Got up at a decent time, and on the road to Birmingham in the campervan to get the electrical and other things fixed. Colin had to use his new jump-starter twice – once to get going, and again after stopping for gas. The drive to Birmingham was on quite busy roads, and it was raining almost the whole way.

We passed the Dunlop fort, which was the original Dunlop tire factory, and also the Aston Villa stadium. Dropped the campervan off and they gave us a lift to the area where the train station is.

There is a nice fairly large part of the city that is traffic-free and there were hundreds of folks walking around – some very nice looking restaurants, and high-end stores, in addition to an old moss-covered church.

There’s one whole area and a high building called the Bull Ring – and a large statue of an angry-looking bull – it’s where the farmers used to gather to sell their livestock.

There was a statue of Nelson, and an Apple store in a beautiful old building that looked like a museum.

The train station is fairly new and very large and airy. There are cafes, restaurants and shops on two levels. We only had 3 minutes to catch the next train to Worcester, so instead of frantically rushing to try to get it we sat in a swanky cafe on the second level and had some coffee and tea.

Caught the 12:49 train, that left right on time. On the way out of Birmingham we passed the original Cadbury factory. A couple of teenage girls got on after a stop or two and one of them talked almost non-stop the entire rest of the way – we learned all about her life and how popular she was. Her friend got a word in now and then but mostly it was a monologue – in a very loud voice – from miss popularity cheerleader with the short-skirted school uniform.

Arrived in Worcester in around an hour and walked around just a bit before heading up Tolladine road and home. Shortly after we got home Colin went to pick-up the mini while I took the doggies for a walk to the orchard. I let them off the leash as no one else was around and was surprised that they didn’t just take off running like they usually do. I think it’s because they haven’t been there before, so they kind of stuck a little closer to me than they normally would have when off-leash. I walked around with them, then leashed them up again for the walk home.

Colin went out around 5 – a friend picked him up and they went to meet a group of other friends for a drink, then dinner. I walked up to the store and bought myself some pasta and sauce for my dinner, then watched tv surrounded by doggies.

Went for a long walk yesterday with Colin, Mo and Ben down to get a battery charger and some food. Cleaned the fridge in the campervan – turns out it wasn’t the beets that had leaked all over the place, but the frozen raspberries in the little freezer. Washed everything off, including the floor – dried raspberry juice is very sticky.

The weather this morning was beautiful – slight breeze, clear blue sky. I did yoga while Colin took his mini in for servicing. Just after noon I went for a bike ride – stuck fairly close to home rather than riding to the canal.

Visited the community orchard, the grange, the pond (which is already full of floating plastic bottles and garbage again). Everything is turning gorgeous colours.

Stopped at the local pub that has the cat, and got a pint of delicious cider that I took outside to one of the many picnic tables on the terrace. The cat ignored me to begin with as two guys at another table had some food. The minute they left kitty was up on the table seeing what was left for him. After he’d cleaned the plates he came over to me when I called him – the waitress had called him Chips, and he’s a neutered male so likely more a pet than a wild stray.

He came over and eventually jumped up beside me and then onto the table. I petted and scratched him for a few minutes until he’d had enough and hissed and scratched at me. Luckily I still had my riding gloves on and he didn’t get to any skin.

Back at the house Colin had pulled the campervan onto the driveway and Lyn and Philip were out talking with him. Lyn was quite interested in the campervan – she told me they used to have one and did a lot of traveling around. Colin had bought a device to hook up to the satellite and the downstairs tv now works with all of the many channels.

Had a lovely baked salmon dinner, did some sudoku puzzles (from the book I left here in August) and went to bed fairly early.

Didn’t sleep too badly – little Mo snuggled up right on top of my right arm for the last few hours. At one point I heard cars dis-embarking from a ferry that had arrived – must have been around 5:00.

