Ares

Sep 16th - Sep 23rd 2022

Friday 16th September 2022

Home to Gatwick

5 patients mostly around Bicester for our morning - then back home for some lunch. Most of the packing was done so brought the case down and packed the car before we headed off at about 14:30.

Drive down to Gatwick was very long - sat-nav kept clicking the time up and up - and then down and then up again. Friday afternoon is never fun on the M25. Got to Gatwick Worth at around 16.50. I’d booked a suite but before leaving home I’d noticed it had changed to a standard double room on the app. Called the hotel and they fixed that. But when we got to the hotel, the room I’d been assigned had changed again. Was told that 228 was out of service. Complained for a bit and then magically it was back in service. Very odd.

Went for dinner at around 19:00. Quite a decent meal. Both had tomato & orange soup to start with crusty bread followed by a very nice veggie burger for me and         for Nikki. Hit the hay by 22:30

Saturday 17th September 2022

Gatwick to Ares

Excellent night’s sleep. Both out cold for over 8 hours. Headed down to breakfast by 07:30 and had the entire place to ourselves. I guess most people staying at this hotel are there for the crazy early flights!

Had some time to kill before our 10:30 departure so had a leisurely morning - slowly packing etc. I took the case down to the car at around 10:00 and we hit the road around 10:30. Despite knowing Crawley really well I managed to get us lost and we ended up at the wrong terminal. Figured that out but when we got to the South Terminal parking I, again, managed to get lost in the car park. Very annoyed before we even got into the terminal.

Found the BA check-in area and it was a bloody bear garden. We headed for the BA Special Assistance desk but it seemed anyone was queuing to use it. Very long wait there. Then security was awful. Again it seems anyone who feels like can use the assistance lane. By the time we got through security I was in a foul mood and and swearing we’d NEVER use Gatwick again!

Checked in with the SA lady (who was lovely). She told us that Gatwick is always crazy on a Saturday because of the number of flights to the Caribbean. We found somewhere to have some lunch. Both ended up with a veggie burger. Made that last a while but needed to crack on. We were at Gate 12 so we headed down that way but the gate was still closed! We were the first there so figured we may as well wait. Half an hour later someone did turn up and got us checked in.

A very nice chap called Alan was there from SA to help us on the plane. But then the delays started. First of all there was a problem loading the luggage. Then someone’s bags needed to be off-loaded. Then there was a problem with the paperwork. In all we sat on the tarmac for over an hour.

Eventually lifted off at about 14:40. Flight was quite quick. Bottle of water and some pretzels were handed out for the inflight refreshments. Landed in Bordeaux Airport at around 17.30 CET. We waited while the rest of the plane got off and then we were met by a very nice SA helper with a wheelchair. His English was excellent. Took us through passport control, picked up the bag, got the wheelchair and then walked us over to the Avis lot! Gave him a nice tip.

Then I hit the Avis queue. I’d had a phone call from the Avis office in Bordeaux on Friday telling me I didn’t need to queue as I’d filled in the Quick Pass. So I went to the Quick Pass desk as instructed and there was nobody there. The chap at the next desk said “No Quick Pass. Back of the line”. Soup Nazi. After some arguing and being joined by another chap who’d had the same phone call, eventually got the car. Took about 40 mins. Crazy. By this point I was climbing the walls furious.

The plan had been to land around 16:30, go to L’Elerc for some groceries before it closed at 20:00 and then go to the house. As it was we didn’t get out of the Avis lot until gone 18:30.

Drove along very straight roads to Ares and got to the supermarket by 19:15. Dashed around grabbing everything we needed - apart from shampoo! Couldn’t find shampoo anywhere. Loads of body-wash and conditioner through!

Arrived at the house just after 20:00 as the sun was finally disappearing. Found it with no issues at all. Had a good explore before unpacking. I then had a shower and we sat by the pool gathering our thoughts. Finally got ourselves in gear and had some lovely crusty bread with cheese and tomatoes followed by a nice cake we’d got in the supermarket.

Quick check over the TV and hit the hay by 22:30. That was a long day travelling to somewhere so close! Could have gone on Eurostar to Paris and then 2 hours on the TGV. Would probably have been better that LGW, BA and Avis combined!

