Travels through France and Spain, late October to mid-December 2021

For almost a month we stayed at home and now we are ready to leave again. Our motorhome is completely checked, not only the engine but also the living area. My bike also got a much-needed maintenance, which involved installing a new chain and shifting mechanism. According to Dick, not really special because I shift gears when I’m already on the mountain slope and therefore always too late. Fortunately, the carriage bolts for our RV wheels finally arrived and are mounted. When we level our RV now, we don’t have to worry about our tires getting stolen.

After the celebration of Dick’s birthday with Hannah and Henk and making a last dive in Zeeland, where we notice that the seawater cooled down very quickly, our new travel route is ready. This time this took a little more effort because besides looking for places where to stay overnight we also had to find out how we could make a nice route to Gibraltar (our final goal) with as many new sights as possible.

Meanwhile, Hannah and Henk’s holiday stories put us in the vacation mood.
They are on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the famous pilgrimage site in the north west of Spain and every day we look forward to their enthusiastic stories about their cycling experiences.

After adjusting the route a few times, it is entrusted to paper and just before our intended departure, it is vaguely approved by Dick. Now I can start preparing everything that needs to be done.

On Monday morning, October 25^th  we get a flu shot and immediately afterwards we get our motorhome from the storage. Fortunately, our neighbor Evelyn moves her car so we can park the motorhome behind our house and start loading. Everything is packed by the evening. Only food has to be placed in the fridge, but that will happen tomorrow when we actually leave home.

Tuesday, early in the morning the sun is shining, but while driving south the clouds get the upper hand and when we arrive in Bapaume, in northern France, the sun is no longer shining. It’s clouded but there is no rain so when we have parked the Frankia at the last available spot, we walk around town. After an hour of exploring town, it starts to drizzle and so we return to the shelter of the motorhome.  We look at each other for a while and then decide to drive on. The city of Beauvais is on the route, only 67 miles to the south, and can therefore be reached before dark and a little later we are on our way in the now pouring rain over narrow farm roads. Not really handy because at this time of the year those roads are smeared with loam and clay.
On arrival at the large car park in Beauvais, a watery sun shines and with 59 degrees it is not cold. When we get out of the Frankia, we see how disastrous this combination of rain and mud on the road was because our Frankia, still white and clean this morning, is now completely brown, smeared and very dirty. One of these days we really have to clean it. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to walk around the center and visit the impressive cathedral of Beauvais because we need food on our table. So, we cross the road to the large supermarket of Carrefour to buy the necessary food and not much later we enjoy a delicious salad with ham and cheese. Although we read a lot in our RV, we also can watch TV at night. Although that thing refuses to start up at first (we hadn’t used it for too long), after studying the manual, Dick finally manages to get our TV working again.

Wednesday October 27^th, we wake up at 8.30 am and after a breakfast with of course a fresh baguette, we leave. The sky is gray and foggy, but as we drive further south the fog disappears and the sun breaks through again. In the town of Nonancourt I walk forward to find out where the motorhome parking is. We have to descend steeply along a narrow winding road but with some maneuvering Dick seems to fit through and we can park our Frankia.

It is 1.30 pm and there is still enough place to park. Because the sun is shining, we take the bikes to explore the area and look for some geocaches. Fortunately, I brought my water shoes because one of the geocaches is hidden on the opposite riverbank and you really have to wade through the icy cold water to get to it. Fortunately, after getting this geocache Dick leads us into the hills, now my feet warm up again due to the strenuous pedaling up the sometimes-steep mountain slopes. End of the afternoon we are back at the parking place and one after another motorhome arrives. It is getting really busy here and for the first time in months the majority of the motorhomes has the Dutch nationality. It actually makes sense because this parking is on the route to Spain and everyone is on their way there. Although the sun is shining

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, it is not really warm, but at this time of the year you don’t sit outside.

After filling our water tank on Thursday and dumping our gray and black water, we leave. It is very foggy, windless and only 46 degrees Fahrenheit. We will have breakfast later because today the bakery on the corner is closed and the nearest supermarket does not open earlier than 9 am. When we arrive in a neighboring town there is an open supermarket and while Dick makes coffee and boils an egg, I buy a fresh baguette and also a survival bread. The latter because in the distant vicinity of our next overnight stay is no bakery or shop.

There is a steel blue sky and the sun is shining when we arrive in Cellettes. We park the Frankia on the grounds of a castle. It is not busy here but the spot is remote and when we find out that the geocaches here are probably not easy to approach because they are located on muddy bridleways in the forest, we decide to drive on to Bourges where we arrive at 3 pm. We actually find this parking lot a more pleasant place than staying in the middle of the forest. And the advantage is that now we can walk to the center of Bourges, which is very pleasant with this radiant weather. And while we are here, we order for dinner, of course, the burger at the Quick restaurant which again, tastes excellent.

Friday morning October 29^th the sun is shining again and after a breakfast with fresh croissants instead of survival bread, we drive on. Unfortunately, more and more clouds appear at the horizon and when we arrive in Chauvigny it even drizzles a bit. Fortunately, the first spot in the parking lot is free, which has significantly more space than the other spots.

After having a coffee, the drizzle even stops. Before walking around, we first want to clean the Frankia. It’s so dirty you don’t even want to be near it. With a bucket and tub we scrub the dirty mud from the side and the wheels and slowly our Frankia starts to shine again.

At 3 pm we are satisfied with our cleaning result and we take a walk around in this nice medieval town, one of my favorite towns. Of course, for dinner we walk to “La Belle Epoque”. It is too cold to sit outside on the terrace, but we are given a nice spot inside. I don’t need to tell you that the meal tastes excellent. We enjoy ourselves and that also applies to the walk back home through this beautifully lit, old town. The holiday season has come to an end here and everything is now quiet.

Unfortunately, it is drizzling on Saturday morning and the sky is completely gray so I don’t make the descent to the bakery but we have breakfast with survival bread and then we leave the town of Chauvigny. It’s not really easy because our Hakuna leads us several times into a dead-end street after which Dick has to drive backwards through some narrow streets, but in the end, we are on the right road and while the sun gradually dissolves the clouds, more and more blue sky appears.

When we arrive in Solignac there is only blue sky to be seen. The parking is next to the sports field and amidst beautiful trees in autumn colors and (surprise) there are also washing machines here. Although we are only 4 days on the road now, we think it’s a good idea to use these machines and so, after a coffee, we walk with a (already filled) laundry bag to the machines. They are situated in the full sun and it is good to stay here. Unfortunately, the dryer doesn’t function very well and I have to throw in money three times, but finally all our clothes and bedding is dry and folded and we can go out for a walk in the area. It is lovely outside and geocaches show us the way through the village and the mountain slopes above it, so we get a good picture of this town. For a long time, we linger at a church from the 12th century. The sun shines full on the old facade and of course we light a candle. After all, today would be auntie Ank’s birthday and we will commemorate it. When we return to the motorhome at the end of the afternoon, the parking lot is full, so it was good to arrive here early.

In the evening we can enjoy a football match, but we no longer hear the cars from players and supporters leaving, we are already deeply asleep. Because winter time starts this night we can sleep an hour longer, but we wake up at 7.15 am. The weather is beautiful. Even though it is only 52 degrees Fahrenheit, there is no wind so with a sweater and body warmer you can walk around.
On my way to the bakery, I pass the cemetery. At almost every grave people placed chrysanthemums. When we look up why this is the case, it appears to be the custom to place these plants at the graves on All Souls Day (a Catholic holiday on November 2^nd ).

After our breakfast we drive further south with great weather and at 12.30 pm we arrive in Monpazier, an old medieval town. I directly fell in love with this picturesque town when I saw the pictures.
There is still one spot available in the parking place behind the fire station and after we parked the Frankia, we walk to the center. In reality, this turns out to be an even more beautiful town than I thought.
After entering through one of the gates you walk through picturesque narrow streets that all lead to a large square and where it is nice to relax under the arcades.
Here you are definitely in the Middle Ages. What a discovery this town. When we enter a restaurant where we want have dinner tonight, we are told that it is better to make reservations because it’s busy with Halloween.

And it’s a good thing we take this advice to heart because when we walk at 7 pm in the pouring rain, to “Chez Minou” the restaurant is really full, but it is pleasantly busy.

Our sanitary pass (QR code) is scanned (without this code you are not allowed to have dinner) and the staff is dressed Halloween-like. You really want to stay away from the cook because he walks around with a blood-stained sword around his waist. But the food is delicious and the kitchen does not disappoint us. When we walk back after dinner it stops raining and the weather is even pleasant, also because there is no wind.

So, a little later I walk back with some books to the bookstall on the other side of the village. It is strange to walk in this dead quiet town. Again, I feel like I walk in the Middle Ages.  Only in front of our restaurant it is very busy with the local youth gathering and drinking beer.

Monday November 1^st we get up at 7.30 am. The town is dead quiet when I walk to the bakery to buy a fresh baguette. All Saints Day is probably a holiday here because all shops are closed. It is also quiet on the road and even when we drive straight through the town of Toulouse there is practically no traffic on the road. West of Toulouse we look for a parking, but nowhere in the forest is a place suitable to park a motorhome, so we drive on to another suburb, the town of Roques where we find a nice parking next to a large shopping center.

When we arrive, it starts to rain and so we decide not to explore the area but to walk through the huge shopping center. It is also convenient because now we can finally replenish our food supplies. When we finish shopping, the sun shines in a steel blue sky. Unfortunately, not for a long time. The sun alternates with rain showers so we don’t go out anymore. The mashed potatoes with cauliflower and chicken taste good and after dinner we read before going to bed.

Because we wake up too early on November 2^nd to buy bread

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, the supermarket opens at 9 am, we have breakfast with survival bread and then drive into the mountains. We stop in the town of Foix. Fortunately, there are not many motorhomes at the parking spot, so we can park along the edge. We cannot stay in the designated parking area because we are too long. After a cup of coffee, we walk into town. In Roques were a lot of clouds but here the sky is steel blue and so it is wonderful to walk around. A chilly wind is blowing so we have to put on our hoodie.

We wander through the narrow medieval streets of the center of Foix but are not really impressed. Then we find a nice park along the river and when we climb up the mountain, we have a beautiful view of the surroundings and the Castle on the hill. When we return to the motorhome, end of the afternoon, the parking area fills up and soon the last spot is confiscated by a motorhome.

Because I don’t want to cook, we have a simple meal, salad with a baguette and deli meats. In the evening our government gives a press conference and we hear that the corona measures are being tightened due to the large numbers of infections in the Netherlands. Everywhere in the Netherlands a face mask has to be worn again and there are many, many places, you can only visit when you show your QR code (fully vaccinated, recovered from Covid or negative tested). These measures already apply in France and we are already accustomed to them.

When we wake up on Wednesday there is still some sun but clouds take the upper hand and when we start our climb to Andorra, we end up in that cloud band. Fortunately, it is very thin because at 6000 feet the sun comes out again. Now we are surrounded by snow, luckily the road is clean. As we ascend further, the thickness of the snowpack increases and the ski slopes already turn pretty white. As soon as we pass “Pas de la Casa”, a town on the Andorra border, and descend on the other side of the mountain, all the snow is gone. There are only a few spots covered with snow, but most of the landscape is green.

We park the Frankia on the large parking lot of the Grau Roig ski area. Except for two parked motorhomes from Andorra, we are alone. The sun is shining and the temperature is 26 degrees Fahrenheit. Quite cold but if you walk out of the wind, it’s not too bad. So, we climb up the ski slope because on top of the slope there is a geocache hidden somewhere between the rocks and of course we want to find it. We enjoy the climb and the trip over the mountain slopes to higher ground is great. Since I’m a kid I love the mountains. When we descend again it starts to snow a bit, but that doesn’t stop me from walking a little further (0,8 miles) to another geocache hidden here. It’s snowing more seriously now and it’s also very cold, so my down jacket and cap are not a luxury. The climb up over the steep mountain slopes is not easy but I don’t like taking the long way and so I climb straight up and after some slipping, I arrive safely at a beautiful view point over Grau Roig and the surrounding mountains. After another steep descent, I safely return to the motorhome in a light snow storm.

In the meantime, Dick found out what’s the weather forecast here and we decide not to stay here. Now we stay at almost 7500 feet altitude and tonight it will start freezing (the temperature will drop to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and 1 inch of snow will fall) so we prepare the motorhome for travel and descend to San Julia de Loria at the other side of this small country.

San Julia de Loria is located at an altitude of 3500 feet, but the parking is much more sheltered behind the Super Mercado River. I love this place more than Dick because we just need to go up the escalators to do some shopping. After leisurely strolling through the store, we walk back to the motorhome where we make connection over facetime with Susan and Mike and sing a birthday song for Susan’s birthday. They also enjoy a road trip with their motorhome in the USA.

At night the temperature here drops to 35 degrees but it does not snow. Thursday morning the sky is again steel blue and the temperature slowly rise to 59 degrees. We decide to stay another day and unload our bikes.

A geocache is hidden on the mountain slopes on both sides of this narrow high valley. Although the distance, as the crow flies, is not so far, the places where the geocaches are hidden requires us to climb up steeply. Not always easy, because sometimes we take the wrong path and we have to descend again, but finally we find the right, 10% steep slope that takes us to the top where a beautiful chapel is built and we have a great view of the mountains of Andorra.

I understand that the Vuelta, the Spanish cycling round, regularly includes this climb in its route. Because it is not really late yet, we decide to climb also the other side of the mountain slope. Another route of the Vuelta and again an endless climb up. I have never ridden my e-bike for so long in the sport mode (gives more power).

At the top of the pass, after some searching, we find the geocache. First there is some confusion because the animal that I see lying in a crevice between the boulders does not immediately remind me of a cache. But if a stick does not move the animal, I dare to put my hand in the hole and I manage to get hold of the geocache, high on the rock wall. When we descend again, we fly down, which is nice after all those steep climbs. When we are back at the Frankia, I walk to some shops a little further on the road. After all you have to shop in the tax paradise Andorra. However, there is not much to my liking, apart from a pair new fur Croc’s, I find 2 warm neck gaitors for Dick. He loves to put on such a neck-warmer when it is cold, so he will be happy with these ones. At 4.30 pm, it is already getting dark, I am back home where we have a good glass of wine. After our steep climbs we deserved it.

November 5^th we wake up early in the morning. Again, the sky is steel blue and the thermometer shows 34 degrees. Our French butane tank cannot longer handle this temperature because our dashboard is flashing red and a warning signal is going off. Fortunately, the French butane tank is connected with our Dutch tank, which is filled with propane, so our refrigerator continues to run and we can also boil water and make coffee. After breakfast we leave. Soon we arrive at the Spanish border where we are stopped.

The customs officer inspects the lockers inside the motorhome and also orders that some hatches on the outside of the motorhome will be opened. Finally, he is convinced that we are not smuggling anything and we can drive into Spain. My first route took us far north through the Pyrenees mountains, but after a comment from Dick (it is winter and so there is a big chance of snow) I changed that route and now we drive a lot more south before heading west again.

We arrive in Huesca around noon. A cold wind blows and the temperature does not rise above 53 degrees. So, when the Frankia is parked, we put on our coats and walk into town. We don’t think it’s very special here but later I read that one of the oldest Romanesque churches is in Huesca so we will return here. However, we find a special city park with undulating hills that deserves attention. When dusk falls, we return to the Frankia.
We bought food at a Super mercado and after attaching our insulation blanket in front of the windscreen, we close the doors. We don’t have to go out anymore.

At 8 pm we are startled by a banging on the front door. When I open the door there are two police officers. They carry out a check and note our passport details. I’ve never experienced this before, but apparently, it’s common here.

When we wake up on Saturday, November 6^th  8.30 am, the sun is shining again, but the temperature is only 35 degrees. It’s a good thing we attached the insulating blanket yesterday. Last night this large parking lot completely filled up and now here are 21 motorhomes. There is no space left to park anymore, so we don’t mind moving on. We quickly drive on a motorway to Zaragoza. There is a strong cold wind, the landscape looks desolate and tumbleweed swirls over the road. This region has a great resemblance to some areas in New Mexico, USA. In the town of Soria, we park the Frankia next to a Le Clerc Super mercado and then we walk to the old city center. Despite the steel-blue sky and shining sun, the temperature does not exceed 48 degrees.

Soria is a nice old town. Everywhere people are walking on the streets and in the city park many people are drinking a glass at the bars. The Spaniards may have a lifestyle incomprehensible to me, their dinner is at 9 or 10 pm and all shops are closed from 2 pm till 5 pm, hours we normally use to walk around, so I can’t buy anything here. But the Spaniards enjoy their life. There is no terrace in the sun which is not fully occupied. One of the squares is extra busy because a motorcycle tour starts from here.

Hundreds of motorcycles are ready to go and the engine noise can be heard in every corner. We wander through the narrow old streets of this nice town for some time before we walk back to the motorhome. We got neighbors now and it is getting busy here. Again, we stay at an altitude of 3400 feet and it quickly gets cold when the sun disappears behind the mountains, so we attach the insulation blanket in front of the windscreen. Inside you immediately feel that this makes a difference, it’s less cold inside.

Sunday morning we wake up early and after filling up with diesel we leave. The temperature is only 39 degrees and an icy cold wind is blowing from the Pyrenees mountains. I’m glad we didn’t take a more northerly route. Because even now, we are further south, we are constantly driving over plateaus and rarely stay below 3300 feet.

The road is dead quiet and we don’t see any other cars until Dick stops by the side of the road to give me the opportunity to photograph a group of vultures that I saw diving down from the sky. The moment he stops at the roadside, loud honking cars pass us. Where did they come from so suddenly?

In the distance we see the snow-capped mountains and around noon we arrive in Segovia. Next to the arena where bullfights used to be held, we find a parking where we park lengthwise and not in a parking lot.

 

 

Again, we are too long for that. When the motorhome stays, we see that half a mile away is a laundromat. I need no more encouragement. Dick unloads our bikes and attach our bike bags and I collect everything we need to wash and not much later we cycle to the laundromat. There is no one here, so immediately we can load the available machines. While Dick is looking for a geocache in the area, I stay at the laundromat until everything is clean, dry and folded again and 2.5 hours later we are back.

After Dick has stored the bicycles again in the back, we walk to the center of Segovia. Actually, a good time because the siesta of the Spaniards has just ended and everyone is walking around the huge aqueduct. It is probably the best and most complete aqueduct from the Roman Empire with 120 pillars, a maximum height of 92 feet and a length of almost 11 miles.

