# solitude!



## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Time for a live report. I'm sitting half way up some mountain not far from Mont Blanc marmot spotting. Mrs D has carried on without me as my legs have gone! 

Who ever said France is too busy peak season should come here as there is nothing but the sound of hawks and the chirps of Marmots.

Can't post any pics at the moment but wild camped on the outskirts of a ski resort last night and woke up to a superb view of Mont Blanc about 20 miles behind us with the sun shining on the gleaming white snow.

Parked up at another ski place for tonight in a huge bowl like valley. No nieghbours. Yet.

They are here though. Biked down to Les Gets and it's packed and full of Brits! 

Only problem is that on the road where we left the bike they were setting up a finish line for some cycle race. I hope they don't close it as we won't get back to the van!

It's a hard life!


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Nothing but sympathy for you - and a touch of jealousy  

Geoff


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi Barry.

We are still stuck up the mountain at the ski resort Foppolo tossing it off while monday when we will make our way to Milan to get our broken windscreen replaced on tuesday, then we will make our way at last out of Italy into France then Spain and Portugal.

Hard life init!.

ray.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Perhaps I should put this in the ABUSIVE bit.

I reckon Barry is making all this up and that in reality he is at home in Yorks.

Snow on Mont Blanc? Don't believe it - it's the middle of summer!


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## Geriatricbackpacker (Aug 21, 2012)

All the motorhomes must be in Normandy, just returned after a weeks visit as my grandson wanted to do the Normandy landing trail...and so did every other bu**er! Never seen so many MH's, gave up using Aires and we just wild camped for the remainder of the week. In Arramanches the vans were so close together there was just enough room to get a habitation door open and someone (French registered) parked in the service bay so nobody could get access to the facilities :cussing: :cussing: :cussing:


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

This is the busiest weekend of the year in France according to local businesses......

It is the end of the French holiday season, so many are now setting off for home.....

many Dutch are also setting off for their clogs and Edam,

the Brits still have a couple more weeks until schools start back so some are starting their holiday,

all in all our market was packed with wall to wall people this morning and trade was brisk to say the least......

Mind you the weather doesn't help - it's clear blue sky and 29C and the same daytime high is forecast for the next 10 days......

No wonder barryd is having such a great time, the mountains will be glorious at present with crystal clear air and few clouds - the RH is only 42%.

I understand that the weather in the UK is rather damp in some places ? :? 

Dave


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

barryd said:


> .......and the chirps of Marmots.


Gas mark 8 for about an hour. Glass of red wine ( not beer!)

They also barbeque nicely. Put them in the fish grill and drive the van over it to flatten them, a drizzle of olive oil and about 10 minutes each side.

Eidelweiss salads are good with them. Be sure to show your bowl of eidelweiss to the nice men in green uniforms that you can find enjoying nature up there.

G


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Picture the scene.

A Marmot being watched by a Barmpot. :lol:


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

pippin said:


> .......Snow on Mont Blanc? Don't believe it - it's the middle of summer!


He's telling the truth Pippin......... 8O Here is a shot from todays' Mont Blanc WebCam.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Grizzly said:


> Gas mark 8 for about an hour. Glass of red wine ( not beer!)
> 
> G


This is France we are talking about........ Gas Mark 8 is way too high, they will be incinerated and "_trop bien cuit_", remember in France all meat is served pink to say the least.......

with canard you take most of the feathers off and serve on a warm plate - that's more than enough heat for them.....

with beef, take the horns off, wipe it's bum and serve........

Typical Rosbif cremating all their food.....

Marmot a la Marmite is a real no, no also.......

Dave


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

My God! I forgot to tell him to skin it first ! Hope it's not too late . I'd hate him to be put off going on to try mouflon and wolf. 

G

PS What wine would you recommend with eagle au vin ?


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

You could try;

Bordeaux type

This wine is reminiscent of Right-Bank Bordeaux. The underlying spiciness, typical of cool climate grapes, pushes through the fruit quite powerfully. On the palate, the wine enters with the fruit profile of the nose carrying through to the taste buds. Plenty of ripe red and blackberries coupled with spiciness entice the tongue. These flavours carry right through supported, by elegant ripe soft tannins, which give a long and lingering finish.

Admittedly not readily available in France, but worth searching for.... and can be bought on line.....

if you prefer a white, this is excellent, the Viognier wines are truly flavoursome in my opinion......

Viognier wine

The nose shows primary Viognier aromas of ripe peach, apricot and later jasmine flower (consistent with the 2011 vintage and intrinsic to its origin on the cooler, Constantia mountain slopes.) A fresh, rich mouth filling palate infused with white stone pip flavour and telltale Viognier spices are the order of the day. Positive acidity (suggest longevity) coupled with subtle wooding ensure a crisper velvety smooth finish and lingering after taste.

