Sunday, June 18, 2006
so what's been happening?
So two weeks into our mini-odyssey around France in the van. I'm wrting this from Ile de Re, the island just off La Rochelle on the west coast of France, where we are staying two weeks into our six week trip around France in the van. Having lots of fun, catching lots of rays, drinking cheap beer and wine and generally having a chilled time, spending four or five days at a time on a site.
Can be pretty tiring as well though as Aoibh (3) and Keelin (18 months) can find the heat a bit much, sleep too much in the day and are then up half the night!
Been pretty happy with the van too until we got to La Rochelle last Thursday and since then it's been a bit of a nightmare. Fortunately I've had Emilio of Emilio's Beetles fame at the end of the phone to talk me through such fun tasks as bridging the solenoid to get us started. Much respect and hopefully the worst of our problems are behind us.
The facilities in France for camping are exceptional. Admittedly we've chosen mostly three and four star sites so there's pools and playgrounds to keep the kids happy but even the two star municipal sites look cleaner and better equipped than most of the sites at home.
The French love their camper vans but only seen one other Type 2 since we got here and a sprinkling of Type 25s (including a very nice early specimen with chrome wheels but otherwise very straight). The Type 2 was actually on our current site when we arrived. A nice green 1976 Westy owned by an English couple - only spoke to them a couple of times as I spent a large part of Friday peering into the engine with Emilio on the end of the phone as he talked me through things like removing carburetor jets and cleaning them.
Anyway lots learned and lots experienced, so will start sharing some thoughts, and storing them for myself, over the next couple of days.
Isn't the pic of the van in a typical French setting outside the village of Ars en Re nice?
