259. Good keen men

Nice / Monaco

Not the best of snaps

Another day at base camp which the children particularly enjoy. I managed to get a bit of reading in, the normal jobs and a short snooze in the sun. We, particularly the children, spent a lot of time talking to our lovely neighbours, he a doppelgänger of our family friend, now deceased, Roy Cairns. Can't remember his name, will ask again in the morning, a frequent failing of mine.

Dave arrived on a touring BMW and discovered he had an assistant, Roman. I first met him when he appeared at the door enquiring if I was OK with Roman assisting. I was. Turned out to be a super bloke, four days out of the UK, doing Italy then returning to the UK, totalling eight days. He joined us in the Giantavan for Magnums and a pleasant evening for all with the children not in bed till after midnight.

258. Grand Prix

Monaco

Slow start as per usual after the board meeting which I think finished around two thirty this morning.

Five degree output temp

Outside temp, inside was warmer prior

Fitted the new PCB to the air conditioner unit on top of the Giantavan, full of trepidation, plugged it all in and pushed the remote and the fan started but no compressor. Couldn't believe it and no idea what to do next. Staring vacantly at the external roof top unit ,with the covers off, the compressor burst into life and within a couple of minutes cold air was streaming out, to my intense relief. At this point I remembered it always took a couple of minutes for the compressor to kick in after the unit started. With huge relief I assembled everything.

From the GPS

Late afternoon we headed for Monaco for a look. What a wonderful road, how I pined for a car or even just no passengers. It was a real climb, full of hairpins, probably one of the best roads I have ever seen to drive, wonderful.

In Monaco they were still packing up from Sunday's F1 meeting. We drove as many bits as we could, past massive temporary grandstands, it really is amazing that they still do a road circuit for F1.

Didn't take nearly enough photos as the driving was quite a challenge. Returned to camp via Nice and a supermarket.

257. Retail therapy

Nice

Roman forgot J had pegged his hair
out of the way

A delightful visitor

First stop for the day was the Nice* Hobby / Dometic dealer who had said that he would have the control PCB for our heat pump in stock today. To my surprise, he did have it so we purchased it, some replacement drainage hose, another strip LED to better light the kitchen bench, a new toilet seat as our lid had a crack in it and more toilet chemical. For our five hundred euro we also got him grumpily following us round the little shop first telling Roman off for touching items and then, to my surprise, me. When I asked if we could look at the large range of second hand hobby caravans on site that were open, on display, for sale, outside, he said no. Very strange, though it did stop us considering the very nice portable three way fridge that he had on display for three hundred and sixty euro, so he did us a favour - grumpy prick. I really hope the new PCB keeps the smoke in when I plug it in back at the Giantavan.

Roman is fascinated with the old PCB

Roman spent hours working on the PCB
and took it to bed

We then went into a shopping area on the outskirts of Nice and got the full Riccarton NZ experience of sprawling light industrial retail. While Jacqueline rushed around the mall getting a birthday dress for Audrey the five remainers hove-to in Mac D's. Also visited Toys R Us as a family to complete the afternoons horrific experiences.

Online board meeting tonight from ten thirty pm, probably till after two am.

Not all that is golden glitters (kids delighted) 

* Location, not attitude as you will read

256. Inverted

Nice

Talking to Uncle Richard this morning, the day of the F1 at Monaco he helpfully suggested that actually the week before, while the circuit was set up, they run historic F1 racing that would only be about fifty euro to enter. Frustratingly, I wish we had had that conversation a week before. I would love to have seen V ten and twelve NA cars and turbo F1 cars from the eighties. Could have gone with the family, would have been wonderful, dam it.

Split, obviously fabric getting weak

A couple of days ago I made the mistake of commenting how well our awning was lasting. On packing up yesterday Fyfe spotted that the roof was splitting. Don't really want to buy another at three hundred and ninety pounds however we probably have done the equivalent of twenty seven years camping for normal awning use of a month per year.

Not pretty

Today was the first day that this camp had space and arrived to find it deserted, just an english crew packing up. They had hired the entire camp for the period set up tents, erected a catering tent and sold space as a package to Brits coming over for the F1.

On setting up we discovered that we had lost part of the handle for our Aquaroll. This allowed me to brandish my new (crap) drill and effect the repair. Have ordered another to be sent to Holyport for Jacqueline to bring next month.

