.......idle jottings

[Jim Avery]

Mmm....mmmm...mmmm...Jim, tell 'im nuttin'

 

Sorry Sundance. I have my orders from Mr. Big.:eek:

[ho-hum]

Sorry Sundance. I have my orders from Mr. Big.:eek:

 

OK, Hum put on a few pounds !

Never claimed to be perfect.

[Jim Avery]

OK, Hum put on a few pounds !

Never claimed to be perfect.

 

A few stone here, a few stone there, who is counting??? On you it looks good.

[ho-hum]

A few stone here, a few stone there, who is counting??? On you it looks good.

 

Yes, you're right of course.......you're a ruddy genius Jimbo.

[Jim Avery]

Yes, you're right of course.......you're a ruddy genius Jimbo.

 

Finally........Recognition for ability.:eek::D

[ho-hum]

Finally........Recognition for ability.:eek::D

 

Jim "The Legend" Avery.

 

SD Dutch chum over for the weekend......trying to persuade him and his chums to do up coming crossing.

Plying him with lots of champagne but to no avail....got a promise for next year though.

Back to champagne to drown sorrows of not doing crossing this year and to celebrate promise of doing crossing next year.

England lost rugby too....so drowned sorrows with champagne.

But Wales won so celebrated with champagne.

[ho-hum]

Dearest ho-hum,

you cry for me - gcmv is always available, whenever you need his assistance (usually at TOYB).:D

VW is absolutely innocent - the problem caused because of an English supplier with a Greek CEO - VW trusted them bona fide. :(

 

Angela is doing a great job (gcmv is in her personal brain trust); hard-working, warm-hearted German residents will support everything that our first "lady"(?) decides to do.

 

Time will tell ... :)

 

By the way, one smuttly joke for you, old chap:

 

Do you know what to say, when blondie asks you next time to whisper some vile words in her ear?

 

"VW GOLF DIESEL 2.0" :D

 

It was ALL a ruse to get you out of your self-exile and hibernation dear friend !!!

And you bit the bait….hook. line and sinker !!

Oh Hum you ruddy genius you.

Great to hear from you dear friend……trust The Dolomites were to your satisfaction.

 

You bought parts for Britain !

The CEO is or was Greek !

Well what did you expect then !

 

GCMV for Chancellor !!

[commodoredave]

Jim "The Legend" Avery.

 

SD Dutch chum over for the weekend......trying to persuade him and his chums to do up coming crossing.

Plying him with lots of champagne but to no avail....got a promise for next year though.

Back to champagne to drown sorrows of not doing crossing this year and to celebrate promise of doing crossing next year.

England lost rugby too....so drowned sorrows with champagne.

But Wales won so celebrated with champagne.

 

Reminds me of what Madame Bollinger once said about champagne:

 

"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes, I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it if I am; Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty."

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

"You spin me right round, baby, right round"

 

Traffic circles. They define driving in France. We don't have them in California, as our government doesn't trust us with the decision-making responsibility that the circles require (and for 90% of Californians, that would be prudent...). When exiting the the Port at St. Malo you immediately encounter a long chain of traffic circles, all with large signs declaring which towns, that a non-local has never heard of, are accesible at each exit of the circle. And if you look very carefully you will detect the tiny little sign with the actually useful road number information.

 

Now old Ragnar has driven in Europe, and elsewhere, where traffic circles are common. However, in various places the rules for entering the circles are the exact opposite, some, like France, give the right of way to those already in the circle, while others give the right of way to those entering the circle. Now ol' Ragnar, being the canny old codger he is, read up on driving in France before going so knew that those entering must yield.

