Tuesday 18th September 2007
Spent Monday night at Rastatt, a little town just south of Karlsruhe at the gateway to the Black Forest. (Forgot to pack a copy of Horst Jankowski and his orchestra’s version of “A Walk in the Black Forest” and were forced to hum it to ourselves. Stopped at Titisee on the first leg of “The Rude Tour of Europe”. It was unfortunately cold and wet. The Prop suspects that this may be why Titisee did not live up to its name! Due to a navigation malfunction we ended up at Hausach (north of Titisee instead of south.) The Prop was required to manoeuvre the McRent Reisemobil through some impossibly narrow village streets which were already occupied by parked cars with very large German semi-trailers coming in the opposite direction. This, however, was more than made up for by some very spectacular early autumn scenery.
Wednesday 19th September 2007
Having made the required course corrections, we headed south (more or less) through the heart of the Black Forest and more spectacular scenery. Very surprised to see the prevalence of large solar arrays atop the roofs of the majority of houses and the great number of commercial wind generators fringing the mountain ridges. After emerging from the Black Forest we crossed into Switzerland. The Prop was eager to declare his genius to Swiss immigration authorities but was disappointed to be waved through with nary a cursory look at his passport. Had less luck with the Swiss petro/financial establishment! It took the Prop almost 20 minutes to work out how to operate the “automatic” petrol pumps. Having done so, the Prop and his wife were forced to proffer every plastic card in their possession to the implacably neutral but thoroughly unforgiving Swiss cash machine. Not surprisingly, it rejected the Prop’s Andrew Inglis Clark “out of hours” Library access card but appeared momentarily to accept his Petty Sessions ID card. Luckily, a helpful German tourist (at least he sounded German- but wasn’t wearing lederhosen) gave a practical demonstration and also pointed out that Switzerland, having not adopted the Euro, still uses the Swiss Franc as its unit of currency. Still 100 Francs (about A$120) to only nearly fill the McRent Reisemobil somehow seemed to explain all those solar panels and wind generators! Arrived in Basel (apparently pronounced “Barl”) and following another unnecessary perilous and circuitous drive through the centre of the city, the Prop began to doubt the accuracy of his new navigation equipment.
Thursday 20th September 2007
Drove from Basel to Neuchatel and following another altercation with a Swiss diesel vending machine (which the machine won) we crossed into France (Again no-one at the border was the least bit interested in the Prop or his wife.) Stopped for the night in St Ettienne du Bois having been assured by the operator of the local Butcherie & Triperie that the Wales v Japan clash could be viewed at the local Sports Bar. Set up camp in the McRent Reisemobil and walked back into town only to find that the Sports Bar was closed. The proprietor of the adjacent Pizzeria helpfully advised that one only had to walk as few as 10 kilometres in order to watch the game at another venue –which he thought would be open! Went to bed instead!!
Friday 21 September 2007
Drove from St Ettienne du Bois to Avignon (as in, Sur Le Pont d’) via the French Motorway system. The toll for an 80 kilometre section was an astonishing 27.60 Euros. Apparently we had to pay double because the McRent Reisemobil is higher than a car! I suspect that the real reason is that the McRent Reisemobil is a high performance unit and so attracts the higher rate.
Camped about 200m from le Pont d’Avignon and made the short walk to the bridge to pose for the obligatory photograph “sur le pont”. 
The cosmopolitan nature of the city is amply demonstrated by the fact that the Prop’s wife was able to purchase a jar of Vegemite at the local “supermarché”
Saturday 22 September 2007
Drove to Montpellier intending to rendezvous with P A Kimber Esq. who was by now ensconced in an hotel only 800m from our base at “Camping Le Floreal”. Spent the afternoon at the bar of Le Floreal in the company of a large number of Australians – some of whom were sober! Watched a thrilling encounter between South Africa and Tonga on TV. The Prop had managed to persuade the manager (in French) to turn on the telly behind the bar before the scheduled bar opening time at 5.00pm. However, stupidly, the Prop had forgotten to ask the manager to remove the heavy iron security grill from in front of the bar. Accordingly, much of the match had to be viewed by peering through the grating. P A Kimber Esq. eventually arrived on site having walked 5 kilometres and taken a 15 Euro taxi ride to cover the 800m distance referred to above! His navigation equipment must be worse than ours! The grating was removed from the bar for the England v Samoa rubber which was close until half time after which the English unimpressively slipped away and won easily. We too slipped away from “Le Floreal” and got lost on the same 800m journey back to Kimber’s pub for dinner (At least this was the first time we got lost – for Kimber and his daughters it was the second time in 4 hours on the same route!) After another unnecessary taxi ride we enjoyed a slap up beano. Kimber and I had the “Chef’s Suggestion” (It was the only item on the menu in English.) It turns out that what the chef had suggested was 70% kidneys and 30% garlic!!! Still, washed down with a few bottles of “vin de pays” it wasn’t too bad for offal. By this time the Prop was thoroughly disoriented but eager to walk the 800m back to “Le Floreal”. However, the Prop’s wife, with her usual acumen and calm steady nature, insisted we take a taxi. Geographically embarrassed as he was, the Prop is bound to say that this was the longest 800m taxi ride he has ever taken.
