Getting to Saint-Petersburg in the first place required a leap of faith;you had to book your accommodation first (checking that they have 'visa support', which effectively means that they provide documentation to confirm that you are invited to Russia and have a place to stay). Once you have the two items of confirmation that are required you apply for a visa. The form that you fill out is very bureaucratic and complex to complete; we found that the Russian Embassy website less helpful than a couple of others in giving guidance as to how to complete the form. It is worth spending some time researching other websites to give you additional information on how to complete various parts of the form.

While on the flight to St P, migration forms are handed out and declaration forms too, if needed. It is worth researching these for guidance on how to to complete them; we took copy examples to help us complete the forms on the flight. The site above is a good source. We read that if you didn't declare something on the way in, it could be confiscated on the way out, so we declared laptop, mobile phones etc and went through the red channel (appropriate really). However, the customs officer said we didn't need to declare these and should proceed through the green channel!

When I was first out on the road in sales, my first lesson from an old hand was – the most important thing is to find out where the toilets are on the patch and then the telephones. It was good advice then and although the mobile phone has arrived recently, the first part remains invaluable in any new environment. Saint-Petersburg does not have large numbers of public conveniences and cafes and hotels may be a bit sniffy about you walking in from the street just for the loo. It is worthwhile learning to recognise ТУАЛЕТ – 'too-alyet' – to be able to recognise when there are any, though usually there is also a 'WC' sign if less prominent. All the public toilets we discovered charged for entry; usually about 20 rubles (80p). We discovered toilets at:
South of gardens of Saint Nicholas Cathedral
At the end of the square opposite the Mariinski Theatre
On main road west of Church on Spilled Blood (movable)
In Gardens North of St Isaac's Cathedral
Outside Hermitage (moveable) and several inside
Ladies in particular (though it would also apply to men) might like to note that toilet paper is required to be placed in a bin beside the toilet rather than in the pan in public toilets.

We gathered that tipping taxis and restaurants is common and when we asked the concierge if the private tours that we had arranged through and paid the hotel for whether a tip would be expected as well we were told that if we liked the service we could pay a tip but if not, we were not obliged. In other words – yes a tip is expected. We never did work out what exactly was expected though at one restaurant, it showed a 10% gratuity would be expected, so roughly what you may pay on the continent.

Food in the Hermitage Cafe is good value but you must have cash to pay for it – cards are not accepted.

Supermarkets or grocery shops in the city centre we found hard to spot. It was easier once we worked out that they are often in basement or semi-basement positions like the one underneath the building next door to our hotel. It was a useful and cheap place to get water and supplies for the day and was open from about 8 in the morning till late at night.

We don't often stay in hotels and rarely in 4 star when we do, so it may be commonplace anyway but the hotels we saw near ours all appeared to have a very active conciergerie who will make any arrangements that you require, booking restaurants, shows, taxis or tours, which certainly makes life a lot easier when you can't speak much of the language. Their rates, at least at our hotel appeared to be competitive, although it has to be acknowledged that we didn't do any more than a quick comparison and concluded that they weren't far off the mark. It should be borne in mind that there appear to be different rates for Russians and foreigners for a number of things like theatre and palace visits. In the case of Peterhof, you apparently can't get in as an unaccompanied non-Russian until 4pm, with closing at 5pm.

In a number of the palaces, overcoats and large bags have to be left in a cloakroom by the entrance and while most will allow photography in most places, you need pay for a photography ticket (often 200 rubles (ca £4)) and pay attention to any signs as sometimes, despite the photography ticket a single room will be forbidden to any photography.

Saint-Petersburg apparently used to be one of the crime centres of Russia in the 1990's. While this has apparently largely evaporated and there was no obvious evidence of any to us, it was notable that there are significant numbers of security guards at hotels and public buildings. There were also higher levels of obvious policing than we would normally expect in a city centre.

Being a relatively young city I guess that it grew as a planned development rather than the more haphazard way many older places grew. Being intended from the outset as the Capital would also account for wider main streets. Nevsky Prospekt, the Oxford Street equivalent has 3 lanes in each direction and traffic flows very quickly most of the time; I reckon it was not uncommon for vehicles to be doing 50 or 60 mph. However, we noticed that it seemed a very pedestrian friendly place with pedestrian crossings respected, unlike Paris, where you become a target. We mentioned this to Irena and she chucked and said that this is a very recent innovation as the law was only passed 2 weeks before! Irena also said that traffic was unpredictable and the city was prone to gridlock for no obvious reason at all; we experienced this first hand on our return from Peterhof at 2pm on a Wednesday.

It was interesting to note that cars constructed up to about 2000 are fairly modest affairs. Most of the newer vehicles are big cars usually with big engines. The current fashion appears to be the Chelsea tractor; a large engined (often pseudo) 4x4 with huge numbers of these pounding the streets. I suppose these are necessary items to get to their dacha at weekends. I wonder how they managed before?

We also noticed that Russian bureaucracy doesn't run to leaving signs in roadworks to warn motorists of raised ironwork – it is pretty self-evident or to pedestrians to warn them not to trip over the uneven surface. There were no signs warning of an uneven paving slabs on footpaths or even cordoned off areas awaiting treatment. Pretty refreshing really being required to use intelligence instead of being nannied all the time. Either the average Russian is more intelligent than us or the state thinks that people should use their common sense and faculties to keep themselves safe – a very dangerous concept that could seriously reduce bureaucratic jobs if it caught on here.

