Saturday in Beauvais

Late rising seems to be the order of the day - still in bed after 9 am! Like a lot of Saturdays for many it is a catching up day - cleaning and washing etc. 

Parked up with washing adorning our morning tea!

With the washing out of the way we were left with time to view the comings and goings in the aire. By early afternoon the place was filling with little space for any latecomers. Such a central location, and Beauvais being a relatively important town, it was understandable that it would be a popular stopping off place. 

Our new neighbours were a British couple, Anne and Steve, who were straight off the ferry from Le Havre.

Thirsty work wandering a city!

It wasn’t long before we were sharing stories over a few drinks, after which we decided to take an evening walk around Beauvais - enjoying another drink before returning to our vans for the rest of the evening. 

The lovely surroundings of the 12th century church of St  Étienne. 

Beauvais

After three nights relaxing at Grenay we needed to move on if we are to explore the Garonne Valley. 

An early start with our satnavs (yes three - two we know how to use,  but the inbuilt one in the van needs a post-grad degree!) set for Beauvais. 

View of Beauvais with the very famous unfinished Gothic Cathedral still dominating the town. 

We travelled through the very sad area of the Somme, with names so familiar to most Australians, past Arras with its exquisite Flemish Square, around Amiens and it’s magnificent Cathedral, and past  the very lush agricultural area. 

Great variety of crops found in this region of the Somme - how many men lost their lives across these fields?

Arrived at Beauvais in the early afternoon, located our aire which is quite central and overlooking the city. 

Later we took a walk into the city where they were setting up for music festival running over the next two days. 

Close to the centre of the town is the very famous unfinished Gothic Cathedral. This Cathedral boasts the highest Gothic vaults in the world.It perhaps is most famous for its collapses and its unfinished condition. 

May be unfinished but still and extraordinaryly beautiful building. 

Taking no risks today - supports ensuring no further collapses. 

Later we ventured over to the Bishop’s Palace(!) which is now a museum with some famous names being found - Sisley and Corot. 

A Sisley landscape.  

Back to base for a very tasty dinner. 

Happy birthday James!

Some extra pics:

Set for big pizza night!

The city square. 

100% electric.

Greening Grenay

Another late rise this morning - no overnight thunderstorms to wake us. The day was one of relaxation and reorganisation. 

After a leisurely breakfast, and waving our overnight neighbours a goodbye, we tackled the task of reorganising where all our “clobber” was to be positioned. 

The green open space in Grenay. Very popular with the locals - and the cricket playing Afghanies. Our van parked beyond the trees in the distance. 

The large boot, or garage as it is called in motorhome language, was my responsibility - hadn’t quite realised the amount of gear we had acquired just in these early days of our travels: the chairs, table, levelling chocks, tool box, ladder etc. 

A slightly more ordered “garage” to store our supplies etc. 

During our hiatus in London James and I installed two 160w solar panels onto the roof of the van and connected these into its electronic system. 

The “skilled” tradies at work. Two 160 watt panels to provide for all our on-road electoral needs for the next ten years!

I needed to check that they were still firmly attached to the roof and that the cables were attached to their anchor points. All were doing well! 

As the day warmed we ventured out for a long walk around the environs. This took us past the British Military Cemetery where there were British, Canadian, French and German soldiers buried. This whole area was the ground that the combatants during WWI fought over. 

The very well looked after Maroc British Military Cemetery at Grenay. Such a waste of young men from many nations! (Tip pic - Lines from the poem “All’s Well!”by John Oxenham.)

Spent the rest of the day doing a few jobs and generally relaxing. Helene sowed up some seat covers (until we can get some proper fitting ones) for the front seats as protection from the messy driver!

Some interesting pics from today: 

An colourful display using an old underground coal trolley - keeping in touch with the history of the area. 

A relatively new memorial to the Resistance fighters during WWII.

