The grand tour of France: September/October 2022

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 August 31^st   Day two

Rudely woken by an alarm in the cabin and a tannoy telling us its 0430 and please could we get up. Maggie slept well. I slept fitfully! There was a corkscrew motion all night!

Now here is a safety warning for newbies amongst you. If you catch an overnight crossing, there is a good chance you will disembark in the dark and you will also be driving on the wrong side of the road. For me, it’s the first time I’ve driven ‘Bryony’ in the dark and abroad! A ‘tense’ half hour until sunrise. We can’t see the atlas maps, the satnav won’t connect properly, our Netgear nighthawk router is playing up. Thank God for Google maps on the phones! And, of course, the very well sign posted roads in France!

Forty minutes in, we stop at a small hotel to grab a coffee and croissant at their bar. ‘Strong’ does not describe the coffee! Wow! It takes some adjusting to. I’m surprised my oesophagus hasn’t dissolved here and now. Still the ‘Choc au Pains’ are delicious.

We head across rural Brittany to Josselin our first destination on our tour, calling in at a small supermarche on its outskirts to stock the fridge for the next few days.  Its fun trying to work out what French food labelling means and what cheese, juices and milk types we want to get.

The Aire at Josselin is easy to find. We are using the apps ‘Search4Sites’ and ‘Park4night’. Screened by large trees in a sort of large square area bounded by roads, we discover that nearly all the side positions have been taken. We manage to squeeze into a vacant slot so that we face outwards across a nice grass verge towards an old medieval church. Services (black and grey waste and freshwater) are outside the parking area, across the road in one corner on a sort of little loop road next to the church. There are public toilets there as well. You pay for the water. Waste disposal seems free.

Our afternoon is spent wandering around Josselin. Every town seems to have an ‘Office du Tourisme’, a good place to pick up town walk maps, cycling map leaflets etc. Two hours later, we have walked the old medieval streets, been down to the river, admired the large Chateau and done some window shopping in the high street. 

Josselin is a nice afternoon stop. Plenty to see and browse and some nice restaurants down in the town square. We can see why its so popular in the Aire!

Back at the motorhome the rest of the late afternoon is spent sorting out sim cards, router and VPN’s. By 1700, everything is working as it should be. We are using a Lebara card in our router. Unsure of how much data we might need we have bought one of their SIM card deals which we can top up if need be. We will let you know how we get on with this card in a few weeks’ time.

 Tea is brie, baguette, apple and Pepsi Max. It is perfect!

It’s 2300 and the first spots of rain are falling on the roof, a rhythmic tempo. I think we are about to get a thunder storm. It felt humid and hot all afternoon. It is the first rain we have seen in weeks as the UK has been suffering a long summer drought! Deep rumbles far away, the skylight lights up suddenly.

Damn! Did I lock us in? I crawl out of bed to the cab to find the lock button. Hang on what am I missing? Unlock the doors once more, sort out the ‘Strikeback Growler’ alarm buttons. Relock internal doors with cab button. Try to remember which of the two buttons it is on the ‘growler’ fob! With fifty vans around the edges of this Aire, hitting the wrong button now will make me very, very unpopular! They executed people for far lesser crimes during the revolution did they not? Ugh! Here goes, wish me luck!  

Phew. We are safe. Hit the right button. We now have an external perimeter alarm, an alarmed bike loop on the bikes. All doors are alarmed. External locker doors are alarmed. I have the key fob to hand along with torch and fire extinguisher. I can now, finally, go to sleep!

Helpful information:   

Route:D58 to Morlaix – N12 to Plouagat – D7 to Ploeu – L’hermitage – D700 to Loudeac – D11 to Rohan – D2, 12, 778 to Josselin

Distance: 112 miles over 3.5 hrs

Aire cost: free