Monday 4th July - Chamonix

We wanted to leave around 10 o'clock but only managed 10.30.  With the car stuffed full we said 'au revoir' to Henk and  set off.  We were not going back to Blighty just yet but making a detour to Les Houches, near Chamonix where we were to meet eight of our friends to go walking in the mountains.  We made very good progress but after about two and a half hours all the traffic on the motorway stopped and up ahead was a large plume of black smoke.  Five or six policemen on motorbikes with blue lights flashing went haring between the trucks and cars, then the Pompiers vehicles screamed along the hard shoulder!  We sat there for more than an hour and a half whilst yet more emergency vehicles came by, even air ambulances!  Eventually the police opened up a fence alongside the motorway to allow the cars to exit. We then had to negotiate the country lanes - a little reminiscent of our flooded journey down to Aphrodite!  We abandoned the GPS in favour of Google maps which has an inbuilt GPS system far superior to our one in the car and managed to rejoin the motorway. Unfortunately we will never know what the hold up was all about.   We arrived in Les Houches at 6 p.m., unpacked and waited for Andy and Goska to arrive.  Our party were all arriving at different times - John and Susie were to arrive the next day late morning and the last four, Andy and Sally and Pete and Jan later in the day......then the party would start!!
Well that's all folks for Aphrodites' first leg this season - apologies for a sketchy report sometimes.  You have to understand that serious reporting and serious partying do not fare too well together.
Back in early August!!

Sunday 3rd July - Colombiers

A cleaning and packing up day today as we hope to get off around 10 o'clock in the morning.  Henk came over to explain how we could transfer photos from Crews' new camera to her I-Pad and then a beer and lunch.
More desultory cleaning (over 30 degrees now!!) and packing.  Crew cobbled together a kind of left over pasta dish which we ate fairly late.  Up and at 'em in the morning crew!!

Saturday 2nd July - Colombiers

Skips' new taxi time was 10.15 as he was catching a later train.  Crew was left behind doing a bit of light cleaning and wardrobe sorting for our 6 day trip to Chamonix and then onward to Blighty for the rest of July and the beginning of August.
Skip booked a table for 8 p.m. for the three of us at the wonderful 'Au Lavoir' restaurant nearby - a bit expensive but classy!!  Henk came over for a quick drink beforehand then we went over for dinner.  We all had different starters and Crew had a delicious rack of lamb but the 'boys' shared an enormous Cote de Boeuf - talk about a meatathon!!!
We retired to our back deck for an aperitif then bed.

Friday 1st July - Colombiers

Skip had to collect the car from Moissac so took a taxi to Beziers station at 9 a.m. but when he asked to purchase a ticket he was told that the train was full so he bought a ticket for tomorrow and took a cab back.
Nothing much was done in the afternoon as it was very hot and steamy.  Skip took a couple of chairs and a little table up on the bank and set them up under a shady tree, where there was also a little breeze.  We shared our usual bread and cheese lunch with Henk and lazed the afternoon away.
Crew cooked dinner for the two skippers and early to bed.