Grenay

Huge thunderstorms peppered this area of France early this morning - the first clap of thunder appeared to be right overhead - we did wake with a jolt! This was followed by extensive rainstorms that gave everything a good soaking. After this we got back to sleep and failed to wake before 9 am! (How interesting!)

Once the weather had settled we headed out to get some well needed exercise - yesterday seemed to be a day of sitting and eating. 

We took a walk to the other side of the railway lines to Bully-les-Mines. The 8 rail tracks give an indication as to the once importance of this area around Lens. The mining wealth of the area a hundred years ago was such that the French/British army grimly defended the territory against the German army during WW1. 

The sad sight of disused railway tracks indicating the once prosperous mining area now looks to other industries. 

The large slag heaps around the landscape is a lasting legacy to the once flourishing coal mining area. 

More thunderstorms this afternoon kept us cooped up in the van as it passed overhead.

For the past three hours - even during the passing thunderstorm - a young couple of French/Afghanistan locals have been playing cricket on the adjacent tennis court here in Grenay! It seems totally out of place, the sound of bat on ball happening here in France. And they showed great technique both with the bat and the ball. They had obviously spent a childhood growing up with cricket in Afghanistan. Both had great manners and were very pleasant to chat with. The local kids looked on with a certain amount of curiosity!

Cricket in the heart of France!

A cultural icon across France is the Friterie. Offering a range of deep fried products, their chips seem to be the common feature. The Friterie du Parc is only a short distance from our van so to compliment our dinner tonight we placed an order for frits- and they were delicious, but very filling!

A cooler night tonight with more intermittent rain, hopefully no more thunderstorms!

France Day 1

Woke to a beautiful clear morning at Dover - views across the Channel indicating a smooth crossing. We left for the ferry a little over an hour before our crossing was due , but on arrival at the ferry terminal we were pleasantly surprised when asked if we wanted to be in the ferry just about to leave. So, away by 7.30 am to France!

Part of our ticket included access to the Lounge - breakfast champagne was quite a novelty!

After a very smooth crossing we did what one normally does on arriving in France - go shopping at Cité Europe. Stocked up with some essentials before leaving for Grenay. 

Interesting the marketing strategy of the same Australian company in France and in the UK!

Now that’s a lettuce - €0.99 too!

Passing through the north of France you could see the benefit of the recent rains in these parts. The lush growth in the crops (cereal, sugar beet, hops, potatoes etc) made for a very pleasant view across a normally uninteresting terrain. 

We arrived at Grenay mid afternoon, joining three other vans at the aire. The sign that greeted us reminded us of the value the French place in motorhomers. Got to love the French!

TRENDING:

It was noticeable that school children no longer carry or wear backpacks - they have packs with wheels! 

It’s been a while!

After four weeks in London with James and Maddie, we finally hit the road - and the weather had made a dramatic turnaround! 

Beautiful rose display at Scotney Castle. 

The day in Kent, with magnificent blue skies and the lush green of the “garden of England”, was just the start in our new home that we could have wished. 

The view across the High Weald in Kent. 

Our plan was to travel to Dover for the night readying ourselves for an early departure for France tomorrow. 

As it was such a beautiful day we  took the scenic route to Dover, visiting Scotney Castle and Sissinghurst Castle, both with beautiful gardens. 

We were glad we were traveling in an anticlockwise direction on the M25 for in the other side there seemed to be hours of traffic delays! 

Scotney Castle, the home of the Hussey family, and the ruined medieval moated castle. Very picturesque with its lavish gardens. Very interesting as to how brutal they have been in cutting back the century old rhododendrons - all because they were ruining the views! 

After this we drove onto Sissinghurst Castle - not really a Castle but called Chateau Sissinghurst by the 3000 French prisoners in the 17the century! Another round of exquisite gardens - created by Vita Sackville -West - just a visual delight.

We finally arrived in Dover where were spent the night along with other vans waiting for their schedule ferry trip. 