 

However, when confronted by the first, very busy circle, with signage that looked like a spilt box of Scrabble letter pieces, all the book learn'n went out the window and the confusion of the two types of right of way came front and center to my limited cognitive processor. The momentary pause to sort this out was rewarded by a friendly horn blast from the truck behind me... Well, after a dozen or so closely spaced traffic circles the old wrote memory of how to navigate the circles came back and there were no further issues. In fact, I grew to appreciate the circles as a very efficient was of moving traffic around. Best part is if you miss a sign you just keep looping the circle until you spot the correct exit :-)

 

Now you may be asking "Why didn't that old crank just follow the very nice traffic circle schematics that pop up on the BMW's head-up display as you approach each circle, and/or listen to the nice lady telling you, in Margret Thatchers voice, which exit to take?" Well, that is a very astute question! See, the Germans generally have a very low opinion of the French and so can't imagine that the French would ever modernize their road system. So the database in the BMW's nav system is from maps left over from the last time Germany occupied France.... Many of the traffic circle intersections have been modernized, mainly to reduce the number of exits. Or in some cases add exits. So when the nice lady says "Take the third exit from the roundabout", if you blindly follow her advice you may end up heading to the trash dump or some other undesired place. Always look for the teeny tiny yellow or red road number signs to doublecheck the electronic Iron Lady.

 

The road system there is actually very good, once you get used to a few differences with your home country. But one caution, French drivers like to go very fast on tiny, winding streets. And on one and a half lane roads they expect the other driver to hug the edge. We were surprised there are not more side-swipped cars there... Ok, enough on driving lessons for France.

 

Sadly, all the falderal with the initial navigation kept my attention on the road and I never caught a glimpse of the rest of St. Malo. But based on what we saw from the ferry it is likely quite beautiful. The first destination we set on the nav was the waterfront at Cancale. The short drive from St. Malo was quite pretty and we enjoyed the views and the peace of the open road.

 

We arrived at Cancale too early for lunch so did a quick drive up and down the water front for familiarization, then parked a bit inland to admire the town church and stroll the small shopping district around it. The sights and smells at the boulangerie and charcuterie really heightened our anticipation of the culinary delights ahead in the two weeks we were going to be in France. Those two stores alone carried better fare than is obtainable in Southern California. (Side note: after a week or so in France we developed a severe craving for chips and salsa....).

 

As it was still too early for lunch, we headed out to a rocky point at the end of the small peninsula that Cancale is located on. We hiked from the parking lot out to land's end and the scenery was spectacular, rough, rocky cliffs tumbling to a foaming sea. The island of Jersey was just visible low on the horizon. Recommend this area if you are near Cancale. All this hiking around worked up an appetite so we drove back to the waterfront at Cancale and walked the shore to the area at the end of the seawall where several vendors sell fresh oysters. The shallows surrounding Cancale are covered with oyster farms, and the tractors with loads of oysters rumble down the main drag periodically.

 

Well, Mrs D is an oyster fanatic, so she was in hog heaven! She powered through two dozen on the halfshell herself, while ol' Ragnar was more reserved and only ate a dozen. The Cancale oysters are not nearly as plump and meaty as what we are used to, so a dozen or two is not as piggish as you might think. The oysters are also very minerally tasting compared to North American varieties. Mrs D ate them with gusto, but I was not too keen on them. Beware, they are served only with very sour lemons to squeeze on. We heathens missed our cocktail sauce, tabasco, and horseradish :-)

 

We then took photos of the oyster farming operations and walked out to the end of the local pier to take photos of all the boats, some rather large, resting on their keels in the mud. It was low tide and the bay at Cancale has extreme tide swings.

 

All the energetic photo taking worked off the oysters so strolled down the long line of seafood restaurants brimming with tourists, mostly French by the way, pawing at their seafood towers. The oysters had sated our appetite for seafood, so we settled into a sidewalk creperie and had some savorie crepes for a light lunch.

 

Our visit to beautiful Cancale complete, it was time to extricate the car from the "payant" parking lot. A general note on parking lots in France, you often take a ticket on entering and then find a machine to read the ticket and accept your payment. You pay when you return to the lot, and then you have a few minutes to exit. Only rub with this system is that the payment machine is not necessarily in the lot! You may have to hunt in a outward spiraling search pattern to find the machine, or a sign pointing to where the machine may be hiding. Don't worry, you are not losing your mind, it is just the way they do it, you will find the machine eventually. Oh, and once you find the machine, the real fun begins. Some would take our credit cards but many rejected them (same goes for the automated toll booths on the toll roads). Some would accept 5, 10, or 20 euro notes, while others would only accept coins. But it eventually works its self out, and often gives an opportunity to go buy an espresso in order to get change.