This impressive building dates from the end of the 1st century. What a building and so huge, it is really special. We walk around it for some time, but then the twilight falls and so, after some more pictures, we walk back and talk long about this impressive aqueduct.

Monday, November 8^th, we don’t get up until 8.30 am. Because there is a supermarket nearby and also open at this time of day, I buy a fresh baguette. Delicious and that while I had already resigned myself to the fact that we cannot buy fresh bread in this country in the morning because most shops open at 9.30 am. After dumping grey and black water and filling up with fresh water, we leave. There is still a lot to see here but we will save that for a next visit. If the sale of Sandra and Rene’s house in Portugal goes through, we will certainly visit them and then we can use the town of Segovia as a stopover.

From Segovia, which is already situated at an altitude of 3150 feet, we climb further into the mountains over very steep and narrow mountain roads with sometimes such steep hairpins that the speed of the Frankia drops to 6 miles an hour, but finally we arrive at the top of the pass at an altitude of 6200 feet. We say goodbye to the snow around us and descend to the plateau west of Madrid. For the first time we find the landscape a bit duller. Here, not far from the capital, is quite a bit of industry. Striking is the large number of Chinese companies that are located here.

In Toledo we quickly find the parking where motorhomes are allowed to park. After having a drink, we walk towards the center. First along the river where we enjoy the view of the castle, but then we walk closer to the city wall where the old city of Toledo is towering above us. Fortunately, there are steep escalators that take you up the mountain but we get off halfway (of course to look for a geocache) with the result that we still have a huge steep climb before we arrive (panting and puffing) in the old city center. Toledo has an authentic old center and it is wonderful to wander through the narrow streets. No wonder that the entire city center of Toledo is on the world heritage list. However, no part is flat and it is climbing and descending over medieval cobblestones. It is also busy here, large groups of tourists are strolling around, most of them with a guide. Unfortunately, the great Cathedrale is closed. We already noticed that the churches in Spain are often locked.

Late in the afternoon we return to the Frankia. We are not so lucky when we arrive at the escalators leading down steeply. Two of them are broken so we have to walk them down. Since there is no restaurant open anywhere near the parking space, we buy a baguette in a Chinese shop so we have an evening meal. We only visited a small part of Toledo, but we continue our journey on Tuesday November 9^th. After an hour we arrive at our destination, the town of Consuegra, where on the hillside above town are the mills that Don Quijotte fought against.

Don Quijotte de la Mancha is a novel written by Miguel de Servantes in the year 1605 and became the most notable work of the Spanish literature. It tells about the Spanish noble Alonso Quijano who lost his mind by reading too many chivalric novels. He takes on the image of a knight-errant and as Don Quijotte de la Mancha he wanders around through the Spanish countryside.

He wears an old rusty armor, has a paper helmet and ride a gaunt peasant horse, he calls it his warhorse Rocinant and he goes to war against all kinds of injustice. In this way he hopes to win the favor of a desirable princess, his great love, who is the idealization of a simple farmer’s daughter from a neighboring village. On his journey, Don Quijotte is accompanied by his neighbor and faithful servant Sancho Panza, a farmer who is illiterate but not stupid and who knows that his master is out of his mind. Sancho, however, follows him because he believes in the reward Don Quijotte offers him.

Don Quiijotte is really confused and he mistakes inns for castles, clerics for villains, windmills for giants and a flock of sheep for an army. Fortunately, his delusional ideas invariably encounter the sobriety and caution of Sancho and the book written about this hero shows the clash between the ideal and fictional world of Don Quijotte and the real world of Sancho. Of course, we want to wander between these mills and after parking the motorhome down in the village we start to climb up the hill and soon we find ourselves at the first of the 12 mills, on the top, and with a beautiful view over the surrounding plateau. It’s nice to walk around here and because of a geocache with the appropriate name: “No son Molinos, sino gigantes (they are not mills but giants) we need to know all the names of the 12 mills, so we walk past all 12 mills.

Since not all the mills are located on a footpath, this requires quite a bit of climbing every now and then. Of course, we take a lot of pictures and we also visit the inside of one of the mills to see how its mechanism works. It’s a very fun and educational trip.

Since it is early afternoon, only 2 pm, when we are back and there is little else to do here, we decide to leave and an hour later we arrive in the town of Daimiel. There is a parking opposite a super mercado so we can do some shopping again. But first we will also explore this town. When we are finally back at the Frankia and also have fresh food, we are a bit tired. But that’s not strange after all the climbing and walking today. It’s already dark now and the parking is dead silent, we stay here all alone.

Wednesday November 10^th we do not wake up until 8.30. Woow, again we overslept half a day. Although the shop across the street is open after our shower, it is not used to a demand for fresh bread so early in the morning because that is not available yet. So again, no fresh bread for breakfast. Once again, our trip takes us straight through a mountain range. This entire western part of Spain seems to consist only of mountains. It is beautiful because we regularly drive past white villages that are glued to the mountain slopes.

At 2.30 pm we arrive in Cordoba. Right next to the center is a paid parking lot where we park the Frankia. It has the advantage that we stay close to the city center and quickly we walk through the city gate into the town of Cordoba. Another historic town with narrow streets and Moorish influences. In the year 756, the city even became the capital of the Emirate of Cordoba and the most powerful city of the Moorish empire Al Andalus, which covered almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. The great Mosque of Cordoba, the Mesquita, dates from this period. At the time, it was the largest mosque in Europe with 1.200 columns and could accommodate 20.000 mosque-goers. After the reconquests by the Catholic kings in the year 1236, this Mezquite was converted into a Cathedral. In the heart of the Mezquite, 400 pillars were removed to make way for a Cathedral.

Of course, we want to take a look inside. It is now an hour before closing time, so the throngs of tourists have already left, but it is still quite busy inside. We enter a confusing building with red and white pillars, shrouded in darkness and in the middle is a Cathedral, full of light. We are short of eyes to see everything and leave just before closing time. After a look at the river with its Roman bridge, we walk past a medieval palace, the Alcazar. It’s also nice to see the hotel where Auntie Ank, Hannah and I stayed during one of Ank’s last vacations. Regularly, when we walk over the cobbled streets again, I hear her voice: can’t it be a little quieter? These streets were simply not really suitable for a wheelchair. When we finally return to the motorhome it is completely dark. Despite the heavy traffic noise outside, we are parked at a busy intersection of roads around the center, we sleep like roses.

On Thursday November 11^th we have already breakfast at 8.30 am. Of course, we dump our grey and black water and fill with fresh water before heading into the mountains. As far as we can see every part of the mountain slopes is covered with olive trees, some trees are very old, others just planted.

Finally, we arrive in Antequera where the motorhome climbs up to the nature reserve El Torcal via very steep slopes, he just manages. Just after the last steep part to the top we find a parking where we can stay overnight. From here we want to walk to the top of the nature reserve. According to Dick, this should be possible because yesterday in Cordoba we walked more than 6.5 miles. Despite the fact that the sky is gray, the sun regularly appears. Unfortunately, not during our entire climb up. Clouds increasingly gain the upper hand as we climb our way to the top, straight through the mountains and over sometimes steep paths.

During our climb up we regularly encounter mountain sheep that look at us in astonishment and some chamois remain surprised when they observe our company. Fortunately, at some special rock formations, there are also geocaches to be found, so regularly we are distracted from the fatigues of the climb. The whole climb up we are alone on the mountain, only just under the top, when we are already walking between strange rock formations, we also see other hikers.

Although the climb continues endlessly and the end is not in sight, we finally reach the top of El Torcal where, because of an icy cold wind, we quickly rush into the restaurant. After looking at the menu, we order drinks and a burger. Even though this burger isn’t really special, after two hours of climbing it tastes fine. Hannah and I also visited this nature reserve with Auntie Ank, of course by car. Because she was in a wheelchair, we were allowed to drive to the top by car. That was in the spring 2018, when it was significantly warmer because we could sit outside on the terrace and enjoy the rugged rock formations that can be found on this plateau. I am happy to return now so that Dick can admire this environment as well. However, I never thought that he would be able to make such a climb after his knee surgery. I am very happy that we managed to climb up together. After lunch we look around a bit at the top and then we start our descent. Considering the steepness of the paths, we don’t think it is such a strict plan to descend the same way as we climbed up so we walk back down on the also steep road.

This road also has its charms. Regularly we have beautiful views, some Chamois standing on the rocks and the question is who is watching who and along the road are also some geocaches hidden. When we return to the motorhome it is almost dusk. We are now at an altitude of almost 3300 feet, so as soon as night falls, we attach the insulation blanket in front of the window.

We stay in the mountains for the first time during our trip, all alone and far from civilization, so I have to wake up in the middle of the night to take a look outside. Except for some far away lights in the depths, it is really dark here.

Outside the USA I have never seen such a beautiful starry sky. And it’s not even really cold, the wind has died down a bit and despite the fact that it’s only 46 degrees Fahrenheit, it feels warmer. Satisfied I crawl back into bed while Dick murmurs I am crazy.

Friday November 12^th we leave the mountains, the sky is steel blue again and the sun is shining. It’s significantly warmer than we expected and our butane tank doesn’t even beep that it’s too cold to accelerate. After a short stop above the town of Antequerra where we have a magnificent view of the castle, we descend further and again we see large fields with olive trees all around us.

Finally, we arrive in the city of Ronda where we find a beautiful spot on a paid motorhome parking. There are also washing machines (well, one washing machine and one dryer) so we decide to do our laundry again. This takes a lot of patience because the washing machine has just been occupied but after an hour and a half it’s finally my turn to wash. And again, it turns out that the dryer is not really doing its job well, so we have to dry all our laundry twice and only at the end of the afternoon we are done washing. The advantage is that I spent the whole afternoon sitting in the sun in front of our Frankia. For the first time the outside temperature is good to sit outside and only at the end of the afternoon I had to go inside because of the rising cold wind. At 5.30 pm we walk to a supermarket. This is further away than we thought, but we can do our shopping.  When we are back at the Frankia with all our purchases, we attach our insulation blanket in front of the windscreen, again, because we still stay in the mountains at an altitude of 2500 feet. The rest of the evening we watch TV and read.

Saturday, November 13^th, we don’t get up until 8.30 am and after breakfast we walk into town. Ronda is known for its deep canyon and we have to see it. It is quite a walk from the motorhome parking, but as soon as we approach the old town it is not a punishment because we wander through narrow streets, walk past shops and then arrive in a park that leads us along the gorge. Everywhere here it’s busy, busloads of tourists are unloaded and they all walk on the same path. In some places we crowd each other to take a look into the depths. From the bridge there is not such a nice view of the gorge, and that also applies to the other side from where we (auntie Ank, Hannah and me) had a beautiful view of the gorge. But then we had another season with a better sun. Now the view is a bit disappointing. Mainly caused by the fact that the sun is much too low at this time of year and therefore large shadows fall on the gorge. But we make some pictures and walk further through the oldest part of the city. Our route is based on a few geocaches. We discovered that those geocaches take us to the most special places. And yes, the GPS soon shows us that we have to take a steep footpath down which takes us deeper and deeper into the gorge under the old city walls.

Now it’s just a short walk to the Banos Arabes, a nicely preserved Moorish bath from the 13th century. So, a little later we stand in line to buy a ticket and then we walk through the former bathhouse. This is a really special place and comes to life when we see the video animation that shows us, in Spanish, the history of this bathhouse. Even the plateau where the donkeys circled around to pump up the water out of the river is still intact. From here the water was transported further over an aqueduct to the bathhouse, where it could be heated. Also, that is still intact. The old times relive here. Fortunately, we can also watch an English version of the animation film. That fills gaps caused by our Spanish language deficiency. We walk at our leisure back. Because we stay at the bottom of the gorge, it’s fairly strenuous and we have to climb a lot over narrow paths to get back to the town, high above the cliff.

As we now climb up from another side along the gorge, we have a much better view of the bridge that spans this gorge. Finally, we are back in the shopping street where we try to find a terrace. We are really ready for some food and drink. It’s 64 degrees and we haven’t had anything for many hours. I even forgot to bring water on this long dusty walk. After many occupied terraces we finally find one with a free table and we eat a delicious sandwich. The freshly squeezed orange juice tastes delicious. After an hour we leisurely walk back to the parking from where I walk to a super mercado to get food. We still have not learned to buy food for some days. In the evening the parking is completely full.

When we wake up on Sunday November 14^th , the sun is shining and early morning it’s already 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temperature warms up quickly. With such weather we want to stay another day in Ronda and soon after breakfast Dick unload the bicycles. Not much later we cycle through the town over the famous bridge, over the gorge and we climb further up the mountain slope that offers a magnificent view of the town of Ronda.

On unpaved roads we ride on a ridge and every time we have beautiful vistas of Ronda. We look out over the places where we walked around yesterday. Unfortunately, the Ermita, a small church at the end of this mountain ridge, is closed. There is, however, a geocache hidden just outside the fence, so I descend to this fence that is located in the depth around the church. Dick does not venture this steep descent and stays on top with our bikes. I understand that hermits withdrew here. What a beautiful place this is, you feel completely alone in the world.

 

 

Outside of me there is no living creature except a few Red Bishops (black birds with bright red beaks) who scream at me from the eaves of the church. For a moment I stand in prayer on the edge of the cliff. How grateful I am that we have the opportunity to discover such beautiful places. Then I start the climb up again where Dick enjoys the view of the surrounding mountains. Slowly we cycle back, in silence. This silence is greatly broken when we are back in Ronda at the Puente Nova where hundreds of tourists are marching around. And it’s not even peak season yet. Because I would like to send a card, we stop at a shop on the square where I buy cards and stamps. When I write the cards at home, I see that the stamps cannot be placed in a normal letterbox but must be deposited in a separate tourist letterbox and those letterboxes are only placed in tourist centers. So, Dick, who just stored our bikes unload my bike again, I ride to town and just before dusk I manage to deposit the cards in the special letterbox of the tourist shop. Will these cards ever arrive? I have a hard head about it, but Dick is more optimistic. Because the parking also has a washing place to clean the motorhomes, we still have one task for today and after that cleaning, we see that most of the dirt is gone. Unfortunately, this day turns out not to be a good one to write something, because in the evening I hit a wrong key and everything I wrote today is gone. I can start over with my story.

Vacation in Germany and France, September 2021

We’ve been quite busy the past few weeks and I didn’t have much time to think again about a travel plan, but now the end of August is approaching and our travel virus comes back, so I look for picturesque old towns and make a plan. Then we celebrate my birthday with Hannah and Henk in their cabin in Noordwijk. We are treated to delicious pizzas, baked by Henk himself and have a great evening together.
On Friday we get our motorhome from the storage. When we arrive home, the part of the parking lot, we closed off this morning, is partly used by the caravan of one of our neighbors.

Actually, the free part of the parking lot is not big enough for both our motorhome and their caravan, but when the neighbor stands diagonally in the lot and we do the same, it just fits and we can start loading our stuff.

And that’s quite a lot because in recent days Dick narrowed both our down duvets, so the covers of those duvets also had to be narrowed. And he made new pillows. He has special ones, made of grains and you cannot buy that kind anymore. As the  old ones were too bad he had to replace them. So Dick was very busy with our sewing machine. I don’t have to say that afterwards the floor of our room was littered with down and grains. In the meantime I went shopping to buy new sheets that better fits our mattresses. By the evening everything is loaded, except for the food. However, we are not leaving yet. First, Dick want to go to our Subaru shop to fit our carriage bolts. But when he calls the Subaru shop, he find out that the ordered bolts are still not arrived. Somewhere they are stuck in a container, possibly in a Chinese port, so again no bolts and we leave earlier than planned, on Saturday morning, August 28^th .

Actually, that works out well because now we can do some shopping in Bruggen, Germany, where we will also spend our first night. The weather is nice, although not really warm, only 63 degrees. During the day every now and then some rain is falling, but it doesn’t stop us from walking around in the town of Bruggen. When we return at the end of the afternoon, I walk to a drugstore nearby to buy medical masks. These are mandatory in Germany and in case we go somewhere where our regular masks are refused, we have a real medical mask. Of course, as always when we are in Bruggen, in the evening we order a kebab dish from the restaurant across the street and have a non-alcoholic German beer.

I don’t know why, but we are both tired so we go to bed early and when we wake up on Sunday morning it is already 9.15 am. We slept for 12 hours, so we needed the sleep. We have breakfast with old bread, but actually that would not have been necessary because the bakery in supermarket Rewe, also at the other side of the street, is open as we see when driving away. But as Dick says, our old bread has to be eaten too.  When thinking about and figuring out our route (first to the south of Germany and then crossing France, again to the coast) I discovered a geocache challenge.

It’s only allowed to log this geocache, when you found a cache from every year that geocaches are hidden (since the year 2000). During our trips to the USA, we found many caches from the different years, but the oldest geocache from the year 2000, hidden somewhere in Oregon, is still on our bucket-list. For the time being, however, we will not be able to search this one because the borders of the USA are still closed to Europeans.

And so, we looked for such an old geocache in Europe and found it north of Bouillon, Belgium. That’s why we adjust our route and today we will drive to Belgium. I don’t think we need to make a detour to find this geocache, as we are on our way to Mettlach in Germany, but Dick has a different opinion and when I look at the map later, I have to admit that he is somewhat right. In Namur, Belgium, we stop.
The parking for motorhomes is located near the center of town so after parking the motorhome in the right position, we take a walk to the center. The city consists of nice narrow streets and everywhere are terraces, beautiful squares and different groups of statues, all depicting a story. It is lovely to wander around here. Unfortunately, the weather is less, it’s gloomy and the sky is gray, because with a steel blue sky and shining sun the temptation to sit on a terrace would be greater. But we can’t complain because there is no rain and with 63 degrees it’s not a bad temperature to walk around. Unfortunately, when we return to our motorhome at the end of the afternoon, we find out that all the restaurants nearby are closed so we have to cook ourselves.
The bratwurst with green beans and oven-potatoes tastes great.

At the beginning of the new week, Monday August 30^th, again we have breakfast with old bread. Well, Dick eats the last part of this old bread and I have a nice bowl of yogurt with fruit and then at 9.30 am, we leave the city of Namur. On our way to the missing geocache from the year 2000 on the coordinates N 50 00.000 and E 005 00.000
Our Hakuna takes us on narrow roads through the forests of the Belgium Ardennes and I am worried about a parking spot because the road is really narrow and nowhere it’s possible to park on the roadside. But when we arrive at the indicated coordinates, an exit of a forest path appears where we can park the Frankia and after a short walk through the forest, we find the oldest geocache on the European mainland, that can still be found and is placed at 7-7-2000. We now have a geocache for every year that geocaching exists.

