France from Start to Now and Beyond

[ChrisL]

Hi Tony, which sat nav are you using that took you down the narrow lane?

 

[Ninovan]

Hi Tony, which sat nav are you using that took you down the narrow lane?

He said it wasn't down to the SatNav but a detour or "Deviation"

 

[Brakers]

Hi Tony, which sat nav are you using that took you down the narrow lane?

Hi ChrisL It was a TomTom but it was not the sat nave fault we were detoured by the road works down that road so I can’t blame the Tom Tom. Best Wishes Tony

 

[Brakers]

Tony when you post the link to a YouTube video of you delete the s from https:// e.g. htts:// the video will load within the post.

Hi Lenny perhaps I misunderstood as your instructions were a bit misleading you said delete the s and then gave an example with the p deleted. Don’t know why it does not work in mine, but I’d like to find out as that is a better way of doing it.
Best Wishes Tony

 

[DBK]

After you have uploaded the video to YouTube just click on the "Share" button then click "copy to clipboard". Now open your post in MHF and paste the link. This will work.



The next stage is editing your clip so it only shows the interesting bit.

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[Riverbankannie]

How did you manage to edit your soundtrack to keep the music on but delete your expletive when that tree came down?

 

[Lenny HB]

Hi Lenny perhaps I misunderstood as your instructions were a bit misleading you said delete the s and then gave an example with the p deleted. Don’t know why it does not work in mine, but I’d like to find out as that is a better way of doing it.
Best Wishes Tony

Just a typo delete "S was correct.

 

[Parrot Face]

I'm enjoying this trip. Hope the weather improves. When the sun comes out more people will come out and chat to you .

 

[MisterB]

View attachment 273021 View attachment 273022
Have these French people got no sense of right and wrong, look at the reindeers pulling Santa’s sleigh Rudolph is at the back, that in my mind is why we, no I’m not going to go any further as I don’t want to bring the “B” word up.

Chris Cringle in the film Miracle on 34th street, admonished the shop owner for getting them in the wrong order and clearly explained who should go where, i'll drop him a letter and see if he can pop over ...

 

[Brakers]

Bump

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[Riverbankannie]

Hello @Brakers, how was your Christmas Day? I was poorly with the lurgy so ours didn’t go as planned and I’m missing a family get together today

 

[Podney]

So, @Brakers,apart from having a bump,what have you been up to since Saturday?!
We’ve been doing summink called Christmas,which involves four small grandchildren making one hell of a din!

 

[Brakers]

Hi Annie @Riverbankannie, looks like we both had a bit of a messed up Christmas I'll bring everybody up to date.
Hi Fellow Revellers Hope you all had a great Christmas.
Have you ever though I like it here and I will stay a bit longer, and regretted it.

On the 22nd I headed for an Aire further round the lake, it was called Gastes which was very nice and opposite an small marina got there in the dark and as it was late in the year the price for overnight was only €4.10 there was two others there one which looks like he stays there quite often and more of a base rather than the odd night.
The toilets were blocked up with loads of paper from previous occupants and where there was no water on to flush them.
This Aire must be very nice in better weather.

The next night the 23rd I decided to stop in an area close to the Aire I was going to stay on over the Christmas break.

I parked alongside what I can only describe as two travellers and a dog, after being there for about 2 hours I felt very uncomfortable alongside them so I decided to move on.

I was out of my MH and going round to open the blinds in the cab, when their dog a pit-bull appeared and started barking at me, I was in between the habitation door and the N/S cab door, the dog was barking and growling at me I did not know what to do back away and he will chase me go forward and he might find that aggressive move. So I decided to stand there not make a sound not look at him and hopefully he would go away thinking I was not a threat.

It did not work still growling and snarling he lunged at my arm, I pulled it away but he bit me on my stomach, by now I was shouting help, “not that anyone would understand it” the girl came round just said something in French and walked away with the dog.

I left the area and found a place to park up, checking under my tee-shirt I found the dog had broken the skin and make a puncture wound on my stomach.
It was late at night on a Sunday and needless to say I did not sleep well that night I did not know if the dog had rabies or not.

The next morning I searched for a pharmacy online which was open there was one 9km I drove there and he arranged for me to see a Doctor in Pisscos which again was another 12km away. I went there and she prescribed antibiotics and antibiotic cream and also an injection.

I went back to the pharmacy, he had most of the prescription except the injection.

Perentis en Born where the Aire is and also a Super U with a pharmacy and would open on Monday the 24th I parked in Super U car park overnight.

I went into the pharmacy as soon as it opened I showed her on the prescription which item I needed the lady came back with it and I thought I would be able to get this sorted today. While she was checking the box she noticed the injection was out of date. So she would have to order it and it would not be in until 5pm, which I picked up but unable to get someone to administer the injection until Wednesday when I will be travelling further down France.

Christmas day did not go to badly but I was not feeling my best but felt I had to make the effort and did manage to cook myself a dinner which most of it I left as I was not up to it.

Anyway here is a few pics of the place I stayed over Christmas.

Well that's all folks for now onward to the Spanish boarder tomorrow.
Best Wishes Tony

 

[TM59]

Nasty looking bite. Hope you are feeling better and the weather improves as you travel south. Also Spain much cheaper.

 

[Lenny HB]

Blimey Tony that's not good, good job you had the sence to get the bite sorted as any dog bite that punchers the skin can give you a very nasty infection.
Although it will be a lot of hassle you should report it to the Gendarms they are quite hot on illegal dog breeds.
Dinner looked nice. Apart from that incedent looks like you have been having a good trip something like that could even happen in the UK so don't let it put you off.