 

Car successfully extracted from the lot (this machine was 100 meters from the lot, out of sight behind a building...), we head off in search of Mont Saint Michel, the site of our first night's hotel.

 

But that, friends, is a story for another time.

[Jim Avery]

Great job Sundance! Sounds like a fine trip.

[gcmv]

Now you may be asking "Why didn't that old crank listen to the nice lady telling you, in Margret Thatchers voice, which exit to take?" Well, that is a very astute question!

 

See, the Germans generally have a very low opinion of the French and so can't imagine that the French would ever modernize their road system. So the database in the BMW's nav system is from maps left over from the last time Germany occupied France....

 

Loved this text passage - there were two problems for you:

 

1. The French do not give any information to foreigners (especially NOT to Germans).

 

2. The BMW-engineers were very busy doing more important things than updating french maps data (for example: to gerrymander engine control software in a professional way) :D

 

Next time, when you're in Europe - better visit Germany by German car ... ;)

[ho-hum]

Loved this text passage - there were two problems for you:

 

1. The French do not give any information to foreigners (especially NOT to Germans).

 

2. The BMW-engineers were very busy doing more important things than updating french maps data (for example: to gerrymander engine control software in a professional way) :D

 

Next time, when you're in Europe - better visit Germany by German car ... ;)

 

..petrol or DIE-SEL ?

Haha

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Sorry Sundance. I have my orders from Mr. Big.:eek:

 

 

No more trip report installments untill I get an answer.

[vandrefalk]

Please, Ragnar, my DH wants to hear all about the tank museums!!

Vandrefalk

[gcmv]

It is not possible to put the link in here, so gcmv copied the whole passage:

 

Highest distinction 5-stars-plus: Berlitz Cruise Guide 2016 awards EUROPA and EUROPA 2

 

›Top distinction for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises' two luxury ships

›HANSEATIC: Only 5-star expedition cruise ship

›Berlitz Cruise Guide 2016 now published

 

In the 31th edition of the “Berlitz Cruising & Cruise Ships 2016” guide, EUROPA and EUROPA 2, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ luxury ships, have defended their pole position and have been awarded the highest distinction as the only 5-stars-plus cruise ships worldwide. The HANSEATIC was ranked as the only 5-star expedition ship globally among the group of “boutique ships”.

 

Attaining 1,860 points out of a possible 2,000, the EUROPA 2 achieved the highest score among all ships and has been awarded 5-stars-plus for the third consecutive time. The EUROPA, which has achieved this award for the 16th year consecutively, received 1,852 points. Hence, both ships lead the ranking in the category “top 5 small ships” with 251 to 750 passengers” and are global leaders. The HANSEATIC has retained its 5-star rating as the only expedition ship globally, achieving 1,758 points; the BREMEN received the distinction 4-stars-plus with 1,555 points.

 

“Both are beautiful ships to sail aboard”, comments Douglas Ward, author of the Berlitz Cruise Guide on EUROPA and EUROPA 2 “with an outstanding amount of space per passenger, high-ceilinged passageways, a superb range of dining venues and types of cuisine, and attentive, friendly, yet unobtrusive personal service. Both ships have proven themselves to be unbeatable yet again.”

 

“Both, the EUROPA and EUROPA 2 embody two very different luxury concepts – one the philosophy of traditional luxury and one contemporary luxury. Both set global standards in the luxury cruise industry. The ratings 5-stars-plus and the HANSEATIC awarded the only 5-stars expedition ship, are very special accolades, reflecting our performance and our standards of quality, proving once more our role as the foremost provider of luxury cruises” says Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. “A special thanks therefore goes to our crew on board the ships, as well as our team of staff in Hamburg, who constantly strive hard to create a once-in-a-lifetime, distinguished experience for our guests.”