Sunday 18th September 2022

Ares

Well that was quite the day!

Excellent night’s sleep. Woke up around 07:00 and sat in the lounge while Nikki had a lie-in. Decided to head down to the bakery for some croissant etc. Only a 2 min drive which I could have easily walked but I figured it was dark and I’d probably get lost! 

Came back armed with croissant, pain au chocolat and pain au raison. Still warm! Plus a baguette for our lunch. I set them all out on the breakfast bar and then Nikki got up - very happy to see the nose-bag on offer. Had a leisurely breakfast making our plans for the day - which would mostly revolve around the swimming pool and hot-tub.

After a shower we sat outside on the chairs and I pulled back the pool cover. Eventually dipped my toe in and realised it was decently heated so straight back out with swimming trunks on. Gorgeous. Not the easiest pool to get into because the first step is so far down and there are no handrails but once you’re in - sublime.

After that I transferred to the hot tub which was amazing. By then Nikki had got into swimbles and joined me. Stayed in there for about 30 mins before I got out and got Nikki a chilled glass of rose to enjoy in the pool. I lay on the sunbed and listened to some music before Nikki got out and spoke to her Dad on FaceTime.

By this point it was lunchtime so we came in and put the A/C on. After lunch I dozed on the couch while Nikki went back out. It was then we had our first inkling something was wrong. A gigantic plane went over the house at about 300ft and certainly woke up the whole neighbourhood. Then another one and then a helicopter. I went outside to see what was going on and then noticed a massive plume of smoke behind the house. It was clearly a huge forest fire. We spent the next few hours watching the planes going over and the helicopters going back and forth from the sea picking up loads of water to drop on the fire.

By about 15:00 it looked like the fire was getting closer and I’d read on Twitter that people were being evacuated. Our house is in the north of Ares with maybe 6 streets between us and the forest. I spoke to the neighbours and they said we should wait for the police to come in their van with a bullhorn on top and then we’d have to get out. Decided the safest thing would be to pack up the important belongings (passports, phones, wallet etc) and put them in a bag by the door. We also got the suitcase ready for secondary items and figured we could get out with a few minutes warning.

The afternoon was spent going from the pool area where we could see the planes/helicopter/police vehicles to the front door where we could see the smoke from the fire. I could see a line of trees and we agreed that if that became enveloped in smoke/fire we’d get out. The smoke changed colour all afternoon from thick black to white. By about 17.30 it was mostly white so it seemed we were over the worst bit. We unpacked again and started to think about dinner.

Found a pizza type place in the village online so decided to relocate that way. As we drove out we found the end of our road was blocked by police. We could still turn left down into the village but not right to the main road. We drove down to the restaurant and parked. Dinner service didn’t start until 19:00 so we had 4 mins sitting outside with a drink watching emergency service vehicles going by every now and again.

Got our table outside just after 19:00 and then the smokers arrived. Nikki was coughing so we relocated inside. I had a four cheese pizza which was delicious while Nikki had a four cheese pasta which wasn’t. For desert I had a Tiramisu which was huge and gorgeous and Nikki had an exotique ice-cream which she loved. Sadly her cocktail wasn’t very nice so she made up for it with some rose wine.

Started to worry that our road would be closed off so planned a back-route to the house. No problem at all. Caught up with the news and both flagging by 21:50 so hit the hay. Only problem was our room was stinking of smoke. Put the A/C unit on to try and clear it but not sure if that just made it worse! Very disturbed night’s sleep!

Monday 19th September 2022

Ares

Not a great night - kept expecting a bang at the door at any moment. The room wasn’t smelling too bad of smoke when I woke up at around 05:30 so I ventured out to the lounge. Again not too bad there either. Sat with a coffee looking for fire updates. Seems over 100 hectares were destroyed and 350 people were evacuated - we were lucky. They had finally got the fire contained but not out by the early hours of the morning.

Saw that the bakery opened at 06:00 so went down there. As soon as I opened the front door the coughing started. The air is full of smoke and there’s a haze everywhere - like driving through a really foggy morning. Road at the end of our street is still closed off - can turn left for the village but not right for the main road to anywhere else.