Sunday 23 September 2007
Game day! Australia v Fiji at Stade de Bosson. Woke quite early all things considered. Decided to venture into the heart of Montpellier to absorb some local atmosphere. The previous night’s 800m taxi ride had left us with no “billets” (i.e. ready money) Luckily Kevin and Bridget (two of the more sober Australians at the bar the day before) offered us a lift into town in their taxi. Managed to obtain plenty of billets from an obliging French ATM (which was altogether less discriminating than its aforementioned Swiss counterparts) and had a good sniff about before taking yet another jam-packed tram from Montpellier to Bosson. We were seated about centre field three rows from the back – estimated to be about the same altitude as the summit of Mont Blanc. It was over 30 degrees and rather too hot for Rugby. Australia comfortably but again (the Prop thought) rather unconvincingly accounted for their south sea island opponents 55 – 12. (However, in view of Fiji’s later victory over Wales [see below] it was a pretty good result.) Following the game we had a few drinks with Good Matt and Bad Matt (another two rather less sober Australians from the bar at “Le Floreal” the day before) and a strange baguette shaped steak sandwich filled with hot chips while we waited for the crowds at the tram station to dissipate. Got back into Montpellier just in time to see the final moments of the All Black’s demolition of the Scotland B team before taking another taxi back to “Le Floreal”. Strangely, this taxi cost less than the 800m journey the night before (see above) The barman claimed to have seen the Prop on telly during the course of the broadcast of the game! However, the lack of any international response to the Prop’s supposed appearance leads him to conclude that it must have been Brumbies coach Laurie Fisher on the telly.
Monday 24 September 2007
Navigated the McRent Reisemobil from Montpellier to the restored medieval city of Carcassonne. Quite impressive in some ways and quite vulgar in others. The Prop (who is not known for his architectural sensitivity) was more than a little surprised to find a 13th century basilica and a 21st century Best Western hotel sitting cheek by jowl in the centre of the old city!
Tuesday 25th September 2007
After a week of fabulous weather the inevitable change arrived. We had originally intended heading down the coast into Spain and Andorra for a day or two before going to Bordeaux. However, we got word that camping accommodation in Bordeaux was very scarce (only one 30 site camping park in a city of 2 million) Accordingly, the GPS was reprogrammed to take the McRent Reisemobil west towards Toulouse and the Midi Pyrenees. The Prop had been experiencing extraordinary difficulty obtaining internet access so that the blog could be updated (not to mention the payment of sundry creditors) and hit upon the idea of finding a “camping” that offered wireless internet – or “le wee-fee” as we Frech speakers like to call it. It was in this way that we found ourselves somewhere in the foothills of the Pyrenees at “Camping Le Moulin” in the tiny village of Matres-Tolosane. Weather appalling but internet OK – and free!!
Wednesday 26th September 2007
From Matres-Tolosane to Bordeaux in the trusty McRent Reisemobil! Booked in to “Camping Beausoleil” – the only camp ground in (or more precisely 12 km out of) town. We were offered a “half-pitch” to share with others. We took it. The Prop thought that a couple of young French sheilas might move in next door and so, for first time in 23 years he shaved his beard off!!! As luck would have it we were assigned to share a pitch with a Welshman and his English wife who had come to Bordeaux from Edinburgh to watch three games of Rugby in which neither Wales nor England was involved. Despite his disappointment, the Prop made the best of things having discovered that the Welshman was not averse to a chilled lager or two. Indeed, it was during the course of consuming one or two of the above that the Welshman confided that he too had hoped to share his pitch with something more attractive than the Prop – even without his beard.
