Day 7: The Fosse and the Fishes

One of the places Simon and P like to visit when they stay at La Maison Française is La Fosse Arthour.  There are several pleasant walks including a very gentle one around the lake.  Mop went in his buggy and Buster was largely off the lead.  In true dog style, Buster used this freedom to find something unpleasant to roll in, unaware that such actions have consequences!

On the far side of the lake, there are a couple of slides set into a little hillock.  Mop tried one but it was a little too steep and he ended up at the bottom – sat on his bottom in a muddy patch.  This had the advantage of slowing his progress on the other slide to an acceptable rate.  With P supervising at the top and Simon catching at the bottom, fun was had by all.

As they were in the area, Simon suggested going home by way of the Château de la Bière to buy some of their excellent beer.  However, the notice on the closed gate said that one had to telephone to arrange a visit, so Simon thought it would be easier to look for local shops that stocked the beers.

In the village there is an old lavoir that is now used as a fish pond.   Mop takes great delight in riding there on his bike with a tub of fish food.  The fish are very pleased with this development and join in the activity with great enthusiasm!  In the top cistern there are no fish but instead it is populated with tadpoles.  Mop gravely inspects their progress each day, as Simon and P have told him that they will turn into frogs or toads.

Mop has a bath before bed each evening, supervised by P.  Simon brings his milk upstairs and says goodnight etc.  Tonight Buster was surprised to be called to follow upstairs.  Perhaps he was going to be allowed to sleep at the bottom of Mop’s bed?  No – Buster was horrified to be taken into the bathroom and worse still, Mop’s bath water was still there.  But as Simon said, dogs who roll in fox poo shouldn’t be surprised when they are bathed!

It wouldn’t be right to finish this post without remarking on the date – 6th June 2019 – which is 75 years since the D-Day landings.  People living hereabouts still take the time to think about the sacrifice and bravery of allied forces that liberated France from a dark period of history.  There are the street names (La Maison Française is on Rue du 6 juin), the boulangerie has pictures of now and then (the village suffered significant damage – there are few old buildings), there is a memorial in front of the church, and today one house in the village was flying a French flag with the words “Thank you” written across it.

Day 2 – Ascension to Bavaria

Fully restored by sleep and caffeine, Simon and P were ready to tackle 3 countries.

First up Belgium.  The plan was to visit the Carrefour near Bruges and buy some essential supplies (lunch, beer, gin and a map book).  Unfortunately, we couldn’t remember quite how to get to the hypermarket.  Still, we should be able to find it with the aid of the map book.  Oh wait a minute, there might be a bit of a problem there!  Never mind, the sat nav will find it.  Points of interest ….. near here ……. shopping …. Carrefour.  How many?!?

Simon and P have fond memories of the Carrefour near Bruges.  Simon bought some beer in flip top bottles there.  While putting the shopping in the car, P looked at the receipt and noticed that the beer was only €0.36 a bottle – worth it for the bottle alone!  Leaving Simon to finish packing the car, P went back to buy some more.  When she got to the checkout she discovered that the bottles were indeed worth €0.36 – that was the deposit on the bottle!

It quickly became apparent that the Carrefour selected on the sat nav was not the one they had intended to go to.  Still any hypermarket will do.  Or will it?  No, not on Thursday 9th May 2013 or Ascension Day – a public holiday in Belgium (as is the Friday) when all the shops are shut.

The detour had taken Simon and P off their intended route but the sat nav had this under control.  While being directed through some country roads, Simon was reminded of a quaint custom in Belgium – la priorité à droite!  This basically means that traffic joining a road from the right has right of way.  A little unnerving but fine once you get used to it.

Onwards to Luxembourg.  There is one main reason for travelling to or through Luxembourg.  Diesel is €1.16 a litre!

Finally Germany.  Driving in Germany has it’s own quaint customs – like the lack of a speed limit on large chunks of the motorway.  Simon was prepared to get out of the way of fast moving BMWs, Audis and VWs – what shocked him was the buzzard that flew across the motorway about 1 foot above the car as he raced along at 110 km/h.  Thank God we hadn’t put the roof box on!

Back in October, Simon had booked hotels for the stopovers and printed off the booking confirmations and addresses.  When considering the route, Simon then decided that the stopover in Germany should be an hour further South, cancelled the first hotel and booked a replacement.  He did not print off details of the new hotel.  Fortunately the mistake was noticed just after Simon and P left the autobahn and they were able to get the correct details from Simon’s laptop.

What can we say about tea?  A collection of cold pig products does not do it justice!  Probably best not to ask which parts of the pig were involved either!  Anyway it was delicious!  Simon had 3 different Bavarian beers to accompany it.  P had 3 glasses of pinot grigio – generous measures – more than the 20cl marked on the glass!  Simon ungallantly pointed out that 3 such glasses = 1 bottle.  P pointed out that Simon had drunk more than 1 bottle of beer, so that was all right!

Anyway, after a goodnight’s sleep in a very comfortable room, it was time for breakfast – a massive plate of scrambled eggs, fruit, cereal, yoghurt, bread, jam, and more pig products!  Just right for another 3 country day!