Roofs to deal with snow outside our hotel room

Huge downpipe

Venice of the North? Venice was founded around 800 AD, although some of the other islands in the lagoon were colonised from around 600 AD. It became a republic in around 1200 and grew rich in the next 500 years, based on successful merchants monopolising the eastern Mediterranean trade routes and becoming a city state and independent nation. It had become somewhat overblown by the time Napoleon marched in, determined to cut the decadent fat cat down to size. Venice capitulated rather than fight for its continued independence. Napoleon started the city's 150 year decline into oblivion. The faded former elegance was what appealed to the romantics and they in turn probably unwittingly kick started its slow renaissance. The ongoing work to turn back the clock is at once worthy and probably Canutish. To walk through the city is to sense the layers of history permeating its core. The canals have carried all the trade on which the city was based for over a millennium and still do. Venice without its canals would not be Venice.

Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by an absolute monarch initially to provide a defence against Sweden and by 1712, it was made the capital of Russia by which time the threat had largely dissipated. The city was built by conscripted serfs from all over Russia and by Swedish prisoners of war, who all died in vast numbers, many of them from falling masonry apparently. This being where the court was, all the noble families built residences to reflect their status and wealth. The royal family itself appears to have had some problems with staying put and each built their own particular palace to reflect their own style, so there are no fewer than 6 in the area. When under threat by a warring army, the city did not capitulate and paid a huge penalty for it. The courage and determination of the residents is a lesson to all. There is an energy and dynamism in the city now that promises well for the future. The canals appear largely tranquil except for the huge number of tourist trips and provide a pleasant scenery and a convenient way to drain the land. The canals serve to divide up the city into areas but have little or no effect on traffic which flows considerably faster. Like the Italians, Russian drivers have a foot down mentality, even in built up areas, but in Saint Petersburg, they have free rein. Saint Petersburg would be diminished without its canals but it would still be Saint Petersburg.

So, Venice was built over a millennium on trade by a republic. Saint Petersburg was built over 200 years at the whim of an autocratic, if far sighted monarch and by his wealthy court. Both are sites of extraordinary architectural and cultural significance and both have problems with flooding. I think Venice is unique, so is Saint Petersburg. There is little they have in common other than a lot of water and a lot of glorious architecture. If I had to vote for a Venice of the North, it would be Bruges, with which it has more in common.

written by  rickandsuejohnson on November 14 from Saint Petersburg, Russia
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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Bridge with Stieglitz in the background

Stieglitz

Little bird statue near the Stieglizt

Stieglitz

Ceiling in need of repair, Stieglitz

The Grand Hall, Stieglitz

Leaving the museum, we went to have our sandwiches in the park by the church on spilled blood. Despite - or probably because - it was a sunny day with no cloud cover, it was bitterly cold. We were well wrapped up but 5 minutes without our gloves on while we ate our sandwiches was enough to freeze the fingertips uncomfortably. Refreshed we went around the open market that has stalls every day outside the church for some last-minute bargains. Then back to the hotel to wait for the taxi to the airport and to warm through again.

Sun on the Hermitage

Catherine Palace, Pushkin

A pretty cold, grey day with the wind whipping occasional tiny flurries of sleet against any exposed skin, rasping it with an icy touch. We had asked our guide yesterday if she had many other visits booked for the week and she was non-committal.

Grand Staircase, Catherine Palace, Pushkin

Chevaliers Dining Room, Catherine Palace, Pushkin

Blue Drawing Room, Catherine Palace, Pushkin

Statue of Pushkin

We wanted to get a souvenir guide book to the palace but Irena counselled against this and said she knew a bookshop where we could get something. We were slightly galled at being taken to another souvenir shop on our return to St Petersburg, plied with coffee and liquers again and then being tailed around the shop by an anxious salesgirl, describing why we should buy anything we were unwise enough to stop at.

Catherine Palace, Pushkin

After getting back to the hotel and having a quick bite of lunch, we were off again. This time to St Isaac's cathedral. We got tickets to go up to the dome as well as look around inside.

Sue climbs the last steps to the dome, St Isaacs

View from St Isaacs

St Isaacs

St Isaacs, dome

Venturing out again, we made for St Nicholas's Cathedral and the Mariinski Theatre for a walk back up the Griboedova Canal to Gostinyy Dvor, a huge covered shopping complex with small boutiquey stores along its aisles.

Gostinyy Dvor

By now we were feeling somewhat tired and as it was approaching 6, we decided to try and find somewhere for dinner on the way back to the hotel, walking down Nevskiy Prospekt.