Got up around 7:30 – kind of cloudy day but not frigid. Gas still not flowing to the stove, so no hot tea with breakfast. Colin showed me the receipt from the tow-truck service yesterday – almost $800 euros!! So fortunate that he has full insurance. He then tried to start the campervan but the battery was totally dead again – another call to his insurance company, followed by another visit from a tow-truck. Again the campervan started up immediately, and the guy told him that it was charging ok.

Colin kept the van running in case it didn’t start again – we took a drive up the coast a ways, then by the time we got back to the ferry terminal they were lining up to go thru customs. We got thru without much problem – doggies have up-to-date passports of their own, and micro-chips as well. My passport wasn’t questioned either.

Sat in lines on the other side of the customs barrier waiting to board – motor running the whole time. Colin had asked before we got on what would happen if we had a problem starting the van again and was told that it was ok – they have cables to jump-start vehicles if needed. We were parked right in front of several large trailers that had been dropped off and would be picked up on the other side.

As we pulled out, right on time, I was struck by how retarded the plan of landing at Dieppe in the War was – it’s a beach in front of a small plain, surrounded all around by huge towering cliffs. They were sitting ducks – simply insane. The morning was very hazy and misty, so visibility wasn’t great, but I could still see the general area.

I was quite impressed by the ferry – it had beautiful gleaming wood floors everywhere, and the tables and chairs and all the railings were lovely wood also. In some areas there were large comfy-looking leather recliners in front of a big screen tv – apparently used for night voyages by folks that don’t book a cabin.

The sailing wasn’t full so there was lots of choices of where to sit, and lineups for drinks or food weren’t long. Colin bought me lunch, which was actually quite tasty – I had beef bourguignon on rice. The crossing was fairly smooth, but unfortunately it was still quite hazy and you couldn’t see far.

As we approached New Haven after 4 hours sailing it looked almost like a mirror image of Dieppe – if you took that part of the English coast and squashed it up against the coast where Dieppe is it would fit like a glove – high white cliffs fit against high white cliffs.

As expected the campervan wouldn’t start, but the ferry workers were right on the case and got the jumper cables hooked up and the battery going again in a matter of moments. We didn’t hold anyone up and were dis-embarking in no time. I had to fill out a short one-page form at the English customs place on where I was going in England and why, but didn’t have a problem.

We headed west near the coast on fairly busy roads for quite awhile, then turned north. We had enough fuel that we didn’t have to stop at all and got to Worcester around 8:30. When we stopped I saw a large red stain on the floor leading from the fridge – I thought perhaps my wine had spilled, but that would be weird without me noticing it. I then concluded that maybe the beets in the fridge had burst (they were pre-cooked in a plastic bag with liquid).

We loaded the important baggage and stuff into the house, then I returned to empty the food from the fridge – the gas wasn’t working to keep it cold and we didn’t want the food to all spoil. When I removed the beet package I couldn’t see a hole in it, but bundled everything into a bag and took it inside the house.

Got settled back into the bedroom I’d used in August, and got to sleep quickly.

We got loaded up and ready to go by around 11:45 am – but didn’t get anywhere as the battery was completely dead. Luckily Colin has a charger, and he plugged it in for 45 minutes and got fully charged and on our way before 1:00. Bye-bye Mansle.

Stopped for food supplies in Ruffac, then continued north past Poitiers, Tours (crossed the Loire river again), Le Mans, and then Alencon, where we stopped at a nice road-side rest stop for dinner. Unfortunately the gas wasn’t working – apparently there’s an air bubble in the gas line from when it was filled in Ruffac, so instead of having steak we had baguette/bun with cheese – not the same, but at least we’re not going to starve.

There are large signs on the side of the highway notifying about all of the local points of interest – there is so much to see here. Crossed into Normandy – same kind of large signs everywhere. It got quite stormy off and on – rain hit hard a couple of times.

Not long after that we came to another toll-booth, and when Colin went to re-start after getting the ticket out of the machine the campervan battery was dead again. Very strange, as the van had been turned off at the gas station, the store and where we stopped to eat and had started again with no problem at all.