 

The 31th edition of Berlitz Cruise guide the author Douglas Ward and his team tested a total of 275 cruise ships from large to small and scored them based on criteria such as ship fittings, accommodation, food quality, service, crew, entertainment and the cruise experience.

 

 

Gcmv will not let up to convince ho-hum sailing on the E2! ;)

Edited September 29, 2015 by gcmv

[ho-hum]

No more trip report installments untill I get an answer.

 

Raggy, Hum was delighted to see such a great "wodge" BUT Hum will not be gorging himself just yet.

For it deserves the right mindset and when all these ruddy contractors have left and Hum can settle down with a fine wine to accompany your literary treat.

Hum does not rush.

He likes to bide his time, especially when it looks good.

That of course goes for wine, food and most importantly: chums.

Hum relishes the thought of your magnificent body of words and wonders the style and similarities.

Jack Kerouac style maybe.

Oh those days of hippy chicks, LSD, great music, Peace, Love, yogis from India...

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Please keep in mind the fable of the fox and the sour grapes....

[ho-hum]

Please keep in mind the fable of the fox and the sour grapes....

 

Sorry Raggy ...... can't talk now.....Hum is entertaining Etienne Barret from the Rhone region (Crozes-Hermitage to be precise).

Hum is half way through his visit...slurp....slurp.....Hum does his best stuff when he has vinous visitors.

[Jim Avery]

Raggy, Hum was delighted to see such a great "wodge" BUT Hum will not be gorging himself just yet.

For it deserves the right mindset and when all these ruddy contractors have left and Hum can settle down with a fine wine to accompany your literary treat.

Hum does not rush.

He likes to bide his time, especially when it looks good.

That of course goes for wine, food and most importantly: chums.

Hum relishes the thought of your magnificent body of words and wonders the style and similarities.

Jack Kerouac style maybe.

Oh those days of hippy chicks, LSD, great music, Peace, Love, yogis from India...

 

Far Out........What did he say????? Groovy Man.......Hey, don't Bogart that thing!!

[Zimmy]

Please, Ragnar, my DH wants to hear all about the tank museums!!

Vandrefalk

 

Vandrefalk, how was your trip? Did you just return? I don't want to wait until I see you in January to hear all about it.

[vandrefalk]

Zimmy, we leave on Thursday! And board on Saturday -- I did start a thread somewhere on here (superceded by Idle Jottings, of course) and will try my best to report from SD. Several new islands and some repeats, but one very special event is an evening concert at Ephesus! SD used to do it so very glad they are trying it again!

Vandrefalk

[Zimmy]

Zimmy, we leave on Thursday! And board on Saturday -- I did start a thread somewhere on here (superceded by Idle Jottings, of course) and will try my best to report from SD. Several new islands and some repeats, but one very special event is an evening concert at Ephesus! SD used to do it so very glad they are trying it again!

Vandrefalk

 

Well I certainly got my dates mixed up. Have a wonderful time, and I look forward to reading your reports.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Vandrefalk, we expect a detailed trip report, including any parking issues.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Ragnar Danneskjold

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Impressive, most impressive.

 

Since Cruise Critic, excepting ......idle jottings, is a place people often come to get practical advice on travel, this trip report is as much about lessons learned as about the the attractions of France. The internet is loaded with images of all the places we went, so I won't bother posting photos. Well except maybe of the tank museum. But where else would you learn so much about parking lots? Now, back to the trip:

 

As we are preparing to leave Cancale, we spy Mont Saint Michel beckoning ethereally from the far horizon, like a vision of Camelot suspended in the grey blending of sky and water of the Mont's namesake bay.

 

So, to begin our quest for Camelot, we attempt to conjure up the location of Mont Saint Michel (MSM) on our trusty steed's navicomputer (getting the Star Wars references yet?). Well now, it is par for the course that the BMW nav system could not find ANY reference to the number one tourist attraction in all of France, despite trying every conceivable spelling and method of entering waypoints or points of interest, etc. I am now suspecting deliberate effort to monkeywrench navigating the the BMW in France. MSM has been there for 500 years, so 1940's maps as source material can't be to blame.