After, of course, taken the necessary pictures, we drive on and in the town of Bouillon we park the motorhome in the parking lot behind the castle of Bouillon. Although there are still many clouds, we also see the sun appear regularly. Of course, we climb up the mountain to the castle and descend on the other side, we cross the town of Bouillon and on the other side, we climb another mountain, which offers us an even better view of the castle. All that climbing and descending makes us quite thirsty and because I forgot to take water with me (and Dick didn’t draw my attention to that either) we are dehydrated when we are back in town at the end of the afternoon, so we take a seat on a terrace. I can assure you that the coffee and cake taste very good.
When we are back at the parking lot we see next and opposite us two other Frankia motorhomes. That’s really special because you don’t meet so many motorhomes from this brand, so for a long time we chat about our RV’s and agree that it is a very good brand. We had a late coffee and cake and are not so hungry anymore so after eating some toast with French cheese we don’t cook anymore.

Tuesday morning, we drive on quiet roads to Luxembourg. The sun is shining and it is at least 67 degrees. Finally, the gray cloud cover, that has been hanging over Europe for so long, is somewhat broken. On a mountaintop along the road in Luxembourg we stop at a viewpoint over the river Moselle and the town of Remich and enjoy the landscape. Of course, we fill up in Luxembourg where the diesel is still cheaper than in the surrounding countries, but we have to conclude that the very cheap is gone. Since the town of Mettlach is only 19 miles away, we arrive there at the end of the morning and park our motorhome.
Although it’s busy here we find a nice spot at the front. We walk to town to pay our parking fee at the tourist office (we still don’t like paying via an app on the mobile), visit some outlet stores and also climb the hill behind the center to enjoy a view over Mettlach.

At 6 pm we walk to the terrace of the brewery. There are enough free tables and the temperature is not too bad

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, we are shielded from the wind, so we don’t have to put on our down jackets during our dinner. Again, the meal tastes delicious. Dick enjoys his good steak and my schnitzel with mushrooms and sauce also tastes great. However, the outside air (or is it the freshly tapped beer) makes us sleepy and before 10 pm we already sleep. Of course, we stay another day in Mettlach and after having a good breakfast with fresh croissants, we get our e-bikes.

Despite the fact that we already made several bike rides in this area, we found another mountain slope where caches are hidden. The forest paths are challenging. We already used to climb here with our e-bikes, but this current mountain slope turns out to be a bit more difficult than the previous slopes. Dick again shows us flawlessly the way over, often almost impossibly, steep paths, full of stones and tree roots. But the turbo mode of our E-bike drags us up and we have a nice trip.

Eventually we reach a special place in the forest where (of course) a geocache is hidden. It’s a beautiful woodcarving made from the remains of a former huge tree and we enjoy. Until the moment we reach the edge of the forest again. We have one last steep climb where I crash with my bike on a thick branch lying on the forest path. Unbelievable that Dick could avoid this branch. Fortunately, the forest floor is soft and covered with moss and I do not hurt myself, but my E-bike refuses any service and, on my display, appears the text: “motor in error”.
We are lucky that our way back to the motorhome goes only downhill. Now I could not have conquered the steep slopes we encountered when arriving here. When we are back in town, we stop at a shop that sells bicycles, but it does not do repairs. For that we have to go to Merzig, a town 7 miles away, so we return to the motorhome. Whatever Dick tries, he doesn’t get any movement in my e-bike. So, we look up the address of a bicycle repair shop in Merzig where we can go tomorrow. Just before we have dinner I app my sister Hannah that my e-bike refuse to work any longer and then she tells us to look at a small metal rod in the rear wheel. When this one is out of alignment it causes that speed is no longer indicated and the support motor doesn’t function anymore. Both she and Henk already experienced that when the bike-repairman bent this metal rod, the e-bike functioned again. At that moment we enjoy our dinner at the brewery (yes, again) and we cannot look at it.
But when we are back at the Frankia Dick get my e bike out of the garage and although we have little faith in this solution, Dick bends over the metal rod and yes, the e-bike wants to give an electric support again. After a few rounds of cycling over the parking lot we know with great certainty that tomorrow we really don’t have to go to a bicycle repair shop. The problem of my e-bike has been solved.

Still, after breakfast on Thursday September 2^nd we drive to Merzig, but that is because we heard from our friend Richard that Rewe advertise with their Fruehstueck (breakfast) juice and the nearest Rewe supermarket is located in Merzig. We want to buy that juice now because from here we drive into France and when we return to Germany the commercial will be finished. In the store we find still 9 bottles of juice and we buy the entire stock.

Then we continue our drive to Hatten in France where we find a large parking lot at a war museum. We may spend the night here. It is on the edge of the town and there is enough space. We will not visit this war museum. In the vicinity we already visited Fort Schoenenburg (we liked that very much) and we don’t think this museum will add much to it, so we walk through the town. It’s not really special here (we both think it’s boring) so when we enjoy a cake with “café au lait” on the terrace of a bakery, we decide to leave tomorrow and drive to nearby Wissembourg.

That town is always picturesque and feels cozier.
Before we can sit on the terrace, first our “pass sanitaire” must be checked. It is the first time we have to show this QR code on our phone. In Europe you receive this QR code when you are fully vaccinated, tested negative less than 24 hours ago or when you are cured from Corona. Although it is 70 degrees it feels cold outside caused by the blowing wind so when we are back at the motorhome we stay inside.
In the evening I buy us a kebab meal in town that tastes good. At night it is dead quiet on this parking, there is no traffic or any other human presence. As agreed yesterday, we drive to Wissembourg after breakfast, finally with a fresh French baguette. This town is only 16 miles north of Hatten and we arrive there early. A good moment because now we can occupy the last spot in the overcrowded parking lot next to the swimming pool. There are at least 9 motorhomes parked and all other spots are occupied by tourists who park their cars here and walk or cycle around.
This morning, while dumping our black water, I accidentally kicked the cap of our toilet cassette down the drain, and as it rolled straight into the sewage system, it was impossible to get hold of it again, so our first task now is to buy a new cap somewhere. Fortunately, we have two toilet cassettes and are not immediately without a cap, but when we unexpectedly have to use our second cassette, we have to close it with plastic foil. When I look on the internet, I see that in the town of Bad Bergzabern, just across the border in Germany, a Fritz Berger outdoor shop is located that sells parts next to camping supplies, so we may be able to buy there a new cap. And as this is not so far from Wissembourg, we get our e-bikes.

It is a nice bike ride to Bad Bergzabern, although the path that Dick chooses is very bumpy and rocky, it takes us right through the grape fields and as the month of October approaches, the grapes are ready to pick and nice to see. After some searching, we arrive in Bad Bergzabern at the outdoor store where we find a cap for a toilet cassette, but it’s for a different series and the seller does not know whether this cap will also fit on our toilet cassette. That’s why we don’t buy it and leave. The temperature is good, it is warmer and the sun is shining, so a break on the terrace of a bakery cannot be missed and, strengthened by a coffee and a good pastry, we cycle back.

On the way home we again ride long stretches over bumpy roads through the grape fields and also have to climb some very steep slopes.
The straightening of the metal rod in my wheel helped obviously because my support motor runs overtime on these, sometimes 19% steep slopes and I am so glad. Hannah, it’s great you sent us a solution after my e-bike breakdown. On the way back we stop briefly at the Deutsche Tor, the entrance to the “Deutsche Wein Strasse” (German Wine Road) and after making the necessary photos at huge wine barrels we ride back to the town of Wissembourg.

There we store our bicycles and for a while we sit outside in the warm sun before walking into the town around 6 pm. We look for a restaurant. We don’t want to go to the one, we visited before, they charged us too much. In the main street we find a cozy terrace in the sun with a menu that appeals to both of us. Of course, before taking a seat on the terrace, we have to show our sanitary pass.

We love it that our QR code is valid throughout the European Union and after approval we take a seat. It is nice sitting outside with the warm weather and now the evening is falling and more and more people find their way to this pleasant terrace. We enjoy this summer evening with a delicious French wine and good food. After dinner we walk back to the parking, enjoy a coffee and look back at a wonderful day. We are in bed early. At least I don’t notice that it’s 10 pm.

Saturday September 4^th we get up in time, the sky is already steel blue and in the bright sunlight I walk through the still sleepy town to the bakery. After breakfast Dick get our bikes from the garage and attaches our side bags to them while I collect all our clothes and bedding. It’s laundry day today. On the internet we discovered a laundromat at the end of the town, but we don’t want to drive there with the motorhome, because when we return, there will certainly be no space left for our 26 feet long motorhome. Many new arriving motorhomes are already driving back and forth to look for a spot.

When our bikes are loaded with laundry and washing powder, we cycle to the end of town. Some washing machines are in operation but their program is almost done and soon we can fill the two 30 lb. machines. While they are running at full speed, we leave the laundry room. First, we sit on stones in front of the building but it’s in the full sun and too hot and soon we wait, sitting on a guardrail, in the shade of some trees, till all our laundry washed and dried. After folding everything Dick manages to stow everything neatly in our bags and we cycle back to the motorhome.
Because it is still early in the afternoon we decide to walk through town. We already visited this town several times but even now we see places we never visited before. Regularly we seek the shade of trees, because it’s really warm, 83 degrees. We are back at 5 pm and for a while we sit outside (now in the shade of our motorhome) before walking back to town.

Here, again, we take a seat on the terrace at “Café La Rose”. This time there is no check of our Pass Sanitaire, we are recognized immediately. Once again, we have a good dinner and are lucky with this warm summer weather, even though September has already arrived. In the evening Dick discovers that the town we intend to drive to tomorrow, Oberreichenbach in Germany, is not really successful because the restaurant where we want to eat and stay overnight is closed on the first Sunday of the month. So, we look at another destination and that is the town of Freudenstadt, Germany, but before we drive there, we first dump our gray and black water in Hatten.

The road to Freudenstadt is very beautiful and takes us through a mountainous area. We arrived in the German Schwarzwald (Black Forest). There is still space in Freudenstadt despite the number of motorhomes already present here and we park our Frankia.

Within 10 minutes we move to another spot with a nicer view and then we walk to the center of town. All shops are closed on Sunday. Unfortunately, because we walk under the arcades along the large square in the center and everywhere are shops. Dick likes it, after all, now I can only “window shopping” and not walk in to buy something I don’t need at all.
Because the sun is still shining and the “ice cream” terrace is very attractive, we walk in that direction. But the terrace is overcrowded and every time a table becomes available, people run towards it. So, we return to the motorhome and eat the ice cream, I stored in our freezer. In fact, it is good we returned home because our roof hatches stayed wide open and suddenly the clouds have thickened. Just as I sit outside, writing at the laptop, it starts to drizzle. And it doesn’t stop there, the drops turn into serious rain and while Dick quickly stores the table and chair, I close the roof hatches.
It’s strange because while it’s raining, the sun is still shining. Fortunately, there are only a few heavy showers and it clears up again towards evening.

Monday, September 6^th, the sky is steel blue again, the sun shines and early morning it’s already 67 degrees. We decided to stay another day in Freudenstadt and take the e-bikes to explore the area. We found a nice cache route that takes us through the woods in the surrounding area.

Directly outside town are, often steep, forest paths. I never understand how Dick succeeds, but he finds all the narrow paths that lead us deeper and deeper into the forest and we enjoy ourselves. Not strange with this nice weather. This forest shows a different face every time.
One moment we are cycling between the tall pines, the next moment we are cycling next to a thick carpet of moss covered bottom and a little later we are cycling through deciduous forests. Although we don’t actually meet anyone on our voyage of discovery through this vast forest, it turns out that there are a lot of people walking and cycling around because, when we want to eat something on top of the mountain at a sun-drenched mountain cabin, there is no free spot to sit and we ride on and have a drink from our water bottles.

Around 3.30 pm we arrive again at the beautiful town square where we cannot resist the temptation to sit down and have a coffee with cake at a bakery. We cannot sit at the ice cream terrace because that’s closed today. Here nobody checks our QR code (it doesn’t work in this part of Germany) but we have to download the “Luca app”. After filling this app with our personal data, we log in (and log out when leaving) and take a seat on the terrace. When back I walk to the supermarket to buy some food. After a good meal of potato salad, bratwurst and bread we feel our legs and arms tingle. No wonder, we wandered endlessly through the forest, finding our way through sometimes waist height weeds and nettles. Of course, we check each other for ticks. Not a superfluous luxury because we actually find one in my leg. It is not a really good tick year because this is only the third tick we remove from our body.

Unfortunately, many clouds cover the sky on Tuesday September 7^th and the temperature remain at 61 degrees. Again, we drive a beautiful route further south. I had no idea the Black Forest would be so beautiful. We follow a winding valley along the river Kinzig and see the mountains around us getting higher and higher. The last part of our trip today ends up on the autobahn A5, much less spectacular and continual there are warnings that we almost approach the Swiss border. Although we would like to go there, we don’t like the hassle that a heavy RV entails when entering Switzerland, so we decided that we will only drive as far as the town of Weil am Rhein in Germany, park the motorhome there, still in Germany and then cycle to Switzerland.
It’s rather to the Swiss town of Basel we will go to. After leaving the highway, about 900 feet before the border, Dick manages to maneuver our motorhome over incredibly narrow roads until we arrive at the parking of a swimming pool. It’s very crowded. This time the parking for motorhomes is occupied with caravans. Its inhabitants rented this spot for a month to live here while working just across the border in Switzerland, where its more expensive to live. But there is enough space in the parking lot in front of it and after we paid our parking fee of 9 euros, we grab our bikes and leave.
Once again, Dick knows exactly which forest paths we have to take in this border area but still it’s a surprise, when we leave the forest after a few miles, that we arrived already in Basel. We don’t see signs with the name of town, but the municipal cars we see have a Basel Stadt registration number and that means that we definitely arrived in Switzerland and that without border control or seeing something that looks like a border.

I guess we have our Swiss Electronic Entry Form in vain. Now we arrived in Basel we cycle through the harbor area. Here we want to visit the border triangle where France, Germany and Switzerland meet. It takes a while to find the place, but when we cycle past some moored riverboats (we first thought that was forbidden area) we arrive at a land-point in the river Rhein with a real monument.
We have unimaginably beautiful weather, the sun is shining and the sky is steel blue and from here we have a magnificent view of the Passerelle de Trois Pays, a pedestrian bridge over the river Rhein with a length of 781 feet.
It’s the longest arch bridge in the world for pedestrians and cyclists and it connects France and Germany while the border of Switzerland is only a few feet away. When jumping on this bridge it will move noticeably so it is obviously that this bridge is our next target. While searching for some caches we wander through Basel and finally arrive (after again crossing the Swiss border without customs) into Germany and at the Passerelle de Trois Pays.

In the middle of the bridge, we both have to jump to feel the resonance of the bridge. Sure enough, we feel, with some delay, the bridge moving up and down. A very strange feeling.
After a few more pictures and looking to Switzerland, we cross the bridge and arrive in France. Here we cycle some time along the riverbanks. At the Swiss banks are only harbors but at the French side are many small beaches with loungers. In France it’s a different way of life. We cycle some time along the French riverbanks and end of the afternoon we cross the bridge again and arrive back in Germany.
There are no borders between France and Germany, after all, together we form the European Union, but between Switzerland and Germany are borders and miraculously, we again cycle between the border posts of Switzerland and Germany and bypass all customs (by accident). It is incredible that this is possible, fortunately we have no harm in the sense, registered ourselves electronically in Switzerland and carry all necessary papers with us.
At 6 pm we are back at the parking lot in Weil am Rhein. After Dick stored our bikes, we walk to the restaurant on the corner of the parking lot. It is built next to a sports field and therefore called “Tribune”. We may take a seat on the terrace when we write down our address details on a piece of paper (the Luca app nor our QR code is used here) and a little later we have a good glass of wine and enjoy our dinner. The quality of the food equals that of the brewery in Mettlach and this restaurant alone is a reason to return.
We are also lucky with the weather because it is still very pleasant outside on the terrace. We supposed to stay another day in Weil am Rhein before heading to Bad Durrheim, where we want attend the meeting of Seabridge, the firm who’s shipping motorhomes to the USA. However, yesterday when I looked for a program for this meeting, I found the announcement that the municipality of Bad Durrheim decided that this meeting cannot take place inside with the increasing corona infections. So now a few tents are set up at the parking lot from where information will be given about the shipping of RV’s to the USA and about group travels to South America, Russia and Europe.
We already traveled three times to and through the USA and only wanted to feel the experience of a meeting (and ask some specific questions about our next transport to the USA when that is possible again).  With this information we decide to skip the meeting in Bad Durrheim. And so, we leave directly to France after a breakfast with really old bread, because there is no bakery in the distant environment.

After opening the barrier, where Dick manages to leave the parking through the narrow passage without any damage, we arrive in France and at 11.30 am we park our motorhome in the town of Hirtzbach, France.
We stay at a reasonable distance from our neighbors because we don’t have the impression that many other RV’s will come to this remote area. Then we explore the area on our e-bikes. Hirtzbach is a nice colorful town with lots of flowers and well-kept houses and lives up to the name “ville fleurie”. We directly have to climb up, because right on the edge of town are steep slopes. Not a big deal because we just put our turbo on and then we fly up the slopes.
Yet it is strenuous cycling because the hilly paths are very rocky and sometimes, we ride over bumpy grassy plains. But the view is beautiful and, in the distance, we see the tops of the Grand Ballon, a mountain in the French Vosges.

Fortunately, when we are back at the motorhome it is not too hot, also thanks to our awning. This awning keeps part of the motorhome in the shade and that makes a difference in temperature. And it means that we can sit outside in the shade. Very pleasant when the temperature is rising to 84 degrees. By the evening more and more motorhomes arrive at this spot and also a mobile pizza eatery chose this place as its temporary parking. Great, now we don’t have to cook. However, when I walk to the pizza truck at 7 pm, I am told that it is so busy that I can only order after 9 pm. That means we cook ourselves and the Leberkaese with cheese, bread and tomatoes tastes good. Finally, we stay with 13 motorhomes in this small parking. All the motorhomes are French, we are the only foreigners. At night it is very quiet and we sleep well. Fortunately, it cools down a bit at night and we wake up before 8 am the next morning. For the first time we see clouds again on the horizon.