Boozhareen?, restaurant

8 kilometres today

written by  rickandsuejohnson on October 31 from Saint Petersburg, Russia
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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Peterhof Great Cascade going into mothballs for the winter

Peterhof

Realistic King Arthur. Camelot

10 kilometres today

written by  rickandsuejohnson on October 29 from Saint Petersburg, Russia
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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After a short queue to get in, another to get our tickets and a final one to deposit our coats and bags (which is obligatory), we started on our journey – and what a journey. The initial impressions as you go up the Grand staircase are of opulence. Built as a museum rather than a palace, you might have expected rather more utilitarianism. But you would be underestimating the desire to make a statement. It seems that the creators of St Petersburg, Russia's new capital, wanted to at least match the ostentation of the best courts of Europe – which really meant France. There are shades of Versailles all over the Hermitage and we later discovered, Peterhof. The complex is huge and very disorientating and the maps supplied are less than very helpful in allowing you to get your bearings, particularly starting the tour at the top of the grand staircase with no view of the Neva. Most of the rooms have numbers over the doors, which helps considerably, once you have worked this out. But there are still occasions when a route you had planned is blocked at some point and you have to re-orientate and replan. With many rooms, you just have to keep a track of where you are because you have no external view that gives you a point of reference. Once you have the hang of it though, wandering the building is quite wonderful. However, it would be easy to spend several days here and not see everything, so you need to decide what is important to you before your go and then plan your route accordingly.

We had decided to see how time went but not to try to see any of the paintings, concentrating on the architecture and decoration of the main rooms. We paid 200 rubles to be allowed to photograph inside and it was refreshing to be able take as many as we wanted in most of the rooms. It was forbidden in a few and it was not always well signed that this was the case, which meant I had a tap on my shoulder at one point!

We took a break after a few hours to go down to the Cafe area to relieve ourselves and to have some refreshment. The water we had was quite pricey but what was described as pizza was very reasonable. Looking like a slim pasty with cheese on top, this was warmed through before being given you. It was delicious, filled with a meat mixture and a pastry outer somewhere between bread and pastry. Thus replenished we set about completing the tour we had planned. The space available can't do it justice but the highlights were the exquisite St George's Hall, the Peacock clock and Pavilion Hall, the Malachite Room, the Gold room (a masterpiece of OTT), the Raphael loggias, the small throne room, and of course, the sumptuous diamond room which was in a strongroom (by guided tour only) and contained fabulous ornaments and jewel encrusted items.

We were in there for about 6 hours and could have spent many more.

After getting back to the hotel and having a short rest, we decided to go to a restaurant listed as being nearby for dinner. It took us some time to discover that it is in the middle of a re-development! We then walked around for a little while, trying to find a suitable alternative. It took some time and we ended up at a place called Literary Cafe, from where Alexander Pushkin left for his fateful duel. The meal was both good and reasonable, so honour was satisfied, as far as I was concerned.

12 kilometres today! 4 looking for dinner!

written by  rickandsuejohnson on October 28 from Saint Petersburg, Russia
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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We were waiting on the apron for a few minutes as some woman took it into her head to go to the loo as soon as she boarded and we couldn't do the safety demo in her absence which meant in turn that we couldn't start taxiing. Memories of Bangkok sprang to mind! She was duly prised out and off we went, arriving in Amsterdam about 15 minutes late. I was a little concerned about the connection but I needn't have been. The departure gate for our flight to St Petersburg was only a couple of gates further down the pod and had its own security checks, so we were in good time for our flight.

We arrived in St Petersburg, having completed our immigration and customs declarations while on board; I am sure that the lovely lady customs official smirked as she looked at my passport photo – clearly thinking that it didn't bear much resemblance! We went through the red channel but were told that for what we had, we should proceed through the green – fair enough; at least we had volunteered the information and been officially told we didn't need to bother.

Out in the main concourse we found our taxi driver and he helped us with our bags to his car; I had a feeling we were in for an interesting ride as it was a Nissan V6. This proved to be the case and he swiftly carved a way though the traffic into the heart of St Petersburg while making various arrangements on his mobile phone, clamped firmly to his right ear. Of course, being an automatic with power steering (and probably autopilot too) his right hand was strictly speaking not needed although once or twice, I would quite have liked all his brain power being devoted to managing the traffic. I am aware of fairly normal speed limits (60kph in town) being expected in town but it was quite clear that this expectation was not shared by the majority of drivers. We had evidence of a certain disparity of expectation when we came upon a disagreement that had occurred between two drivers now being mediated by police.

Once at the hotel, we checked in and tried to get some cash out of each of the two ATMs in the hotel; the bellhop who accompanied us to the tills went for help but was assured that occasionally the machines ran out of cash – not to worry, our card would not have been debited. We couldn't help being a little concerned – not only had we entered two lots of cash without any return but we were still without any Russian rubles. We couldn't pay for anything in cash.

After depositing our bags and settling in, we went for a walk and stopped off at the first hotel asking to use their ATM fortunately this time it worked! We had a nice walk in the fresh air (4°C) around the block past the St Isaac's Cathedral, up to Nevsky Prospekt, getting a glimpse of the Hermitage all lit up, down Admiralty and much surprised to see a fountain playing before heading back to the hotel.

We decided to eat in the first night. I had Borscht followed by stroganoff, which was truly excellent while Sue had pickled vegetables followed by Salmon en croute with hard boiled egg, which was also very good. Drinks appear to be quite expensive unless you go for local stuff – local wine is about £8 a bottle while others start at around £20 per bottle!! Beer, at the hotel is not cheap either with the local ale at around £4 per pint. Anyway the wine we had was quite good fruity stuff with a bit of punch and some character, unpretentious, rustic and very drinkable.

Having taken our watches forward an hour for Amsterdam and two more for St Petersburg, we had to turn them back an hour before bed as daylight saving comes to an end here as well as at home.