They put the big red X up in the lane we were stuck in and Colin called for help (he has good insurance). About 45 minutes later a tow-truck showed up and got it started again in a matter of moments. The guy filled out a paper that Colin signed and we were on our way.

Another 1 1/2 hours and we were at the ferry terminal in Dieppe – parked in the parking lot, along with several other campervans and cars and got settled for the night.

Long, tiring day, and I wasn’t the one driving.

Haven’t done much the last couple of days so nothing to post. Took doggies for walks, stopped at the bar – the usual.

Except I believe my back bike light was stolen when I stopped at the store since I can’t find it anywhere and I’ve only been out for one ride here this time.

And also the men’s elite road race happened today – it was very long at over 260 km and they showed the whole thing on tv – except that the video failed during the final 4 km and all we got to see of the very exciting finale was the last 900 metres or so. In the end that was all we needed – Peter Sagan came through for the third world title in a row – yay!!

Got up a little earlier – did chi-gong and yoga while Colin took the doggies to the vet. Went for a bike ride north to the village of Saint-Groux, crossed the river and came south via Goue, passed a very large chateau, then back to Mansle.

Colin and the little ones were at the bar when I got back to town, so I joined them for a glass of vin rouge. Back at the house we watched the junior women’s road race – won fairly convincingly by a young Italian.

Neil got back from the vacation he took with his daughter – sounds like they had a wonderful time hiking, etc. in the Pyranees. Colin and I then went to an outdoor photo festival in the nearby town of Barro.

It was much larger than I had expected – all of the photos were blown up and displayed outside on either large easels or hung on building walls, some even displayed over the river. There were quite a few black and white displays and the subjects were extremely varied – I quite enjoyed it.

Bought fish and chips for dinner at the same place as before – they were just as good as I remembered. Watched a bit of tv, read for awhile, listened to a couple of videos on you-tube, fell asleep quickly and easily.

Couldn’t believe what time it was when I got up – I was sure it would be 7:30 or maybe 8, but it was actually almost 9:30! I haven’t slept that late in a long time.

Went for a walk around noon down into the village and north along a side street that has occasional access to the river.

Walked a little further to the war memorial park where I went to the riverside and did a bit of chi-gong in the sun – it was very lovely and peaceful.

Sat on a bench for a while reading another James Patterson novel, then walked to the bar – the ‘usual’ one across from the town hall.

It’s a day off for the world championships, so nothing terribly exciting to watch on tv. Had a nice quiche lorraine with salad for dinner.

Read for a bit, then watched a bunch of you-tube videos on the ipad until pretty late – I’ve gotten into watching the singing competitors on the various talent shows – Britiain’s Got Talent, X-Factor, etc. I love seeing the looks of shock and surprise on the judges’ faces when someone they’ve already written off in their minds starts singing and blows them away – you just can’t tell by appearance alone.

Another good sleep, followed by another quiet morning. Colin went out in the afternoon to do a few things while I stayed behind and did some chi-gong, then watched the beginning of the ITT of the world championships. Bergen looks like a lovely city – on the water, with mountains and lots of trees – kind of reminded me a bit of Vancouver, although on a much smaller (and less expensive) scale.

Colin returned from his errands and then we drove up to Ruffec to do a bit of shopping, and so Colin could pop into the vet’s office to make an appointment for the little ones’ checkup before travel to England.

Back at the house we watched the rest of the ITT that had recorded while we were out. Tom Dumoulin won! And not just by a few seconds – he blew them all away. Froome managed to come third, which isn’t too bad only ten days after the Vuelta ended.

Face-timed Dominic later than usual – I’m really starting to miss the kitties. He shows them to me and I can hear them purr sometimes (especially Sly – Merlin purrs too, just much more quietly) but I miss the combs and cuddles. I even miss being trapped in one position on the bed at night because I don’t want to disturb a cat (usually Sly) that’s curled up against me. Merlin likes to curl up on the bed too, but Sly, being the smaller of the two by quite a bit, doesn’t usually let him settle in for too long – he’s a bit bossy that way.

