When is a Site not a Site?

[rupert123]

PJay - 2012-09-23 10:54 AM

crinklystarfish - 2012-09-23 10:40 AMrobertandjean,

I guess you've rumbled me.

I do like my truck conversions and apologise humbly for gleaning a little pleasure from the occasional pic. I realise it's incredibly rude of me to occasionally drop in and promote / support a slightly different kind of perspective on motorhomes on a public motorhome forum. Please forgive me.

One day I aspire to free myself from the shackles of back-road worldwide travel and to shuffle from dull French car park to dull French car park in a shiny white anonymous box. Who knows, I may even be so moved by the experience that I may write about it and incessantly appropriate a public forum to inculcate any who resist the notion that there could possibly be any plausible alternative.

I may even have the decency to start my own blog or website so that those who may be uninterested wouldn't constantly be subject to my very narrow value judgements; except hardly anyone would notice.

I'm genuinely happy that you enjoy yourselves and wish you well but isn't there any kind of my-aire's-better-than-your-aire forum out there where people can more appropriately share tales of murky grey weather and the price of baguettes?

Have to agree with you. All Robert and Jean ever seem to post about are "aires" Why don't they just write a blog, and save those amongst us not interested their views . I usually do not open them any way.

If you are not interested in their posts do not read them. Personally i always make note of the aires they list and find their recommendations usefull. We use mainly sites so these type of aires for one night stops are great, it would be good if more information of this type was given on the forum but with reactions like yours why would people bother?

[Minstrel]

A couple of years ago we went to Lacanau Ocean on the aire and also Hourtin Port.  They have both changed to a camp site with few facilities.  You can now book in for several nights and go in and out as you please with the guarantee that you will have a pitch when you return.  The price has also gone up with automated payment by credit card and barriers.

 

While I can see that this is very convenient for some, it means that if you want to just stop off for a night or two, you are unlikely to get in in high season.

 

We couldn't get into Lacanau, but did get into Hourtin.  We then moved north to Vendayes Montalivet, where there is an excellent site, and we were lucky they had a cancellation.

 

[Derek Uzzell]

As far as motorcaravanning is concerned, I don’t believe there should be any confusion over what a “campsite” is. It’s a place that does not restrict its usage to motohomes alone.

 

Much of the argument over ‘aires’ on UK forums seems to revolve around interpretation of what is a non-English word. Consequently, I’m going to invent the word “MOHOSO” (MOtorHOmeStopOver) to describe somewhere that restricts its usage to motorhomes.

 

Although there are campsites that are very rudimentary, if their usage is not restricted to motorhomes these are not MOHOSOs.

 

There are (as robertandjean has highlighted) places that have a comprehensive range of facilities that one might expect to find on a campsite, but their usage is restricted to motorhomes. These are MOHOSOs not campsites.

 

This is a link to the Pont-à-Mousson Tourist Office webpage that covers camping facilities in that area.

 

http://www.tourisme-pontamousson.fr/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=677534

 

Details of the Aire de Camping-cars de Pont-à-Mousson are provided and, if one looks at the photo here

 

http://www.ville-pont-a-mousson.fr/fr/information/36208/aire-camping-car

 

it should be plain that, however many campsite-type characteristics this installation has, it’s a MOHOSO not a campsite.

 

A friend used to be involved in managing am upmarket ‘dating agency’. She once told me that the gentlemen clients could be extraordinarily narrow-minded, instancing one who had insisted that any potential ‘match’ be blonde haired - can’t say that’s ever worried me.

 

I’ve happily stayed on campsites, MOHOSOs, or even “wilded” when it's suited me, but I've never had difficulty distinguishing between them.

 

[colin]

robertandjean - 2012-09-23 9:32 AM

 

Well malc one of the great benefits of the French aires network is you can just wander about with no pre-booking; try doing that in U.K.

 

Having camped, caravaned, and motorhomed around the world, but mostly in UK, for 40 years, we've rarely booked a campsite in advance as such, nowadays with a mobile to hand we often ring ahead to cl's just to make sure someone will be there, but the last one we went to last weekend never saw the owner just left money 'in the egg collection box'. ASIUT you cannot ring ahead to an Aire so if it's full hard luck, but then in france we've never ever rang ahead to a campsite so take luck of the draw.

 

Just for crinkly, here's what was parked next to us last night, Buckdale's 'Animal', had to get off the stubble field pretty sharpish today when the rain came before we had to call on their services.

[sshortcircuit]

Well back to the OP, I for one found it very informative. As far as the fatuous comments comparing French and Spanish restaurants, the least said. Where the weather is concerned, I'm off to Benidorm next month as its now cooled down a bit. The thought of the south of France or Spain in July/August/September would be like having a holiday in a sauna which is not nice. Apart from that, everybody to their own

[crinklystarfish]

rupert123 - 2012-09-23 4:50 PMIf you are not interested in their posts do not read them...