Tranquil canal returning from Mariinski

Our Lady of Kazan

Bank's Bridge, Gribodoeva Canal

St Nicholas

On leaving we decided it was time for lunch and made our way to Christopher Columbus restaurant, where it is kitted out as a ship inside. We had a splendid meal of thick chicken and turnip soup followed by Pork loin with sauteed potato wedges.

Before returning to the hotel, we had a look in Malaya Morskaya Ulitsa

Tchaiskovski lived here

Gogol lived here

Outside the Mariinski

View of the stage from our box

Sue in our box, Royal Box in the background

Final Curtain, Swan Lake

We clocked up 8.13 Kilometres today!

Monday 26th October
Had a better night having worked out how the air conditioning works – you switch off the fan, turn off the radiator and open the window for half an hour. This cooled the room enough for it to be comfortable to sleep in! We were not in too much of a hurry to go out as it had been raining steadily for some hours and no immediate likelihood of stopping.

Church on Spilled Blood

Church on spilled blood

Having filled our eyes and minds there we walked across the Field of Mars, where we saw the eternal flame burning brightly before crossing over the Neva by Trinity Bridge and turning right to walk along the waterfront to see Peter The Great's Hut (which was closed, but we hope to see it tomorrow), guarded by the Manchurian Lions, then on to the Cruiser Aurora which fired the signal that started the storming of the Winter Palace in 1917. The Aurora is now a museum but we decided instead to go on to the Peter & Paul Fortress and look around there. The fortress was the first set of buildings in the Tsar's new capital and although originally designed for defence against the Swedes, was never used for that purpose – instead it served as a prison and torture chamber and had several notable people incarcerated within its walls; the Tsar's own rebellious son Alexei! Dostoyevski and Trotsky were among other notable inmates.

Church of Sts Peter & Paul, Peter & Paul Fortress

Our legs were beginning to feel the effects of the distance we had travelled by now but we steeled ourselves for the walk back to the hotel past the Rostral Columns on Vasilevskiy Island. While peering along the vast width of the Neva at this point we noticed a huge streeeeetch limo pull up and a bride and groom got out. Immediately afterwards, a bus pulled up with a load of guests who piled out. Quite a number were holding glasses of bubbly.

The wedding party, scruffy photographer with regulation black leather jacket

10.24 kilometres today.

written by  rickandsuejohnson on October 26 from Saint Petersburg, Russia
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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We got a Russian phrase book to be able to at least deal with some of the pleasantries and make an effort. I had expected it to be less than straightforward as the Cyrillic alphabet is different to ours but I hadn't expected how much. There are 4 letters that correlate and the rest are quite new or just sound quite different. Russian C is an 's' sound, P is an 'r', B is a 'v' etc.; getting your head around it is difficult when you don't suffer from senior moments! However, we are making progress slowly.

Being locked in to school dates for taking holiday means that we are going rather later than we would like and the weather promises to be around what you might expect for a UK January or February - pretty cold. So we have prepared ourselves to take plenty of layers and shall be wearing our thermals! Our particular thanks to Ollie for reminding us that it would be a good idea to take our hats, scarves and gloves, together with spares in case one lot got wet (I knew that time spent travelling would be worthwhile). We have put in quite a lot of time researching where to go in the hope of avoiding too much wasted time, but we shall not actually make decisions until we are on the ground and can take account of the situation there.

I am sure that we are in for a marvellous experience; IT permitting, I hope you will be able to join us there. Da sveedaneeya

written by  rickandsuejohnson on October 20 from Shrewsbury, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Venice of the North - St Petersburg
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Over breakfast, reading the local paper, several articles on the back page grabbed us. This page is always a category of disasters and deaths and the reporting of this is usually done with a certain gusto, which is somewhat inappropriate to English eyes. One that didn't really fit into this category, must have been included because it was a slow news day. In Japan, a motorcyclist was in court for throwing his excreta at people he passed; his explanation to the judge was that he had too much stress at work.

Roger announcing the delivery of another pair of glaces

a modest little ice cream

We did our shopping and returned to the site at about 3, hoping that the heat would begin to reduce so that we could take down the awning a little more comfortably. It stubbornly remained at 32°C for the rest of the day, so we were absolutely streaming. However, we were all done by 6:30 when we went for a shower to cool off in preparation for our trip to The cafe at Rivieres on the road to Roche Canillac. On arrival, we noted it had a new name, so it is under new management. It no longer specialised in fish and when we asked if there was a table for 2 in the empty restaurant, the chef had to be summoned to see if he would cook for us. Fortunately he must have liked the way we looked as he said 'yes, of course'. It was explained that everything was cooked to order so it may take some time. We said we were in no hurry. The set menu offered a choice of starter – I had a huge tomato, sliced and in each slice was a piece of mozzarella; there were little pieces of tasty cheese around the edge of the plate and a drizzle of olive oil with basil. It was great. Sue had melon with parma ham and port that she made short work of, so I imagine it was good too. I then followed with a steak accompanied with stuffed fennel and potato, while Sue had Duck in an apple sauce and stuffed fennel. This course was very good too. The regulation cheese followed then the sweet of ice cream for Sue and crème brulee for me. It was excellent rustic and unpretentious cooking.

Back on site we were exhausted and tried to make an early night of it. There was no way – it was still very muggy and hot. Slept fitfully until it began to cool a bit in the wee small hours.