 

We finally settle on the idea of entering the name of a town near MSM that we glean from our paper map, brought prudently from the good ole USA. After several attempts we enter one that the nav system has in its database. And off we go, assuming, correctly, that once we near MSM, that there will be signs guiding pilgrims to the historic site.

 

The drive from Cancale to MSM is quite beautiful, passing through many quaint farms and villages. Please note, I will dispense from here on with describing a drive as beautiful because, as far as we could see, with the exception of the outskirts of Tours and Lyon, the entire damn country of France is eyewateringly beautiful, from the great vistas down to the door hinges of the humblest home. Its not fair to the rest of the world. They should be taxed on it.

 

We arrive at the parking complex for MSM (and that is an intentional double entendres). After a bit of circulating around we find the lot reserved for folks staying at hotels located within the walls of MSM. And upon entering, take our ticket for the payant lot. We grab our luggage and head off in search of the shuttle to the Mont, the whole time keeping an eye out for the payment machine or signs for said machine. One nice thing about the parking lots is that they are seperated by rather tall hedges, which prevent you from any glimpse of the Mont, reserving the "oooooh" moment for when you get much closer to the Mont. We find the shuttle not far from our lot (but no sign of the payment machine...). Note, non-mechanically inclined folks can skip to the next paragraph. The shuttle vehicle is a specialized machine that is made to be able to be driven from either end. (Refraining from comments about french tanks...) This is so it never has to make a U-turn in the limited space at the Mont end of the causeway. It also saves time and space at the parking lot end. When the shuttle pulls into its space near the lots, everyone exits on one side and the waiting shuttlees get in on the other. The driver walks to the other end and jumps into the cab at that end and flips a switch to lower the mirrors at the former front end and raise them at the new front end. The former front wheels lock into a straight position and the former rear wheels become the front and take on the steering duties. Very efficient. Hopefully the nav system wasn't built in Germany....

 

Off we go to MSM! Old Ragnar skillfully maneuvered Mrs D into the very front seat, on the opposite side of the shuttle from the driver's small cab, giving her the only unobstructed seat for photography on the shuttle. She was unlikely aware of the careful planning and toe-stepping this required to hold the unwashed crowd at bay for her to get the prime spot... This is the way of her life, everything seems to unfold magically before her, not aware of the wizened old man behind the curtain frantically pulling all the levers. But I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

 

The shuttle first passes through the tourist village that has sprung up to service MSM. Not a bad looking little place, and there appeared to be some nice hotels there. The shuttles makes one or two stops along the village, so staying here is an alternative to staying on the Mont, if you want larger, more modern accommodations than are available on the Mont. But I recommend that if you are only staying one night, that you stay on the Mont. And do as we did, pack what you need for the stay in your lightest suitcase and leave the rest in the car (assuming the luggage will be out of sight).

 

After leaving the village, the Mont comes into view and it is, as Darth Vader would say: Impressive, most impressive! The drive down the causeway adds to the thrill as you cross the rather bizarre mudflats, which seem to stretch to infinity (assuming, of course, that you arrive at low tide). As the shuttle approaches the Mont it stops quite a ways from the Mont. At first I thought they were just being miserly with the fuel, but once off the shuttle I realized that they drop you off at the perfect point to take in the full magnificence of the rock and structures. Any closer to the Mont and you would lose the "big picture". Lots of photos taken by everyone at this point.

 

We take our time schlepping our bags towards the entry to the Mont so that Mrs D can take several terabytes of photos, including every wall, steeple, rock, bird, and muddy footprint within range of her titanic telephoto lens. With every molecule documented, we head into the medieval gated entrance to the Mont. You make a very abrupt transition from endless vistas to a narrow, crowded cobbled lane, that feels all the world like a renaissance fair. I expect to see buxom wenches carrying brimming flagons of ale swirling down the street. But soon the reality of sweating tourists and repetitive trinket shops comes into clear focus...