After our breakfast, still with old German bread and the dumping of our gray and black water, we are one of the first to leave this place. Slowly we find our way further into France and again we drive along the river Doubs for a while. Now with more pleasant weather than a month ago when it rained here. Finally, we arrive in Quingey where again we park behind the supermarket. It is not a pretty place, overlooking the paper and cardboard crushing machine, but it is a practical place, in the middle of a small town and next to a supermarket so we can finally supply food. Of course, we first have a cup of coffee before we explore the town and the surrounding area on foot.

Last month it rained so hard here that we hardly visited this old town. Now we slowly wander through the narrow streets, view the old buildings and walk to the river where rapids can be seen. Finally, we return to the motorhome, buy salad and baguettes and enjoy the evening. Although the sky was very threatening today and a shower could fall at any moment, it fortunately remains dry until the evening. During the night it rains hard and the wind increase. That sound wakes us, but luckily the wind only lasts for a while.

Friday morning September 10^th it is still very cloudy and regularly there is a drizzle as we drive through the beautiful countryside of Burgundy. A pity because this area full of grapevines is more beautiful when the sun shines in a blue sky. However, the wind died and it’s 65 degrees, so we’re not complaining. When we arrive in the town of Autun the rain stops and the sun makes frantic efforts to make the cloud mass disappear. We arrive around noon and can still choose a parking spot. Soon this town turns out to be very popular and one motorhome after another arrives and look for a parking. In the meantime, we walk (with our rain jacket, because you never know) to the old town with many intact, old city walls and we also admire the beautiful old Cathedral in the center.

We wander through the narrow old streets, cross a large town square and agree that this is an attractive town to stroll around. Before we return, we take a look at an old Roman arena, practically next to the motorhome parking. It is very busy on the Arena grounds because this weekend a Medieval festival is being held and so an old Roman tent camp is being built.

The Roman arena is beautiful and, in some parts, even intact. We watch the crowds below us for a while and then go our separate ways. I look for a supermarket so I know where I can buy bread tomorrow morning while Dick walks back to our Frankia. The clouds dissipated and the sun is shining brightly. It is now very busy. There are 23 motorhomes and a little further in front of the entrance to the cemetery are another 13 parked. This may be partly caused by the festive weekend. When the night falls the group of ravens finally shuts up. For at least an hour they flew back and forth above the parked vehicles and screamed and screamed, an unbelievable sound but a nice view. Now it becomes dead quiet and we sleep like roses.

Apparently, the wind dispelled all the clouds because when we wake up on Saturday September 11^th, the sun is shining in a steel blue sky and the thermometer already shows 67 degrees. Fortunately, we wake up early so I can still walk across the Arena site. It saves a lot of walking as the bakery is located on the other side of this Roman arena. I am also back in time because when I return all the roads and paths in the vicinity of the arena are hermetically sealed. We have to drive through the old town because of the road closures and fortunately arrive unscathed on the other side of town after which we continue in a northwesterly direction. After a 3 hour drive, we see the mountain slopes in the distance to which the town of Sancerre is glued. The vineyards of Sancerre wine now appear everywhere. It is not easy to find a parking space in Sancerre. We get angry looks from a waitress when we drive across her terrace. Well, a narrow road leads between two halves of the terrace and we can barely pass.

Some umbrellas on the terrace really need to be moved. And then all that effort turns out to be in vain because when we arrive at the parking there is insufficient space for our Frankia and after also searching for other places (we drive back and forth three times under the terrace in question and don’t dare to pass it anymore) we decide to leave Sancerre and look for another destination. It will be Bourges, because that town is only 32 miles to the south. We arrive there at 2 pm. There is a huge parking near a cinema and some sports facilities and we can easily park here. After having a chat with our French neighbors, we walk into town.

Bourges is a beautiful old town with grand buildings, old houses and a huge cathedral from the 12th century, which is rightly a world heritage. We wander through the center and of course we enter the Cathedrale St Etienne where I burn a candle. Outside the church it is very noisy. Not caused by the many tourists walking around, but by the protests of some French against the mandatory vaccination policy of the French Government. Also, a Moroccan wedding produces a lot of noise.
Finally, at 7 pm we walk back, impressed by this town. The weather is still beautiful and the sun is high in the sky. Because we don’t want to cook now and there is a burger restaurant less than 260 feet away, we pick up a meal in the evening. The burger turns out to be very tasty and belongs in the top 10 of good burgers. After this tasty meal we read in our books, watch the news and go to bed at 9.30 pm.

It’s still beautiful weather on Sunday so we decide to stay another day. Now we want explore the Bourges area by bike. We are not the only ones who enjoy this warm autumn day because cyclists and walkers can be found everywhere on the paths.
Our journey takes us to the edge of town and later we continue our bike ride on dirt tracks that run parallel to a narrow canal. For the most part we cycle under beautiful trees which is nice and cool but at times also a bit cold so we put on our hoodie. In the evening we pick up food again at the Quick burger and enjoy our burgers. Again, they are tasty, although not excellent anymore because the bacon is not fried crispy and therefore a bit chewy. But after our bike ride this food tastes good.

Monday, September 13^th, the sky is again steel blue and soon it is 67 degrees. After filling up with water, we leave Bourges and because we only drive 47 miles today, we arrive end of the morning in the small town of La Chatre. Unfortunately, there is no place at the Super U to park the motorhome. Height beams in the car park prevent this, but we can park under a steel roof next to the store. At least it’s close to the washing machines.

Important for me because I want to wash again. Dick unlocks a shopping cart and I collect all our laundry and a little later I wait, sitting on a stool, in front of the washing machine.
Unfortunately, there is only one washing machine and one dryer (another small washing machine is broken down) so the whole washing process take some hours. But the weather is good. The sun is shining and the thermometer shows 86 degrees. I am so glad that after a while Dick brings me a bottle of water. While I wait for the first wash to finish and a second wash to start, Dick is busy cleaning the motorhome. With our Dyson vacuum cleaner, he cleans everything and the windows are also cleaned inside and outside.

As soon as the first laundry is dried, Dick takes the folded clothes back to the Frankia, one by one so that when the last wash comes out of the dryer, we hardly have to store anything anymore.

After buying some food in the supermarket we have to find a place for the night. Standing under the roof next to the Supermarket is not really attractive so we drive to the center of La Chatre. Here is another parking. However, this parking is completely full with a fair, caravans and tourist buses. But one of the bus drivers still manage to find a place and direct us to a narrow spot where we are soon parked. Although it is already 3.30 pm, it took us three hours to wash, dry and store everything, we take a walk into town as soon as the Frankia is parked. Again, we visit a small, but worth seeing, town, dominated by an old church and two huge sequoias, planted in 1890 and now they have an enormous size. From far away you can see their peaks sticking out above everything else.
After a nice walk we are back at the parking where it is even busier. Not only with people walking over the fairgrounds, but also with school children. The school buses to the surrounding villages appear to depart from this square. We love this roaring and the coming and going buses. It is getting quiet outside at 7 pm. Even the fair stopped.  And we prepared ourselves for a pleasant evening with a lot of noise. None of that, it is getting quieter outside and by 8 pm you only hear the sounds caused by the building of a new attraction. Furthermore, it is dead quiet. It is still warm outside, at least 87 degrees, and until we go to bed at 11:30 pm, all our windows and doors are wide open to give space to every bit of wind. It does not prevent that it stays warm inside our motorhome. After a shower in the evening (after all, we have a fresh and clean bed) and leaving all our windows wide open to let it further cool down, we lie awake for a long time in our warm Frankia. Only early morning the temperature drop to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

When we get up on Tuesday, September 14^th, it is still 68 degrees and the temperature quickly rises again to 76 degrees. After dumping grey and black water, we drive to the Super U where we buy bread and have breakfast before continuing our trip through the beautiful hilly landscape. We are officially in the mountains because we drive over mountain-passes at an altitude of 2050 feet. The road is quiet and at 1.30 pm we arrive in the town of Saint Leonard de Noblat. Who wouldn’t want to visit a village with such a name?
There is a large parking next to the center and we have plenty of choice where we can park the Frankia. After of course a cup of coffee we walk into this old medieval town, through narrow winding streets with old buildings and of course a beautiful old church. After all, the town is on the road to the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. After two hours we explored the whole town, walked through all the streets and we return. Soon the sky is getting darker and at 5 pm the first raindrops fall. Gently at first, but soon it starts pouring rain and I’m afraid our levelers will be dragged out from under the Frankia.

Swelling rivers of water pass next and under our motorhome and just when I think it’s time to move, the rain stops and it dries up. It’s soggy and humid outside and we don’t want to go out for dinner, so we cook a simple meal, some sausages with leftover mashed potatoes and tomatoes. Late in the evening we see the last rays of the sun. They shine on the clouds who turn red.

Unfortunately, we have a small problem after showering on Wednesday morning. Our shower drain does not run through so the water remains in the shower tray. Not really good when you have to drive, so while I walk to the bakery, Dick scoops away the excess water. On our way in the Limoges, we stop at the first hardware store we see and buy a plunger and liquid for the drain and then drive on, to another medieval town: Chauvigny. The parking for motorhomes and busses is on top of the mountain and we drive around through very narrow streets towards it. I don’t think we’re on the right track, but our Hakuna doesn’t care about that. It continues to lead us through narrow alleys and only after turning around a few times, because we get stuck on dead-end roads, we arrive on the top of the mountain at the parking.

A Swiss bus just arrived (via a better road) and intend to have lunch here. We cannot park on the lot for RV’s as those places are really too short, but luckily there is still a free bus parking where we park the Frankia. While Dick empties the cleaning fluid into the drains of our shower and I make us a cup of coffee, we see a motorhome leaving. As this place is much longer, we move ours and park in this corner.
While the unblocking fluid hopefully does its job, we walk into town. This ancient medieval town is located on the hill and look beautiful. Its historic character is preserved well. The Cathedral of St. Pierre dates from the 12th century and is impressive with its white-red pillars. We stay inside for some time to look around.

Then we walk through the narrow roads that lead past old buildings with heavy walls and arrive at a fortress and even a real castle. This whole town looks and feels nice. I instantly fall in love with it. In the afternoon I walk the steep path to the valley (we climbed this path earlier) in search of a bakery and indeed I find one in the lower village.

Not so far away that we can’t get bread but it does require a steep descent down and a steep climb up. On my way back I also search two geocaches in the rock walls. They are not that easy to find but thanks to some spoiler pictures I find the caches. However, I have to pay for it with some serious scratches on my arms and legs because of the abundant blackberry bushes everywhere. When I’m home Dick got the shower drain working again and he found a nice restaurant near the castle.

At 7 pm we walk there and after a check of our QR code we may take a seat on the terrace. Once again, we are lucky with the weather. It’s a beautiful summer evening. The sun is still shining, it is 72 degrees and not cold. It is even more fun (and also fitting in this medieval town) when a Bald Eagle passes us. Of course, we (I) walk to the owner of this impressive bird and have a chat. The next time we are here, we will visit the bird-show. Unfortunately, that will take a while because after this month this show stops and will not be resumed until the end of spring. We feel very comfortable in this town and now we also discovered a restaurant with good food. My spinach lasagna with goat cheese and lettuce turns out to be the house specialty and is delicious and Dick’s sirloin steak also tastes good. After dinner we chat with a German couple who parked their RV at the campsite down the mountain.

We have a pleasant evening and late in the evening (Autumn is coming so it’s already dark) we walk through the small streets of this dead quiet and beautiful lit, medieval town, back to our motorhome.  It feels great.
Unsurprisingly, when Dick bends over something, the next morning our shower drain works just fine again and I’m very pleased with him, especially when he also cooked an egg when I return from my expedition to the bakery. It really is a climb back up. When we take our bikes to cycle around in the area, the temperature turns out to be a bit disappointing. I didn’t notice that when I went down the mountain this morning and climbed up again but on our bikes the wind just feels cold on our legs. So, when we have cycled a few hundred yards we return to the motorhome to put on our long trousers. And then we cycle to a geocache round in the forests around Chauvigny.
These geocaches are all challenges and that means that you not only have to search this cache but also have to meet other conditions to be able to log these geocaches. One of the caches requires that for every year that geocaching exists (since the year 2000) you must have found one cache. Since we recently found the missing year 2000 in Belgium, near Bouillon, we now meet this requirement. The tour takes us through a forest with very uneven paths, very rocky, often very sloping slopes and with regularly fallen trees on the path and often we have to get off our bikes and lift the bike over the trees before we can continue our way. Dick is therefore “not amused” about my route choice.

But eventually we complete the entire route and arrive at an old railway line that we have to follow because we want to cross the river and cannot find another way to cross this river. We are not disappointed because, from this high railway line, we not only have a beautiful view over the medieval town of Chauvigny, we also can find two other caches that are hidden on this railway route. One of them requires some climbing under a high bridge, but Dick coaches me: “just put your feet on the beams”, “no you won’t fall”, “move more to the right then you have a better grip”, “don’t overreact, you can’t be crushed”, “stay calm”, “bend a little more and you can reach the geocache” and eventually we can also log this climbing cache.

In the afternoon we are back at the motorhome. That’s good because now we can grab a geocache at the castle. We already found it but it is hidden so high in the wall that we need stairs to get to it. So, armed with our folding stairs from the motorhome, we walk through town. You would say that is quite remarkable, but no.

Everyone is watching us but no one says anything, so we quickly storm the castle and log the cache. Back home we dump our gray and black water, do some administration (after all, we have to keep track of everything we do and spend) and Dick take the laptop to log our found caches. When we finished it is almost evening and again, we walk to restaurant “La Belle Epoque”, near the castle, to have dinner. Once again, our meal tastes excellent and again, we have a nice address to return to.

Unfortunately, Friday September 17^th it is heavily clouded. But luckily it is still 63 degrees. Not really nice weather and so we decide to leave before breakfast and stop to have breakfast at the first bakery we come across. Of course, it takes a while before we find a bakery in this vast country, as always if you are looking for something. The road does not take us past shops but through fields, but after 7 miles, at a crossroad, we see a bakery with enough space to park. After our late breakfast, we continue our journey through the French countryside. Just before we reach our destination we are stopped because of a serious accident at an intersection. The road is fairly narrow and so we wait together with a row of trucks until we may drive on again. Fortunately, this is the case after half an hour and at 1 pm we arrive in Montreuil Bellay. Again, our Hakuna doesn’t really show us the right way to the parking for motorhomes, because a number of times we get stuck on too narrow roads, or roads forbidden for vehicles over 7725 lbs, but eventually we arrive at a large parking lot next to a campsite where the motorhome can be parked.

It is already busy with motorhomes but at this time of day there is always a spot to be found. As soon as the Frankia is parked to our satisfaction (sometimes that take some time) we walk into the town. Another town from the guide I found in July in Issoire, (France) and from which I compiled this route with all these beautiful towns. Montreuil Bellay is dominated by a huge castle and church on top of the mountain around which the narrow streets wind up and down.

Again, geocaches show us the way through town and bring us to all the places worth seeing. And it has warmed up again. The clouds have given way to blue skies and the sun is shining again. Montreuil Bellay is not really a big town so after two hours of wandering around (more climbing around) we have seen it and descend to the river where we are parked. After all those eat indulgences of the last few days, we are not going out for dinner tonight but cook ourselves. The mashed potatoes and cauliflower taste delicious, the steak is a bit less (and that’s not caused by Dick’s cooking). The meat is a tough and requires a lot of chewing. But according to Dick that is the case with all French beef. And the picture on the packaging of the meat looked so juicy and tender. It’s a good thing we arrived early here because when we’re finished our dinner around 7.30 pm, another endless stream of motorhomes arrives on this parking. Soon every possible spot in this parking is filled with a parked motorhome. It’s even busier than when we drove around France in the month of July.

Saturday September 18^th, we wake up because the raindrops are falling on the roof hatch. What a different weather. The sky is completely gray and no refraction is visible. Because it really starts to rain after we took a shower, I don’t walk to the bakery but we drive to the supermarket outside the old center where we buy bread and have a good breakfast in its parking lot before we continue our journey. We are lucky because soon the rain stops and it clears up, so, at the end of the morning, we drive into Brittany and have sun. On our way to Saint Malo, we stop in the town of Retiers where we dump and fill with water. After all, that is not possible in the parking lot in Saint Malo and we arrive at the coast at 2 pm.

Before we arrive at this parking at the coast, we first looked at some other car parks closer to the center of Saint Malo but there is either no space or the place is too small for us and so we park the Frankia again next to the beach, about 3 miles outside of Saint Malo. In contrast to last summer, the parking layout has changed.

Motorhomes are no longer allowed to park in the central area, but must park on the side. Although it is very busy, there are still a few spots available and we can park. The side of the parking is very sloping but when we use the levelers tonight, we will stand levelled again. Once we had a drink, we walk to the neighboring town of Rotheneuf. Here are rock sculptures. Already for some time I want to visit these sculptures and watch them but we never did it, so now it’s the day. After half an hour of walking we arrive at the entrance where we pay € 2,50 entrance and enter the coastal area with the famous rocks.

 

The priest L’Abbee Foure, who lived here in the 19th century, was also a painter and woodcarver, and when he developed a brain disease at the age of 55, which caused him to lose his hearing and speech, he decided to retire as a hermit in this old fishing village Rotheneuf where he worked on the granite rocks and cliffs for 13 years. The result is more than 300 images, faces and figures. As soon as we walk down the rocky path, we see the different carved statues. You are short of eyes in this sculpture garden and it is very special that despite heavy tidal waves and the influence of the sea wind, the carvings have not been affected. On the contrary they look even more lived through.

We walk around slowly. And with us many others because sometimes you have to wait a while to take a nice picture until the crowd is gone but finally, we have seen everything and walk back. However, via a detour because the beach lures and it is still “low tide” so we can walk a bit on the dried up sand beach. At 6 pm we are back at the parking lot.

Now there is no more parking space available so the new arriving motorhomes have to continue. For dinner we have carpaccio and salad Manhattan and that tastes fine. Unfortunately, the weather is very gloomy on Sunday morning. The sky is gray and there is a strong wind blowing. I cycle to the Carrefour to buy bread. Normally I do this on foot, but now that we will use our bicycles today (we will cycle to Saint Malo) this will go faster. After breakfast Dick also takes his bike and we drive to the old center of Saint Malo, lock our bikes with cables in front of the city wall and walk towards the beach.