Wednesday 19th August

Up reasonably early to finish off disconnecting the van from services and readying it for the road. It was 22°C by 10 am so clearly going to be very hot. After a quick shower, we were ready to hit the road Monsieur opposite with the wife beater T shirt kindly offered to help manoevre the van. In the course of our brief conversation it transpired that he borrows his van from his parents who store it nearby. I mentioned that with 2 youngsters he must have quite a carful getting home afterwards. His brother is an engineer with Renault and it transpired that he will be able to replace his picasso with an Espace. That should solve his problems!!

On the road all went well until the car had to work up some of the hills on the A20, when it became apparent that the problem with heating is still there despite having had no problems since the run to Pierrefort. It was noticable particularly when going slowly in traffic or when toiling up the many hills around Limoges, when the coolant went from a steady 90°C and increased to up to 120°C at some points. I watched it like a hawk and took what action I could to contain it without letting it get out of hand. With the outside temperature climbing steadily to 38°C, it was quite worrying. By dint of nursing the car carefully to minimise the work the engine has to do, we were able to get the 145 miles to Chateauroux, where we were to spend a couple of days anyway. I rang RC motors to get a steer on which fuse may be at fault – checked the fuses, the fuse is not at fault. I had to ring NU rescue and explain the situation. They organised for a breakdown truck to pick the car up and take it to a local garage for repair. They would ring me the next day, after the garage has assessed the problem. One of the unlooked for benefits of the careful driving was the fuel consumption went from 19mpg on the way down to 21mpg on the way back, despite the conditions. And it has to be said that I was still travelling much of the way at 60mph!

Our pitch was a nice one with shade and there had been a little bit of wind to make the heat more bearable but it was 36°C on arrival and only began to cool marginally by 9:30p.m.!

Thursday 20th August

Another hot and stuffy night, although not as bad as last night and a lot better by morning. We managed quite a good night's sleep. After breakfast decided that we should plan on not having the car 'till friday, and thought we probably woudn't get any news on the car until between 10 and 11 so asked at reception where the nearest supermarket was. We were told no more than we absolutely needed; Carrefour was in the centre of the town. We thought we may have misheard as Carrefour was not marked in the centre on the map supplied by the campsite. Super U was and it was in the town centre next to a hotel. It was a 20 minute walk and appeared to have disappeared when we arrived there. Although there was a welcome breeze, the temperature had by now reached 28°C and it was quite warm though by this stage we must have got a bit acclimatised as we found it wasn't as impossible as it would have been a few days ago. We asked a lady who inevitably wasn't local, where the nearest supermarket was; she was looking for groceries and would like to know herself, she said. Our next contact was more successful and she said that the nearest was Carrefour, which was down by the station about 10 minutes walk away, access was by a passerelle. There was a tourist info centre next to the station and since we couldn't see any evidence of the Carrefour, popped in there. Yes the guy said, the other side of the station, if we were on foot there was a footbridge from the station car park. Sure enough, we found it where advertised; a huge Carrefour. By now it was about 11:30 and just as we were choosing our trolley, the 'phone rang. The car had been checked over, the fan was working and the thinking was that the main reason for the problem was the ambient temperature being so high. As it hadn't got into the critical stage, it was clearly within the working abilities of the car. We were told that the garage asked us to check the car but there would be no charges, according to the man from the RAC. (However, I was not surprised to find that the 48 minutes that the checking took, were indeed charged.) We decided that since the garage would probably close between 12 and 2, and it would take us an exhausting 30 minutes to walk, we would hire a taxi. An obliging customer service lady at Carrefour offered to order one for us, which we gladly accepted. We picked up the car took it to Leclerc (we didn't trust ourselves to find Carrefour again with the confusing one way system), filled up with groceries and fuel and went back for lunch at the site.

George Sands House

George Sands house from the garden

One of the side effects of the trip was it gave me an opportunity to see how stable the engine coolant temperature was. Rock steady at 90°C! Although the ambient temperature was probably less testing at only about 31°C – and of course we didn't have a ton of wood and metal attached to the towball!

On our return I checked to see if the main fan was working and was relieved to see that it was turning. After allowing it to cool, I checked fluids for the next stage as usual and thought I would look in the handbook to see what it said. Essentially, it said that if there is a high ambient temperature and the engine is working hard, it is normal for the temperature to increase toward maximum as long as the coolant warning light doesn't come on – so perhaps the garage are right. (However, it was steady at 90°C when passing Paris at 40°C some 5 years ago, so I'm not convinced). Anyway, we have decided to carry on tomorrow and see if we can get to Guines without incident. As today has been much cooler and tomorrow may be cooler still, we shall see. It is a much longer trip and if there is any hint of trouble, we shall look out for a VW dealer in Rouen. We have also got an up to date Michelin camping guide at Leclerc, so if things start to go pear shaped, we shall be in a position to do something about it.

Supper tonight was lovely pork steaks, barbequed to perfection by yours truly with an excellent salad by herself, followed by cheese and then by yoghurt and grapes. Talk about living the high life!

Friday 21st August

Autoroute near Calais - see it snaking up the other side on the left?

As we drove north, the temperature dropped and when we arrived on site it was a chilly 18°C; some 10°C less than we have been used to of late!

After pitching up, we made ourselves supper then popped down to the bar to see about the internet access that they are supposed to have here. WeeFee is available in the bar area for those with their own laptop – FOR €5 PER HOUR!!! This translates to roughly £4.60 at current rates so final communications will have to wait until after our return.