Bakery was nicely deserted so had a chat with the lady running it while she got my order. They’ve got automatic sliding doors so were unable to keep the smell of smoke out. Got my croissant, pain-au-chocolat and pain-au-raison and headed back.

Nikki woke up at around 07:00 so we opened the shutters and had breakfast as the pool area slowly got lighter and lighter. But it was very hazy and the smell was awful every time we stuck a nose outside.

Got showered and then headed back down to the village centre to the pharmacy. I needed mozzie spray and bite cream as the little buggers are having a buffet off me. Bites all over. Again very smokey and it seems to be the only topic of conversation in the village.

Came back for a drink and settled down to watch the Queen’s Funeral on Sky News. Lots of build up to the event itself. The gun carriage carrying Her Majesty’s coffin was at 11:44 CET which came around very quickly. We then watched the service and the procession to Windsor until we needed to move.

Got the cover off the pool and we both went for a well deserved swim. Felt cooler that yesterday but that’s because the air temperature is so much warmer. Stayed in for a good half an hour and then had a relax on the sunbeds.

I came in for a shower and some research into where we were planning to eat. Watched a bit more of the Queen’s Funeral from Windsor and then headed off around 18:00.

We went down the coast a short distance to Andernos-Les-Bains. I’d worked out a What3Words to a parking spot which we found with no problem and then we had a wander around the town. Very nice part of the world on the edge of a huge lagoon. Most of the restaurants are fish based but we found a couple that did pizza, ravioli or salad. The ravioli place wasn’t starting to serve until 19:00 so we mooched around the area until they were ready for us.

Gorgeous meal. I had the aforementioned ravioli while Nikki went for a veggie moussaka. I had ice-cream with hot chocolate sauce for desert and Nikki had a very nice looking tiramisu.

Headed back to the house after that and after a quick look at the TV, both dropping off so hit the hay around 22:00

Tuesday 20th September 2022

Ares

Another disturbed night - but this time it was the itching from the mosquito bites bothering me! Eventually woke up properly around 06:30. Came into the lounge feeling crap but a coffee soon perked me up a bit.

Nikki got up just after 07:00 and made some toast - no trip to the Boulangerie this morning - neither of us could be bothered. Watched some TV before going for a shower. Today is the big explore and we’re heading to Arcachon on the recommendation of my cousin Julie!

Nipped to the chemist at around 09:30 for some more bug spray and some allergy tablets to tackle the mosquitos. It’s obviously a big problem around here as there was an entire unit of sprays, lotions and potions.

Headed off towards Arcachon at around 10:00. It’s single carriageway road most of the way going through a number of small towns and villages. Then just before Arcachon itself we get a motorway. I’d put a car park next to one of the piers into What3Words but was expecting it to be very busy. Nope, no problem. Parked up and decided a coffee was in order. Stopped by a very French cafe on the seafront and had coffee and a pain au chocolat while watching the world go by.

We then walked down the sea-front past some very well manicured beach towards the other pier before turning inland and going up what appeared to be the Main Street. Found the main square next to the market and stopped there for a cocktail for Nikki, Oragnina for me and a couple of crepes. Very nice indeed.

We had a nose around the outdoor market before going to the indoor one. Lots of amazing bread, cheese etc - absolutely in heaven. We stopped by a cake stall outside and bought these puff pastry things - almost like a profiterole but without the chocolate. Figured they’d do for desert. Very entertaining man at the stall.

Back to the car and then back towards Ares. It was crazy that from Arcachon we could see the water tower next to our house in Ares across the water. But it took us a good hour to drive there!

Stopped off at a brand new Carrefour on the way for some supplies and headed home. Both of us a bit knackered by this point so lunch on the couch followed by our cream-filled pastries and then a well-earned nap.

By about 15:00 we were both ready for the pool so got the cover off and jumped in. Again a bit colder but still fab. Nikki joined me and we did some lengths in a half-hearted attempt to deal with the cream-filled pastries!

Then both in the hot tub for a soak like pro-athletes do. I came in at around 17:00 and had a shower and a drink.

Headed out to Andernos-les Bains at around 18:30 for some tea. We’d clocked a restaurant with a few veggie pizza options on our last visit so figured we’d give that a try. No worries finding the parking spot nearby. Place was deserted so they squeezed us in. Shared what they called a Bruschetta to start - was more like cheese on toast. Nikki then had a FIVE cheese pizza and I had a Margarita with onions. Both very nice indeed.

