Sunday 1 August 1982
Mileage: 52911
Time: 5.15pm
16 miles from Dover the water hose split. The time was 11.15pm. We called out the AA and the mechanic didn't have the part so Dad went with him to a local garage. We were charged £8 and Dad gave him a £1 tip.
Monday 2 August 1982
Boarded the ferry (the ill-fated Townsend Thoresen) at 2am. Found a nice bar upstairs and a seat by the window.
Arrived in Calais at 5am. We stopped and had a nap.
Arrived in Paris at 10am and became stuck in a traffic jam. Weather: very hot and sunny after a foggy start to the day.
Stopped for lunch of paté, bread and wine. We met two lovely dogs. The restaurant (hotel) was the Relais des Lacs in Souppes-sur-Loing.
At 6.30pm we stopped for the night at the hotel (Auberge de L'Etang) we stayed in two years ago. The female owner remembered us and we were given the same room. We had a bath and dressed for dinner.
For dinner, Dad and I had snails (escargots) in garlic butter. Mum had smoked ham. This was followed by steak, lettuce and potatoes cooked with cheese. We then enjoyed cheeses - Dad had one from the mountains while I had goat's cheese, which I wasn't keen on! For dessert, Mum and I had chocolate ice cream, and Dad had coffee.
Tuesday 3 August 1982
We loaded the car and ate breakfast of bread, jam and coffee. We took some photos.
Mileage: 53451
Time: 8.40am
Bill for accommodation and dinner: 469.50f
Weather: Very hot and sunny.
Stopped for coffee at 11.15am and passed through the village of Le Puy - very beautiful.
Stopped again in a terrible town at the "Hotel Pages". We ordered sandwiches which were horrible and there were loads of flies about. The bill came to 47f.
Stopped at 3.45pm for a drink in the mountains. We are on the D901.
Arrived at our destination at 9.45pm. We found our caravan (rented from a man my Dad worked with) and unpacked. We ate dinner and Dad and I went to explore. I can't say I like it very much. It's far too big!
Mileage:53826
Total mileage: 915
Wednesday 4 August 1982
We woke up quite late and Dad and I walked up to the supermarket to buy bread and milk. We also shopped for butter, wine and beer. We ate breakfast outside and it was very hot, even in the morning.
Afterwards, we went for a walk and had a drink at the camp bar. We then bought tomatoes, more bread, crisps, lettuce and yoghurt.
In the afternoon we sunbathed until lunchtime and we had pea and ham soup, bread, paste, tomatoes and yoghurt. We drank some wine with the meal. I played cards with Mum and then we had a swim, followed by more sunbathing.
In the evening we showered and went to the campsite bar for dinner. We had a sort of paté with lettuce followed by veal escalopes with a delicious sauce. Our dessert was a peach. The bill was 195.50f.
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After the meal, we walked around and saw some beautiful caravans.
Thursday 5 August 1982
First thing, Dad and I went to the shop to buy milk and bread. We had breakfast of eggs, bread and coffee.
After breakfast, we drove to a cove. To get there we had to go over the mountains. When we arrived it was crowded, so we had a drink and decided to return to the campsite. It has been very hot. We visited the town of Roquebrune-sur-Argens where we bought some cream for our insect bites, cakes, postcards and a melon.
Lunch was soup, bread and cakes and after we'd eaten we went to the pool and sunbathed.
Dinner this evening was steak and salad with wine. Our dessert was Angel Delight, jelly and cream (!).
I took some photographs and we sat outside the caravan on the patio. The rest of the evening was spent reading and comparing tans!
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| A lovely tan already! |
Friday 6 August 1982
Breakfast today was eggs and toast. It was a bit windy but it looks like it's going to be hot again. After breakfast, we walked to the cafe, had a drink and wrote our postcards. Before going back to the caravan we shopped for bread, milk and lettuce.
Lunch today was salad, corned beef, bread and chocolate yoghurt.
We spent the afternoon sunbathing on the patio and then got ready to go out in the evening. We first went to Le Muy where we had a drink, but there was no pizzeria so we drove to Fréjus. There, we found a lovely pizza restaurant and enjoyed one with meat, which was enormous. The bill came to 92f, which I thought was very good! Included in the bill was a jug of red wine.
We paid the bill and watched the chef cooking the pizzas in a stone oven heated by a log fire. Afterwards, we walked around Fréjus and found a lovely restaurant which had a Myna bird. We noticed that there were loads of English tourists in the town.
Saturday 7 August 1982
Today we went into Roquebrune-sur-Argens and discovered a restaurant and lots of little shops along the side streets. We also saw a dog swimming in a fountain! For lunch, we bought some huge salad and fish bread rolls. After buying an English newspaper, we drove home.