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[Clarky]

Oh dear, not the sort of Christmas present you wanted.

Shame it spoilt your Christmas and hope it all heals up quickly.

Richard.

 

[Podney]

Sorry to read about the dog bite,it must have been scary. I don’t know what the experts would recommend (they’ll be along soon,Im sure),but you either have to befriend the thing(unlikely),or shout at it very very loudly to make it back off so giving you time to get in the van.

Anyway,don’t suppose it’ll ever happen to you again.

Enjoy the days ahead and good wishes for 2019.

 

[Tigertom]

We had a few days at the Gastes Aire in the spring time and it is lovely with some good , if very flat, cycle trails.
The very small local village shop supply the best ever baguette, well they did when we were there anyway.
Hope you feel better very soon Tony.

 

[138go]

You could have used the Emergency Number 112 which would have got you help a lot quicker. Its a PAN European number for Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade. Enjoy your trip down to Spain at least it will be a bit warmer and you should see the sun.

 

[Parrot Face]

Don't let the dog attack get you too downhearted. You did the right thing in getting medical attention, all you need now is to get to the parts of Spain where you will find more supportive people especially from the Brits who are wintering there. You won't feel as isolated there and people will be more willing to help you get over any difficulties. A great xmas dinner by the way.

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[Riverbankannie]

What a scarey moment that must have been! It looks nasty but it could have been much worse. Too late now for advice, unless you think the bite is getting worse, but never hesitate to turn up at a hospital emergency department. In that situation it would save you sorting out the pharmacy and the doctor yourself.
I assume you are still waiting for the injection?
I’m still under the weather, daughter has told me not to take paracetamol as that inhibits the body healing/fighting process. However I feel really achy in the joints and cannot stand up.

 

[gus-lopez]

Sorry to hear about the dog but you did right getting it seen to.As others have said the 112 is pan european for help.

 

[DBK]

I've had the occasion when I've regretted not having a dog dazer to hand, most recently in Portugal in October. A dog dazer emits a burst of ultrasonic sound and they are sometimes carried by cyclists touring in countries where ill-tempered dogs might be encountered.

A quick Google finds several at around £10 but others, which are probably the ones most likely to work are £40+. A pointed stick could be cheaper.

 

[ChrisL]

It's worth remembering that in France it is legal to carry pepper spray as a deterrent against attack in quantities of less than 100ml, and in Spain in concentrations of less than 5% and quantities of less than 22 grams, this wont cause any lasting damage to the animal but should put it off for long enough for you to get to safety. It also works on other animals you might encounter in rural areas like wild boar for instance which can be aggressive sometimes.

 

[Brakers]

Too late now for advice, unless you think the bite is getting worse, but never hesitate to turn up at a hospital emergency department. In that situation it would save you sorting out the pharmacy and the doctor yourself.
I assume you are still waiting for the injection?

Hi Annie yes I think the bite has settled down, I did google hospitals near me but non around. I did find a page where it said a lot of hospitals all over France are closing, so I don’t know if there was one near me or not. Yes I’m still waiting for the injection, I went to Super U an hour ago there is a doctors there, they would not do it today as I had to have an appointment. So rather than go on my travels and have to find a doctor I’ve booked an appointment for tomorrow at 11:45 France time. It means another day here which is annoying but at least it will be over with and I can concentrate on the road ahead.
Best Wishes Tony

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[Riverbankannie]

I've had the occasion when I've regretted not having a dog dazer to hand, most recently in Portugal in October. A dog dazer emits a burst of ultrasonic sound and they are sometimes carried by cyclists touring in countries where ill-tempered dogs might be encountered.

A quick Google finds several at around £10 but others, which are probably the ones most likely to work are £40+. A pointed stick could be cheaper.

It's worth remembering that in France it is legal to carry pepper spray as a deterrent against attack in quantities of less than 100ml, and in Spain in concentrations of less than 5% and quantities of less than 22 grams, this wont cause any lasting damage to the animal but should put it off for long enough for you to get to safety. It also works on other animals you might encounter in rural areas like wild boar for instance which can be aggressive sometimes.

Both good suggestions, but when you have just stepped out of your van for a minute you are unlikely to have them about your person. In Brakers situation probably just as well he didn’t have anything if the dog owners were travellers, it could have led to a nastier situation.
However @Brakers you are likely to be wary of all dogs for a while and just carrying something like a dog dazer could give you peace of mind.

 

[Brakers]

I’ll have to try and find one of these dog dazer probably in Spain now As tomorrow I hope to be near if not on the border.
Best Wishes Tony

 

[138go]

I’m still under the weather, daughter has told me not to take paracetamol as that inhibits the body healing/fighting process. However I feel really achy in the joints and cannot stand up.

@Riverbankannie Take Ibuprofen instead as its in a different group to Paracetamol. If you are having trouble getting out of bed them perhaps you should see a doctor.

Ibuprofen info https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ibuprofen/

 

[john lillie]

Hi, following your trip with interest as we are heading that way next year, hope things improve for you, happy new year.

 

[Riverbankannie]

@Riverbankannie Take Ibuprofen instead as its in a different group to Paracetamol. If you are having trouble getting out of bed them perhaps you should see a doctor.

Ibuprofen info https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ibuprofen/

I’ve gone back on paracetamol as swinging between hot and sweaty and chilly shakes!

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