After dinner we walked down the road to the pier and watched the sun setting over Cap Ferret. Gets dark very quickly once the sun goes behind the hills. Back to the house and a quick doze in front of the TV before getting up for bed! Mosquito bites still dreadful!

Wednesday 21st September 2022

Ares

I’d taken an anti-histamine before bed last night to try and calm the mosquito bites. Certainly knocked me out and didn’t wake up (if that’s what it was) before 07:40. Felt awful - not with it and very woozy. 

A bit of toast and coffee raised my spirits somewhat before a shower. Took a long time to get going though ahead of our trip to Bordeaux.

Plan was a day out in the region’s capital. We set off just after 09:30. Sat Nav reckoned just over an hour. Seemed to take us on some back roads probably to avoid traffic and forest fires. The outskirts of Bordeaux saw it getting very busy. The road in took us alongside the Garonde River. I’d found some parking on What3Words in the centre of the city and the Sat Nav delivered us there. Walked across passed the Monument aux Girondins which is a very impressive fountain. We found the tourist office where we got our tickets for the 11:15 tour bus. We had 15 mins to spare so sat outside a cafe near the bus stop and had some lovely freshly murdered orange juice.

Saw other people boarding the bus so went and joined them. The driver opened the rear doors so we could get the wheelchair in. Very friendly driver. Bus not packed at all and it was a straight 1’15” tour rather than a hop-on hop-off. Got given headphones and found the English commentary - very odd music in-between the factoids - Edith Piaf (which was fine) but then Ed Sheeran, Nena and Louis Armstrong which had no Bordeaux connection we could think of.

Enjoyable tour of the city with all the landmarks pointed out to us and it brought us back to the starting point. Sadly I was flagging by this point so we decided to head back to Ares for an afternoon by the pool. Shame because I thought we’d could stay for lunch and do some exploring but not to be.

Drive out of Bordeaux was very slow but once we hit the outskirts we cracked on. Took about an hour back including a quick stop at the Boulangerie in the village for a lunchtime baguette. After a delicious lunch - time for a nap on the couch. Wiped out!

Bit of hot tub action and general sunbathing when we woke up - very lazy afternoon. Planned our dinner on Cap Ferret and set off at around 18:30

I’d spotted a place that does Veggie Burgers which is only about 15 mins away from the house. Turns out it was a small place on the side of the road but had a few places to sit. We sat outside and enjoyed excellent Veggie Burgers, beer and Coke. There was an ice-cream place next door but sadly it closed before we finished our main course!

Drove back via McDonald’s to see if they were doing a McFlurry but it was drive though only and the queue was huge so we headed back to the house and had ice-cream from the freezer while watching Brooklyn 99. 

And so endeth another day. 

Thursday 22nd September 2022

Ares

Woke up at around 06:00 - not as befuddled as yesterday but still feeling the effects of the ant-histamine. Sat in the lounge in the dark and promptly dozed off again until Nikki got up at around 07:00.

I decided to go down the Boulangerie for our final breakfast. The smoke smell was back with a vengeance though, according to the local Mayor on Twitter ,the fire in the forest hasn’t restarted - really smells like it though!

Got some croissant and pain au chocolat for breakfast and watched the sun coming up - hazy as it was because of the smoke. Sat and watched Sky News afterwards and dozed off another twice.

After showers we planned to go to Cap Ferret for the morning. It’s only a 9 minute drive away to the top of the Cap so not that much of a commute. Very similar to the Florida Keys in that you have lots of dive shops and a road running down the Cap with the sea on each side - not as close to the road as the Keys though!

Went to the lighthouse for a look. Very pretty area - sadly no lift in the lighthouse for passengers. There is one for freight but they weren’t putting the wheelchair in that! Had a quick mooch around their museum which was very interesting if limited.

Then we drove to the end of the Cap hoping we’d get a cup of coffee overlooking the sea. Sadly none of them opened until 12:00 and we didn’t fancy hanging around for nearly an hour. We drove back up the Cap towards Ares and found a small Boulangerie and had coffee and cake there.

