Hello my dear Friends,

First of all I hope everybody is healthy and happy. Would be nice to hear something from you also, my email is still working..........

Friday we (Naomi and I) went to La Ciotat, to see Carla, our colleague, at her campsite. It was a nice drive, we took the Route the Cretes, beautiful again.

On the beach we had some lunch, after that Carla gave us a tour de camping and around 16.00 we hit the road again.

First we drove to Cassis,

walked around a bit and decided to not have dinner there but at Regusse, a bit closer to home. But then......... on the road at Auriol, a very small two lane road, Tweety gave up again.........'Quick, Naomi, get out and push'. So, the two of us pushing the car towards the market place. A nice French woman helped us, so I could get in the car again to steer and brake. A few very clever French men did ask if we had 'pannee', grrrr, no I just stop in the middle of the road to make a picture, maybe???? Idiots!

And there we did the same routine again: find a terrace, a coffee and a coke, a cigaret and thinking...I saw a sign of a garage and walked over there. A young man was just closing the door and I asked him if he maybe had a battery, so at least I could get back to Montmeyan. No, he was only dealing in motorcycles, but there was a garage 10 minutes walk away. Then he looked at his watch, grabbed my arm and pushed me in his Smart car and off we went. Vroom vroom, just in time... the garage was just closing. Young man left, Merci beaucoup.

The man of the garage came with me with his towing truck to the marketplace and jumpstarted the car, but said: no way you can get back this way to Montmeyan. You need to recharge the battery, I can do that for you tomorrow morning. Hello, how do we get back to Montmeyan, with a bus? Well, you could, if you have 3 days time, you will get there eventually. Great help ha.

So, although I already had just a new battery, again I had to buy a battery to get home.

Obviously the garage here had not fixed Tweet y right: they only changed the battery but they didn't check if it was charging!!!!!!!!!!!! Another 188 Euros gone down the drain. Not funny anymore.

I went to the garage and the clever man told me I should not have put a new battery... I KNOW, m...., but I had to get back somehow, didn't I? At the first check he said the alternator (which charges the battery) was working, but at a second look he said: it is NOT working. Well, I am not a mechanic, but he was not telling me anything new now. Later he called to the campsite to tell that a new alternator will cost 377 Euro, but (because it was their mistake that I had to buy again a battery) he would give me 120 Euro discount! Thank Buddha, that my brain was working: I looked the part up on the internet and if I order it by a French company through internet it will cost me only 111 Euro!!! Now it is the plan to order it, have it fixed and PAY NOTHING!! Then I also want to give back the second battery and get my money back for it.

At first we were of course joking about it again: Naomi said to me: How do you ever get back to Holland? Well, I said, 7 fully charged batteries on the back seat will get me back!!! But, seriously, they have to fix it this time right!!! We are very lucky that Anthony and AnnMary are still here, but in two weeks time they are leaving..... We will miss their company very much, it is so much fun.

Yesterday morning we joined Anthony and Ann-Mary on their drive through the lavender fields. It is so fantastic, all shades of blue, grey and purple and the smell...........

I hope that again I could grab a bit the scenery with my camera, enjoy the pics. All the pictures you can see if you click on foto's in the top of the banner.

And, as you understand, also this a reason to come to Montmeyan!!!! See you soon????

Je t'embrasse.

Rita