We had lunch on the patio and then sunbathed. It became very hot so we decided to sit by the pool and Dad and I went in for a swim.
Later, large rain clouds appeared from the south, so we decided to head back to the caravan. We then had a thunderstorm and torrential rain.
Dinner tonight was chops, potatoes and peas. Our dessert was "saucy" sponge! The rain continued all evening so we stayed in the caravan and read.
Sunday 8 August 1982
Dad and I went to the shop this morning and bought biscuits, paté, bread, eggs, cheese and water. For breakfast, we ate eggs, tomatoes and fried bread. Afterwards, we tidied the caravan and sat on the patio all morning.
Lunch was paté, bread and yoghurt. The sky was becoming very cloudy again and there was a strong wind blowing. We had rain for a while in the afternoon but we managed to sunbathe.
Dinner this evening was cottage pie, salad, jelly and Angel Delight. After dinner, we changed and went to the bar. There weren't many people there, but there were a lot of flies, so we had two drinks and left. On the way back to the caravan we saw a bat and Mum and I started to scream! It was funny because a lot of people were about to hear us!
Back at the caravan we had a cup of coffee and a sandwich and played cards. In between, we killed a lot of flies!
Monday 9 August 1982
We got up very early and had breakfast of beans and eggs. After getting dressed and tidying the caravan, we drove to St Tropez and parked the car near a marina full of lovely yachts. We had a drink and took some photos.
We saw yachts from Panama, the Isle of Man and Portugal. We took more photographs and Mum saw a lovely dress. Dad bought us some baguettes and we strolled around the back streets. I thought St Tropez was beautiful.
We ate our baguettes for lunch and drove to a little place called Pointe des Sardineaux where we took lots of photos and walked down the steps to the sea. We carried on along the coast past Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Raphael, Saint-Aygulf and Fréjus.
We stopped near Frejus for a drink, which was expensive! After this, we headed toward Cannes and stopped to take more photos. Dad decided we wouldn't go into the centre of Cannes so we took the N7 to Fréjus. We drove over the mountains and a large part of the forest had been burned in a fire.
We arrived back at the caravan at about 5.15pm and Mum and I had a nap while Dad read his book.
In the evening we got ready to go to Roquebrune-sur-Argens for a meal. We looked at three restaurants but decided to eat at "La Gaspacho". We had drinks and Mum and I had paté with lettuce. Dad had a smelly fish soup. For our main courses, Mum and I had quiche Lorraine while Dad had egg cochotte. Our third course was steak and "frites". I had ice cream for dessert and Mum and Dad had coffee.
Earlier, an English family had come into the restaurant but the flies put them off and they left. Next to us was a big French family, and opposite, two German boys.
We paid the bill and went back to the caravan. I slept in the lounge.
Tuesday 10 August 1982
We woke up quite early and had a cup of tea. Dad went to the shops to buy milk, bread, wine, beer, drinks for me and ham. We had breakfast of croissants with jam and coffee. I then washed up. For the rest of the morning, we sat in the garden of the caravan.
Lunch was a French-style onion soup with croûtons, followed by tomatoes and ham. The pudding was chocolate with cream.
We sunbathed until about 3.30pm and got ready to go to Géant Casino (a big supermarket) in Fréjus. We bought six bottles of wine and a bottle of Campari. I bought some presents as well.
We had dinner - an Entrecôte steak with pommes frites followed by a chocolate dessert.
When we returned to Domaine des Beaux we bought some soft drinks for the journey home tomorrow. Mum started to pack while I washed the car and then showered.
Wednesday 11 August 1982
It was Dad's birthday today so he opened his cards and then we loaded up the car ready for the journey home. We left at exactly 8.25am.
Mileage: 54023
Stopped for petrol and coffee. It was very hot.
Another petrol stop and lunch of sandwiches and an orange.
We stopped in Beaune and bought some presents and coffee.
At around 6.30pm we stopped for petrol and it was still very hot. Made it to Paris at 7pm.
Arrived in Calais at 11.45pm after getting a bit worried as there were no cars on the autoroute at all.
Whilst waiting in the queue for the ferry we nicknamed the two men in front of us "Doc and Doris" as they were behaving like wallies over their cars.
We ate dinner on the boat and bought perfume, whisky and cigarettes.
Thursday 12 August 1982
It was a very speedy crossing and we arrived in Dover at 2am. We stayed the night in Dartford and left at around 9am, getting home by 11.30am.
Mileage: 54893
Total mileage: 1875 (approx)
"A very good holiday but it doesn't beat Tossa de Mar or Baia Toscana!"
Some pics:
