Christmas Day in France

The plan was to do nothing today; no driving, no navigating, no sightseeing, just relax and take in the view. But, by 10am, I had itchy feet, and suggested to Ross we mosey a little further south if he felt up to it.  “It’s Christmas Day so there won’t be much traffic on the roads.” My famous last words! So off we set in a southerly direction to nowhere in particular.

After driving on a crowded motorway for a little while, we pulled in to a Total station to get fuel. Ross couldn’t get the pump to work; he had to take his credit card in first- I don’t know what that was about- but the pump would only deliver a few litres before cutting out and refusing to give any more. He went back in to seek assistance, but the girl just shrugged her shoulders. While sitting in the car, I noticed the café was called “La Croissanterie”. Ah, that’s what I felt like; a ham and melted cheese croissant, so I sent Ross back in. (I was still in my sleep suit.) La Croissanterie had not a single croissant of any description! So, with no fuel, and no croissant, we ventured further. (We did get a ham and cheese baguette with a delicious coffee, so it wasn’t a “Total” waste of time.

After negotiating the traffic snarl on the Lyon ring road, we pulled into another Total petrol station, and were totally satisfied with both fuel AND a croissant, minus the ham and cheese. Ross also bought me the most delicious cranberry and pistachio tart.

Further along the motorway, Ross suggested we take the scenic route along the Rhone, so we exited the motorway and headed for Arpuis and Condrieu, which were pretty villages on the Rhone River, but had speed bumps the whole way through them. After two villages and many bumps, we’d had enough of the scenery and headed south towards the next road to get back to the motorway. On the way we spotted a McDonalds, a rarity in these parts and pulled in. It looked closed, which it was, but we could pick up the free wifi! Ross drove round through the drive-through and hit one of the concrete blocks that were placed at the edge of the lane and damaged the rim of the tyre, which let the air out! Oh, no!  But we do have a phone, so we can call any of the emergency numbers we have been given for help. Alas, it’s Christmas Day and no one is answering their phones.

The nuts were screwed on so tightly they were not going to budge, so Ross, who’s always thinking of ways to improve things in the camper to make them more user-friendly, has the idea, if he can find something to extend the length of the lever, he might be able to undo the nuts. He went searching around to find something and finally brings back a 6-foot length of steel he has pulled out of the ground. Desperate times demand desperate measures!

After figuring out how to get the spare tyre down, he changes the tyre, and uses the steel pole to re-tighten the nuts. Meanwhile I am using the Macca’s wifi to search for camping grounds that are open in winter. After searching through a long list, I find one in a place I’ve never heard of and jot down the co-ordinates and phone number. It may be useful later on.

We fully intended to stay where we were for the night; Ross was exhausted after changing that bloody big tyre, but there was a suspicious looking guy hanging round, so we decided to head off even if it’s just a little further on. We hopped back onto the motorway and headed for the stellenplatz in Tournon-on-Rhone, where we arrived right on 6 o’clock and pitch black. What a day! We will remember this Christmas Day for a few years to come, that’s for sure!