Pouring rain. Nothing else to do.

We stayed and extra night in Limoges.  Noel wanted to work on the Gemini and we have lots of space here so we don't disturb anyone.
We parked the motorhome at right angles to the trailer so that our awning gave shelter from the rain. Together with a piece of tarpaulin,  Noel managed to have a dry space in which to work. Brake light fixed and brakes bled with a bit of help from me and a few other things, the Gemini is just about ready for Dijon-Prenois this weekend. Hopefully, the weather will improve.

Birthday dinner

We went to a very popular restaurant nearby. We had steak, potatoes and vegetables.  What could go wrong?  Noel had to send his back as it was practically raw! Mine was OK but both huge and not tender.

They made up for it with desert! Mousse au chocolat noir for Noel and tarte au citron for me. We shared! Lovely restaurant packed with character.

Trompe l'oeil

The art of painting an illusion on buildings is very old. Here, absolutely flat, featureless buildings are given 3 dimensions and character. The garage is real.

City of Limoges getting much needed renovation.

A cold and bleak day to visit any city. This city is grey anyway and many streets streets in the old quarter are closed for renovation. There are some interesting black and white photographs strategically place depicting scenes from the 19th century so one can compare with what is there now. The 800 year old bridge is impressive. Some lovely porcelain displayed in shops.
There is no temptation as it's Sunday and everything is closed. It did mean we could park free wherever there was space.

Limoges

We arrived in Limoges last night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Set up camp in pouring rain. This morning, the day promises to be cold and unstable.

It is Noel's birthday!

Joel helped him get some steel and bolts yesterday to modify the trailer. A man has got to have a project!

We are having a lazy morning, trying to work out how to watch Daniel Ricciardo on pole at Monaco and how to fit this in with visiting Limoges.

Dordogne living.

Can only share a few photos of pretty houses in this area. I loved the stone work; particularly the pale stone houses garnished with faded french blue shutters.

Food, glorious food!

Market day at Brantome and next day at Thivier. Tomatoes, truffles,  goats cheese and olives!

Old friends

So lovely to see Barbara and Joel again. First met when I lived in Tokyo over 30 years ago. Barbara is still a journalist working as a correspondent for some prestigious publications including the Lancet. They live in Paris but we were lucky to catch them at their idyllic Dordogne haven. A good reason to keep up the Christmas cards!

The Dordogne.

Oh so beautiful!  But almost no Internet for 2 days!
Our rig was too long to stay with our friends so we stayed at a very pretty camping ground 6k away, close to Thivier.
It was wonderful to see them again and just like old times.
The weather improved to perfect and they took us to 2 stunning and interesting villages for lunch and a wonder. How many photos can you take in a day?
It is easier for me to find something on a menu and I chose smoked trout. Delicious!  Why can't we get this in NZ? We sat in a very pretty restaurant overlooking the river and lunch, as seems to be the way in France, was a long one. So is dinner and any other time you sit down to eat!

Traffic

Now north of Cahors on A20.  No traffic problems now!

Strikes and Protests!

We are now in the longest line of traffic ever! Held up by trucks with protesters on board honking horns and driving three abreast to stopped traffic at will on this major Peage road north of Toulouse. We are only inching along with total stops in between.

French strikes

We are watching this development as closely as possible. Strong unions are rebelling against government measures to make France more progressive which means changes for workers not only in employment law but also to their pension schemes. A growing problem of refineries forced to close by workers means petrol stations are struggling to stay open and the public are panic buying.
We got up early this morning and went to our local station in Tribes,  only to find a line up of a dozen or so cars. I was a bit nervous that they might object to us having their fuel, but all went smoothly.
We are very concerned that we might not make it to our next destination in the Dordogne and even worse, further north to Dijon. The motorhome itself consumes a lot of diesel because of its weight. On top of that we are towing, so we are not very economical with fuel. We are carrying a bit extra, but hoping that the petrol stations on the Peage will be supplied. We certainly pay enough to travel that way! Fingers crossed!

Carcassonne.

What an amazing castle and walled city this is! It was only under siege twice in the 16th Century because enemies who thought about attacking were put off by the impressive defenses of its double walls and 52 towers. It was on my bucket list and I've really enjoyed looking around. It was cold but we found a cosy spot inside in the sun for a tastey lunch.

Rustique

This is the name of the village where we are staying. And it is. Our camping ground is idyllic French countryside. The day is warm so I have done 4 loads of washing and the sun is doing the rest.
We are taking it easy today. Noel is drying everything out. We had croissants for breakfast which we ordered the night before. Very relaxed sitting outside.
I met some German people from Munich who are staying here. They told me you can bike for many kilometres along the canal which is close to us. So we may do that later. Our village is also purported to be very interesting so we will walk up and have a look.
We have decided to have an extra night here which means we can see Carcassonne tomorrow.  I am going to enquire in my best(?) French, if we can get a taxi so we can leave everything here and don't have to worry about parking.

Exhausting day.