It is getting low tide so now is the time to walk to the island of Grand Bé. At low tide, that island can be reached over the sandy beach. Although we did not look at the tide tables, we just see the water getting lower and lower and soon we descend the city walls and walk over the partly wet sand towards the island. The sky is less clouded, blue sky and sun are clearing these clouds so it’s a good time to make the crossing. Many others also have the same idea of ​​walking towards the island of Grand Bé and it is quite busy on the beach. To reach the top of the island we have to climb up, but when we reach the top we are rewarded with a beautiful view over the town of Saint Malo and you can see the old city walls.
Unfortunately, we cannot walk to the second island: “Petit Bé”. The water is still too high for that and because the currents between the islands are strong, it is not wise to wade through the deep water. It is now 12.30 pm and time to walk to our favorite restaurant “La Bourse”. So, we return over the beach, climb the city walls again and walk over these massive walls to the Porte Dinan, where our favorite restaurant is located.

Still walking on the walls, Dick notices that there is one table available on the terrace and I run ahead. We are lucky and are able to take this table.
Of course, after our QR code is scanned. Without proof that you are vaccinated (or recently tested or recovered from Corona) you can’t do anything in this country. It’s weekend and we cannot order a menu so we limit ourselves to a main course and dessert. First, we take fish and chips, which tastes excellent. It can’t be otherwise because the cod comes directly from the sea. For dessert, we order Tiramisu and a Grand Café (coffee and some small pastries), also delicious. And meanwhile we enjoy the sun and look at all the tourists walking around here. To better digest the enormous amount of food and wine in our stomachs we also take a walk “intra muros”, through the narrow streets within the city walls. Wearing a mask is mandatory here. While this was still massively enforced in July, you saw policemen everywhere, now a number of people have had it and they no longer wear a mask when walking outside. Because it is very busy in the streets we leave the city, grab our bicycles and drive along the various ports.

Finally, we are back at our parking outside town at the end of the afternoon. The wind is quite cool so we stay inside. I only walk to the beach at sunset. It is now completely deserted, no wonder because with the strong wind and high water there is hardly any beach left and the temperature has dropped to 57 degrees. You will not be surprised that again we sleep like roses after so much fresh air and sea breeze.

Monday, September 20^th  we get up at 8 am and after a shower and get dressed we leave this parking. Unfortunately, both our Hakuna’s do not want to take the road along the coast (I have no idea why) so we drive inland to the town of Pontorson, only 32 miles away and after an hour we arrive already in the parking lot behind the supermarket Carrefour. There I buy a fresh baguette and we enjoy breakfast (again with a boiled egg, Yammie).
After that, our day program starts. Dick helps me to find all our laundry, get an empty shopping cart and has money ready to put in the washing-machines, and soon I’m on my way to the laverie (laundromat) where it’s busy with people doing their laundry. All Frenchmen from this area. Fortunately, the first machine is available after about 10 minutes, but I have to wait almost half an hour for the second machine. Oh, it’s not a problem. I’m glad we can do our laundry.

At 2 pm everything is clean, stowed away and we have a fresh cover on our bed and we decide to cycle a bit around. Not all the way to Mont St. Michel but a couple of miles in that direction and we find our way through the meadows. In Beauvoir, with a view of the Mont, we turn back. The weather is beautiful but there is a strong wind blowing. However, on the way back we don’t feel this wind because it blows in our back. When we are back home (yes, our Frankia feels like home) Dick sits behind his laptop again to log our found caches and I am strolling around in the Carrefour. I have to, because we cook tonight in the motorhome and all the ingredients for our meal still have to be purchased. But when the green beans with chicken and mashed potatoes stay on the table in the evening (yes again), Dick doesn’t complain.
Despite the fact that the parking in St Malo was overcrowded and the road to Pontorson was very busy with passing motorhomes, this supermarket parking remains very quiet. We spend the night with only 3 others, all French. Because we didn’t go to the meeting in Bad Durrheim, Germany, we still have one day left and so we decide to leave for Cherbourg on Tuesday September 21^st. Also, one of our favorite places in France.  Because this place at the coast is very pleasant to stay.
We were supposed to leave Pontorson early, so yesterday I bought survival bread, but during the night our French propane tank is running out of propane, so we don’t bother to get up early. When the supermarket opens at 8.45 am we want to exchange our propane-tank for a full one and also buy a fresh baguette. The question is whether there is propane. An employee did not return the empty propane tanks upside down in the storage place, so the store does not dare to give out tanks, because they don’t know or the tanks are filled or not.
But Dick knows what to look for and shows the “store lady” the seal of the full tanks and now we can exchange and connect a new propane tank. I am very happy that this summer we bought a French tank.

After breakfast, a little later than usual, we drive into Normandy. Or maybe we were already there because we (I) are still not sure whether Le Mont St. Michel is in Brittany or in Normandy. Everywhere on the way to the north are roadblocks so we regularly have to make a detour but finally we arrive in Cherbourg at 3 pm. The sun is shining even though there are quite a few clouds. There is only one spot on the parking where we park the Frankia, it’s on the side of the lot (I like that) and with a view over the harbor. Later on, other spots also become available, so we definitely had a place to sleep.

After a coffee we walk around, first along the harbor area, heavily secured by concertinas because the ferry to England leaves from here and then straight through the narrow streets to the foot of the rocky hill where bunkers were built near the top from which you have a 360 degree view over the city and the sea. From our own experience we know that an excursion there is definitely worth it. Maybe we have to return there but then with a guided tour in English. When we visited this area earlier, we were the only visitors and everything was explained in rattling French and we couldn’t let our attention slip for a moment.
Finally, we arrive at the large shopping center along the fishing harbor and I want to take a look inside. Dick walked enough through the streets of Cherbourg and after a coffee and cake on a terrace, he slowly returns to the motorhome, while I go around the shops.

At 6.30 pm we walk, with down jackets in our backpacks, to the center of town and look for a place on a terrace around the fishing harbor. Unfortunately, the terrace is in the shade, but because it is completely shielded with plastic, it is also a good place to be without a jacket and after our “Pass Sanitaire” is scanned, we take a seat.
It remains special that no one here grumbles when you have to show a “Pass Sanitaire” before you can eat or drink something. But opponents of this policy will not be found on a terrace or in a restaurant. The meal tastes good. My double hamburger is even of excellent quality, and Dicks steak also tastes good. When dusk sets in, we walk back to the Frankia. For a while we look at the reflection of the lights in the water of the harbor and then quickly fall asleep.

Wednesday morning, we eat survival bread. The bakery whose oven was broken in July is now on Congee (vacance) so I can’t buy bread there and I don’t like to walk to the shopping center. Before leaving we want to fill up with water, but the tap on this parking lot runs so slowly that we will need at least  half an hour to fill our water-tank and because we drive to the town of Honfleur and there are fast-running taps, we decide to leave and fill up there. It is busy on the road, especially around Rennes where we are not allowed to drive our car over the bridge and after a huge traffic jam, we finally arrive over back roads not far from the center of Honfleur. Here we are urged to take the toll road. Other roads are blocked for vehicles heavier than 7725 LB. And surely  with our obligatory Angles Mort stickers (for heavy cars) we can’t take such roads. It is very busy at the parking for motorhomes in Honfleur. In July, at this time of the morning, there was still plenty of room, now we really have to look for a spot.

Luckily a motorhome just drives away so we park on a spacious place. After I paid for the parking (it’s an expensive one because it’s 11 euro) I first fill up our tank with the watering can while Dick prepares a cup of coffee and then we walk into town.
From our parked motorhome we have a view over the water, the town of Honfleur and its fishing harbor where scattered nets are drying. The fishermen use them to retrieve the different types of fish and everywhere are people to buy fish directly from the arriving ships. As the harbor is shielded from the sea by a system of ship locks that take some time. The weather is beautiful. Thanks to the merging of two high-pressure areas, there is little wind and the temperature rises to 72 degrees.

Because of the beautiful weather we decide to take a look at the beach of Honfleur. It is located at the mouth of the river Seine and we have never walked that far. First, we visit the “Jardins des Personalites” at the end of town where we look for a cache that we couldn’t find a few years ago, but now we can and then we walk on to the beach.

It is low tide so there is a lot of beaches and in the wonderful warm sun we take a leisurely walk on the moist sand. At the lighthouse we leave the beach again and we climb over the hills to return to the center of Honfleur. There we walk along another picturesque harbour

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, visit the completely wooden Sainte Catherina church (the largest wooden church in France) and wander through the narrow, cozy streets before returning to the parking lot where it has become even busier.
Every spot where a motorhome can park is now occupied and new arriving cars are still trying to find a place by double parking. In the evening I pick up a meal (kebab, chicken, fries and salad) at the eatery “Gyros” and we enjoy our food.
Thursday September 23^rd  we get up at 8 am. It is only 53 degrees but there is practically no wind and soon the temperature rises because when I walk in the sun to the bakery, it feels warmer. After breakfast we drive to Le Havre on the other side of the Seine.

However, our Hakuna indicates that we have to drive 83 miles because to avoid toll we have to make a detour via Rouen. But when we take the toll bridge “Pont de Normandie” and pay € 6.40, we already arrive in Le Havre after 16 miles. And that could have been even less when we didn’t drive wrong in the maze of highways in Le Havre. There is still one spot on the parking lot where we park our Frankia. Because this parking is not far away from heavy industry, the place is situated high on a slope above the Seine and the wind is wrong, the outside smells strongly of refineries and we keep our windows closed.

 

 

Dick gets the bikes out of the garage and we prepare them for our trip. There is a series of challenges right at the foot of the Pont de Normandie and I came up with the idea to cycle there from our parking.

At least we don’t have to cycle over the high bridge Pont de Normandy with its heavy traffic. So armed with maps and GPS codes we set off. We are parked high up on a hill and low below us is our goal. That means that we immediately have an endless steep descent over very narrow streets with often sharp hairpin bends, where I regularly slip. But eventually we arrive at the bottom, almost unscathed, and then the misery starts in finding our way across an industrial area where we, cyclists, are absolutely not welcome.
There are no bicycle paths nor a decent roadside along the narrow roads and all around us are heavy trucks racing back and forth. Their drivers are also absolutely “not amused” to avoid us, cyclists. Since Dick’s GPS always follows small roads and paths and there are only major roads around us, the GPS cannot no longer find a way. And when we cycle back again to find an accessible bridge over one of the many canals in this industrial area and cycle again through a for cyclists and hikers forbidden territory, we stop under the smoke of the huge ship Brittany. Again, we see a water barrier, another huge harbor. Until now we already cycled 10 miles and we still have at least 5 miles to go, so we decide to stop this (now dangerous) trip and return to the motorhome. It stinks here, it is dangerous for cyclists and after 2.5 hours we are back, disillusioned. Of course, again, after climbing the hill over many, many hairpins. While Dick stores the bikes again, I quickly dump our gray and black water and then we leave. Next time we will come back here, we either drive with our motorhome to the geocaches or we look for them from the town of Honfleur, cycling over the Pont de Normandie. 38 Miles further to the east, we stop in Doudeville at a small square in town. It’s not a special village, but it’s quiet and the air smells nice.

Dick quickly takes out our bicycles and we explore the area. Our bike ride takes us over narrow farm roads and past a neighboring castle which, although deserted, also looks quite impressive, as are the old and sizable trees all around this castle.
During the afternoon the dark clouds, present everywhere in Le Havre, dissolve and we enjoy the sun. Now a strong wind is blowing, but the temperature is still 63 degrees. Our intention was to have a salad for dinner but after the cycling we want to have a warm meal and again we have cauliflower with chicken and mashed potatoes. In the evening we watch TV, but we no longer hear the clock striking 10 pm.

On Friday September 24^th we don’t wake up until 8.30 am. The supermarket is not even 650 feet away, so we have breakfast with fresh baguettes before we drive on. Unfortunately, the weather changed, the sky is gray and its drizzly weather. Sunday, we have to be home because early Monday morning the Frankia camper has an inspection (MOT) so today, we drive to the town of Laon.

Another town that regularly returns on our route because it is pleasant to stay here and the food is good. Because we have to drive 162 miles and we follow only back roads, we arrive in Laon at 2.30 pm. We are surprised that only one other motorhome is parked under the city wall so it is no problem to park ours.
The clouds disappear and the sun comes out and we take a walk through town.
No punishment because now we can make reservations for tonight in restaurant Agora.
Unfortunately, the restaurant is closed and doesn’t open until 7pm tonight. It is clear that now less people sit on the terrace because only a few tables are left outside.

The narrow shopping street are fun to walk through, we admire the medieval paintings and we search and find a cache at a lavoir (a washing place from earlier times).

After 2 hours we are back at the Frankia where I take the laptop. Again, I need to write something and Dick picks up his book “The Journey” by James A. Mitchener, which tells of a trip to the gold fields in the Klondike and is very intriguing. Just before 7 pm we walk again along the city walls to the center. There is actually a table available in the restaurant. We order the menu and a carafe of Cotes du Rhone. Once again, the food tastes excellent and we agree that the detour via Laon is worth it. We will definitely return to this restaurant. Unfortunately, in winter the opening times are restricted to the weekend.

Under a dark sky we walk back and admire the cathedral for a while, which looks great with its blue illuminated towers.

Saturday morning, we wake up early and because we eat survival bread, we leave early. We first have to refuel downhill, but then we drive quickly to the border with Belgium via inland roads. It’s very foggy. Although on the mountain in Laon the sun came out early this morning, here on the lower plains we cannot look further than 260 feet. When we arrive at the Belgian border, the sun has more power and the clouds disappear. With a shining sun we continue our way through Belgium. Due to road closures we have to make a detour after Antwerp so we arrive in Bergen op Zoom, in the southern part of the Netherlands, at 2.30 pm. There is one spot on the boulevard where we park our Frankia. In the afternoon all clouds disappear and the temperature climbs to 74 degrees. There is no wind and I walk around the mini-libraries to exchange our books.

Meanwhile Dick can write something for the member-meeting of our diving club that will take place next week. In the evening we buy Chinese food, enjoy a beautiful sunset and read our books. Watching TV is not possible here because there are too many huge trees.

Early Sunday morning we hit the road early and so already at 10 am we park behind our house. The rest of the day we are busy getting everything out of the motorhome and of course clean it thoroughly in- and outside. After the inspection of the engine tomorrow, we will bring our motorhome to Raema, our RV dealer in Nederweert. There, among other things, they will make moisture measurements and so it is wise when the motorhome is delivered empty. All day we are lucky with the weather, the sun is shining and it is nice and warm, so at the end of the afternoon the Frankia is empty and cleaned, our house is a mess and we look back on another wonderful journey.
When the alarm clock rings at 6 am on Monday morning, that is a bit disappointing. It’s been a long time since we went out in the dark. But we are on time at the truck garage in Utrecht.

Finally, we can cross borders
Traveling from the end of June till the beginning of August 2021

At the end of June 2021, the corona infections finally decrease and Germany open its borders. However, to enter that country, you must be registered on a website of the German government and be fully vaccinated for at least two weeks. The latter is not a problem because we both had our second Corona-vaccination end of May and so, after registering, I can work on an itinerary through Germany. That is not really difficult because, the past year I already made a lot of notes, so I know roughly where we want to go.

Sunday, I give a finishing touch to our travel-route. When I return home on Monday morning, with fresh bread rolls for our breakfast, Dick looks at me with a gloomy face. He has bad news. When my face darkens, he tells me that France is opening his borders too.
Dick knows better than anyone that now we will not only stay in Germany but also travel to France and my itinerary can be thrown into the trash. After breakfast I immediately going to sit at my computer and don’t leave it until, a few days later, I have a sketch of a new travel route that leads through both Germany and France.

One week we will stay in the west of Germany because near the town of Cologne are a number of caches that we definitely want to find. That geocaches have a high level of difficulty and with that we can fill our geocaching grit (with all difficulty levels of caches). The other 4 weeks we will travel through France. We already intended to go there in September 2020, which, due to the country’s lockdown caused by Corona, could not take place.

With some effort our itinerary is ready when we pick up Hannah and Henk (my sister and brother-in-law) at the airport of Amsterdam on Friday, June 25^th. They return from a nice vacation on the Greek island of Kefalonia. There it was clearly noticeable that it is still Corona time, it was quiet on the island.

Saturday June 26^th , early in the morning, we pick up the motorhome from our storage. Dick drives it directly to our car dealer while I go home to block a part of the parking lot. Today we will not leave and then it is good that we can park our motorhome behind our house.

Soon Dick is back. The carriage bolts we bought for our wheels do not fit. Unfortunately, because especially when the camper is staying on its levelers, it’s nice that the wheels can’t just be removed. But we have to deal with this. We will return them to our motorhome dealer on Monday.

The rest of the day Dick is busy assembling a new fixing system for our bicycles. After removing the bike saddle, Dick can secure the bikes with a rod from the ceiling of our motorhome garage into the bike-frame so we no longer have to deal with bungee-cords. While he is working on that, which entails quite a bit of research and measuring, I load the motorhome with all the stuff we think we will need for the next 5 weeks.

The next day we bring in some food and drinks and then we are ready to leave. To leave earlier is not really annoying. Now we can drive to the town of Nuenen and cycle around there for a while, we avoid all traffic jams in the western part of the Netherlands on Monday morning and only have to drive a short distance to Brueggen in Germany, just over the Dutch border. In Nuenen we are the only ones in the parking lot near the sports fields and after parking the motorhome we take our bikes and go cycling around the area. It is sweltering hot but, in the woods, there is some wind which provides the necessary cooling.

At the end of the afternoon, we arrive in the center of Nuenen where, of course, we take a picture at the sculpture group of the famous “Potato Eaters”. After all, we are in the birthplace of the great painter Vincent van Gogh. Unfortunately, it starts to rain when I buy some salads in the supermarket. Because the rain is really pouring down, we take shelter in a shop, but that doesn’t really help because when we arrive 20 minutes later at the motorhome, we are soaked with rain. But it is not cold and the rain does bring a nice coolness.

We are glad that the rain stops when we unload and store our E-bikes so it does not get wetter inside. Luckily, we have enough space in the shower to dry our soaking wet clothes.

