Driving and technology

We were the second campervan off the ferry at Dieppe, then we were directed straight through passport control onto dark empty roads… very eerie compared to packed well lit British roads!

I’d found an aire at an animal park in the forest outside Rouen where I didn’t think we’d disturb anyone by turning up late. It was extremely spooky under the full moon, especially as there were no other vans staying and we were alone in the middle of nowhere. I worried about mad axe murders hiding in the trees, while John just debated which of the 300 spaces to park in… it’s dark and empty! It doesn’t matter! Sometimes he has no patience with my irrational fears and I wonder how he was a teacher! On the plus side, we saw a Bambi watching us in the headlight beams, just metres away.

The bogeyman didn’t get us and we had a peaceful night’s sleep before setting off and driving south. The route began with a little ferry over the River Seine, which was a fun way to start the day.

By 10.30 we could see Chartres, with its huge cathedral standing high above the surrounding landscape. We decided against visiting though because the roads were empty and John was enjoying driving, singing along to a playlist of old rock songs while I knitted a sock. We headed to Moulins where John had selected an aire for our next potential stop, a 6-hour drive from the forest aire.

We’ve had a new ‘Bip and Go’ toll tag and were pleased when it worked at the first toll station. Unfortunately, it refused to bip and let us go at the next one and I had to ask the lady inside the machine to help us. That caused a minor drama because, as well as the difficulty in understanding someone speaking a different language through a crackling speaker, I had to hang out of the window to reach the buttons! 😆

Talking (or writing 🤔) about technology, our next challenge was to get into the aire at Moulins, which has entry and exit barriers. It took me a while to work out that we couldn’t get in because I was using the entrance machine not the exit machine! Then we needed to get a French SIM card for Bertie’s mobile Wi-Fi (or Mi-Fi). No longer being able to use our UK data in Europe is just one downside of Brexit 😞. With some research, I found there was a Free Mobile shop in Moulins where we could buy 120GBs for about £20. That’ll make writing my blog easier.

We walked over the Allier river, past the church and cathedral, and through the old town. Then we relaxed back at Bertie and in the campsite bar, which looks out over the river.

Finally, we had a wander along the river to an old iron railway bridge where we found a couple of geocaches. I’m glad we chose to go caching because we wouldn’t have discovered the bridge otherwise. It’s been modernised as a walkway and looked great lit up at dusk. Now, after a cup of tea sitting outside, we’re ready for bed. It’s been a good, if long day. Goodnight!