Hope that helps you make a selection, if those are not suitable try this one;

Modest price, good flavour

Just trying to be helpful......

sadly even that is much more expensive than our local St Emilion non-labelled at about €2 per bottle..... ex vineyard....

Dave


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Actually I suspect barbequed marmot would taste much the same if served with a 2 euro carton of Aldi's least fine.

We're not very precious with our wines I'm afraid. We drink whatever we enjoy and don't worry about the label. 

G


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

If it says "DOMESTOS" on the label, I would give it a miss :lol:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

pippin said:


> If it says "DOMESTOS" on the label, I would give it a miss :lol:


I do.I'm too much of a Yorkshirewoman to buy branded goods. It's bog-standard eau de Javel chez nous. Aldi Very Ordinary 2euro bricks have much the same lime-scale removing effect if you can put up with the red stain however.

G


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## GROUNDHOG (Mar 7, 2006)

barry - say hi to the lovely french police lady and her mate who 'moved us on' in Les Gets, utterly charming and pointed us to the aire in town which we eventually found.

Thoroughly jealous but only a couple of weeks when everyone else comes home and we will be chasing you!! Will bring Cornish Pasties and local ale and yarg knowing your penchant for cheese:lol:


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

4 St Mawes pasties for me
4 Portreath pasties (for my mates)

Please


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Cheers all! 

The only thing lacking up here is a decent mobile or wifi signal! It's taken me 24 hours to read the thread. Can't have everything I suppose.

The solitude didn't last long. Some little French kids appeared shouting "Alan, Alan!" At the marmots (YouTube Alan marmots) and they cleared off.

If the rest of France is packed they can keep it. This spot about 7 miles above les gets must be one of the loveliest places on the planet.

The superb solitude wild spot didn't last either. I knew it wouldn't. You could see the van parked smack in the middle of a huge bowl like valley from the road sweeping down from the pass half a mile away. Like a big Motorhome magnet!

Sure enough as I sat playing my guitar and singing to the cows two vans chugged in. Now there is about two acres of space where you could park and what do they do? Yep, one behind and one In front!! The French are worse than the Brits for hearding!  I thought the Brit sat murdering pink Floyd songs and swigging beer might have put them off but if anything it seemed to encourage them and the bloody cows who couldn't get enough and unfortunately hung around all night clanging their bells!!! 

This morning I went for another hike and dived into mountain lake around 5000ft. Blimey it was flipping freezing!!! 

On my return two more vans have arrived so I am officially going to call it the first British Aire in France. The other two have chosen to join the huddle as well when they could have parked anywhere!

Funds are a bit low so later when they are all back I'm going to put my hi viz jacket on, go around with a clip board and receipt book and charge them. As its officially a British Aire the price will be €30 as its peak season and they must bugger off before 12am. Fortunately for them despite hearding they are all more than 6 metres apart so I can't tell them off for that!

Loads of snow high up pippin and not just on Mont Blanc where I gather you can ski all year round!

We had a snowball fight last summer up at 10000ft on the col de Bonette where there were plenty of pockets of deep snow in shaded places.

The weather has been superb Dave. If everyone is on the move as you say them we will stop here (like I needed a reason ).

Maybe hit Annecy in a week or so!

Cheers Groundhog for the offer of uk grub but the French faire suits us better I'm afraid! Still got some of the superb extra mature Comte cheese and Morbier from Jura and plenty if tasty local stuff to try here.

The marmots are proving pretty difficult to catch but perhaps I can coax a mountain trout from the lake if it isn't already frozen!


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Barry

A frozen trout should be easier to catch - since ice is less dense than water it should float to the surface.  

Geoff


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

The lovely wild spot in the valley turned into a nightmare this morning as three digger things on one side turned up at 7:30am to dig the place up and one on the other side looked like it was digging a swimming pool! . Pity the poor buggers who live there as the noise was awful across the whole valley. At least we can move which we have.

To cap it all the weather is now awful and mrs d has insisted on hiking up the Mountains on her own while I try and get online and do a bit if work.

What's the number for mountain rescue?


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Mountain Rescue for her indoors when she is outdoors?

Just call the local undertakers!

The fact that I am posting this reply tells you all that yes, FON does work on SFR.

So, keep an eye out for me on the abusive threads!

We have just arrived in a teensie little village near Neufchateau-en-Bray, lovely little aire.

The M25 was a nightmare - it took longer to to get from Watford to Dover than it did from Dover to here, including the ferry crossing.