After a quiet night, we don’t wake up until 8 am on Monday morning, June 28^th. Again, the sun is shining and the thermometer already shows 72 degrees. Look like it’s going to be another warm day. Despite the fact that Raema, our dealer in Nederweert, is closed on Mondays, we see John (the salesman) driving a motorhome and hand him the (unfortunately inappropriate) carriage bolts. Then we drive on, across the border and into Germany. I just get tears in my eyes as we cross the border. Not because the landscape is so moving or different (you don’t see any difference) but because for the first time in almost a year we have the opportunity to cross an international border. From today, Germany no longer considers our country as a high-risk Corona country and the registration requirement is no longer necessary. There is enough place to stay in Brueggen, we park the motorhome between the German motorhomes (there are no other foreigners) and then walk to the Rewe supermarket to do some shopping and hand in our 30 empty bottles.

In the course of time, we have drunk the contents of German cola (cheaper here) and water bottles and as their deposit is not returned in the Netherlands, we finally have the opportunity to refund them. At the same time, we can also buy my favorite breakfast juice.

Richard, a friend in our diving club, had already offered to bring it for us when he was doing a shopping round in Germany and Belgium last weekend, but we declined that sweet offer because then this juice would remain in our diving club for at least 5 weeks.

Unfortunately, the advertising for juice ended yesterday and now we have to pay the full price. Since we will only travel in Germany for a week, I am afraid that no new advertising is to be expected. While we are shopping it is lightly raining outside but soon the rain stops and we can take the e-bikes to look for a few caches in the area. Some of them are hanging caches that we have to fish high out of the tree.

With a steady hand, Dick manages to fish down one cache after another. Unfortunately, it’s a fact that this leads to a stiff neck after getting out 5 caches. But we have a good time and after cycling 13 miles through forests and fields, we arrive back at the motorhome where the temperature inside has risen to 93 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, it is already 5 pm and not much later the bright sun disappears behind a few low-hanging clouds with which the evening cooling begins. As we have no airco in our RV, all the windows are open so it finally cool down inside. While Dick is logging all our found caches on the computer, I walk to the shops at the other side of the street.

At the supermarket Aldi I saw a nice summer down-duvet, which I buy after some hesitation (do I really need it?). It nicely fills the gap between our other, thicker, summer duvet and just a sheet. Of course, the Platz Wart (supervisor of the motorhome parking and sitting outside) immediately wants to know what I bought. When he sees the summer down duvets I get his approval on my purchase, I will not regret this purchase from Aldi. And I know he thinks “it is also good for the German economy”.

Early evening, I walk to the street again to get Turkish food, kebab with chips and lettuce. It tastes good and after cleaning our dishes, we read the rest of the evening our exiting books. In the meantime, we hear the TV commentary of the football match from our neighbor motorhome, which is easy to follow because all the windows are open and the TV is very loud.

Tuesday June 29^th, we only see a watery sunshine, but the temperature is pleasant with 70 degrees. After dumping our gray- and black water and fill up with clean water, we leave the town of Brueggen. 50 miles further, in the town of Elsdorf, we stop. The parking lot next to the sports fields is completely empty so my worries (Is there a place to stay?) were not necessary. Soon after the motorhome is parked, we take the e-bikes to explore the area, of course we also look for geocaches. One of the caches brings us to a viewpoint over a huge lignite mine.

 

The temperature has risen to 75 degrees so we cycle in our T-shirt. The caches in the vicinity of the mine have a high degree of difficulty, again they hang high in the trees so we took our fishing rod with us for a reason. Just before thunderstorms arrive late in the afternoon, we are back in the motorhome. We were really lucky with the weather today. During the evening, the rain won’t stop and I’m glad we have an emergency supply of food in our home. The brown beans, bought in the USA a couple of years ago, are still good to eat and the canned German goulash tastes good with it. The next day the weather still looks threatening but it is dry and after having our breakfast with fresh bread rolls, we grab the bikes and go out again. It is not warm, only 65 degrees, but it is dry. Because of the wind we put on our rain jackets.

Again, most of the geocaches hang high in the trees. Dick, however, is now a virtuoso at angling so, one by one, he takes the caches down. Dick only allows me to search for a cache that is hidden in a culvert under the road. I still don’t find it tempting to crawl into a pipe, but fortunately there is practically no water in it, so this cache is quickly grabbed. Since Dick also leaves the tree climbing to me. Because we can put a wrecked old table on its side, I manage to get into the armpit of the tree. Don’t think I would have made it if I climbed on Dick’s shoulder. From there it is only climbing up the branches until I have reached the cache. Dick looks approving when I also manage to get out of this tree safely. I notice that my body is not so flexible anymore (I am really getting old).

Around 3 pm we are back at the motorhome where Dick gets the laptop and start logging our geocaches and I walk to the shops to look around. Only a 10 minute walk. That was not possible for a long time due to the Corona measures. In the evening we eat cevapcici (a kind of sausage) with potato cakes and lettuce.

As we already finished reading some books and I don’t want to carry those books with me for the rest of our vacation. So, after dinner, I walk to the center of town where I can leave our books in a mini library.

On Thursday July 1^st we have fresh bread, the advantage if you stay close to a supermarket or bakery. It’s still a bit cloudy and the sky is gray but there is no rain.
On the way to our next destination, we stop to find the two difficult caches, with which we can fill up our geocaching grit. Unfortunately, that won’t work. We can’t discover the first cache.
It’s somewhere in the trees but we can’t find it and the other cache is located deep under the road, again in a culvert, through which a fast-flowing river flows and the brown opaque water does not immediately invite me to dive into this water. So, we still have to be patient before we can fill up our grit.

Because the environment here is not very attractive and there is still a drizzle, we drive straight to Mettlach, where we arrive at 3.30 pm. Of course, there is plenty of space in the parking lot of the “Abtei Brau” and we park our motorhome. The terrace of the brewery is open and there is still a possibility to sit and eat. The rump steak and schnitzel taste excellent but, sitting on the terrace, we have to put on our bodywarmers because it is not really warm. But after dinner, the sun comes out again, which tempts us to take an evening stroll along the river Saar.

Friday, July 2^nd, it is still cloudy early in the morning, but during the day the sun dissolve the clouds and soon we have taken off our jackets while climbing with our bikes over steep forest roads to a high plane. Again, we have a tour through the woods where caches are hidden high up in the branches. If geocaches are hanging between bare branches of pine trees, that is not such a problem, but as soon as the cache-tubes are among thick pine branches, Dick is faced with a bigger challenge. Just before we start the descent to the village, we pass the imposing mansion of the Boch family. It is beautifully situated on the mountainside and overlooks the town of Mettlach. The parking lot of the brewery, where we parked our motorhome, is also visible at the bottom of the valley. It is a pleasure to walk through the gardens of the mansion because everywhere are ancient trees. On his travels around the whole world, Mr. Boch took their seeds with him and this mountain soil was suitable for them to grow.

We have a nice chat with a hunter who wonders whether we also do these trips in the evening and at night. He hunts here and doesn’t like it that people are wandering around in the woods at night because of the game. We reassure him that normally you cannot find geocaches when it’s dark, but he keeps looking worried.

Of course, we also take a look at the gardens around the factory of Villeroy and Boch, a famous pottery factory. Here you find not only the ruin of an old tower (built in the year 1000) but also a mosaic consisting of 137.000 pieces next to the statue of the Erdgeist. Sculptures that were on display at the 2000 World Exhibition in Hamburg. Of course, we take the necessary pictures before we cycle back.

At the motorhome we look back at a tough day. It feels that we climbed with our e-bikes more uphill than downhill and only hit the forest roads.

After the bikes are stored Dick log the caches on the computer and I do some administration. When everything is done at 6 pm, we walk to the Brewery where we quickly find an empty table and again, we enjoy the freshly tapped beer. We can say the same about our dinner, the meat tastes excellent. We think that our efforts on the steep forest paths are also to blame.

This evening it’s warmer and so we don’t have to wear our body warmers during our dinner on the terrace of the Abtei Brau. Back at the motorhome, less than 300 feet away, we still enjoy the last sunrays. We love this time of the year because it stays daylight for a long time.

Saturday, July 3^rd, the sky is steel blue and early in the morning it is already 72 degrees. We still have old bread and we want to eat that first, so today no fresh bread from the supermarket at the other side of the parking lot. The weather is so beautiful that we decide to stay in Mettlach for one more day and before we climb again into the woods on the hill, we first pay at the tourist information for our overnight stay. Parking for a day costs 5 euros but water and dump are free. After writing down the number of our license plate, so the security guard knows that we paid again.

Dick looks for the itinerary to another forest on another hill. It is further away and seems even steeper than the forest of yesterday. Soon we arrive on narrow goat paths on 20% slopes and it is impossible to get through with our e-bike. We have to climb up next to our e-bike, which is not really a success either, but finally after a lot of moaning, we reach the top of the hill. We catch our breath again, have a drink, and then continue, higher up through the woods via orderly wide forest paths to a higher hill. The forest is beautiful here, deserted and quiet, except for a small piece of forest, the “Ruhe Forst”, where people are buried or their ashes have been scattered. Quite a few people walk here and there is even a Forest Chapel where a farewell service is held. We gently pass the chapel and then disappear deeper into the forest. End of the afternoon we have to calculate a bonus cache by giving names to the different smurfs whose pictures were found on the geocache tubes.

First, we have to ride back to a more civilized area, because in the middle of the forest is no WIFI nor cellphone reception and as we don’t know the names of the different smurfs, let alone that we know their German names, we have to descend the wooded slopes.

But after a while we find an open spot next to the road where we can use our cellphone, search for the names and finally we can calculate the right coordinates for the bonus geocache. Then we cycle (better climb) again into the forest to a steep mountain slope covered with moss and stones where we find the last cache of this series. Slowly we cycle back to town and are just in time to see the finish of the Tour de France.

Once the bikes are stored (very easy with our new fixing system) we have to put our “Angles Morts” stickers on the sides and rear of our motorhome. In France it’s since January 2021 mandatory that all cars, heavier than 7750 lbs., must have these “blind spot” stickers. When all three are glued to the motorhome according to the instructions, it is time to walk again to the terrace of the Brewery. It is very busy on this warm Saturday evening and all the tables are occupied, but just when we want to walk back, some people are leaving and a table is available. After a friendly look at and talk with at the reservation-lady, we are allowed to take this table and, for the third evening in a row, we enjoy the excellent food of this brewery. And of course, the freshly tapped beer tastes excellent after all our efforts today. And again, it’s warmer this evening. Now we can sit outside only dressed in a T-shirt. The beautiful steel blue sky, with which the day started, made way for more clouds, but a single ray of sunshine still manages to reach our table.

Early morning on Sunday, July 4^th, it is raining so hard that, already at 7 am, the sound of the falling water awakes us. We had a deep dreamless sleep. After our breakfast with, now very old, bread (but the supermarket is closed on Sunday) the rain stops and we can dump our gray- and black water with only some drizzle and fill our fresh water with the watering can. By fog banks we drive to Luxembourg where we want to fill up with gasoil as it’s cheaper here than in the neighboring countries.  When we arrive in Luxembourg the sun breaks through the clouds and we see some blue sky. Unfortunately, not long after, the sky closes again and every now and then some rain falls from a thick and gray cloud cover. But we just drove into France, and again a tear flows down my cheeks. What have I longed for the possibility to travel again in this beautiful country. Especially after a year travelling through our small country.

When there will be ever a possibility to travel to the USA again (now the US borders are still closed for European) I will cry like a baby.

Despite the fact that it is Sunday morning we see a lot of car traffic on the road and when I point Dick to follow a narrow road (other roads have restrictions) we are stuck by oncoming traffic almost every 30 feet. On the narrow roads in the French countryside and in the old villages, there is actually no room at all for a motorhome. The fact that we are now driving on a map is caused by Dicks Hakuna (GPS) that threatens to stop. On the itinerary in front of us are so many weight restrictions that, according to this Hakuna, it is impossible for us to reach the place we want to visit.

So, we ignore Dicks Hakuna and rely on my map reading and my Hakuna. Fortunately, we have two Hakuna’s (I call our GPS: Hakuna as it means in the “Lion King”: don’t worry) and as my Hakuna doesn’t care about weight restrictions we finally manage to reach the town of Hombourg Haut in pouring rain.

Next to the Netto supermarket is a large parking lot with at the end separate places for motorhomes. After a cup of coffee, we walk to the front of the closed supermarket. Here are washing machines. Because it is still raining, we park our motorhome next to these washing machines so that we can put our laundry in the large machines without walking and soon an 18 pound and a 40-pound washing machine is running. We are lucky, the rain has stopped and the sun shines again. While looking at the washing of our clothes and bed linen, we grab a few shopping carts to put our laundry in. When it falls to the ground when clearing out the washing machines, it immediately ends up in a mud slurry in front of the machines (it is not really clean here). But Dick, the most patient of us, carefully clear out all our laundry into the shopping carts and later into the huge dryer. Unfortunately, despite the 4 euros we put in the dryer and pressing on all the available buttons, the dryer doesn’t heat up so after half an hour we pick up our wet laundry and drive back to the separate parking for motorhomes.

From the light pole to a wall behind us, Dick fastens a few clotheslines, where I can attach our laundry and soon everything is fluttering in the sun and wind. But not for a long time. Just when all the clothes are attached on the clotheslines the wind sends deep black clouds in our direction and not long after the first raindrops fall. Before the arrival of heavy rain, we bring in all the laundry and give this wet laundry a place everywhere inside the motorhome. It’s a good thing I have a lot of clothes hangers. In the meantime, Dick spreads our socks and underwear on the dashboard of the motorhome. We hardly can move around. At the end of the afternoon the rain stops and the sun comes out again. But this late sun has insufficient power to dry so we just leave the laundry inside. The evening meal I prepare is much more modest than what we were used recently, but it fills our stomach and we don’t have to go to bed at 10 pm with a rumbling stomach.

When we wake up on Monday, July 5^th, it is still raining. While buying bread in the supermarket, I complain about the non-functioning dryer on their premises, but the manager says this machine is not their responsibility and I just have to call the phone number on the machine. We want to complain (don’t understand why because nobody will return our money) so we call the number given on the washing machines, but after about 10 minutes we disconnect the call because we are still on hold.

After a good breakfast, this time with fresh French croissants, it is still raining so we stay in the motorhome. When, end of the morning, the rain stops and the sun breaks through the clouds, we walk to the medieval village of Hombourg-Haut over a narrow steep path. The town is completely extinct, the church is locked and to make matters worse, it also starts to drizzle. It’s good we put on our rain jackets. At the end of the village, we visit the beautiful chapel and then walk back the same way. All other paths down the mountain, towards the motorhome, are closed because of an active oak procession caterpillar. Even with a drizzle we are soaking wet when we return back. We hang our wet coats between our still wet bedding and other clothes and decide to leave.

According to the weather forecast, this region is covered by a thick cloud band and it will not stop raining for a while. We look for another destination and the city of Liverdun seems nice. And yes, when we arrive there, only 53 miles to the southwest, the sun is shining. After parking the motorhome on a strip of grass near the river Moselle and next to the fence of a campground (incredible we can stay here for free), we walk to the center of Liverdun. Again, this town has a historic center and, like Hombourg-Haut, it is located on a mountain.

The narrow streets rise steeply and again we climb and climb but after a while we arrive at the top of the mountain and are rewarded with a magnificent view of the horseshoe bend in the river Moselle. It’s beautiful and during a long time we stay here to enjoy the view. But finally, we descend again and talk with the residents of another motorhome who just arrived. After a lovely sun-drenched evening it is disappointing that the next morning it is pouring rain again and the sky is dark gray. Not really pleasant to walk to the bakery in the village so, after showering and getting dressed, we drive to a supermarket 3 miles away, where we buy a fresh baguette and have breakfast in the parking lot.

Then we drive on to Montbeliard, close to the Swiss border but also close to the town of Audincourt where my French family used to live. Because my parents naturally wanted to visit their family during the summer holidays, Hannah and I were introduced to the beautiful landscape of the Vosges for the first time when I was 9 years old and Hannah 4 years. But when we arrive in Montbeliard it is still raining so again we take our map, pick a new place and drive further west.

We stop in Besancon, but the parking here feels oppressive and it is still drizzling, so we drive on to the town of Quingey. Here is a large parking lot behind the Intermarche supermarket, where we can spend the night. Although we overlook a cardboard crushing machine and large piles of empty crates, we can do some shopping.

This place gets unbelievably quiet when the shop closes at 7 pm. Unfortunately, it takes until 9 pm before the sky finally breaks open. Then our motorhome stands in the middle of a rainbow and is beautiful lit by the evening sun.

Wednesday July 7^th, we finally wake up again because sunbeams shine in our motorhome. How nicer the world looks when the sky is blue and the sun is shining. After breakfast with of course a fresh baguette, we drive to Dole. A town in the Jura and birthplace of Louis Pasteur. When we arrive at the huge parking lot on the edge of the town it feels good and we park the motorhome in a way that we have a beautiful view of the huge cathedral that towers over all the houses.

 

After loading some caches into our GPS, we walk across the river into town, which again demands a lot from our leg muscles because, here too, we have to walk up steep and narrow alleys to the imposing cathedral. We also visit a fountain that can be found deep under some vaults and over narrow slippery paths.
After a few hours of walking around we are thirsty and as the weather is finally good, we take a seat on a terrace in the small streets.

How nice, for the first time in a year, we can sit on a terrace of a cafe. After a refreshing coffee and Perrier sparkling water, we walk to the birthplace of Louis Pasteur.
Unfortunately, it’s lunchtime so we can’t visit the museum here. French love their lunchtime and so everything is closed for a couple of hours. At the end of the afternoon, we are back after almost 5 miles walking and we can just watch the climb of the Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France.

In the evening we walk outside again. We have to watch the take-off of a hot air balloon behind the motorhome and we want admire a huge metal dragon on a trailer (for two hours parked behind us and after that transported to a mystery forest). We both agree that the town of Dole was a good choice to stay. This time we go to bed late in the evening. The European football Championship is running and of course we have to watch the semi-finals. With all these sports watching we hardly read books.

Because we went to bed very late, we wake up at 8.30 am on Thursday July 8^th. While buying fresh bread from the bakery in the old town I have a chat with the baker who is kneading new loaves. We actually wanted to stay one more day in Dole, but the sky is very threatening and rain is on its way, so we leave town and continue our way west.

In Chalon sur Saone we find a nice place to spend the night, again close to the center of town and with the possibility of dumping gray and black water. As always, we close all our window shutters (the sun is shining bright again) and walk to the old center. This town is pleasant to walk around and we enjoy the old buildings and the beautiful half-timbered houses. Of course, we also admire the enormous Cathedrale. Unbelievable how many churches were built in the past. One is even more impressive than another.

