Setting up base camp...
Well, all of that travel planning for Polly seems pretty useless now. Nobody wanted to look at her passport, or her, for that matter. It seems that we are free to bring anything into France! We did travel through Dover and Calais in our mini-convoy the day before the 'problems' at the ports, so we feel very lucky. It rained and rained during our journey to Poitiers to collect the caravan, but, that evening, the skies cleared, and France started to heat up. Theresa at Le Serpolin campsite was charming and very helpful. We stayed our first night there in our caravan. It had been sitting a while, so the marvellous features such as shower and toilet were not yet ready to go. Polly was happy to stay in the caravan after spending twelve hours in her cage. Poor Polly! She wouldn't venture outside anyway, as there was a goat tethered nearby.
Driving from Poitiers to Cousein Bas was very slow due to numerous roadworks, unusual in France. Towing the caravan meant that our top speed was around 50mph, so we suffered angry lorries tailgating us quite often. Terrifying!
There is a very sharp corner to navigate at Cousein Bas, which meant some tricky turning and reversing at Cousein Haut, but eventually, we arrived at our new home!
We had been wondering just how long the grass would be and were stunned and gladdened to find that it had all recently been cut! Hooray! This meant that we could set up camp without having to waste time doing a pre-mow. The next door farmer called on us today and told us that he had cut it, as it had been about five feet tall. What a lovely farmer! His name is Alain.
The temperatures in the daytime are around 36 degrees, but, probably because we are atop a mountain (Kevin says it's just a hill), it's freezing at night, once the sun goes down at ten o'clock...
We've built a decent enough base camp, and we now have a working fridge/freezer, toilet and shower.
Our first visitor, before the farmer's visit, was a young girl giving out leaflets about a Spanish Night in Saint Salvadour on the 4th July, strictly for local people. She put one in our post box at the end of the drive, one in our front door, and brought one round to our base camp. She does a thorough job! We will certainly attend the over advertised event!
We haven't started the major works yet... It's important to set up a comfortable base, isn't it?
Photos to follow once the technical bits are sorted! Orange are coming to install a phone line, broadband and TV. We didn't ask for TV, but apparently, it is the basic package. The price is very reasonable. We're currently sitting with the tiniest of proper coffees in MacDonalds, where there is unlimited free wifi...
Driving from Poitiers to Cousein Bas was very slow due to numerous roadworks, unusual in France. Towing the caravan meant that our top speed was around 50mph, so we suffered angry lorries tailgating us quite often. Terrifying!
There is a very sharp corner to navigate at Cousein Bas, which meant some tricky turning and reversing at Cousein Haut, but eventually, we arrived at our new home!
We had been wondering just how long the grass would be and were stunned and gladdened to find that it had all recently been cut! Hooray! This meant that we could set up camp without having to waste time doing a pre-mow. The next door farmer called on us today and told us that he had cut it, as it had been about five feet tall. What a lovely farmer! His name is Alain.
The temperatures in the daytime are around 36 degrees, but, probably because we are atop a mountain (Kevin says it's just a hill), it's freezing at night, once the sun goes down at ten o'clock...
We've built a decent enough base camp, and we now have a working fridge/freezer, toilet and shower.
Our first visitor, before the farmer's visit, was a young girl giving out leaflets about a Spanish Night in Saint Salvadour on the 4th July, strictly for local people. She put one in our post box at the end of the drive, one in our front door, and brought one round to our base camp. She does a thorough job! We will certainly attend the over advertised event!
We haven't started the major works yet... It's important to set up a comfortable base, isn't it?
Photos to follow once the technical bits are sorted! Orange are coming to install a phone line, broadband and TV. We didn't ask for TV, but apparently, it is the basic package. The price is very reasonable. We're currently sitting with the tiniest of proper coffees in MacDonalds, where there is unlimited free wifi...
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