05/09/08 - Pat's got new legs!!

We thought we'd been pretty good at checking out Pat's tyres -
'thought' being the operative word, because on inspection yesterday
evening we were taken by surprise by how worn two of the four back
tyres had become!! We'd been thinking about replacing them back in
the UK before selling Pat, but all of a sudden it had become a little
more urgent! Another inspection this morning even found some wire
showing through - woops!!

A quick swim in the sea, then we were off in search of a suitable
garage - we saw a sign that we concluded sold tyres; it had the word
'Hyeres' (seems similar doesn't it?) - but after few minutes of
tentative driving we realised we were heading towards the town of
Hyeres!!
We got some mispelt directions which we finally located on Tomtom and
after a bit of aimless driving round the town and we found a
specialist tyre shop...except it was closed for lunch. Oh well,
surely these tyres can last another 5 minute drive to the beach
whilst we wait.

The beach had a long causeway with a estuary on one side, and pretty
good looking beach on the other. The only problem was that you
weren't able to swim here - it was reserved for kite boarders. Not to
matter, these kite boarders were pretty damn good and were worth
watching. Towed along the water, by what could better be described as
a small parachute rather than a kite, it was possible for some to hang
in the air for 5+ seconds whilst doing their tricks.

Back to the business that we had come for - our French only speaking
tyre man didn't think too much of the state of our two better tyres,
let alone the bad ones. Anyway, the good news is that he had the
right tyres in stock and quite a few euros later we were back on the
road all safe and sound.

As for the expense well, before we started our trip we did throw some
numbers about regarding possible maintenance costs while on the road.
With our power steering bracket in Finland and today's exploits - we
are only about a third of the way through the £1,000 maintenance
budget - so can't really complain too much.

It was then time to make up a few miles. We waved out to Tana Umanga
as the motorway sped past Toulon, then somehow we got off the motorway
in into some very busy streets of Marseille. That took some time, but
we can at least say we have seen a snapshot of France's 2nd biggest
city and what seems to be a very big melting pot of many different
cultures, particularly from Africa.

Finally, in the dark we made it to Salin-De-Giraud and another
designated free parking spot. This time the location was good, on the
edge of town away from any traffic!!