Again we take a seat on a terrace of a bakery in one of the narrow shopping streets where the cappuccino with cake is delicious. The owner is very happy that after the long Lockdown, tourists are visiting again. When we are almost home and want to watch a “jeu de boule” game near our parking lot, it starts to rain, again. At first, it’s a drizzle but once we’re in the motorhome it turns into torrential rain and I’m glad we’re inside. Fortunately, the rain does not last very long and we can greet the sun again at the end of the evening. You hardly notice the traffic noise on this busy road, now that it is evening, so again we sleep like roses.

Friday, we wake up early and after our breakfast (with fresh baguette because I walked to the bakery) we fill up with clean water and leave town. Chalon sur Saone is a nice city but does not have such a charm as Dole so after our extensive city walk yesterday, we have seen it.

We leave for Issoire, a small town not far from Clermont Ferrand. The majority of the drive takes us over back roads. Only the last 20 miles we drive through the center of Clermont Ferrand and partly over the motorway.

When arriving in Issoire we are lucky because on this busy motorhome parking we occupy the second to last place and within 5 minutes the last spot is also taken. Later it turns out that it is not the last place at all because people also park their motorhomes in front of us.
But then it is already late at night. Many French people have the habit of arriving somewhere after 7 pm. Not that we mind because that means that we can usually find a place.
We always arrive somewhere between 11 am and 1 pm. After having a cup of coffee, we walk into the old town of Issoire. Again, a pleasant town with old, colored, houses and again an impressive Cathedrale.

We enjoy our walk and when Dick walks back, end of the afternoon, I still climb the clock tower. Dick did not want to climb this tower at all (his knees are already protesting after our long 7 miles walk) but I can’t resist taking a look at this nice town from above and it’s definitely nice to look over the red roofs to the hilly environment made up of extinct volcanoes. After all, we are in the landscape of the Puy de Dome.

Back at the motorhome we buy some food at the supermarket next to our parking lot. It is always very pleasant when a shop is so close to a motorhome spot. In the evenings we finally read again and enjoy the evening coolness with all our windows wide open. It is clear that the holiday flow of foreigners has not started yet because we are the only foreigners here.

Saturday, July 10^th, we wake up at 8 am. The sun is already shining brightly in a blue sky. It is not really warm yet, only 62 degrees, but it promises to be warm. It’s time to grab our bikes again and soon we’re climbing up by ever ascending roads to the surrounding hilltops. Even with our E-bike the slopes are not easy to climb. This is also caused by the fact that Dick’s GPS only knows walking paths and we therefore regularly have to find our way up via narrow forest- and agricultural paths

Unfortunately, an old suspension bridge is hermetically sealed so that we cannot cross it and have to make a detour. Around 2 pm, after a lot of climbing and fortunately also some descents, where we’re rush down with at least 28 miles per hour, we are back at the motorhome. The sky is now completely covered with clouds and the sun is no longer visible. Any moment rain seems to be falling from the threatening dark sky. But it’s not cold, still 75 degrees and still dry so I decide it’s time to do our laundry again. Packed with our dirty laundry and a wallet with small money I walk to the supermarket where the two washing machines and a dryer are located and start loading the machines.

It turns out that, again, I need a washing machine of 18 and 40 lbs. and soon I sit comfortably on a stool, that Dick has brought, next to the machines in the parking lot. I am glad that the dryer works well this time so around 5 pm we finished our washing and drying and we can cover our beds with clean bedding.

When around 8 pm another Frenchman arrives and parks his motorhome in a way that he blocks our exit, I tell him that we are leaving tomorrow morning at 8 am and we will wake him up if we are unable to drive out. I don’t know or this will give him a quiet night but he stays.

Sunday July 11^th (my mother, if she were still alive, would have turned 99 years of age today) we eat survival bread (it stays fresh for a long time). I bought it yesterday because on Sunday the supermarket doesn’t open until 9 am and by then we are already on the road. When we leave, our blocking Frenchman is already outside with his car keys and ready to drive away, but he doesn’t have to. By turning in a different direction, Dick manages to get out of the tight spot.

The Frenchman and his family can now park comfortably on our spot. Of course, we dump and fill up with clean water and then drive onto the back roads. Via a huge detour we end up in Clermont Ferrand where we cross the city center again. Traffic light after traffic light is red. Here they never heard of a green zone. Finally, we leave the town of Clermont Ferrand behind us and continue our journey through the interior of the Auvergne. The terrain is very hilly because the landscape is dominated by the many volcanic domes. After driving straight through Limoges, we arrive in Oradour sur Glane.

This town is preserved as a monument because of the horrors of the Second World War. On June 10^th, 1944, all the inhabitants of the town were robbed of their lives and a walk in this town shows life that stood still from one moment to the next.
We already visited this town a few years ago, but such places deserve a repeat visit and now, in the middle of the summer with a temperature of 79 degrees, we walk again through this ruined village. We see a difference with 5 years ago. The sun is shining and there used to be a sewing machine at every ruin, but nowadays, almost all of them have rusted away. But walking around here does take you back to the horrors of war.

 

At the end of the afternoon we walk back to the parking where it is getting busier with entering motorhomes.
We have a nice chat with our neighbors, actually Dutch people, and sit in the shade of our awning. And the beer also tastes good because the thermometer still shows 76 degrees.
In the evening Dick watches the football final and I chat, via facetime, with my friend Susan in the USA.
It cannot be a bigger contrast in terms of weather when we wake up on Monday July 12^th.

The sky is gray and it’s raining. No weather to stay around, so after our breakfast with bread and a fresh egg, we drive further west to the town of Rochefort, in the pouring rain and on narrow back roads. In Rochefort we look at a few places where we can park and finally, we arrive at a parking next to a harbor in a residential area, with enough space to park. When our motorhome is standing, we walk into the center. Actually, we walk along the partly dried up tidal river that leads to the center of the town and we pass an enormous palace. It is very busy everywhere and later it turns out that this is due to some attractions along the waterfront where whole families walk around.

I love to enter one of the attractions, an old ship where, via ropes, you can climb up the masts to the highest peak before sailing back to the deck of the ship. But it’s so crowded here that we skip this attraction. But we take a walk into a labyrinth, of course with a medical mask because here it is unavoidable that you come close to another person. After wandering around for a long time along the riverbank, we walk back. There are no shops in the area, so for dinner we have a simple meal, leftover mashed potatoes, sausages and tomatoes. Before leaving for this trip with our motorhome we bought Canal Digital (satellite tv), so we can watch TV in the evening. The news is not really good because the Corona-infections in the Netherlands are increasing fast, mainly caused by parties and festivals.

Although we wanted to stay another day in Rochefort we are going to leave if it turns out that, when we wake up on Tuesday July 13^th, the sky is dark gray. The first raindrops will fall soon and are expected to last for almost the entire day. So, after breakfast with freshly baked baguette (the bakery is less than 200 feet away) we drive towards Brittany. According to the weather-forecast, Brittany is currently the only region in France where the sun shines brightly.

In Marans there is a parking lot at a supermarket but it is still raining so we drive on to L’ Aiguillon sur Mer where we also find a place to stay at a supermarket. The motorhomes stay close to each other but we are getting used to it. In any way, we have a view over the entire parking lot and the town is not really far away.

After doing some shopping and buying a piece of cake, it is after all our 43^rd anniversary, we walk towards town. We actually wanted to walk to the coast, but it soon turns out that to get there you have to walk at least 7 miles (one way) so we limit ourselves to visit the river and the center of town.

It is always nice to walk along a tidal river and look down on the muddy bottom. Although the weather is not really nice yet, it is not raining and with 65 degrees it is quite pleasant to walk. Back at the motorhome, Dick is watching the Tour de France while I, again, take a detailed look in the Supermarket. I love those French supermarkets, I’ve missed them so much last year.

There isn’t really a restaurant around, so I cook, well cooking, the soup, yes, I have to cook it, but the carpaccio with lettuce and baguette requires less of my cooking and neither does our dessert with yogurt. Motorhome after motorhome arrives during the evening and soon there are more than 35 in this small parking lot.

Wednesday July 14^th it is still cloudy but there is no rain and after breakfast with a delicious freshly boiled egg, we dump our gray and black water and then we leave again. On our way to the sun in Brittany. During our ride we change destinations a few times, but then, Guerande is set as our final destination where we arrive at 13:15 pm. The parking here is very busy but there are still some spots available and after we parked, we walk into the walled city of Guerande. We were here too a few years ago, but this town is so beautiful that you want to go back every time.

When we arrive at the big city gate we have to put on a mask. This obligation still applies in France. Not only indoors but also outdoors when large groups of people gather. And that is the case on this national holiday of France. Everywhere people walk through the narrow streets of the walled city and everyone enjoys the sun and the blue sky.

Finally, we arrived in a part of France where it no longer rains. We look at a few restaurants but the food is not so tempting that we really want to have dinner there tonight so on the way home we buy food at a supermarket and cook ourselves. The cauliflower with mashed potatoes and a burger tastes delicious.

 

Thursday July 15^th, we stay in Guerande. This time we want to cycle around through the salt fields. The cycling is going well and we ride on very narrow and bumpy paths over completely deserted plains, but the famous salt fields are nowhere to be seen. We’ve taken the wrong way. But we have a nice trip and enjoy the warm sun and the silence around us. That silence is hard to find when we return to the parking. It is even busier than yesterday and every possible patch of grass has been taken by a motorhome. By 8 pm there is really no parking place anymore and that while a stream of motorhomes is still advancing. After registering the caches we found, we watch the Tour and the news. In Germany and Belgium, but also in the extreme south of our country, are massive floods due to the continuous rain. Somehow I am glad that we escaped the rain and drove further and further west.

Because I don’t want to leave Guerande without having a look at the salt fields and we want to buy salt with herbs for Hannah and Henk (they liked this salt we bought last time) we first drive to the salt flats on Friday morning after breakfast. Yesterday evening we searched the internet to see if we could find the sales point for salt and yes

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, we found an address where it could be located.

When we arrive at 10 am it is indeed the shop we were looking for and after buying bags of salt Dick gives us a sightseeing tour through the salt fields over very narrow roads. Fortunately, it is not very busy and we can swerve in time for oncoming traffic. Finally, we are on our way to our next destination: Brest, in the far west of Brittany. After a few back roads we arrive at the Route Nationale which takes us directly to Brest where we arrive at 2 pm. We are looking for a filling station for propane, but when we arrive in the harbor area it become clear soon that although there is propane, we cannot fill up our tanks here, so we drive on and look for a parking. Standing along the harbor we can forget with this beautiful weather and in the parking lot of the aquarium it is not really attractive so, after deliberating, we drive on to Le Folgoet, a town with a monumental 15th century Basilique where we are allowed to stay overnight.

Unfortunately, there is not much to see outside the Basilique and the town is dead quiet so after a walk we read our books. We have to get used to the enormous space here because for the first time in weeks, only a few motorhomes are parked here and we stay so far apart that at least three other motorhomes could have parked between the motorhomes.

Saturday July 17^th, we wake up by the silence of this parking and after eaten a fresh baguette we leave town and drive via narrow back roads to Morlaix. When I made an itinerary for our travels in September 2020 (a schedule we were never able to drive because France was red colored by Corona and therefore, we were not insured when we should go anyway) I wanted to visit this town because of the large aqueduct and the beautiful half-timbered houses.
When we arrive at 11.30 am it is very busy in town because of the market on Saturday morning and in a huge traffic jam we find our way to the car park at the Carrefour.

Actually, one spot is available but we have to squeeze between two parked motorhomes. With very little space between us on both sides, we are lucky to be significantly longer than the other motorhomes so we can open our entrance door well. Otherwise, that might have been a problem. Not the tight space we are parked in because we are now used to little privacy. After checking whether there is still a place elsewhere, which is absolutely not the case, because it is a coming and going of cars that want to get a parking spot, we lock the motorhome and grab our bikes to explore the area.

It is not easy to cycle here because immediately outside the center of town the roads and paths go up steeply. 18% Incline is not an exception and we are really happy with our E-bikes. But even with an auxiliary motor on our bikes it is hard to climb up. Luckily, we can also descend the slopes regularly. Finally, we leave the city, pass the marina and are on our way to the bay. A deadly boring road, but Dick finds a detour via the hiking route GR 34 to a church on top of the mountain. The way up is not really suitable for cycling, it has a gradient of 19% and the path consists of boulders so we are unable to cycle all the way up but with a lot of climbing we manage to get to the top of the hill. After visiting the church and lightning a candle we descend again and arrive at the river. The road makes us decide not to continue cycling and we turn around. Not bad because now, as soon as the bikes are stored in the motorhome, we can walk around the beautiful town of Morlaix.

The market has ended so there is less traffic and more space to walk around the center. Slowly we wander through the narrow streets with the beautiful half-timbered houses, some centuries old and of course we admire the enormous aqueduct which is clearly visible everywhere. Because we still have some leftover food, we decide to eat in the motorhome. Tonight, with our tarte flambé, dinner is not a success.
On Sunday July 18^th, like almost every day, we get up at 8 am. Because the supermarket opens at 9 am, we have breakfast with survival bread and afterwards we drive further east. At the end of the morning, we arrive in Tregastel. Although there is a large paid motorhome parking next to the beach, we look for a place in the parking lot of the Supermarket where again we squeeze ourselves between other motorhomes. This time we have even less space to our neighbor because when we want to close our entrance-door, our neighbor has to close his window. But we have a spot near the sea and it’s free, so we’re not complaining.

Because the shops in France close at 12 am on Sunday, we do some shopping so we can eat dinner tonight. And then it’s time to wash our clothes and bedding again. On this parking lot is a separate house with a number of washing machines and dryers and because only one machine is in operation, we have plenty of space to fill the other machines with our laundry. While I keep an eye on the machines, Dick regularly walks back to the motorhome, but when he is needed, for example to put laundry in the dryer or help with folding the dried sheets, he is back at the laundry house. I’ll never understand how he can time his presence like this.

At 2 pm all our laundry is dried and stored again, we have a freshly covered bed and we walk to the bay of Tregastel. It is a less than 650 feet walk to the beach and because it is low tide, the sea is not visible in the far distance. We walk over the hard dried sand to the rocks on the other side of the bay. These consist of pink granite and are beautiful, fierce and sometimes piled up so high that you have to make quite an effort to climb all the way to the top. We stay at the foot of the rocks for most of our walk, although sometimes we, especially me, can’t resist climbing up the rock.

 

After a few hours we walk back over the beach and at home we follow the finish of the Tour de France. Now that the supermarket is closed, there is not a living soul to be seen here and it is very quiet in the parking lot. There are only 25 motorhomes parked to spend the night.

After dinner I walk to the bay to watch the sunset. Ever since I was young, I have found that to be a magical moment and I watch it whenever I can. Always alone, because Dick doesn’t like sunsets (they’re all the same) so alone I enjoy the sun that slowly descends. Unfortunately, there is no water in the furthest distance, the sea has retreated even further than this afternoon.

It is really quiet. Only some other people, also sun fanatics, stay on the rocks, but nothing else can be heard. I don’t have to tell you that, after all the biking and staying outside for so long (I return home at 11 pm) I sleep like a marmot.

 

Monday July 19^th, we have breakfast with delicious fresh croissants. Logical if you are less than 200 feet from a supermarket and then we take our bikes again. Even if there are threatening signs everywhere in the parking lot that long stays are not allowed, we think they will not blame us for sleeping here for two nights.

This morning we printed out a map of the area so we can explore the different bays. We regularly stop to look for a cache. Sometimes this is not easy because we have to climb over several boulders to find one, sometimes it is within reach, such as close to the large Menhir, reminiscent of Asterix and Obelix, in a residential area.

At the end of the afternoon, we are back at the Bay Saint Anne where we stay close by. Finally, there is water in the bay. Now we know we couldn’t have done our walk yesterday at high tide. You know that I love snooping around in foreign supermarkets, so I walk across the street while Dick stores our bicycles. In the evening we see on TV that the Netherlands is colored red because of the high Corona infection rates. If we want to travel around in France, we must have a “lettre honneur” so we print it out and fill it in. When the police stop us now, we can, in addition to our proof of vaccination, also show this letter, in which we declare that we are not bothered at all by Corona symptoms.

Tuesday July 20^th, we have breakfast with fresh baguette before we leave. We have to wait a bit for that because the bakery opens at 8.45 am, but we have plenty of time. It actually works out well because one of the sealing strips of the roof window of our motorhome comes off, so after breakfast Dick can walk to the Brico hardware store to buy glue.

Finally, everything is fixed again and at 10 am we leave Tregastel and drive to Plevenon. On the way we stop at a motorhome dealer to ask if they know where we can fill up with propane. It appears that refueling propane is no longer possible in France. At the supermarket you must buy a tank of propane or butane and when it is empty you exchange it for another. So, for nothing we rushed to the far west of Brittany to refuel with propane. Now there will be no choice but to buy a French propane tank one of these days. We will not make it with our current stock until the end of our vacation. There is more than enough parking space in Plevenon. However, all empty places are in the full sun because the places under the trees have all been taken.
Our experience is that it cools down sufficiently towards the evening and night, so we don’t mind standing in the full sun and we look for a nice spot.

After having a drink, we grab our e-bikes and drive to Cap Frehel. A beautiful trip, partly along the coast, where the fields are dotted with purple and yellow flowers. What a beautiful view. When we arrive at the Cap we lock our bikes, remove the valuables, put them in my backpack and then walk to the Cap with dozens of French tourists. A beautiful walk because we regularly have a nice view of the jagged cliff walls that lead endlessly deep below us. We walk around on the Cap for at least two hours, take pictures and enjoy the sun and sea breeze. Rock cliffs continue to fascinate.

 

 

When we return to the motorhome end of the afternoon, the parking is still empty but around 10 pm all the empty spots are taken. I myself would have no rest to arrive so late and would be afraid that there was no place left to spend the night. Our Belgian neighbors arrive. They have their entrance door next to ours so we start chatting and have a nice evening.
We talk about travelling in Corona time and exchange experiences. We chat until at least 8 pm and then we cook and have outside a delicious quick meal of rice with chicken, tomatoes and cucumber.

At 9 pm when the sun disappears behind the horizon, it becomes considerably cooler and we go inside. Finally, I can sit behind the computer to write down our experiences.

