Sick Herman

Well, the blown side light was not blown at all. Half the driving lights were out and the fuse kept blowing. I called the breakdown service (getting my moneys worth) and we had to take Herman to a garage who managed to bypass the short circuit. We'll have to get that sorted properly when we are back in the UK. Sorting that out took most of the day and we didn't do anything. The rain had stopped and the sun shone down on us a few times but we basically lost a day's holiday. I think we still have a mouse on board and it's chewed through some wiring. It's a good job we took out the breakdown cover. Although, I still had to pay the garage €87. I can claim for it back but that's not the point.

In the evening we sat down in the campsite bar with Ken and Phil (father and son). They are nice chaps and helped us out with a few things while I was attending Herman's short. Ken has lots of stories, about camping and when he was a boy in the war. He's getting on a bit too. After a few pints of Leffe beer and a very large Bowlands whiskey it was around 1am. It was a good night and David the campsite owner joined us too. He's very funny. He kept getting told off by his wife for being too loud.

To Dordogne

Today we headed to the Dordogne region. It was a long drive (about 5.5 hours) and it rained all day.

When we arrived at the campsite we had to pitch on a short side road between the pitches otherwise we would have got stuck on the sodden grass.

While looking for a pitch I noticed that one of Hermans side lights had blown. That's something I'll have to do in the morning.

Le Perpetulum campsite is situated right on the Dordogne river which is currently fast flowing. We've been on holiday for a we
ek now and it was a good opportunity to do some clothes washing.

Chateau de Saumur

Since we drove past this chateau on our way to Brézé yesterday we decided to take a look round today. The Samur Chateau situated on top of a hill overlooking the Loire River and looks very impressive. There isn't much left of the original furnishings since it was all removed many years ago when they turned it into a prison. Instead, it contains a museum of antiquities that have been donated over the years.

We'd noticed Herman's wing mirror has got worse so I had another look at it. I managed to correctly removed it so that the four screws that hold the mirror on to the body could be seen. The top two just spin when they are tightened which means that only two are holding it onto the body! I managed to fix it temporarily by wrapping a strip of paper around the screws and then tightening them. It'll probably fall off the next time it rains but for the moment the job's a good'n.

The rain has been trying today but it's mainly been a sunny and overcast day.

Chateau de Brézé

On a suggestion from the Huttopia Rille campsite reception, we visited Chateau de Brézé. This Chateau has been built upon an old underground village. You can walk around its dry moat, which is very deep, and from here caves have been dug out to house a bakery, wine distillery, an ice house (aka as a massive fridge) and accommodation. Some of the Chateau is also open which contains a some history about the place.

Finding the place was a bit difficult. We drove past it twice and the co-ordinates on the leaflet were wrong. The massive car park full of campers gave the location away.

Weather has been OK but a bit mixed. Sunny, overcast, a little rain and a bit cold.

To Tours and the Loire Valley

We left Paris and headed to Tours and the Loire Valley. But just before we left the campsite Zoe noticed that we had a flat tyre! No problem, I thought, I've changed wheels many times before. I had the tyre, the jack and the tyre iron but it was probably the wrong time to discover that the jack didn't have a handle! We managed to get the spare one on with the help of one of the attendants at the campsite. I also called the breakdown service which we paid £190 before we left to see what they could do. They are currently locating a spare tyre and a garage that could fit it.

The journey to the next campsite was uneventful but the weather was the best it's been; hot and sunny. A shame we spent most of it on the road.

Another disaster, but not so tragic was that today I realised that I hadn't packed any T-shirts. So, as soon as we arrived and checked in we headed back out to the nearest supermarket for booze and T-shirts.

Paris: Louvre

We decided to visit the Louvre. That's the famous museum at the end of the De Vinci Code with the huge glass pyramids.

It took a while to get in and then get our tickets. We decided to rent the audio guide which are the Nintendo 3DS. They are pretty clever and they can tell where you are and give you the commentary on what you are looking at.

Zoe and Mona

We must have walked a marathon but we didn't see a fifth of the exhibits. We did manage to see the Mona Lisa and some of the Egyptian collection including a real mummy. I did wonder where all the sarcophaguses came from. I assume they must have come from ancient Egyptian tombs which have been ransacked in the past.

The weather has been really nice today. No rain. This morning it was over-cast but this evening has been warm and sunny.

Paris: Walking the Sights

Today we travelled to Paris by train and Metro. We didn't have much of a plan only to first see the Eiffel Tower. We then followed the River Seine to other sites including the Champs Elysees and Concorde Plaza followed by a walk through the Tuileries Gardens to the Royal Palace of the Louvre. We then crossed the Seine by the Pont du Carrousel bridge where all along the sides of the bridge are thousands of padlocks. The lock is a symbol of your undying love for each other and your supposed to attach the lock to the bridge and throw the key into the river.

At the time we didn't know about this bridge and its lock tradition. For us it was a way to cross the river. As we walked towards the bridge for a while we couldn't figure out why street sellers were selling padlocks. Not a ideal business idea. I mean no-one is going to have a need to lock their luggage in the middle of a city. These guys should be hanging around airports.





 
Our last destination was Notre-Dame Cathedral which is free to enter but by this time our feet just wanted to take us back to Herman.

This evening I had a look at Herman's radiator, the part where it has come loose. It appears to simply slot in at the bottom. I don't think there is anything to worry about.

The weather was pretty good today. The only time it rained was while we were walking through the Tuileries Gardens.

To Paris

We caught the ferry and arrived in France at 2:30pm.

We were making good progress until we hit the Paris ring road. With 10 miles left to go before we arrived at the campsite we were stuck in traffic for 20 minutes before we decided to take our chances and find another route. Zoe was driving and the roads were pot-holed, narrow and stop-start with traffic lights and roundabouts. The sat-nav didn't help much, trying to route us back on the main roads so we navigated by map.

We arrived at 19.15 at the campsite (La Maisons Laffitte) and instead of cooking we went and had a pizza at the on-site restaurant. This is when I noticed something hanging from underneath the front of Herman. A quick inspection showed that it was part of the radiator but it doesn't appear to be leaking - fingers crossed.

Weather: It's been raining for most of the day.

Start of Tour de France, 2013 : To Dover

This is the start of our tour of France in Herman.

We travelled down to Dover this evening. Arrived late (8.30) because of traffic in Bracknell and noticed a squeaking which we've not heard before. Herman has many squeaks. Then discovered that the passenger side wing mirror (huge, heavy mirrors on Herman) coming loose from the body. That's the mirror we'll be using most of the time in France rather the driver's side so I want that falling off! Let's hope it lasts until we get home.

Had our lovely home-made chilli for dinner. Yum, yum.