Thursday 27th September 2007
Spent the day sniffing around in town. Did the obligatory open top bus tour of the city. As the Americans would say (according to Prof Lyons) “My Gard Harry – there’s so march Gard-am history here!”
Friday 28th September 2007
Spent the day attending to matters of personal administration (e.g. washing undies etc., shopping for essential supplies and the like.) Dined in the McRent Reisemobil on tinned “casoulet” a local dish consisting of haricot beans, pork sausage and duck meat (and quite a lot of duck fat). Not bad at all – though not as tasty as the “Chef’s Suggestion” (See 22 September) and a real “doona-lifter”. Went with the Welshman (Mike) and his wife (Judy) to “Le Terminus”, a local (i.e. 1 km away) bar to watch England v Tonga. “Le Terminus” is so small that with a 20 inch telly inside, the Welshman and the Prop had to take it in turns to go in and watch the game. For a brief period when the barman went to the toilet, we were both able to watch at the same time.
Saturday 29th September 2007
Game day! Australia v Canada at Stade Chaban-Delmas. The Prop and his wife had tickets in the “Presidentielle” section. This sounded so impressive that the Prop thought about wearing a coat and tie instead of his old Wallabies jumper. The seats were just on half way and one row back from the front and immediately behind the Australian bench. (Matt Giteau’s mum turned up next to us after the game to hand her famous son a cream cake!) The seats would have been real crackers if it hadn’t started pouring with rain just before kick-off (or if the seats had been covered.) As it was the prop and his wife absorbed more moisture that the Canadians absorbed pressure during the course of a 37–6 defeat. Not a terribly flattering score line for the Wallabies but not too bad given the conditions. The Welshman and his wife arrived back at camp at about 10.30 following Wales’ shock defeat by Fiji. The loss meant that Wales did not make the quarter finals and that, for the first time ever, Fiji has progressed beyond the pool stage. They will meet South Africa in Marseilles next Sunday – the day after Australia plays England at the same venue. We have tickets to both games.
Sunday 30th September 2007
Headed south towards Biarritz to dry out! Stayed overnight at “Camping Berrua” at Bidart – just south of Biarritz. Had the unusual pleasure of being able to watch the France v Romania and the Ireland v Argentina games on free to air digital television while seated in the shade outside the McRent Reisemobil. Generally speaking only the games involving France are shown on free-to-air television here. The remainder are on pay TV and only accessible in some bars. Had dinner at the Restaurant Auguste. Being short of “billets” again and the “Auguste” not accepting credit cards the Prop and his wife were forced to select from the very popular 10 Euro menu – which did not disappoint! Three of anything for 10 Euros in this country is a rarity, so a three course meal for that price is a genuine bargain. The Prop had mussels, shrimp and cheese while the Prop’s wife dined out on a rich bacon and egg salad, steak and “frites” and ice-cream. Delicious!
Monday 1 October 2007
Took the back roads through the Haute Garronne and Midi Pyrenees through a succession of tiny villages and towns to arrive at “Camping L’Estlas” in Mauvezin De Prat near Saint Girons. Much more difficult driving the McRent Reisemobil through these narrow village streets and seemingly endless roundabouts – but much more rewarding than the sterile efficiency of the Motorways.
Tuesday 2 October 2007
Exceptionally beautiful scenery as we travelled southeast in the shadows of the Midi Pyrenees and the Pryrenees Orientales again keeping to the secondary and tertiary (and possibly even the quaternary) road system. With a single-minded determination the Prop and his wife headed for “Camping La Nautique” just south east of Narbonne with one aim in mind – to find internet access so as to update the blog and satisfy the insatiable appetite of our readers for up-to-date information.
Tomorrow its onwards and upwards (in a general northeasterly direction) along the Mediterranean coast towards Marseilles and the eagerly anticipated quarter final contest between the Wallabies and England.
More soon!!
After a 7 hour briefing on how to operate the chemical toilet and how to drive on the wrong side of the road (these things not to be done simultaneously) we were underway. By this time the Prop had cunningly obtained a GPS with full-routable maps of England & Europe. Accordingly, with great excitement and full of confidence that there would be no repeat of the “Great Circle Route Incident” (see Sunday 9th September) we set off for the Black Forest!
One day before the Odyssey commences and we get an e-mail to tell us that there has been a fire at the Mandarin Hotel in Bangkok - in which we were due to spend 4 nights at the end of the Odyssey!