Woke up this morning and Noel decided he had better fix his jockey wheel on the trailer. It seemed to have been pushed out of alignment somehow. He was so stiff this morning from the frantic work yesterday, that he sat on the ground to work on the wheel.
It was then that he noticed that the towbar was almost falling off! One bolt missing and one very lose. We would have lost the trailer and Gemini if he hadn't discovered it. So yet something else to fix! His head also has a huge gash in it with surrounding swelling from yesterday when he walked under the Kiwi's ramp as they were lowering it. He's in a bad way.
So we left late but had to stop at a supermarket first. We pulled over along the way, still in Pau, to restart our GPS. A woman knocked on the door and asked if we were from NZ and if she could help. She gave me so many instructions, some of which I understood. She was so happy to help us because we were New Zealanders.
We took a long time to get to our camping ground the far side of Carcassonne. Noel was very tired and at one point we pulled into an Aire so he could sleep. We also went cross country for a while which was much more interesting and helped keep him going but also added to the length of the drive.
Back on the Peage again, we passed Carcassonne on the left and had a wonderful view of the old, walled  city. It was quite a sight!
We only just made it through some very narrow streets to the campsite.  It is very quiet and pretty here with a lovely big pool, but unfortunately, no drier. I have so much washing I don't know how I'm going to get it all dry and see Carcassonne in the short time we are here.
I'm including some great shots (not mine) of Noel at practice at Pau. Would we come back? He'd like to have another go at the circuit which he found exhilarating, but it's a long way to come. I liked it because I was so close to the city I could walk up and have a lovely break from the noise. Not many circuits are so well placed .

Race day Pau.

Race day is over with no racing for Noel. He struggled in the rain and mud to change gear boxes. The new one was difficult to fit in but he finally managed it. Thanks to the kind people who loaned him the hoist. Then it stuck in gear and he couldn't move it . Finally got that sorted and back to our motorhome base in the paddock but still working on it.

Missed both the Formula Jnr races, both in pouring rain. They have unfortunate system here of making you wait on the grid after leaving the dummy grid. This made drivers and cars very hot yesterday and very wet today. There were only 18 out of 29 in the second race today. Most NZ drivers pulled out, as did many others. Noel of course, was still working on his gearbox.

Tony Olissoff definitely had the best weekend of the Kiwis. His car is really suited to this track and he drove with well and enthusiastically.  He was 6th overall in the first race and 7th in the second. He was exuberant!

First three places in both races went to Italian driver, Manfredo Rossi Di Montelera,  Bruno Weibel,  Swiss and Chris Drake from Britain.

We cannot leave the paddock until 6am and must be out by 8pm so that they can turn it back into city streets. Some of us are staying overnight at the station carpark.

Don't let the barstards get you down!

While Noel soldiers on with his 2 gearboxes, the others are out having fun in the rain.

Racing weather

There have been several very wet races so far. I've heard God Save the Queen  and La Marseilles so I know who's winning!

The pits have turned into a river and gumboots are wonderful.

Noel has got the gearbox out. Stopping for breakfast.  Another couple of hours work. Maybe the rain will stop by then.

Black clouds over Pau!

Qualifying was eventful for many drivers! The heat did nothing to help these old cars and many suffered from overheating and drivers came in literally dripping. One Brit had an accident. Noel had gearbox failure again!
He has worked so hard to get it right,  neither of us understand why it is an ongoing problem. He did bring another with him so it's head down tail up again today!

He got up early this morning. The Big Black Kiwi truck people have loaned him a hoist and hopefully some help. He hopes to make the afternoon race.

This is after painfully slow dinner service when we ate in the old city with the Kiwis last night. Very nice meal but made it very late getting back to camp. And we got lost! Some Aussies we know who were at the same restaurant, told us about a shortcut. Aussies! Yeh, right!

You may wonder why there are no photos with is blog. It is 7:30 am on Sunday  (despite what my blog says) and we have thunderstorms and heavy rain. No longer complaining about the heat! I don't know what this does to the race schedule, but obviously totally unsuitable for racing on this circuit and particularly for open wheelers. I'll let you know.

Foot note: yes, I do know it's Park Firma, not Terra Firma. But it's good to know something is reliable!

Qualifying dummy grid.

31 degrees and once more waiting because of crash. Noel, Malcolm Wishart from Scotland and Roger Herrick and Tony Olissoff with co-driver.

Parisian lunch in Pau.

This is such a French thing to do! Eating lunch under the double row of square cut trees. Much quieter than Paris but very civilized. A nice break for me from the noise and heat of the circuit. Thank you Glenys for the invitation.

Practice at Pau

Lined up and waiting in the growing heat of a day expected to reach 31. Practice delayed because of accident in previous practice. Noel, Duncan Rabagliatti, Tony Olisoff and Chris Drake.
Practice went well. No accidents and no cars with major problems. Noel 10th fastest of field of 29. Not bad considering he's never driven at Pau before.

Old Pau

We walked up a huge number of steep steps to get to the old city of Pau. What a reward! It must be one of the cleanest, well kept places we visited with lovely shops and a huge number of restaurants.  The chateau is beautiful and then when you turn your head, there is the wide vista of the Pyrenees snow capped mountains. It is quite a sight.
Today has warmed up and we are basking in hot sun.