Saturday 22nd August

We got speaking to the couple next door with a young son in a campervan who have spent 3 weeks doing Europe. They have been through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France again, Spain and France. While we were assured that they had had time to absorb some of the local culture, I couldn't help feeling that it was a little frenetic.

Town Hall

Peacock roundabout by Town Hall - says a lot about the French

View of the beach from the car park

Ideal childrens playground item 100 metres from the ferry!!!!

We were stunned that the car park next to the beach was both huge and free – compare this with most places back home which wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to relieve visitors of some of the weight in their pocket.

View from cap Blanc Nez - Dover in the distance

View from Cap Gris Nez - Dover in distance

On the way back to the site, the map showed that there was a viewpoint and we duly stopped to take in the scene. We were a little surprised to find that it was of a quarry! We should have seen the hint given in the marker board being sponsored by an aggregate company. Gazing down on a gravel and stone quarry is not really what excites us so we left.

Back at the site we got ready for our meal at the Auberge Les 3 Pays in Guines. We had had an excellent meal here 3 years ago but it had obviously changed hands. We arrived shortly after 7 and were surprised to be their first customers. I have always thought that the best indicator of the quality of a French restaurant is being busy with locals and I should have taken the hint. Having arrived without expecting to need plan B and feeling hungry, we studied the menu once we could drag the waitress away from her computer screen. We settled on the prix fixe menu and placed our orders. After a little while, the waitress came back to apologise that one of the dishes we had ordered was not available! We reordered and chose our wine only to be told that the bottle that we wanted was not available either! We are used to not being rushed in French restaurants and had expected that with no other customers to serve, we would get attentive service but we had bargained without the change of emphasis. It became clear that it was now more of a bistro/ bar for locals with pool tables in the back. People arrived and went straight through the restaurant to the bar. Until, that is a large family group arrived and went through into the back to a great welcome from the resident family. It was clear that they were close friends and the chef came out of the kitchen to greet them. This wouldn't have been very significant if we had not at this stage been waiting for our main course for some time but it was clear where her priorities lay. After our main course, we waited for our dessert; by now the family group had taken up station in an adjoining partition, laid up for them, where the chef was regaling the family. After a while she was reminded by the waitress that we were waiting for our dessert and was somewhat peremptorily dismissed. Anyway, we patiently got through our meal by the end of which we were almost still as hungry as at the beginning due to the length of the waits. To add insult to injury, as a gastronomic experience it only fulfilled the second part of the phrase; if I am generous I would say that the meal was very very average. Being British, we settled up at the first opportunity and left without leaving a tip but many would have just left without paying – I'm not sure that we would have been noticed! We shall not be revisiting! Ever!

Sunday 23rd August

View from the ferry in Calais Harbour - you can see Dover

A good run home with a stop at Oxford services for lunch. No problems with cooling, although we did have a short time on the M25 when the traffic was moving slowly and the coolant started to go a little above 90. I shall ask RC Motors to look at the radiator in due course as I am sure this is where the problem lies in sludging up.

As I look at my diary, to reflect on the holiday, I notice my bare feet which are striped with suntan between the straps of my sandals – zebra feet as Sue calls them (what's she trying to say; zebras have hooves!) Anyway, I think a definition of a good holiday would have to include zebra feet and we have certainly had an excellent holiday.

written by  rickandsuejohnson on September 7 from Argentat, France
from the travel blog: From the Shire to Middle Earth and back
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Updated the blog in the square (where we had to sit on concrete as the seating was all occupied) then off shopping; we were pleased to note that despite it being a French Bank holiday, the supermarket was open. We stocked up with provisions for the next couple of days – it was quite a joy as the place was almost empty!

Back on site,we went for a cruise up the dordogne again before a late lunch. We sat out the hot part of the day (31°C) in the shade of the pitch, then late afternoon we played boules outside the emplacement. We had a nice supper of chicken in a lemon sauce. We finished off with a coffee and cognac then ambled down to the chateau for the fireworks which were pretty spectacular.

Sun 16th August

Most spaniels I have known have been potty. There was a springer we had in Cyprus that I will not have known well but has left a memory of being one sandwich short of a picnic. And Meg & Graham had a pair of cockers that would have been certifiable if they weren't so soft. Our near neighbours, a youngish Dutch couple have one who appears to defy the trend. He is well behaved, does what he is told, is suitably enthusiastic, demonstrative and playful. They appear to be a very well organised pair, taking turns to do everything. Last night he cooked supper, tonight it was her turn. Sharing doesn't appear to come into it as the other completely relaxes while the other does everything. Even if I could cope with doing the relaxing while Sue worked, I'm not sure she would find it possible, especially when the roles were reversed!

