Sunday 29 May.
We were awake before the alarm went off. I showered first then when Moira was ready we went through for breakfast. It was just a small dining area near our room and everything was laid out for a help-your-self continental breakfast. There was cornflakes and yoghurt then we made toast and coffee before getting back to our room to finish off packing and got going.
We began walking the kilometre to the airport and had only gone as far as the bus stop when a bus arrived. We took advantage of our luck and jumped on board. We didn't have a ticket and the driver wanted €8 for the fare, a bit excessive. Moira only had a €20 note and he didn't have change so we ended up getting to the airport for free.
Moira had the boarding passes on her iPhone so all we had to do was to check in the suitcase. There was a queue at the check-in, some people don't seem to realise that the budget airlines, this was EasyJet, are strict about baggage weight and will charge if you are slightly over. A couple of young girls were having an argument about their luggage and ended up taking some of their clothes out of their cases and putting them on to reduce the weight. Also there are always some who treat the check-in as a tourist information extension with endless questions. In comparison when we get to the counter it takes, at the most, a couple of minutes and we are through.
Next we had to go upstairs to pass through security to the boarding gates. But we couldn't find the stairs to reach the next level. We hunted everywhere and eventually had to enquire at the information desk who told us that we had to out the exit to find the lifts and stairway. Once at the next floor it was security ordeal. We had the laptop, the iPads and the Freeview recorder out of our bags to go through the scanner separately as standard. Still they weren't happy and queried my rucksack and wanted to know if I had another computer in it. I said the computer and iPad were separate, then they asked about Kindles, we had forgotten about them. I dug them out of the rucksack and I was eventually cleared to proceed.
With getting the bus to the airport we had about 90 minutes to wait for our flight to start loading. We made use of the free internet while we waited. Last night and this morning we had internet in the hotel; last night I had begun up-uploading my photographs of the cruise to Goole photos and before leaving this morning we had downloaded the 'Telegraph'. At the airport I used the WiFi to transfer more photos to the cloud, it was a bit slow but I managed about 100 in the time available.
The flight was called on time and we were soon winging our way to Bordeaux. The flight was uneventful, we had taken a cake each from the breakfast lay out at the hotel and bought a cup of coffee to go with it. I worked on the crossword on the journey and managed to finish it before we landed. It had been warm in Venice when we left so we were wearing just shorts and t-shirts but when we got off the plane in Bordeaux there was a very cold wind blowing. Moira got her cardigan out of her bag to put on and later I was forced to put my fleece on. There was a delay getting through immigration, the officers hadn't arrived and we were kept standing out in the cold wind for about 15 minutes. When we did go through our passports only got a cursory glance. By the time we reached the baggage carousel all the bags were gone except ours, and the case was open but sealed in plastic wrapping. Moira tried to close it and found there was something wrong with the zip luckily she eventually got it closed. The conclusion was that it burst open in transit and they wrapped in the plastic sheeting, though some liquids; shampoo and Moira's contact lens fluid were missing, but they may have just fallen out.
The next stage of our journey was to get to the train station in Bordeaux. Tourist info told us where to get the bus, there was one every hour and the next one wasn't for another 30 minutes; the fare was €8 each. We went to the bus stop and a bus arrived with Gare- St Jean on its destination board, this was the main Bordeaux station. It turned out this was a slow local bus but it was only €1:50 each, the more expensive one was the fast direct express. We weren't in any particular hurry and would have had to wait 30 minutes for the fast one, so we jumped on the local. Initially it wasn't very busy and we got seats and room to get our bags and the case beside us. It took about half an hour to get to the station and on the way Suzy phoned. Adrian from the motorhome storage farm had called her enquiring when we would be arriving. Moira texted them back and said we were making our way to the station and would text again with our arrival time in Marmande when we got on a train.
When we reached the station and got off the bus it started to rain, the weather was not at all promising. In the station Moira got the time for the first train then we bought tickets, these weren't cheap for a 30 minute train ride, €17 each. We had an hour to wait before departure and went to a MacDonald's for a hamburger, chips and cool drink. We didn't have to take advantage of their free WiFi this time, we had done everything we needed to do at the hotel and airport this morning. The train was one of the high speed version going to Marseille and zipped along at a fair speed to our stop at Marmande. Moira had texted Adrian with the train time before we left and he was waiting for us in his Range Rover when we arrived in Marmande.
It was about a 20 minute drive to the farm near the little village of Bourgougnague. We told him all about our cruise and the better weather in Venice. He told us that they had a dreadful storm last night with very heavy rain and as if to prove the point the rain suddenly came down in torrents. It stopped just before we reached the farm and there were blue patches appearing in the sky. The 'van looked fine but he told us about the oil leak and the checks he had done by a local mechanic. There were only a couple of small patches on the floor and the mechanic had examined everything and couldn't find anything wrong, the oil level was at the correct level on the dipstick. I will get it looked at again when it goes in for a service and MOT back in Scotland. Adrian gave us the bill and it was only €400 and that included €40 for collection at Marmande station and another €40 for the mechanic. I was expecting it to have been nearer €500, so theoretically it is another saving. I asked if the campsite about a kilometre away was open as Moira said their website had it being closed. Adrian said they were open and there was a mistake on their website and to just go along, there should be plenty of room.
We didn't hang about for long after paying the bill and waiting for another shower of rain to go off. The 'van started first time and it drove all right over the short distance to Camping Moulin Brule, We had stayed there once before when we left the 'van for storage before walking the Camino Norte. There was just one caravan on site and we found a hard-stand spot next to it. The owners weren't at home but we got ourselves settled, hooking up to the electricity and getting the kettle on for a cup of coffee. Unfortunately we had no milk but later when the woman owner was back and Moira paid for one night (€20) she also got a litre of milk.
In the cupboard there was pasta, a tin of tomatoes and a tin of tuna. This was enough for a meal and that was our dinner. There was also an apple each that I had picked up from the hotel at breakfast. After washing up we settled down for the night. I put on the Freeview box and we watched it in bed, a 'New Tricks' and the quiz 'Only Connect' that I had recorded before we left Scotland last December. It had been raining on and off and it continued all night but we slept well and it didn't disturb us, I just heard it when I got up to the loo.
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