Elected not to pay the normal four euro fifty electricity tarif and try our stand alone electrical system. Possibly should have discussed it with the CEO prior. With our three kW inverter running the mains lighting, not using the toaster or inductive hob our two hundred and fifty Watt solar system should keep up fine, the greatest strain being charging multiple laptops and iPhones. As long as nothing is charged over eighty percent whereupon the load is high we should be fine. There are two one hundred amp hour deep cycle batteries, one for the twelve volt system, lights, water pump etc and one for the inverter that will power lights and the occasional burst of the nuke reheating coffees etc. The fridge is three way though it appears the twelve volt isn't connected. 

Roman was aching to play Monopoly so we had a great five person game with Fyfe as banker the only problem being that it ran through dinner till midnight. Have discovered that the way to keep peace was to slip Audrey and Roman a five hundred note whenever they were getting light. I knew the bank would be unsympathetic so it had to come from my reserves. Probably good practice for what lies ahead.

On going to bed, discovered that the fridge was off and we were out of gas. Jacqueline reiterated how awesome I was and I only had the choice to run the fridge on the inverter which I knew wouldn't work as the fridge is not particularly efficient. Woke before three with the inverter low voltage alarm sounding. This morning when I connected to mains there was still ice in the freezer so no harm done to Audrey's insulin in the fridge.

255. Siege

Cannes

Chose the shade, possibly for the first time on this trip

Slow start due to staying out so late in Cannes last night. Lots of time in the pool through the middle of the day then later this afternoon, many loads of washing through our little machine, heating water on the inductive cooker and carting away the waste behind the bicycle, to the amusement of fellow campers.

With Monaco an hour up the road and the worlds most famous Grand Prix on today I had thought it was a wonderful opportunity to attend. Admittedly, I have not followed F1 for a number of years and now with the wonderful sound gone it has lost most of its appeal to me. This appeal was further diminished by discovering that the cheapest ticket available was four hundred and sixty five pounds a seat and that if I were to attend it would be with other family members. Likely cost for Fyfe in me for the day was looking at over a thousand pounds. This month we are purchasing return tickets for Jacqueline and Audrey to go to the UK for Audrey's appointment, paid my personal account over three and a half thousand dollars for our annual trust accounts (a figure I can't understand), had to replace a failed, double glazed window on our NZ house at over two thousand dollars and get a builder in to fix a leak above an external door for an undisclosed sum. F1 aspirations didn't have a chance.

254. Noting

Cannes

A brief swim in the lovely camp pool to cool off a bit as it was twenty six degrees by midday. 

Plugged in the OBDII reader and reset the hundreds of fault codes. Yet to determine what the actual problem is.

Iris has discovered the joys of Uncle Graham's book

Fyfe and I headed into a local discount boat shop for oars (likely not in this part of the world) only to discover that it had closed for the day.

Cannes airport from Lidl. Loads of corporate jets

Barnaby still sunning himself after his bath

Into Cannes today as Jacqueline wanted to explore the shops. While Iris and her shopped Fyfe, Audrey and I wandered the many marinas. Refreshingly, they are all open to the public, not fenced off as most of them are in NZ. Roman found the boat they were invited on to in St Tropez however the owners were out so we left a note, on the back of a receipt, on their gang plank, thanking them again complete with a drawing of a horse by Audrey. I partially like looking at the sailing yachts and could stare at them for hours. Dreams of returning to sail the Med fill my head.

The swim/launch platforms are lovely though this one has subsided
into the water and decorating fast 

Where there are boats there be cars

Love the WW1 inspired inverted bows

The propellors are huge, you can see where the three to four hundred litres of diesel per hour go 

Loads of large fish in the marina which is a good sign.
Some double this size.

From the marina toward Cannes (shops)

At seven those of us not shopping returned to camp for togs and supplies as it was still twenty seven degrees and the water beautifully warm. It would appear that all the beaches in Cannes are free and open to the public. The tide here is only two hundred millimetres due to the constraint of the Gibraltar straights. 

253. Notes from the Continent

Cannes

A beautiful day in this neck of the world and the children very focused on the beautiful heated pools here. 

Barnaby hung around waiting for our return

Unfortunately, I could not swim due to my eye infection so lolled around on the sun loungers around reading the original Bill Bryson's, Notes on a Small Island which I am enjoying much more than the two decades later The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island which I found a little laboured, more like an assignment where the word count has to be met.