Quite why we put up with our roads in UK I really don't know.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

For info.;

There are three main emergency services in France: the SAMU (_Service d'Aide Médicale d'Urgence_), the fire brigade and the police. The SAMU is the national, publicly run emergency service that deals only with very serious cases. The SAMU provides both ambulances and specialist medical teams.

It is important to note that the French fire brigade, _les pompiers,_ is trained and equipped to deal with medical emergencies. They provide an ambulance service with their specially equipped vans. In France it is very often the fire brigade who are called first to deal with road injuries and domestic accidents and in many areas, especially rural regions, they will be fastest to the scene. They coordinate with all other emergency services and will, if the situation demands, call in the specialised SAMU emergency medical service.

The national police force in France is divided between the_ Police Nationale _and the _gendarmerie_. Very broadly, the _Police Nationale _is responsible for urban areas while the gendarmerie covers the rural regions. From wherever you call the emergency number for the police you will be directed to the appropriate service.

It is advisable to also note down the normal, eight-digit number for your local police or gendarmerie station. In all large towns there is also a secondary police force managed by the local town hall and with limited powers, called la police municipale.

*Medical emergency/accidents/ambulance (SAMU): 15*
The SAMU is the coordinated service to call in case of any serious medical emergency.

*Fire brigade: 18 *
The French fire brigade, called _les sapeurs pompiers, _can also be called in cases of medical emergencies, such as traffic and domestic accidents.

*Police: 17 *
This number puts you in contact with the appropriate emergency police services nearest you, whether that be the _police nationale_ or the gendarmerie. For non-urgent situations, make a note of the direct phone number for your nearest police station (commissariat de police or gendarmerie).

*All emergencies from a mobile phone: 112*
This is the pan-European emergency number which can be called in any emergency from your mobile phone. As it's a Europe-wide number, you can also ask to be connected to an English-speaking operator.

Source;

http://www.expatica.com/fr/essentials_moving_to/country_facts/its-an-emergency-25715_10427.html

Dave


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## simandme (Jan 11, 2011)

Penguin: to be honest, if there was an emergency (of the minor type) whilst away, I'd probably just post on this forum - much easier :wink: 

Barryd: have you thought of mountain biking down the snow? We saw some hardy souls/fools try when we were at Alpe d'Huez (sorry forgotten the name of the mountain there) - looked like a lot of fun!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Thanks Dave for that useful information.

Mrs D made it back alive and I even managed a couple of hikes myself once the weather cleared (not hard core like her).

We moved back to our other spot and once again awoke to superb views of Mont Blanc and the sun has just come up but it's been really cold! 

Unless I can fix the fire (see other thread) we might have to rethink our plans. We were going to spend another week or so around here and then Annecy followed by a drive up to Val d'isere and the higher passes beyond. 

Its going to be well into September by then and we have to be home by the end of that month.

I have only brought summer bedding! 

I checked the forecast for l'ardeche pont d'arc and its 30c and sunny for the forseable so after Annecy we might have I search out the last of the summer heat. It's a long winter!

Although now that that pippin is over here on the loose we might have to leave France altogether!


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Our average daytime temperature is around 31 - 32C and that is forecast to continue for the next week or sop with a little dampness possible on Friday........

So summer continues in this part, although we have to return to the UK for 5 days on Friday.......

Usually we will continue to eat meals outside well into October and sometimes even until December for lunch. So don't give up on decent weather yet......

Dave


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Barry, I think you had better rephrase the last bit:

_Mrs D made it back alive and I even managed a couple of hikes myself once the weather cleared (not *hard core like her*). _

Second thoughts, perhaps I ought to meet up with her - where are you exactly :?:


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Pippin! We have left France and are now in Outer Mongolia!!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Finally got a wifi signal after climbing around the van at our new spot for half an hour with the antenna. So.

Here is some snow. This is the view from the back of the van at one of the recent wild spots we stopped at.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

Don't believe anything that Barry says. That photo came from the lid of the box of chocolates I gave him last Christmas. :lol:


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

barryd said:


> Finally got a wifi signal after climbing around the van at our new spot for half an hour with the antenna. So.
> 
> Here is some snow. This is the view from the back of the van at one of the recent wild spots we stopped at.


Outer Mongolia looks very pretty - I must put it on my list 

What's the Yak cheese like? :roll:

Geoff


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Im not really in Outer Mongolia. Im just trying to stop that Pippin stalking Mrs D.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Not much Solitude today. Everyone went to the Cirque du fer a Chavel

Cirque fer a Cheval in the Alps. Photo doesn't do it justice but some of its over 9000ft high. Its supposed to be the Alpine Gavarnie but I think Gavarnie has the edge.










Going down this in the Yellow Rubber Dinghy tomorrow! Thats £40 saved!


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

I have advised Les Pompieres


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