Tuesday 6th October 2009 – Gap, France

A call from the AA confirmed that the clutch would have to be replaced. The parts may take up to 48 hours to obtain and therefore the work would probably not be completed until Friday. Fortunately the Saga European Assistance cover not only the breakdown truck costs but also up to 5 nights half-board in the hotel. However, it does not cover the cost of repair and that is going to be very high – more than I have ever paid for a vehicle repair and then very weak pound doesn't help. Still, c'est la vie and we will enjoy Gap whilst we are here.
We received that news whilst we were walking in the countryside around the town. Gap Tourist Information Office were extremely helpful and the pack of 10 local walks was particularly good. We chose walk 10 'Le circuit de Lareton' listed as 2 hours and 6.4km in length. Leaving from the centre of the town we were soon climbing the 'Colline de Saint-Mens', a small hill just to the south. Being about 200m higher than the town, it provided views over the town to the mountains of the Ecrins National Park in one direction and over field to other mountains in the opposite direction. A true panorama indeed but unfortunately it had clouded over on our way up, robbing the view of much of its glory. Needless to say, just a few minutes after starting our descent, the sun came out. The walk was a very pleasant mixture of woodland, farmland and small villages and took us back into the centre of Gap. Picking up two large slices of tart we walked back to the park close to the hotel to find somewhere to eat them. We were in luck. Gap has a large 'bouledrome' and there was a big boules match in progress. We spent a couple of hours watching the boules, comparing it to English bowls and trying to understand the finer points of the rules.
We were impressed by the three-course evening meal yesterday but today it was even better. The first course of quiche and salad was followed by 'biche'. The dictionary translated this as 'doe', which suggested that it was venison but we didn't believe that it would be given that is was a cheap menu. It was indeed venison, it was very good and it was followed by some very tasty profiteroles with chocolate sauce.
Photos: View south-east from the Colline de Saint-Mens; Player throw the boule to dislodge the one closest to the the jack ('cochonet' – little pig, in French) – this is a very common tactic in boules and they are surprising accurate with their throws.