FRANCE - March 27, 2013

FRANCE

March 27, 2013

Bit of a weather shock when we returned to our “home” base in France…strong freezing winds from the north with temperatures well below zero and well below the norms for this time of year in the region. The weekly outdoor markets don’t see many people.

As a result of going back to Canada, we now need to…yes…pack up once again. This will be the tenth time we’ve packed up the bikes for transport! Moving the gear and packing up in my uncle’s place gave us more room and freedom not to mention an opportunity to see my aunts more. With my uncle’s death my aunts are a bit overwhelmed will all there is to do in daily living so us being here to run errands for them is a big help.

And the big push was to prep the van, The White Night, for sale. Initially an ad on a website got little response but suddenly we had interest from a half dozen people. We had to put some on hold. It was sold on the spot to the first couple who saw it. We were pleased but with mixed emotions; the White Night was a magical way to enjoy our travels throughout Europe over the past two years.

Mid-March we went to visit friends we had met in the Los Escullos campground in southern Spain. Chris and Sylvia live about two hours west of us in a very peaceful place in the country in a magical house. Twenty-nine (it seemed) bottles of wine later, a boat load of laughs, great food…and a friendship had been cemented.

It had been difficult to communicate with them since their landlines and internet were taken out in the area because thieves had stolen the cables for the copper…or at least that’s the story Chris and Sylvia gave us. Note the hat Sylvia is wearing…she would appreciate any nice things you have to say about it.

Unfortunately (for us), they’re selling their home to travel more. (Huh…who else do we know did that??)

A few days before leaving it was off to Paris to bring our three bike boxes and two duffle bags, weighing 156 kgs in total, to the airport to have them shipped via Air Canada Cargo. A 250 km drive right through the city to Roissy Airport to the northeast took 3 ½ hours. In, gear handed off to very helpful people at the airline, payment of a cool $1000, and back it was. Sort of. About an hour from home, a shudder and a noise in the van Evelyne was driving, and it was a quick stop to the side of the road. The clutch pedal had broken. After Alain, Evelyne’s husband came to “fix” the “simple” problem with no luck, he left. A tow-truck ride back to town later and Dawn picked us up. But at least the gear was delivered.

On the day before flying out, Daniel and Jo took us into Paris where we all stayed in a hotel near the airport, had dinner and lots to drink. Right to the end we had a crazy fun time with those two.

March 26 and the day had arrived for the flight back to Canada. Again, lots of mixed feelings. Flights went well and two days later we had picked up the gear in Calgary we had shipped from Paris via Air Canada Cargo.

This was the closing of a big chapter. So where to from here?