After that we had a quick wander around Lege at the top of Cap Ferret - nothing much to see so we came home for an afternoon by the pool.

Both had a go in the pool and the hot-tub before a well earned sit down on the sunbeds. Stayed there until about 16:30 before going in for a shower.

In two minds about where we were going to eat. There was discussion of going back to Andernos-Les-Bains but were both a bit knackered so decided to go back to the previous night’s burger place as it was so good - and to go a bit earlier so the ice-cream place next door was still open. Highly successful trip!

The burgers were outstanding and we ate inside this time to avoid the ever present French smokers. Then next door for an ice-cream. I was expecting a standard ice-cream parlour with a freezer with various flavours either in a cone or a tub. Oh no. This was a laboratory - you choose which flavour ice-cream on a stick you fancied - then which chocolate you wanted from a running tap - then what topping you wanted on there. Amazing. I went for a nutty ice-cream with milk chocolate, coated in nuts. Nikki had a pistachio ice-cream with milk chocolate coated in raspberries. Absolutely delicious.

We drove home via the petrol station at L’eclerc to fill up the hire car and watched some TV before hitting the hay.

Friday 23rd September 2022

Ares to Home

Both had a rubbish night sleep as we knew the alarm clock was going to go off at 06:00. I awoke around 05:00 and just dozed for a bit before getting up at 05:45.

We had breakfast and I started on the packing while Nikki had a shower. Case was full to the brim! We did the final tidying up and were ready to hit the road by 07:20 - 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

As it was a Friday I had no idea what the traffic would be like into Bordeaux. We only had a couple of delays so were at the airport by 08:20 for our 11:05 flight. I dropped Nikki at the departures area and went off to return the car to Avis. Unlike our arrival it was very smooth - so by 08:30 we were stood at the check-in desk. Sadly it didn’t open until 09:00 so we went for a coffee.

We came back by 08:50 and became the front of the queue. At around 09:00 a woman appeared and started putting out barriers. Lots of messing around. Eventually they opened the desk and we got ourselves checked in. I’d worked out where Special Assistance was so we headed off that way. Chap at the desk said we needed to sit there and wait for an hour or so. Sod that - I said we were booked in the First Class lounge so he agreed to take us through. Security was its usual stress but we got through and were taken to the lounge.

Very enjoyable hour or a so there - not a huge spread but nice wine, Pepsi Max and snacks. I managed to pour some peanuts onto a saucer which I balanced on the arm of my chair. Needless to say I’m not the most delicate person and me and gravity combined to place them all on the carpet. Watched a couple of Airbus Belugas through the window and then clocked our flight hadn’t even left Gatwick. Yep - another delay!

It got to about 11:45 and there was no sign of SA coming back for us. I got the lady in the lounge to ring down and was told they’d be there shortly. By 12:00 I was getting increasingly concerned so we set off under our own steam. Found the gate and there were other people in wheelchairs there who’d just been abandoned. Eventually they started boarding and told us we’d have to wait. It was then that the SA people turned up. Rubbish. They had to shout at everyone to move so we could get through to the front to be boarded first. Not great.

Once on board it got a bit better. Our outbound aircraft was a code-share with BA but this was a BA aircraft. Departed over an hour late and a very forgettable flight up to Gatwick. Listened to some music and watched The West Wing.

Once we’d landed we made our way to the front of the plane and I could see our wheelchair was there - but there was no SA to meet us. I decided we’d crack on by ourselves. Got to immigration and thankfully it wasn’t a bear garden. Very nice border lady got us through and we got our bag and headed for the car park. Car was parked right by the valet parking place so that was fab.

We got out onto the M23/M25 and around the A3 junction all the traffic ground to a halt. The sat-nav claimed there was a quicker way so we thought we’d give that a try. Took us on A roads through Surrey and eventually we ended up in Windsor! Stopped at a BP/M&S for some sandwiches as we were both starving by this point. Sat nav took us through Windsor - at the end of the Long Walk to the Castle - and out to the M4. That journey really dragged - we got home around 16:30. Unpacked, put some washing on and collapsed on the couch! 

Thoroughly enjoyed our French trip - but when you consider it’s 2 hours on the train from Paris to Bordeaux - maybe, if we go back to that area, that would be worth considering.