Another interesting near family is a young French family of Dad, Mum & 2 little boys. Dad is the patriarch, laying down the law. He spends most of his day in what Ollie would call his wife-beater T-shirt and there is no doubt as to who is boss. Except, that is for the 2 boys, who have two speeds for everything; flat out and stop. The youngest has discovered that if he shouts loud enough, Mum or Dad will usually respond and he is pretty adept at blackmail, with his hurt cry. However, Dad is rarely amused and it doesn't appear to work too well – raised voices are much in evidence; good for him I say. It doesn't pay to kowtow to kids, they're generally much too bright these days! Division of labour is along traditional lines; Mum organises the kids first thing while Dad checks on world affairs with a quiet examination of the paper. After breakfast they all go shopping; the driving being part of Dad's responsibilities – on return, Dad takes the packages in for Mum to deal with while he returns to the serious business of politics. Mum gets lunch while Dad entertains the boys. All go swimming a suitable interval after lunch then Dad entertains the boys while Mum does the washing up and washing. Quite what Mum does late afternoon is not clear – perhaps she enjoys herself. Anyway, later she gets tea while Dad occupies the boys and they both have fun getting through the meal without too much interruption from the youngest who thinks he has spotted a window of opportunity to create mayhem. Quite rightly they let him run out of steam, while trying to interest him and telling him to be quiet and he returns to the table in due course. It is quite entertaining watching other people's problems.

We have two young couples, French one side and German the other. They are both quite charming but interestingly, its the young Germans who are the less reserved and we are always acknowledged as we pass.

As for us, we went to Beaulieu for a picnic lunch and a wander round the lovely town in the sweltering heat – 32°C; when we arrived we managed to make contact with Tom to wish him a Happy Birthday at a time we thought he may just have risen. We used the back roads to get there and back, rather than the main road. It was quite beautiful and we found a spot just above a cascade where I could do some fishing. I had to use worm as maggots are not allowed on the rivers. After a really relaxing if ultimately frustrating 2 hours without a nibble I packed up and we returned to the site where we barbequed lamb steaks which we ate with a fennel and aubergine salad with a pernod sauce.

We have become quite friendly with a Dutch couple who are visiting the site for the first time with their 2 teenagers. They have spent the day packing up their traditional tent and getting organised for a departure tomorrow. We invited them over for a late night coffee and cognac after they have finished. Tim Hortons (Timmee Hor-tons to some) provided the coffee which was much enjoyed as we sat and chatted (quietly) until midnight when we all retired amid much bonhomie.

Monday 17th August

The young French couple departed this morning, apparently they are off to see the sea and shortly after wishing them bonne route, our Dutch friends were off too. Marco apparently didn't have too good a night as he had found sleeping in a small tent rather claustrophobic, so they were not going to go too far today. I hope they made it safely.

Another hot, sunny day (31°C when we got back to the site). We loaded the boat and trolley onto the car with the fishing kit and went up to Marcillac la Croisille for a last trip on the lake and a spot of fishing. We crossed the lake to our favourite little bay and had a lovely picnic lunch. While we had lunch, we noticed a buzzard circling the woods a couple of hundred yards away and shortly after heard him mewing out of sight. After a very restful couple of hours drinking in the solitude and peace, we loaded up and went back to the car where we re-loaded the boat before going round the lake a bit further to find a nice fishing spot. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable few hours and actually managed to catch a couple of small chub. Sue sat in the shade and read or possibly just rested her eyes.

We said a fond farewell to Marcillac; we have decided to pack up tomorrow and spend a couple of days at Chateauroux. So tomorrow will be our last day here; we'll strike the awning early afternoon and load up the car ready for a fairly early start on Wednesday, which is predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far. But we would rather spend it in an air conditioned car than an airless campsite.

We have had a fabulous couple of weeks and the weather has been amazing; as always it will be sad to leave. As I write this M.Hiboux is hooting his farewell and the cicadas are in full song. I look up at the sky which seems so clear here and it only seems a very short time ago that John Parvin was showing Ollie what he could see up there; we spent many nights afterwards looking for satellite trails – but I can't see any tonight.

Depending on when & if we can get internet access, blogging may be even more intermittent this week!

written by  rickandsuejohnson on August 18 from Argentat, France
from the travel blog: Argentat de nouveau
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During the night, we had a storm and when we woke it was absolutely going stair rods. It was a late rise morning. We made it for breakfast at just before 10 and I enjoyed a hot chocolate with my croissant and bread. The jams were gorgeous and looked home-made. The family had been up when we went to bed; they still had a café full and they must have been up for some time this morning. They can't have had much sleep but they all looked remarkably fresh. It struck us again how hard they work.

By now the rain had stopped and we popped down to see Rose marie; apparently the lease had run out on their gift shop and it had been bought by Utile – a sort of Tesco express. She summoned Rene and we had a little chat. Apparently, because of so many teams entered and because as the Tournoi ran on, some of the teams took to the bar between matches, it didn't finish until 12:30! Rene and Rose marie then had to have something to eat before bed and then up for work on Sunday – I don't know how they manage it. We were invited to stay with them next time and I guess we shall but I don't suppose we shall get much sleep!

We were given a basket of goodies and a €15 token from the shop which we spent before leaving. We decided to go back via Vic Sur Cere, then do a circuit of the monts du Cantal, passing through Murat where there is a huge statue of Madonna and child overlooking the town on a puy then on to Salers before returning to Argentat. The weather all the way was pretty awful; the temperature dropped to 13°C on the way across the Auvergne plateau. But through the rain, the scenery was spectacular. We stopped at a rest area just north of Vic to go for a short walk to see the Cascade de la Roucolle.

Cascades

the cascades

cafe at the pass almost hidden in mist

Mist at the pass

Monday 10th August

Got up quite late and went into town and got the blog started – ran out of battery before we could email everyone. Went shopping and had a late lunch. Generally had a relaxing day. The good weather has returned.

