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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
20th December 2014 Hiking - Walking: Togues, Nernier, Yvoire and Thonon, France. Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny Max Speed: Distance Covered: CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY 2014 – FRENCH ALPS Tuesday 16th December 2014 - travel We had the whole day to get ready for the off around 5 and we don’t think we have ever done sooooo much faffing!! Stephen is really quite poorly. My cold has really gone to my chest and throat :( We have bought loads of jollup so hopefully I will be on the mend soon. Anyway we got all the stuff in and sorted then waited for dan to come home then left about 6 after the chase!!! We drove down to the shuttle. It went well but got stuck in volume of traffic at Chelmsford for half an hour. We missed our shuttle which we knew we would but got on the 9.50 one and were parked up at Escalles and going straight to bed at midnight French time 11 english. Wednesday 17th December – travel – rain rain rain ! We woke up early because I was feeling very poorly and my throat is killing me. It poured with rain all night and is still raining this morning. Had breakfast and set off about 9 then drove and drove down to Pont de L’Arche, our usual lunch (or more) stop on this route. We are trying our usual autumn route to go to the alps because we put it in the route planner on the computer and it isn’t that much further than the direct toll all the way route to the alps but it is all free!! We stopped at the E leclerc in Boulogne to get some diesel and go to the loo. Diesel really really cheap – 1.03 euros!!! That’s about 85p a litre! We did go on the toll to Abbeville because it is a lot of hoo har through tiny towns the other way and it was only 6 euros:) It was 12 for the same stretch in October??? We had lunch by the river at Pont de Larche then drove on and on to Briare. We parked up in a different place, still on a canal, a different one and on the camper aire. There is another van like ours but a California and brown just along the quay. We had a sleep and then walked along to the aquaduct and up into the town in the rain to see the xmas decs and for some air and some exercise. Too cooped up in the van all day driving!!. Had salmon parcels for tea. Mag put the xmas lights she has bought for the van up. We have got a little artificial tree up too – had that for years. Early night! Thursday 18th December 2014 – travel - cloudy Slept well but still had very sore throat:( Mag did her exercises and walked to the aquaduct then we left around 10.15 and called at the Intermarche for some more absorbant wipers for the condensation and some milk and…. some more battery operated lights and they are blue:) matching the van beautifully. We drove down the loire and could see it from several places on the road. Stopped at a place called Decize which was nice and right on the river. In fact it had an island between two parts of the river and a canal too. We walked for a little while beside a famous and ancient avenue of trees which is a listed historic place – planted in 1770 apparently and then drove to the canal and had our lunch:) Far more like it today, only driving till we find something nice to see. The route is working out really well. A mixture of quiet straight roads and dual carriageway. We stopped for the night at Macon – we have stayed in a formula 1 here before with rob Hannah and dan when we went for xmas to Samoens 4 years ago. Never been to the centre though and it looked quite nice when we were driving through. We parked by the river Saone right in the centre and are hoping to get away with it! Had a cuppa and Mag fed the seagulls/swans/pigeons our old bread. Walked up to the city centre along the river bank and past the skating rink where kids were having great fun on fake ice. We walked through the streets looking at the lights and even saw the grand display of the ark of noel where an ark captained by santa was full of stuffed toy animals doing lots of activities!! Back to the van for bacon, beans and cheesy mash. Friday 19th December 2014 – walk - Menthiere – foggy then sunny We woke up to thick fog. We could hardly see the river! Mag did her exercises outside and went for a walk under the bridge and back. After breakfast we drove to Bourg en Bresse on a really good road. Stopped at a Lidl for a box of tissues for my nose it’s like a tap and I have started sneezing again! Ear is starting to ache too:( It is over a week now!!! We got some more cheap diesel – 1.07 euro. Drove on to Nantura, the road was very scenic and the fog was lifting to reveal blue sky and sun:) Stopped at the end of the lake and had a quick walk and took photos of the misty lake but it was clearing all the time. Moved on to the actual town of Nantura and stopped in their lake side car park to have lunch and a rest. On for about another half an hour when we decided to head up to Menthieres where we skied in the Spring. It is a lovely place but no snow this time. Only a smattering on the fields and some clumps at the side of the road. Parked in the same spot as last time and went for a walk before it got dark. Down the lane and up the field to the ski office. It is supposed to be the start of the season tomorrow but that is definitely not happening:( Back to the van for a cuppa. Beautiful sunset!! Had mince and potato for tea. Rob to say they were at the shuttle (about 6) and were through the bit where I usually lies about the gas! Haha. I don’t know if they know more about the snow conditions than us for Les Gets but from where we are there is none to not a lot :( Saturday 20th December – Walks, Togues, Nernier, Yvoire and Thonon, France. ***** Sunny We had rain all night and woke to drizzly fog :( Absolutely no snow today, the little covering on the grass has been washed away. We had breakfast then left and went down to Bellegarde then on towards Geneva and Lac Leman. It was a nice road and definitely no need to go on the motorway. Again the weather cleared out completely and left a sunny day :) Our first stop on the Lac was a tiny little place called Togues where we walked out onto the jetty over the perfectly clear lake and then along a wooded path for a little way. Good to see the Goosanders, there are hundreds here along with even more coots! Back to the van and along the lake side road towards Chens sur Leman and then on to Nernier, the ‘romantique village enjoyed on foot’. We had a walk here and it was very pretty. Moved on again to the medieval village of Yvoire. We had our lunch overlooking the lake and then walked to the village and Marina along a lakeside path. It is a lovely quaint place and we went into a glass shop called la Cristallerie, Atelier Hubert where men were in a room in the back engraving glasses. We fell in love with several baubles and especially some glass miniature Christmas trees. We got two trees, one for us and one for Jay, a glass bonbon and a santa in a chimney. It was a lovely shop, so many unusual things and all different prices. They gift wrapped our parcels and we made our way through the narrow streets back to the van. We drove to Thonon les Bain and parked along the lake road (we came here when we were leaving Samoens a few years ago and had a walk). We had a cuppa and our pastries from Lidl then moved across the road to a more suitable place to park for the night with a great view over the lake to Switzerland. Went for a walk along the promenade in the dark and up beside the funicular to the town above. We could hear fireworks going off but couldn’t see any. Took photos of the lovely tree outside the Hotel de Ville then walked through the xmas lit streets. They had a joyeux fetes do on with a band, several stalls, fake ice skating and I even had a couple of mulled wines which were being given out free :) Lovely evening and still relatively warm. |
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