Had a nice sleep-in until almost 8:30, followed by a very lazy morning. I must admit to a couple of errors recently – Colin looked at my blogs from the last few days and pointed out that I’d put some things in the wrong order (seeing the Roman ruins dig in Spain on the wrong day, for example) – that’s what happens when I don’t write my journal every day, even with photos that are dated automatically when I load them to the ipad to guide me. We’ve seen a lot in a short space of time recently and I’m embarrassed to say a couple of the many wonderful sights have gotten a bit mixed up.

Another thing – the traffic chaos on the highway out of Bordeaux yesterday wasn’t anything to do with bad organization by the french (sorry!) – it was actually a fiery accident. A semi-truck that was carrying cylinders of gas had caught on fire – a couple of other semi drivers had seen that it was on fire and had blocked the highway preventing any other cars or trucks from approaching from behind – the driver got out ok before the cylinders started exploding in all directions. Traffic heading south had to stop as well, so it was backed up for miles in both directions. We must have been about 45 minutes after the initial explosions, and were lucky to get off the highway when we did to continue on the lesser roads. Some semis were stuck for up to 8 hours before they were able to continue, although as far as we could find out no one was hurt, thankfully. I had seen a couple of signs as we crossed the highway via an overpass that made me think it was road work being done, and we hadn’t seen any police cars or anything, but obviously that wasn’t the whole story.

Took the little ones out for a walk in the early afternoon – they were on a mission and basically led me where they wanted to go. First destination was the cricket field just on the other side of the river – they both did their ‘business’ and I put the black baggies in my pocket to use – not my favourite part of going for a walk, but every once in a while I must act responsibly.

Next place I was led to was the bar across from the town hall – they had come there for a reason and the bartender knew it – he produced the desired doggie treats for them when he delivered the glass of vin rouge for me.

There was a team of civic workers cleaning leaves from the square across from the bar, and it was kind of funny – they were using a leaf-blower and raking them into piles, but as soon as the piles were made and they tried to gather them up the leaves were blown all over the place again by the wind.

Had a quiet afternoon, made pasta for dinner, face-timed Dominic. I still have a decision to make about whether I’m taking my bike home with me or not, but that depends, of course, on if I think I’ll return to Europe next year, and if I do, will I want my bike…big things to think about, but I have a bit of time.

I don’t think it quit raining all night long, but I slept pretty well. Had a nice hot shower – there was no temperature control, just a push-button that turned off every 20 seconds or so. It took a bit to get hot, but once it did it was good.

Ate breakfast, and we were on the road just after 10:30. Went generally northwest, passing through or by Nerac, and Langon, before arriving at Bordeaux. We circled around the south, then west of the city on the ring-road to get to the Ikea store on the north side.

Had lunch of – guess what? – Swedish meatballs! They were pretty good, along with veggies and some red wine – not exactly cheap but it was Colin’s treat once again. Then walked miles and miles thru a maze of rooms – following the arrows in the proper direction, of course. Colin got what he’d come for from the open warehouse before the check-out, and we finally made it out alive.

Exited the city on the highway heading north-east – got about 1/2 hour out and ended up parked on the road along with hundreds of freight trucks and hundreds more cars – hardly moving an inch. Eventually reached a flashing arrow forcing the traffic into one lane, then got onto an off-ramp and followed a bunch of cars and semi-trucks onto lesser highways.

We crossed over the motor-way and saw what looked like roadworks happening – spent a deal of time criticizing the organization of doing roadwork without any notices or detour advices for all of the vehicles, especially the hundreds and hundreds of semis.

Wound our way around northwest, then northeast, and eventually back onto the motorway much closer to Angouleme.

Finally made it to Mansle about 1 1/2 hours later than we’d expected – a fairly long day of travel, but being back is nice, and it’s certainly a bit warmer here than it was for the last few days in the mountains.

We watched a couple of stages of the Vuelta that had taped while we were gone – I actually saw myself crouched at the side of the road taking photos on the Sept. 7 stage we’d been at on Collada de la Hoz – I’ve been on tv!!