Givet to Amneville
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Givet to Amneville
Motorhome Journey from Givet to Amneville
Waking to the sound of the chiming church bells here at the aire de camping cars, Givet, we enjoy another slow morning drinking coffee and checking emails. Up and breakfasted by 9.30 am, we tidy up, wash the dishes etc and get on our way by 10.30 (several of the other motorhomes have already left).
From Givet we take N40 to Beauraing and Wellin, E411 then E25 to Arlon crossing into Luxembourg. A short diversion into the city and Q8 filling station to fill with diesel at €2.05/litre. It’s always worth filling up in Luxembourg when you have the opportunity without making a detour, VAT is lower so the fuel is much cheaper than France or Germany. Back onto A3 south and onto A31 at the border with France, around Thionville and south to Mondelange. Here we take D47 west to Amnéville and the extensive parkland at the Cité des Loisirs (and zoo).
We find CampingCar Park Amnéville, almost hidden amongst the trees and check in at the barrier using the App on Mr C’s phone (it takes a while because of poor internet connection). Once in Mr C. drives onto the facilities to fill with water. I walk around the site assessing the available spaces under the trees and (mostly) divided by the old hedges. Again, it is an old Municipal (or Zoo) campsite long abandoned and taken over by CampingCar park. There are 32 spaces (about 9 or 10 already taken), grassy, level, all with hook-up and under the trees, I mentally note a couple and return to the service area where Mr C. is attaching the water hose. It takes ages to fill as the water pressure is very low. I walk around the site again feeling I am being stalked by a Frenchman in a bright orange sweatshirt!! I tell Mr C. about the spaces and he tells me he will walk over to each and check the internet connection. I sit in Hymer and wait.
Bright Orange Sweatshirt wanders over to Hymer waving at me, I get out. He tells me with authority:
‘you cannot park here, it is an emptying point and you must leave it at once and find a vacant space to park’. First, I am thoroughly irked by this (stalking) busybody of a man and then see the funny side of it… because he is deadly serious and sounds so ridiculous! I eyeball him and tell him ‘I know’. He repeats his statement… you must leave it at once and find a vacant space’. I repeat my response: ‘I know’. He stands and looks at me… and I look back! He is waiting for me to jump in and drive off? I stand my ground and repeat ‘I know’… there is an uncomfortable silence while he waits and I eyeball. Then he walks away. We note where he is parked and find a another spot well away from him!
I note an automated toilet cabin near the entrance, not that I will use it after my traumatising experience in Auckland where I was locked inside one of these (and could not get out) while it completed its cleaning routine: spraying the walls with scalding hot water, rinsing and drying… the stuff nightmares are made of! In the afternoon Mr C. walks to the 1.2 km (each way) to the boulangerie in Amnéville (not a prosperous town he reports later) to buy fresh-baked baguette while I chop and prepare vegetables for tea. The baguette is delicious and low priced. By 5.00 pm the site is filling up fast with 19 vehicles parked up.
After tea and in the early evening as dusk descends, we walk around the site counting mohos and noting their country of origin: 21 vehicles from five countries (1 Luxemburg, 2 UK, 1 Belgian, 3 NL, 8 German, 4 French, 2 more arriving much later) some are very large coach style which this site is ideal for. There are 32 spaces on the site, about seven are not really useable (too soft or with low overhanging trees) so the site was almost full. Back at Hymer we have one game of Bananagrams and then to bed as we are very tired.
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