it's hot, really hot, air con in van struggling to keep us cool and outside is like a pizza oven. We are all endlessly drinking water and so filling up the toilet cassette.

We drive on to Troyes. A friend has recommended a trip to the outlet park.

In this heat even I can't summon up the enthusiasm to shop but we all take it in turns to just stand in the shop entrance with the dog under the aircon units. Lots of strange looks. We can't understand how the natives look so cool and chic as we are all really struggling in the heat. George has just returned from a month in Singapore and even he is wilting.

I realise this holiday has disaster written all over it, drastic measures are needed..

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[Fenman]

Well I've done some strange things in the past in the name of holidays but visiting an outlet park doesn't bear thinking about.
You'd have to put me in a straight jacket and carry me there even if it was in England.
Just because it was a bad day there's no reason to finish it off completely.

 

[wingman]

@Mousy Hi Both,

I'm going to print off your exploits and when I make a holiday faux pas next month, I will read it as therapy!!

If you're on your way to Annecy, don't forget (in all your excitement) to let me know how you intend to miss out Geneva/Swiss border and hence having to pay for a vignette.

Looking forward to next episode
James

 

[Mousy]

Fenman, I realised that when the massive car park loomed into view.

Wingman, we might be highly mistaken but I think we are just going Reims, Troyes, Lyon and Annecy.

What are we missing?

@Granjan can you help? Think you went there recently?

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[Mousy]

I send mr mousy off to buy an apple cable so we can use the iPods sat nav. I get out last years camperstop book which ironically has survived mr mousys previous book cull. I say ironically because it's so difficult to use, we had managed to buy a copy that the index or map index number doesn't match the page numbers and of course we can't remember how many pages back or forward you have to go. 19 or 7? Bloody nightmare!

I realise our style of holiday, drifting from aire to aire with good restaurants and a bit of sight seeing in between is not working for the boys.
We need a campsite, with electric for the hab air con, near water for swimming, with cycle tracks in dappled shade and an endless supply of baked goods...

We found all that at...

Now finally enjoying a holiday, although I'm worried about our route to Annecy tommorow!

 

[DBK]

Thunderstorms forecast for your area I fear. The rain will raise the lake level and flood your pitch. If you look at the first picture I think that is a water level gauge behind the sign.

You do have a boat?

 

[Mousy]

Thunderstorms forecast for your area I fear. The rain will raise the lake level and flood your pitch. You do have a boat?

No but good buoyancy aids!

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[gozomike]

Sound as if you had a great start to your holiday, at least it's getting better. Your route own sounds similar to the one I have used. I normally stay at Mareuil sur ay and cycle into Epenay and also cut the corner to miss Lyon. Not sure why wingman would go through Switzerland.

I have always thought Annecy to be really nice.

Have a great time.

 

[wingman]

Sorry all. Disregard nipping through Switzerland, I'm talking out of my hat!! Last time I was down that way, I routed from Luxembourg and stayed in Switzerland, then to Italy and went to Annecy on the way back.

When you look at the map, if you route via (no tolls) Belgium and Luxembourg, the Swiss border does a dogleg around Geneva and the border goes above Annecy (if you see what I mean). I was intending to hug the eastern side again this year and thought Mousy was doing the same - hence my question.

I'll blame my whimsy on the heat!

 

[Judge Mental]

No but good buoyancy aids!

Nice

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[Ockerron]

No but good buoyancy aids!

Yours are inbuilt though babe, what about the boys????

 

[Mousy]

Today started with a quiet walk down onto the beach with ruby, I was surprised to see so many people up and about at 7am, fellow campers enjoying breakfast and the site owners watering the plants and tidying around. I felt a bit shaky, the boys have been crashing in the rear transverse bed leaving the drop down over cab bed to Mr Mousy and myself. Climbing into bed is no problem but getting out another matter, in my mind I am a swift footed gazelle or at worse a sure footed mountain goat in reality I'm part elephant bouncing off the bed onto the table before landing in a heap onto the floor.
I've swiftly put a sundress over my head, slapped a hat on, collected the dog for a quick walk around the pitch but as its a beautiful day I venture further getting to the beach before I remember I'm not wearing any underwear and my face still has pillow creases on it.
I get back to meet Mr Mousy now up and ready for a bike ride. I get changed and off we go, Mr Mousy casually shouts over his shoulder "just to let you know I've disconnected your front brake"
We cycle along the beautiful cycle track that hugs the lake shore, the birds are really loud but the shade from the trees very welcome as even at 9.00am it's a scorcher.
I explain to Mr Mousy that my outfit of baby blue linen Capri trousers and lemon and blue flowery top is my homage to tres chic. Straw hat the final touch. He says I look like Miss
Marple..