 

But, as we push on a couple of hundred yards, the hordes thin out and the incredible architecture of the place becomes more apparent. We soon find our hotel, well at least the sign for it. All that is apparent is a cafe with a waiter folding napkins at a counter. He spies our bags and nods. I ask him if the hotel is near and he proceeds to pull a registry from under the counter and checks us in. It is then that I notice the small staircase.

 

After the paperwork is complete he starts to take us towards the stairs, but pauses to refill the water glasses of some patrons of the cafe. We cool our heels while he finishes up with the waiterly duties, but soon he guides us upstairs, past the unmanned actual hotel reception desk. We also pass the restaurant that we will have dinner and breakfast at, as part of the half board package we took. It looks much more promising than the initial intro to the hotel indicated. A great view of the bay and white linen table cloths with nice china and glassware - whew :-)

 

After we drop our bags in our bay view room, we head out to do a little exploring. It mid afternoon and there is plenty of sunshine for picture taking, and Mrs D gets right to it. We decide to climb as high as we can get via the main walkways and work our way back through all the smaller and hidden passages. Suffice it to say, there are great vistas of the surrounding bay and of the striking abbey from the upper ramparts. A shutterbug's dream. After summiting the highest point accessible outside the abbey, we descend via the warren of footpaths and staircases that permeate the Mont. These lead to some very interesting places, both public and areas where the 40 residents of the Mont live. There was a small, open church, a cemetery, a rose garden, and a couple of small parks. This meander afforded many opportunities to photograph the beautiful stone structures, interesting roofs, flower pots, etc.

 

Almost too soon it was time to get back to the hotel and clean up for dinner. We had made an early dinner reservation so we could get back to the abbey for the late evening tour, that was supposed to be available through September. But on our hike we checked the bulletin board at the abbey and they stopped the evening tour just a couple of days before we got there :-( So we took our time at dinner and enjoyed the view.... and wine.

 

After dinner we retrieved the camera and headed to the high point again to get sunset and fading light photos. We worked our way down again, this time via the "ramparts" than wind around the outer walls of the Mont. We ended up out at the mudflats at dark and got some spectacular photos of the Mont and abbey lit up with floodlights from below. After a bit more walking we headed back to the hotel to hit the hay early, in order to get up before dawn to take sunrise photos of the Mont. Note, it is not absolutely necessary to stay on the Mont to get evening and early morning photos since the shuttle runs early and quite late. But experiencing MSM after the crowds leave and before they start streaming in is priceless, so I recommend staying a night on the Mont.

 

After our dawn patrol photo expedition, we pop back to the hotel for a very nice breakfast. Then headed out to do a little souvenir shopping. A nice little tapestry safely crammed into our suitcase, we bid MSM adieu and take the shuttle back to the parking lot.

 

Again I look around for any indication of a payment machine, but nothing in sight. We head to the car to drop the bags and then head out on our quest to find the payment machine. Luckily I recalled that the mayor of MSM (yes, there is a mayor) had been convicted of using his influence to originally have the shuttle start near his collection of shops, restaurants, and hotels in the mainland tourist area, forcing the parking patrons to walk a half mile, past all his businesses, to get to the shuttle... So, cleverly, I figure to look down the now unused path from the parking area to his businesses and, voila!, there is a sign pointing to the machine, which is behind a barn-like structure. But there is no indication of this between the new shuttle stop and the parking areas. I looked for any sign on the way back to the car. No idea how the hundreds of other folks using the lots found the machine. Perhaps most of the cars in the lots have just been abandoned by people that never found the machine?

 

Well, paid parking stub in hand, we program up our next stop, the church at St. Mere Eglise (which was actually on the nav system!). Now starts the D-Day part of our trip. Well, in the next installment anyway.

[MACT]

I expect to see buxom wenches carrying brimming flagons of ale swirling down the street.

 

The perception that the French are all revolting peasants has finally been quashed. A trip to Franceland is on the cards me thinks.

 

Oh Mr Hum... Mr Ragnar doth write an illuminating and educational travel journal, don't you concur?