Day 5 - Monday 11th August - The Beaujolais

Guess what – the forecast is for hotter today!  After breakfast, I phoned Avis. (No problems.  Just a quick call to their customer service division ) 5 minutes of incomprehensible voice-mail, 10 minutes of Jazz and then a bloke who immediately said “We don’t do repairs, you need to call Lyon Airport, I’ll connect you” – Jazz, more jazz and a young girl who patiently explained that they didn’t do repairs, only hiring, and I needed to speak to Assistance, and gave me their number.  I rang Assistance – voice-mail, jazz and “We don’t deal with cars that are mobile, you need to ring Lyon Airport”.  I explained that Lyon Airport were of a different opinion and didn’t do repairs and the voice at the other end went into an infinite loop. No matter how often I explained, the only answer I got was “You must ring Lyon”.  I asked for the number for Lyon Airport – and was given the fax number!!!  I rang back and got a different number from a different operator, and this time, wonder of wonders, I got an answer to my questions.  Continue your journey to Roanne.  If you have another puncture, call Assistance and they will come out and repair it.  If not, go to Avis in Roanne and they will replace the car – “Free of charge?” – Yes!
With a great weight off my mind, I realised that I was no longer in any hurry to do anything, and given how well I had slept last night in a lovely firm bed, and how I had a number of frustrated ambitions left after yesterday’s problems, I asked Mme if I could stay another night, and the answer was yes!

So, at about 10am, I set off to do the day that I had tried to do the day before – a photo safari of the Beaujolais grands crus.  It was indeed a very pleasant day, taking in Morgon, Chiroubles, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chénas and Juliénas.  I even managed to get a recommendation for a French author in a librairie in Morgon - (a 20 € book mind! It had better be good!)

I had a simple lunch in Fleurie (set menu – hors d’oeuvre and côtes de porc rôtis, but cooked and presented with typical panache and followed by an amazing île flottante.  After lunch, I had a brief stroll around the shops (closed for the siesta) and managed to photograph a thermometer in a shady shop window that was right off the scale.

I went back to Pruzilly, where I had the puncture, to record the event on camera (I was too hot and wet to even think about it the last time).  Mme tells me it was 42 degrees in the afternoon yesterday (in the shade, not the sun! That’s 108 Fahrenheit!)  I wondered whether I would find the exact spot, but in the event, the marks where I had driven on the wheel rims were well impressed into the melting road surface!  I toyed with the idea of re-creating the whole scene (get the spare out and jack up the car) but decided in the end that once was enough and I just opened the boot and left the jack on the road to represent a symbolic “crevaison”.

A Perrier in the square at Juliénas and back slowly via Belleville (which was closed, and which was also like a furnace).  There was not a breath of wind, and every stone, flag and brick pushed the heat back like a pizza oven.  I was exceedingly glad to get back into the car and turn on the air conditioning.  

Another Perrier in Beaujeu and then back for the evening meal. Mme prepared une tarte aux tomates followed by roast chicken with pommes duchesse and haricots and her usual selection of cheeses, followed by a mousse au chocolat (all very well received by the children of the Belgian family who were staying – and me!).  M Langneau was there this evening, which meant that the Beaujolais from his Caves flowed much more freely that on previous nights!

Finally, a real treat for an “amateur de l’ordinateur”, Mme asked me if I knew how to download some photos that someone had e-mailed to her and I was shown upstairs to the office and got to play with a PC that was running Windows ‘98 in French on an AZERTY keyboard.  I ended up downloading and installing a few utilities and setting up her desktop before returning for coffee and more Beaujolais.  

Tomorrow Roanne - the main reason for the trip.

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