12 miles later I'm regretting my outfit choice and praying for my padded pants..,

 

[yodeli]

.... Sorry , I could not resist! I do hope the best is ahead though and that you won't find summer storms on your way! The heat has been horrendous.... 41° in the shade at my place!!!!!!

Now Mr. and Mrs. Mousy in order to avoid more troubles at least with the linguo;
Répète après moi: bonjour monsieur/madame je voudrais 8 pains au chocolat; 8 croissants et 2 baguettes!

Allez..... Bon Voyage et Bonnes Vacances (Vacances is feminine hense BONNES!) Next lesson according to the next episode of your holidays saga!... Follow this space if you're about to go to France Oh and follow this too!!!


http://france.lachainemeteo.com/meteo-france/pays/previsions-meteo-france-0.php

Frankie

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[Judge Mental]

I've swiftly put a sundress over my head, slapped a hat on, collected the dog for a quick walk around the pitch but as its a beautiful day I venture further getting to the beach before I remember I'm not wearing any underwear and my face still has pillow creases on it.

You just keep talking girl

 

[Chris]

You have a real way with words @Mousy . I have been chuckling away here and reading out your posts to my wife.

Keep it up.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

As per @Chris , Dawn. A great read - have a great time @Mousy and @Mr Mousy

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[Judge Mental]

Well I've done some strange things in the past in the name of holidays but visiting an outlet park doesn't bear thinking about.
You'd have to put me in a straight jacket and carry me there even if it was in England.
Just because it was a bad day there's no reason to finish it off completely.

so I guess you are single?

 

[Granjan]

Hiya Mr and Mrs Mousy ... sorry only just looked in, loving your tale as Wingman has sussed you/he don't really need to worry about going into Switzerland, we came off the A41 near Neydens which is where we stayed at the Caravan Club site, you can get straight on the A40 to Annecy there.
You can also follow the A40 further past that point and get to Chamonix without entering Switzerland.
The site was nice ... enough with a pool and we did hire the site car for €30 per day to get around .... though you can't go into Switzerland with the car and that caused us similar worries and we did alot of milage making sure we didn't go to Switzerland.

Lots of sites round the Lake in Annecy some weight restricted roads in the centre. Enjoy yourselves. Lake looked lovely for swimming /cycling too.

 

[Mousy]

Edit post incomplete.

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[cruiser]

ah fruit juice. you can drink it. instead of eating them. you may not be enjoying it much. but we are. thank you.

 

[Mousy]

Thanks all for the kind words, I'm glad you are all chuckling, I aspire to have a holiday like the wonderful blogs I read on fun but sadly we seem too calamitous for that. Better you all have an honest account and possibly avoid some of our mistakes...

The lessons I've learnt today are...

Anything you put on the lovely big shelf like dashboard of an A class Motorhome get squashed when you drop the over head bed, including the bowl of fruit nobodies eating and any straw hats and laptops.

That "hola" is Spanish for hello not French.

That you might think a rustic restaurant like this will serve amazing French food but it doesn't.

That wet frozen flannels on the back of your neck do cool you down but you look a tit if you start wearing it on your head.

 

[Judge Mental]

ah fruit juice. you can drink it. instead of eating them. you may not be enjoying it much. but we are. thank you.

Yeah but your not getting the fibre that comes with eating fruit....

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[scousebird]

Love it Mousy, keep it coming

 

[Fenman]

so I guess you are single?

No but nearly so after refusing to go no nearer than the car park - unless there's a kitchen shop amongst the grotty fashion lot. Then I will cross the threshold and hide up admiring what I can't afford.

 

[wizzer59]

Your doing a great job of keeping us entertained don't worry it can only get better and I always find I feel cooler without underwear as well

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