Wednesday July 21^st we get up at 8 am and of course I walk into town to get a fresh baguette. The walk isn’t far and it takes more time to wait in line until you can enter the bakery, but at breakfast we enjoy our fresh baguette. We drive to Saint Malo on narrow back roads. It’s still morning when we arrive so there is still plenty of space in the large parking lot along the beach and we park our motorhome. Then we take the bikes and drive to the center of Saint Malo. We have good memories of a restaurant inside this walled city. After locking the bicycles outside the city wall, we walk (of course with a medical mask) into this picturesque city center.

No matter how often you walk in and around Saint Malo, it remains a beautiful city surrounded by high city walls. We don’t have to look at our map because Dick knows exactly where to walk and at 12.30 am, just before the big crowds arrive, we have a table on the terrace of Cafe de la Bourse. A table for four people, because the one for two people is in the full sun and with temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit, that is no fun. On the other hand, it is wonderful to sit in the shade of a large parasol. We order a menu and also a carafe of wine and a little later we enjoy the excellent food. It is worth coming to Saint Malo for this meal alone.

After our meal we continue walking through the town, over the city walls and the beach below. That does not always go smoothly because we now notice that the wine is sinking into our legs and we have to climb up and down endless numbers of stairs.  But we spend a wonderful afternoon on and within the walls of Saint Malo and then leisurely cycle back to our parking lot that is completely overcrowded. There is no more space available, cars and motorhomes are completely built-in and no one can go forwards or backwards. Too bad for all those people who are constantly looking for a parking spot. In the evening we are still full from our lunch so we eat nothing except a few pieces of bread with Gruyere cheese.

When, in the evening, I walk to the beach, less than 270 feet away, I see, everywhere on the beach, families having a picknick and waiting for the sunset. The temperature on the beach is at least 10 degrees higher than in the parking lot, where it is 65 Fahrenheit due to a chilly wind. Around 10 pm, after a beautiful sunset, it finally becomes quiet in the parking lot.

On Thursday morning there are not so many beachgoers and after having breakfast with a fresh baguette, we can turn out easily and drive away. Via the coastal road we go to Pontorson. It is only 34 miles away so we already arrive around 11 am. After parking the motorhome, Dick visits the supermarket to buy a new tank of propane while I look for our dirty clothes and bedding. Yes again I want to do our laundry.

The new French propane tank (with butane because they run out of propane) turns out to fit well and after our empty lightweight tank is placed in the garage of the motorhome, I walk to the laverie (laundromat) where only two people are washing so two more washing machines are available. I kill the time that I have to wait by chatting with the locals. When Dick is done with all the propane exchange, he brings me a bottle of water and helps me folding our laundry. Around 2 pm we have a clean bed; everything is stored again and we can make a pleasant walk through the town of Pontorson. And not only that, we are in the parking lot of a supermarket so when we get back, I walk around in the Carrefour and have a look around. At the end of the afternoon the thermometer shows more than 88 degrees so it’s too warm to sit inside. Normally it’s not done to sit outside on a parking lot, let alone that you eat outside but with these temperatures nobody says anything about it. Our dinner, consisting of ham, a huge salad and baguette tastes very good.

Friday, July 23^rd, the weather changed again. There are considerably more clouds in the sky and a strong wind is blowing. Today it’s only 75 degrees.

We drive on our e-bikes to Mont Saint Michel. Even though we have been here several times, a visit to the Mont remains magical for me. Again and again, we enjoy the view of this huge rock in the sea with its old houses, narrow streets and the abbey church towering above everything. From Pontorson a cycle path runs along the river to the Mont and the last 1.5 mile we walk over a wooden bridge, along with many other tourists, to the island. We can keep enough distance from others, something that is an almost impossible task in the narrow streets of Mont Saint Michel, so there, inside the walls, everyone wears a medical mask.

When we climb up and down the stairs, we soon find out that with 75 degrees and a medical mask on, that is less successful. It’s hot and stuffy. But a mask is mandatory to wear so we are not complaining. After crossing the entire island, we slowly walk back over the long bridge to the mainland where we drink a cappuccino on a terrace, away from the crowds on the island, before we cycle the 5 miles back to Pontorson. The temperature dropped to 72 degrees and there is also a strong wind blowing so we stay in the motorhome, read and enjoy the wonderful day behind us.

Saturday July 24^th we don’t get up until 7.30 am and we don’t leave Pontorson before 10 am. After all, before leaving, we have to dump our gray and black water and fill the water tank with clean water. That means that we don’t arrive in Cherbourg until 1 pm. We always had enough space to park here, but now, in the middle of summer, that is quite different. Every possible spot where a motorhome can park, is occupied.

 

But after half an hour we manage to find a temporary spot by standing next to a parked motorhome, almost on the street and are really lucky that an hour later someone leaves and we can stay on this parking.

The weather is definitely upset because after all the sun-drenched days of the last two weeks the weather is now gray and cloudy and when we want to go out in the afternoon it starts pouring rain. Fortunately, a dry period arrives at the end of the afternoon so that we can still walk around the town of Cherbourg. We don’t keep it dry on this walk and have to shelter from the rain in the center of town for about 10 minutes before we can finally continue our walk. It was raining too hard.

But after a thunderstorm the weather clears up again. Motorhomes around us are going and coming and there’s one parked everywhere. The presence of the Cité de la Mer behind the parking is also to blame. Lots of people are visiting this place because who does not want to experience the last hours of the Titanic, see the departure hall, visit the French nuclear submarine “La Redoutable” or look at the aquaria. In the evening we have a simple meal again, salad with baguette, but it tastes good and I don’t have to cook.

On Sunday July 25^th, the sky is completely gray. The temperature dropped to 64 degrees and walking with long pants is preferred. Although it is not completely dry and every now and then there is a drizzle, it is still possible to make a walk in town and along the harbors. In the afternoon, after a 7 miles walk, we are back in the motorhome. With a new outdoor mat. Stupidly enough, I left the old one in the parking in Pontorson, but luckily the Brico hardware store is open on Sunday mornings and they had nice outdoor mats. At the end of the afternoon the weather finally clears up and we see blue sky again instead of gray clouds. We walk back to the center. Now to find a place to have dinner. Unfortunately, the Kebab restaurant is on vacation, but we do see another restaurant, on the corner of the harbor. When we take a seat on the terrace, we feel a cold wind so it is not really pleasant here and we leave. Other restaurants, more sheltered, don’t have what we want to eat. After all, you have to constantly keep in mind that your dish does not contain guts or brains and we are not really lovers of mussels and oysters. Finally, we walk back to the motorhome and eat a burger with oven potatoes.

I finished reading all my Dutch book stock, but luckily, when we were driving around in Germany, I found a thrilling book in a bookstall “Die Mumie” so the rest of the evening there is silence in the camper. Dick also has a book by John Grisham he won’t put down.

Monday July 26^th, we get up with a steel blue sky and sun, even though there are some clouds on the horizon. We still have some bread and because the bakery in the center has a broken stove and is therefore closed, we decide to eat this leftover survival bread. Before leaving Cherbourg, we dump our gray and black water, fill up with clean water and then drive to Barfleur.

Because that is only a 20 mile drive, we arrive early and find plenty of parking spots. This motorhome parking is located on the edge of the beautiful town of Barfleur, next to the sea. Unfortunately, this sea is not visible from the motorhome parking because of the high wall at the end of the beach and rocks. For us that isn’t really problematic because we don’t stay in our motorhome and when we want to see the sea, we can always climb up the wall and look out over the sea. We visited Barfleur a number of times, but never in the middle of summer and with blue skies and warm temperatures this town has more charisma and definitely belongs to the most beautiful French villages.
A multi cache takes us to different places in town and we enjoy the harbor with its receding water. The boats in the harbor are still in the water, but due to the falling tide, the water in the harbor runs out and the boats runs dry. A view that always fascinates us.

When we return a few hours later after a long walk, all the boats are indeed on dry mud and also outside the harbor, in the bay, is the beach now miles wide. In the distance we see a large number of boats, sailing back and forth with in the background the third highest lighthouse in France, the Phare de Gatteville, towering above everything. Around 5.30 pm we walk to town to look for a restaurant. We are not yet used to the other meal times in France where you can only have dinner after 7 pm. Some terraces are even closed from 6 pm till 7 pm to get everything ready for dinner. After sitting in the sun on the harbor quays and waiting, we find a table at Café de France, but because the kitchen is out of order due to a malfunction, we leave again and find another restaurant where we have good food. The Fish and Chips are very tasty. No wonder because this fish comes straight from the sea. After the very good meal we leisurely walk back home and soon I can no longer read the letters of my book clearly and fall asleep.

Tuesday July 26^TH, we don’t get up until 8 am and after buying a fresh baguette in the town, we have breakfast and then take our e-bikes to cycle along the coast. Our geocache route takes us over very narrow hiking trails along the rocky coast and sometimes we even have to make a detour and get further from the coast, because the path is so narrow and overgrown by weeds that it is impossible to get through by bike. The weather is gloomy, there are lots of clouds and it’s gray but it is still 62 degrees and there is no rain.

 

Although the landscape along the rocky coast with many small bays is beautiful, Dick doesn’t like it here so much as I do. This is mainly due to the overpowering rotting algae smell. I think that suits the sea, but Dick clearly has a different preference. After a good ride we return to Barfleur in the afternoon where we can’t resist the delicious French pastries.
The sun has opened the sky, it is 70 degrees and nice to sit outside. This time we don’t walk to town before 6.30 pm and as the kitchen of Café de France fixed the malfunction, we can now have dinner there.

 

The raw “steak tartare” is a bit hard to swallow, but mixed with raw egg, capers and onion, it tastes good. Unlike yesterday when I slept like a rock, I now wake up in the middle of the night and enjoy the sweeping light of the Phare de Gatteville, just visible above the seawall.

Wednesday July 28^th we drive to our next destination: Cabourg. There is a strong wind but the sun is shining and the thermometer shows 62 degrees. Again, we follow the Route Nationale to Caen where we get stuck in a traffic jam, choose a detour and then arrive at the parking lot of a supermarket where more than enough space is to park. When the motorhome stays in a spot, we both like, across 5 parking spaces, we drink coffee as usual and then take the bikes to explore the center of Cabourg. Everywhere are large impressive villas and mansions, built like an arena around the Grand Hotel on the boulevard. We marvel its grandeur. It feels like you have stepped into another era.

We also take a look at the boulevard. Of course, it is also mandatory, as in so many other places in France, to wear a medical mask outside and we have to walk next to our bikes because the entire city center is closed for all traffic in favor of walkers. Unfortunately, the clouds increase so when we arrive at the boulevard, we are faced with a gray sky and a sea pounding on the coast. At the end of the afternoon, when again Dick has stored our bikes and we keep talking about the imposing villas and mansions in Cabourg, I walk, of course, to the Carrefour. These huge French supermarkets are not as big as Walmart in the USA, but in the Netherlands, we still don’t have such supermarkets, where you can buy almost everything. Because we are parked at least 1.6 mile from the center of Cabourg, I cook in the evening and Dick says that’s good too.

Thursday July  29^th we move on. We visited and admired Cabourg and are ready for a new environment. The sky is blue again and the sun is shining but the temperature does not rise above 66 degrees. We drive to Honfleur. Because part of the inland road is forbidden for cars heavier than 7750 lbs., for the last few miles we have to take a toll road and arrive in Honfleur at 11 am. There is more than enough space to park and we find a nice spot with electricity and some space to our neighbors.

This is our last stage on the West coast so we decide to walk to the mouth of the Seine until we arrive under the impressive Pont de Normandy. It is a good walk and we are lucky with the weather because the sun is shining and despite many clouds, we regularly see blue sky. The distance to the bridge is a bit further than we thought, but there is enough distraction from passing boats and the rising water. Slowly we see the boulders along the riverbank completely disappear under water.

On our way back we walk into the town of Honfleur. Many tourists love to visit this picturesque town because it’s really busy in the small streets. For the first time since the Corona outbreak, we see tourist arriving with buses. After having a nice look around in the center, we take a leisurely walk back. At 7 pm I walk back to town, now armed with cooling bags in which I pack, a little later, our delicious kebab meal. We enjoy this food in our motorhome. The parking with place for 240 motorhomes, is now quite full. Friday July 30^th,I don’t have to walk to the bakery because the bakery arrives at the parking around 8.30 am and his car park next to our motorhome. What a luxury to start the day like that. After having a good breakfast, we fill up with water and dump and then leave the coast behind and head inland. On the road it is quiet and even when we drive through the city of Rouen there is not much traffic. At 1 pm we arrive in Beauvais where a wonderful blue sky awaits us.

Unfortunately, during the afternoon the clouds get the upper hand and so we walk under a gray sky to the Cathedrale of Beauvais, the highest cathedral in the world. The construction of which started in 1225 and was finished three centuries later. Although finished? It looks unfinished and that’s right because parts of the church were never completed. But it is an imposing building and actually we have never seen such an impressive cathedral. Of course, we walk inside where another surprise awaits us: L’Horloge Astronomique, an astronomical clockwork with an impressive size: 40 feet high, 16 feet wide and 10 feet deep, some weights hang down to a depth of 10 feet.

Because we want to know more about this clockwork, we buy tickets and a little later, via the audio guide, we learn how this “Horloge” was made and what there is to see on the monumental clockwork.  A true work of art built between 1865 and 1868 which not only shows the different times and moon phases but also tells the story of the Last Judgment. We follow the story, look at all the different images and many figures and are impressed. It is likely that in the second half of the 19-th century such clockworks came into churches to reconcile the advancement of science with the traditional evangelical message.

At the end of the afternoon, we leave the Cathedrale again and slowly walk back to the parking and our motorhome over the large square in the center. Unfortunately, the restaurants in the area of our parking are closed, so we buy tasty ingredients for an evening meal at a super Carrefour across the street.
Saturday is already the last day of July and after breakfast we leave Beauvais. We loved it to be here, it was special. Slowly we drive to St Quentin in the north of France, where there would be a parking for motorhomes next to a supermarket. But when we get there, we don’t see anything that resembles a place where we could park. On the contrary, during our search we get stuck at an overpass that is too low to drive thru, but luckily Dick manages to turn the motorhome and with a lot of maneuvering and backing up on a one-way street, we get back on a normal road.

We decide to drive on to Laon. There is a nice parking at the foot of the walled medieval city. It’s better to stay here than in Saint Quentin. Getting there was not easy because Dick decided to follow his Hakuna and that hakuna said we had to drive straight through the medieval city, so Dick had to maneuver through all the very narrow and hilly streets of Laon over pebbles with sometimes on both sides of the motorhome hardly any space left so I think we cannot pass but we cannot drive backwards either. Of course, Dick manages to continue unscathed and after a nerve-racking ride we reach the outside of the city wall.
In the afternoon we walk through the same narrow streets, enjoy the warm sun, have an ice cream and of course we also visit the large Cathedrale.

In the evening we return to the small streets

puttygen

, walk around again, enjoy the different music artists, look at the windows of the small shops and search for a place to have dinner. We find a restaurant with a menu that appeals both of us and at 7 pm we have a table and a glass of wine and enjoy our three-course meal. It is very good and that for only 18.80 euro a person. At the entrance of the terrace, we are not yet asked to scan our QR code (prove of vaccination) in contrary to the restaurants in Normandy. After dinner and again listening to some street artists, we walk back downhill. All 6 available parking spots are now taken. It is really quiet outside and we sleep like roses.

Sunday August 1^st, we wake up before 8 am and after having a shower we leave. We have breakfast at a supermarket where we also do some shopping for our meal tonight. It’s not so easy to find a shop we can easily reach (the parking of one supermarket had a 7-foot-high passage and was therefore not very suitable for our 10 feet high camper and another supermarket was closed on Sunday). But finally, we shop, have breakfast and drive further east.

We stop in Rozoy sur Serre to dump our black water before arriving in Liart in the North of France, where our friends Cor and Esmé have a beautiful country house in the French Ardennes. When our motorhome is parked in the driveway and the levelers are out, we drink coffee together and chat. Then the men go to work. A concrete hole in the garage floor must repaired and soon the concrete mixer is running at full speed. Esmé and I are chatting and of course we regularly check the men at work. The day flies by.

 

 

After Cor and Dick had their shower and put on clean clothes, we have a glass of champagne (tastes very good and comes from winery St. Martin in Remich) and Esmé and I start preparing dinner. Because the sun is shining and it is not cold, we enjoy our evening meal on the terrace. The meal of baked potatoes, cauliflower, a burger and sausages from the BBQ tastes good. We chat until late in the evening and only because I suddenly have to yawn and can’t stop yawning anymore, I notice that it is already 12 pm. Under a beautiful clear starry sky we walk to our bed where we roll in and directly fall asleep.

Unfortunately, I can’t buy bread on Monday, August 2^nd , because the shop that is selling bread, is closed today. The nearest village is really small and has only one shop. So, we have breakfast with some leftover baguette, which, warmed up in the oven, is still tasty and of course we have fresh survival bread.

After breakfast, Esmé and I wash up and chat and the men start their next job, installing a new door upstairs. Not really easy because the old door is crooked quite a bit and part of the wall need to be demolished before the new door can be hung in.

When the men are working and Esmé is reading, I take my laptop to write down our experiences and spend a great part of the day on this. Unfortunately, it is very cloudy and it regular rains, so I cannot sit outside but when the men have finished their job and took their shower at 5 pm, the weather clears up and the sun is shining again. Just in time to enjoy a glass of wine outside on the terrace. With a simple meal consisting of chicken in tandoori sauce, rice and tomatoes, we end two pleasant days together and on Tuesday August 3^rd, after breakfast, we drive back to the Netherlands. We don’t like coming home late in the afternoon, so we stay one last night in Bergen op Zoom.

It is clear that motorhomes crossed our border because on the boulevard are still a few free parking spots, even this late in the afternoon. It’s already 4.30 pm and normally at this time is no place available. This can also be caused by the colder weather. The sun is shining bright but there is a cold wind blowing and it’s not really warm, only 64 degrees.

After a good tasting Chinese meal and a nice walk on the boulevard, we spend the last night for now in our motorhome.
Wednesday morning, August 4^th, we drive the last 50 miles of this holiday. At home, we only have the task of unloading the camper, cleaning it completely inside and outside, doing countless washings and find good places to the enormous amount of stuff that leave the motorhome for a while. We have plenty of time for that because tomorrow we will bring our motorhome to the storage. For the first time in a year, we left home for 5 ½ weeks and could finally leave our small country. We drove 2510 miles, cycled 220 miles, walked 95 miles and found 250 geocaches.