Gave up on the useless French agents for Domestic air conditioner parts and contacted a number of UK agents until one finally replied, promptly to my email. A few back-and-forths later they agreed to get in the replacement control PCB which would take about two weeks. I had barely sent them my card details when the French agent at Nice replied for the first time confirming that they had ordered my PCB and that it would arrive Tuesday. I really do not get how business operates here! Had to write the obsequious email to the left thanking the UK man Dale for his troubles.

Contacted the UK ODBII reader agents and got the App registered so that is also progress.

252. Canned

Cannes

Villecroze to Cannes

Set up on a very large site

Waiting for the buggy

Short drive today meant that although we departed late, as always, about two in the afternoon, we arrived shortly after three so had plenty of time to set up in the sun and warmth which was a lovely change. Although the site welcomes twin axle caravans it was a tight show getting down the tiny little lane down the hill to our allocated site, lead by a man in a golf buggy with Jacqueline and Fyfe on a RT watching the back of the caravan for its swing making contact with poles, trees, signs or, heaven forbid, another camper. There was much grinding of the rear jacks as the undulations of the road as it dropped through sharp corners. The biggest was turning off the road, I could see the white gouges in the road while we were waiting for the man in the buggy. If it weren't for the significant ride height flexibility the Disco offers with its air suspension there would have been a lot more grinding at the back and front of the Giantavan, depending on the undulations. Looking at the jacks when setting up I notice that one foot is almost worn through. A job for a man with a welder!

After setting up, with resistance from the children who wanted to swim in the beautiful, deserted camp pool, we went for a drive through Cannes and along the beach front. Certainly didn't disappoint and Fyfe got his Ferrari quota for the day.

251. A ten year old rabbit

VILLECROZE - PROVENCE

Quiet day at the camp today. My eye still hasn't fixed itself but with the arrival of the OBDII fault code reader I thought I would tackle that project. Started with the App Store to get the App on my phone to connect. No sign of it on the App store. Phoned Rimmer Bros who sold it to me and after being passed around various people I convinced the tea to look for himself. As he didn't have an iPhone that was about a ten minute wait before he came back and said that he could see it on the App store. I deducted that it might be due to my being in France. Rimmer's gave me the manufacturers contact, Britpart and it turns out that they have an exclusive distributor in Australia and it is sold under a different name there, Recovery Data. Found and installed the Australian App on my phone and when I came time to register the serial number it rejected it as it wasn't compatible. By now the UK office was closed. Things are so much harder when one is abroad!

Audrey and Roman spent the day making a little movie that I have attached below.

250. Gorged

Gorges du. Verdon 

Fyfe and Roman prior to departure

Eye still a problem so off to the quack. Local turned out to be a foot clinic, nobody at reception but I could hear the sounds of wire being cut and realised that it was probably old peoples toe nails being severed... Drove on to the beautiful hillside village of Barjols and found a small practice. On entering I was eyed up by a waiting room of misfits like myself with the sign on the door into the corridor saying via Google Translate,

   Respect Privacy, Do NOT Enter . 

I sat with about six others for about half an hour when somebody exited one of us got up and went in. First in, first served was the order of the day. When I was my turn I stood by the door (respecting privacy). When the doctor came out to collect me a french woman who had arrived twenty minutes after me stood up and bustled forward. I said I don't think so with a smile and luckily the Doc spoke english. The very fact of her speaking English, the bustling stopped, the crone turned on her heal and sat down - phew. I will spare you the details but I now have a new course of action for my now infected top eyelid, the sty disappeared a couple of days ago. On finishing the fee was twenty five euro cash which I didn't have. She let me go on promise of return with cash. Took quite a while to find an ATM but did let me explore town as a result, what a wonderful place, full of water features as they were for villagers and horses. By the time I got back with the cash she had closed up but pleased to see me return. I'm impressed that she trusted me to return.

In the afternoon we set off for the Gorges of Verdon - often considered to be one of Europe's most beautiful which are highly recommended both by the travel books and Jennifer - we were impressed.

Trigance

Seven hundred metre drop, I can believe it.

Looking toward the road on the south side

Gimmie the Batman and no passengers - please

The advantage of a wet day

Lake of Sainte-Croix
Would love to sail on it 

Lake of Sainte-Croix