I will lift up mine eyes to the hills ....

`

Faithful followers of the Ark (you know who you both are) may have deplored its temporary absence for a week or more. This unavoidable lapse was, of course, due to the Ark`s annual habit of voyaging from the plains, not to Mount Arrarat, but to hills probably even higher, in the Pyrennées near Argeles Gazost. We entrusted the Ark`s feline, ovine and avian passengers to the kind care of our neighbours Ian and Sarah, and Toffee, the smallest dog, to the equally benevolent attention of Jacqui and Adrian. We loaded up the 106 with supplies,bedding for us and the other two dogs, sundry contributions to the diet of our other friendly campers and we set out for the town of Aucun, which could be translated as   `No-name` in French!
   We have now adopted the habit of breaking our journey at a Formule 1 hotel. This time we chose one just south of Bordeaux, in the satellite town of Villenave d`Ornon. The Fomlule 1 hotels are cheap, clean and just slightly primitive, in that their showers and toilets are on the corridor, not en suite. However, they suit us very well. They have the advantage of being of one design so you know what to expect. The down-side is that you have the curious sensation of always being in the same town. If you wake up befuddled in the morning it takes a severe mental effort to recall whether you are in Bordeaux or Orléans...

   We have also the tradition of eating at the MacDonald`s the first night. However, as the Buffalo Grille was right next door, we made an exception. Kim had her usual bleeding steak, but I ordered chicken and had the most enormous chicken breast I have ever eaten. The bird must have been the size of an ostrich!
   Hotels of this type in France are often grouped together in the commercial estates which also hold factories and enterprises. This seems odd to our eyes but seems to work. After all, once the firms have knocked off for the night, the hotels are quite quiet. There is thus an odd mix of hotels, restaurants and businesses sharing the area. Formule 1`s clients are also an oddly assorted mixture. Tourists stopping for the night on their journey further south rub shoulders with entrepreneurs installing chimneys, double-glazing and roofs. Many of these seem to be foreign and you can hear half the tongues of Europe. The car-park of this branch was nicely shaded with mature trees. ideal for keeping the dogs cool, as they always spend the night in the car, with a specially installed barrier.
   I was up early the next morning and found a good place to walk the dogs, along a little cycle track and a peaceful minor road. After eating as much as we could stuff down of the hotel`s unlimited breakfast, we set off quietly and soon began to see the mountains rearing up on the horizon.
   We bought and ate a snack in a little town just off our road, enjoying watching the world go by. A girl was waiting for her date at the side of the road in the village, perhaps she had been stood up as he never seemed to arrive. A wizened old man was eying her from the door of his minute house... We went on.

   After a short length of motorway we at last arrived at Argeles and climbed the 800 metres or so to Aucun and to our destination, the Colonie de Vacances  `Vers Les Cimes` I`ll tell you in my next blog how we got on.

      Bye for now, bed is calling....