Sunday in Kent

Woke early and was greeted by a happy dog wanting to play - will have to get use to this! With daylight saving in the UK the light is streaming in the window at around 4.30 am. 

Chilli - ready for the games to begin!

Today was “decision day” so a little apprehension and excitement at the same time. Took Chilli for an early morning walk before James picked us up after 9.30 am. 

We were off to Canterbury to checkout one of the other motorhome options before making our final decision. 

Being a little peckish we called into The Artichoke in Chartham for a typical English Sunday lunch. 

The Artichoke, a few have visited this pub over the years!

Surprised when we were held up at a level-train crossing which was manned by a crossing operator, who had to descend from the signal box beside the tracks to open the gates. 

The Artichoke, 700 years old, was a dog friendly pub making Chilli and Leelou the centre of attention. 

James and Leelou at The Artichoke. 

After lunch, with strategies in place, we arrived at the motorhome dealership to check out the van of interest. To cut a long story short - we had found our new European home! Decision made - happy and relieved little campers!

Chilli in front of our new home. 

We returned to London, shared a celebratory drink at James’s after which we ventured out for another meal with doggies in tow. 

We later were dropped off at Maddie’s place for a well earned sleep. 

Quite a big few days. 

Newbury

Our house-sitting and puppy minding started at 5.30 am this morning when Maddie and Kevan left for their holiday in Costa Rica. 

Motorhomes as far as the eye can see!

James picked us up in Hanwell and we headed for the Motorhome Show out at Newbury. 

The green lush countryside was a welcome site after the dry brown parched landscape in Tassie. The flowering  horse-chessnuts, the cow parsley and the flowering hawthorn hedge rows was very picturesque. 

Chilli, Maddie’s poodle, thought it was doggie heaven, making many new friends along the way! She was very good. 

Chilli wondering if she will ever be this tall!

The choice of motorhomes was a little overwhelming at first but we systematically eliminated most, and we finally ended up with only one in our sights. Another few to visit tomorrow and then make our decision. 

Late in the afternoon we returned to London to consider our options. We enjoyed the lovely confit duckling with caramelised Apple as our evening meal. 

NOTE: Not sure if we want to return to Oz in a hurry considering the outcome of the election! 

Friday in London

Great sleep considering it was our first after the long haul from Oz. 

Took things easily during the morning and early afternoon we moved from James’ unit to Maddie’s where we took up house-sitting duties for the following week. 

Chilli looking resplendent after a session at her beauty salon!

Maddie took us through the care routine for Chilli (poodle) and when Kevan came home from work he thought it might be a good idea to go for a “sneaky beer” at the pub. The Kings Arms, another old English pub dating back to 1642. The local beer was very pleasant too! 

Returned home for aome delicious lasagna before retiring to bed - another relatively late night. 

Sunny London

London arrival was on schedule. James greeted us at Heathrow - with coffees - to collect our travel weary bodies and luggage. 

Helene, James and Leelou at Heathrow this morning. 

The Qantas experience was what we had hoped for. The quality of their staff was outstanding with help from the very start in Hobart when requesting seat changes - and this continued right through to London. Food was of a high standard, as far as airline food goes! The entertainment infrastructure was a little dated as were the seats. But overall, very happy with the flight. 

Feeling pretty good we arrived at James’ unit where we spent the rest of the afternoon while James  went to his meeting in Cambridge - and puppy-sitting a loveable Leelou. 

Later in the afternoon we had a very pleasant surprise visit from Maddie and Chilli. She actually caught us taking a much needed nap.

Maddie with the other girls Chilli and Leelou. 

Later Kevan joined us in a champagne before heading out for a meal. 

Later we returned to the unit, with James arriving back from Cambridge shortly after. It was getting on past 11 pm - not bad for a couple of flight weary folk. Off to bed by 11.30 pm. 

R.I.P. Bob Hawke - you did us all proud.