Monday 2 February 2015

January, 2015 - DAX, FRANCE


We drove full day on our first toll freeway, to make up for lost time and to get south to warmer weather.  The French have very good rest stops placed regularly along their freeways.  These range from basic parking and restroom facilities to massive projects that have hotels, restaurants and gas stations.  Some have basic camper hookup facilities, although we did not find one of these.

We did stop and have a sleep at one with a gas station and restaurant.

We woke early planning to get through Spain to Portugal by nightfall. It was not to be.  The van would not start, for the same, now familiar, problem.

No garage in site.  In fact we were miles from the nearest town.  The gas station attendant called a tow truck for us.  Thus ended the economical portion of our trip.

We were towed to the Renault dealer in Dax.  We used Google Translate to explain our problem to the friendly staff and insisted on a "new" or at least different float for the carburetor.

Dax is an old Roman Spa town, with natural hot springs.  Not much happens in the off season. We checked into an Ibis Hotel.  We had a lovely Duck dinner (my first) and it was great.  We saw our first Bull Fighting Ring!  I thought this was strictly a Spanish thing, but it is also in Southern France.

The outdoor pool in Dax in the the rain.

The bull fighting arena.

Mural on the arena wall.







1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If you get a chance to stop in Biarritz on your way through SW France it's worth it. The Basque region is beautiful.