July 2

July 2nd (cloudy, sunny)
While speaking to my camping neighbor from Holland, she mentioned her husband Richard was an electrician who used to specialize in cars. Upon his advice, George was able to isolate and resolve the problem we were having concerning the water pump, fridge and inside lights. This made George extremely happy as now we are again fully independent.
After three days of recharging our batteries at Campix in Saint Lui d’esserent, on the advice of the owner, we stopped at Pierrefonds to view a stunning castle originally built in 1393. Had a lovely walk around, our lunch of baguette, brie cheese and wine by the side of road and continued our scenic drive towards the Champagne district of France. So far, we are thoroughly loving France. Everywhere our eyes are treated to the beauty and history of this very proud country. I am especially enthralled with the bakeries, butchers and other food shops.
George noticed four different levels of policing in the country at any one time active and fully armed. First level being the transit police which are always in groups of two or three; next the municipal police – they are always two or more; next would be ‘Gendarmes’ – these are the North American equivalent of the National Guard in groups of two or more; and lastly, the military in groups of three of more fully armed with submachine guns. All are visible and moving. Panhandlers and troublemakers do not stand a chance in Paris. We could take lessons from this as long as we don’t continue to allow the “bleeding hearts” to dominate our political scene. We need politicians with backbone.
We stopped at a municipal campsite in Fismes which had everything we needed for 1/3 the cost. Unfortunately, that big black cloud is still following us. Note: In talking with a Londoner at our last sight, he mentioned that Britain had record rain for the month of June – 260 mm instead of the normal 60. We hope this pattern does not repeat itself during our trip on the continent.