24 September 2023

Another lovely day.

We wished our daughter a very happy birthday

The English couple left today, the German woman on her own was going South, she was interested in Flamingos, so we suggested Saint Maries. She wondered if the poor tabby cat had had his tail trimmed in the French poodle style. R not amused.

a red VW campervan turned up with a v clever registration> One of the owners said it was an easy one to remember.

We walked along the canal in the morning, much more traffic today, quite a few out on their Sunday constitutionals. Though why have music blaring as you cycle along the path? We walked to the grain silo, and then back by the road to home. On the road back we passed a new poplar tree plantation, maize and sorghum.

In the afternoon I went for a walk to the campsite lake, spent a little time snoozing in the sun, and then played with the camera. I experimented with photo stacking for different focus points. Eventually that worked out so I was able to take some reasonable flower shots which were in focus.

Walked back up to the campsite, passing the football site.

Lovely evening with blue sky and vapour trains. The sparrows were in full volume, and some bats came out to play.

Some Germans arrived in their van after dark at 20.38, directed in by R.

Tonight’s dinner was green beans, sausages, tomato and onion, and a bottle of fizzy pink.

22 September 2023

Today was forecast to be dry during the morning, so we spent it wandering around the Pont-de-Vaux. Quite a few shops, plenty of hairdressers, no charity shops, some unusual shop fronts. One business must have been someone who produced posters/advertising. There he was working in the premises; the shop window was full of old type set cabinets. R was entranced by one where the drawers had purposely been built on a slope. There were also some old iMacs and a Philips computer.  We stopped for a coffee, and also visited the small Intermarche for lunch provisions. We found & bought Kitale coffee! The walk back took us past more odd shops, more hairdressers, and another odd shop with clothing, the owner pounced out at us, so a hasty retreat.

Back to the van and we headed north to our next stop. Mainly on toll roads.  The weather produced some horrendous rain with very poor visibility, which slowed us down. We stopped for a picnic lunch in the grounds at a service station. We watched a couple of EVs draw up to charge. France has so invested in EV charging on the motorways.

We got taken off the toll road earlier than I thought and proceeded up some National Road or other. Unusually I got a little tired and had to stop for a 10-minute power snooze.

We arrived at our campsite in Luxémont-et-Villotte, Camping Nature, small, we have been here before. Very rural, no chalets, just 27 odd pitches for tents and vans. Downside, 6-amp electricity, so induction hob not on full blast, but there was plenty of heat to cook duck breast.

R recalled the cats which lived there (she would). The Norwegian Forest cat appeared to have had an accident with his tail, but was still friendly. The owner said the black one was “sauvage” but R managed a series of strokes.

As the sunset, the local shooters were out in force. Lots of shooting and shouting in the woods, ponds, and fields below us. The weather improved, and the evening was almost cloudless, though a bit on the chilly side.

Bottle of beer with duck breast for supper.

Coffee from Kitale

Cooking Duck Breast

Camping Nature in the evening