Ending Up Anywhere

As I mentioned previously, a road accident left us without our campervan, Cleopatra, three days before we were due to depart for France leaving us in a quandary. We were booked to stay at Camping Club Arcachon on the west coast near Bordeaux and had paid a significant deposit. Fortunately the site allowed us to put the money we'd paid towards renting a roulotte - a little wooden cabin and so our holiday was rescued. Cleopatra has been with us for three years, during which time we've become so used to the flexibility of going wherever and whenever we want. To suddenly be heading on a twelve hour drive in a car required extra thought that we're not used to. The initial plan was to take a midday-Saturday EuroTunnel crossing and to drive to an aire in Gizeux for the night, cutting the journey through France into two manageable chunks. We'd then have arrived in Arcachon at lunchtime on Sunday. However, even if they were permitted to park on aires, you can'

The fourth and final episode from our camping trip to Arcachon on France's west coast. We spend a morning looking around the city of Bordeaux and an afternoon in the nearby wine-producing town of St Emilion. On our sunny final day we brave climbing to the top of Arcachon's observation tower and then walk westwards along the sea front to Le Moulleau, taking the time to chill out in the sun and catch some rays.

The third of four video blogs from our camping trip to Arcachon on France's west coast. We spend a rainy day investigating to the north east of the city, walking along the coast to the harbour and drive inland to visit the lakes. Plus on the way back home we check out some of the best beaches.

The second of our video blogs from our trip to Arcachon on France's west coast. In this episode we drive to the Cap Ferret peninsula and explore it's beaches dotted with World War 2 bunkers.

The first two of four video blogs from our camping trip to Arcachon on France's west coast. We settle in to our tiny home at Camping Club Arcachon, explore the town of Arcachon on foot, find a wine shop open on a Sunday (!) and cycle to the Dune du Pilat - Europe's tallest sand dune. If you enjoy our video blogs, don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel .

It's 6.47am and we've just driven off the Eurotunnel shuttle in Calais. There's hardly any traffic on the road. When I say 'we' I mean Tony and me. Cleopatra isn't joining us on this holiday that nearly didn't happen. We'd looked forward to this holiday for weeks, months even. We haven't been to France since August and everything was set for the journey, and we were excited to explore another new piece of France. Then, three days before we were due to leave, Tony arrived home from the gym with a large part of the front-passenger side of Cleopatra crumpled. Tony was fine, just upset and clearly worried about breaking the news to me. I didn't know what to say or even what to think. I felt sick. Our beautiful campervan, our pride and joy. How was that damage going to be fixed? When would it be fixed?  Did this mean no holiday? I went into crisis mode. While Tony rang the insurers I was busy investigating how we might still ha