Tuesday 11th August

A very warm day, it started cooking quite early. Went into town again, added a bit more blog, uploaded some more photos, emailed family then went for a wonderful ice cream at Roger's new place on the quay.

Ice cream at Roger's glacerie

Birthplace of Gen Delmas, old Argentat

Back on site the temperature mid afternoon was 28°C. We had merguez and chipolatas for tea with an oriental taboule and salad. After this I spent a couple of hours fishing from the harbour wall. There was plenty of fishy activity but I only managed to attract one small chub to the hook.

Wednesday 12th August

Another hot day in store, our neighbours left early at 8 and we waved them off. The night had been cold and the mists clung to the slopes around the site, drifting in spirals up through the trees but it was clear they would soon burn off. We put the boat together at the pitch, loaded it up on its trolley and then took it down to the launch point by the pool. The whole exercise was much less hassle than it used to be. We had a nice cruise up the river and back for an hour or so which was very refreshing with a bit of a breeze and the occasional splash. Since we have been here, we have been buzzed by a couple of Eurofighters flying at low level with a lot of noise, most days but while we were on the river, it was a Hercules flying just over the tops of the valley; at least it was a bit quieter than the jets! We have left the boat assembled outside the 'van ready for our next trip.

After lunch we sat out the hot (30°C again) part of the day reading (in my case) and sewing (in Sue's). Late afternoon we had a trip in the car to cool us down to survey the possibilities for tomorrow's lunch. We went up to Roche Canillac and back through St Martin la meanne. We have settled on Les Voyageurs once again.

Log cabin, St Martin La Meanne

Quite a huge exodus of the Dutch contingent today; many of the pitches around us have been vacated; I suspect that most are trying to get past Paris by the weekend to avoid the congestion of the bank holiday weekend.

traditional dutch tent

After a barbeque, we chilled again with a glass of wine as the heat of the day subsided to a lovely, quiet balmy evening with the cicadas in full song as dusk fell. This is why we keep coming back.

Thursday 13th August

After opening my cards and pressies, we got up and through the course of the day spoke to all the family. We managed to make it into the street market in Argentat and had a nice little wander around the stalls, finding something in a toy stall that may be of interest to a certain young member of the family in a few months time at Christmas. This market wasn't as big as last weeks – I noticed in particular that the 'choose your own trout' stall where a tank of fish was kept in the back of the van, one netted out for your decision – which in the event of a positive selection resulted in a swift dispatch by a wooden priest and hey presto – very fresh fish to order. Another stall that had caught my attention was the 'choose your own pig'. The stall had cartoons of very happy pigs going about their business and if I understood the blurb at the front of the stall, it was advertising that all the produce was free-range and organically grown. The pigs had very happy lives – in fact they were so confident you would agree they encouraged prospective customers to come and see for themselves and choose their own porker for dispatch. Now I know I'm an old city dwelling softie but the idea of looking a pig in the eye and sizing him up for slices of bacon etc before passing the death sentence on an individual whose only crime was of being born with 4 trotters goes rather against the grain. Of course I shall not be thinking about this next time I have a bit of pork and lets face it, if it were a matter of the pig or I in a 1:1 situation, I'd make sure that he was the one who ended up on my plate!

After leaving the market, we went straight up to the restaurant, having had a slight disagreement at the crossroads as I had encroached while unsighted. Anyway it gave a young French woman an opportunity to use her full range of vocal talents and accompanying hand gestures before screaming off up the road at considerably more than the 50kph normally permitted.

Les Voyageurs was very similar to the last time we ate there. As a Logis restaurant, it is immaculately presented and feels cosy. An old building with ceiling beams and a very ornate grandpere cloche, beautifully laid tables and older clientele. There were 3 others when we arrived and I guess the staff were pleased to see the numbers increase by 67%.

We chose the set menu at €16.50:

Birthday lunch

Birthday lunch

We intended to go for a walk we have done before, maybe 10 years ago, but couldn't remember where the start point was. We moved off down the road then into some woods along a path but after ¾ of an hour decided it was not going anywhere and headed back. At least in the woods it was slightly cooler!

Chateau le Gib at night

Chateau Le Gib at night

Friday 14th August

Up and into town quite early to do our shopping. Back on site we took the boat out for a run for just over an hour. While out we saw a lovely buzzard fly about 20 feet over our heads from one side of the river to the other to rest on some rocks. Sue tried to get her camera out in time to catch him but we are not sure she did. Once again, the breeze from our travel and the sounds of the water were very relaxing, although there are several bits of timber floating in the river and you need to be careful not to hit these; or indeed the many swimmers who take to the water.

Spent the middle part of the day trying to keep cool as the temperature reached 31°C in the shade in which we were sitting. As it started cooling at around 7ish, we went down to the pool area where I fished for a couple of hours off the quay. I caught 2 small roach and felt quite satisfied, especially as some people seem to have a strange idea of what constitutes acceptable behaviour and even when I had been there some time, people would come along and splash in the water feet from where I was fishing. Even less so when there was a nice clean swimming pool uncontaminated with mud, oil from boats and other detritus! There's none so queer as folk.

Back at the pitch we barbequed some sardines and very good they were indeed, washed down with a lovely rose.

written by  rickandsuejohnson on August 15 from Argentat, France
from the travel blog: Argentat de nouveau
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