More Aires Hunting - Day 1

In true motor-homing spirit we've been very casual about planning this trip south. We had to hang around a bit in the UK for the shower repair and a couple of other small things but as soon as was possible we had our channel crossing booked.

Eurotunnel prices had gone through the roof for the days we wanted so we booked a very unsociable 1.23AM! We took a bit of a chance and arrived very early, about 5pm and they very kindly rescheduled us to cross 6 hours early at no extra cost - thank you Eurotunnel! We also found out that the huge prices were because we had chosen dates leading up to the 24 hour Le Mans racing - doh!

So, arriving late evening we just popped around the corner from the Calais terminal to Cite Europe for the night. A leisurely meal, bottle of wine, some French TV and a good night's sleep followed.

Next morning after breakfast and over our traditional couple of cups of coffee we studied the map to decide on our approximate route. Although definitely heading for Spain we had not decided whether to go down through France via the coast, through the middle or via the eastern side and the Rhone-Alps. More or less tossing a coin we chose the Alps. Mostly based on the theory that at this time of year the coast will be hectic, inland hot and from previous experience the Alps offer stunning scenery in the summer without having to contend with snowy conditions at high altitude.

With the loss of an hour on the clock and the above lazy start a couple of hundred toll-free Km's will do for today so we're heading for the St-Quentin area in Northern France and we'll see what turns up en-route. After that we will be taking in some of the Champagne region, Burgundy and maybe a little of Eastern France as the days progress.

Well, 'en-route' we came across a very pleasant Aire, nearly missed due to the very small sign giving away its location. A canal side spot with free parking, and free services including free unmetered electricity..... Albeit it only overnight. So we stayed.

We had the place to ourselves and once settled in went off for a wander along the canal. Several fishermen were trying their skills, one offered us his catch to eat! Back at the van we acquired 2 neighbours, a Dutch couple and a German couple. The latter being of the type who fidget for ages before they settle down - try a different space, turn and face the other way, move forwards a bit, end up parked right up close to us (never mind the 5 other free spaces) and then go backwards and forwards to their lockers opening and slamming the doors, hey ho  its all good fun.

I'll update and upload the blog as and when we have wifi of some description