Thing is that as these threads often deviate so radically there are some very interesting posts made on matters that you'd never guess possible from a thread's title or OP.

Though harmless enough, I do think that the nature of robertandjean's posts would be far more suited to a blog. Blogs are incredibly easy to set up these days (no cost) and are the perfect medium for documenting travels / recommendations etc.

I accept that some find randj's posts informative; I find them a bit like water-torture. I'm not sure I can get round the mentality of being so self-absorbed that I'd imagine anyone I didn't know gave a stuff about where I'd parked and my own very subjective view of it. Especially if the experience was almost identical on each occasion.

I'd have a nagging doubt that it'd be a bit rude methodically documenting my own parking spots on a public forum; even if a handful of people out of thousands found it interesting / useful. That kind of thing is a very personal thing and should be something that people pro-actively elect to follow or otherwise. 

It's not really, in my view, something that should be crowbarred unsolicited into the public domain.

Writing about this though, I've just realised I don't actually care. So there you go Mr 123, something unexpected has arisen once again.

[Guest pelmetman]

JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 10:37 AM

 

Crinkley something to help you stop falling asleep...... when I saw it I thought of you, on site in Croatia

 

 

More Crinkly porn :D

[pepe63xnotuse]

pelmetman - 2012-09-24 11:31 AM

 

JudgeMental - 2012-09-21 10:37 AM

 

Crinkley something to help you stop falling asleep...... when I saw it I thought of you, on site in Croatia

 

 

More Crinkly porn :D

 

For God's sake..what ever you do,DON'T Google that phrase..!!! (lol) (lol)

[crinklystarfish]

Hmmmm, how not to appear snobby: bit too grungy - cammo is often a reliable indicator. Slightly too far south of the 'alternative' divide I'm sensing.

I was also a bit clumsy with robertandjean. Bit too cutting on reflection. Sorry.

[pepe63xnotuse]

crinklystarfish - 2012-09-25 10:14 AM

 

Hmmmm, how not to appear snobby: bit too grungy - cammo is often a reliable indicator.

 

Too late!! (lol)

 

There's some snobby b*ggers on'ere... *-)

 

Bl**dy 'ell Crinkly..you'll be discussing soft furnishings and consealed led "mood-lighting" if you're not careful... (lol) ;-)

[robertandjean]

crinklystarfish - 2012-09-25 10:14 AMHmmmm, how not to appear snobby: bit too grungy - cammo is often a reliable indicator. Slightly too far south of the 'alternative' divide I'm sensing.

I was also a bit clumsy with robertandjean. Bit too cutting on reflection. Sorry.

Thanks for that crinkly; at times have said things then decided did not intend, so no hard feelings. Take some of your points however, and yes maybe this post was more like a blog. Still think however, that it is helpful to provide have upto date reports/reviews on aires, but in future will make more fact base rather than part of a narrative.Would also like to thank those who have made positive contributions to this thread particularly Derrick, Brian and especially Henri. It is in our opinion, contributions from these, and some others, who post in the same helpful and useful way that make this forum worthwhile.

[Guest JudgeMental]

pepe63 - 2012-09-25 10:22 AM

 

crinklystarfish - 2012-09-25 10:14 AM

 

Hmmmm, how not to appear snobby: bit too grungy - cammo is often a reliable indicator.

 

Too late!! (lol)

 

There's some snobby b*ggers on'ere... *-)

 

Bl**dy 'ell Crinkly..you'll be discussing soft furnishings and consealed led "mood-lighting" if you're not careful... (lol) ;-)

 

Does this mean I cant wear my favourite linen baggy shorts any more...Simply not enough choice of "emotions" to express my upset :-|

[Derek Uzzell]

robertandjean - 2012-09-25 7:45 PM

crinklystarfish - 2012-09-25 10:14 AMHmmmm, how not to appear snobby: bit too grungy - cammo is often a reliable indicator. Slightly too far south of the 'alternative' divide I'm sensing.

I was also a bit clumsy with robertandjean. Bit too cutting on reflection. Sorry.

Thanks for that crinkly; at times have said things then decided did not intend, so no hard feelings. Take some of your points however, and yes maybe this post was more like a blog. Still think however, that it is helpful to provide have upto date reports/reviews on aires, but in future will make more fact base rather than part of a narrative.Would also like to thank those who have made positive contributions to this thread particularly Derrick, Brian and especially Henri. It is in our opinion, contributions from these, and some others, who post in the same helpful and useful way that make this forum worthwhile.

A difficulty with this forum (and it's certainly not alone in this) is that factual information provided is transitory.There have been several threads in the past on the lines of "50 best aires" but, unless forum members note details at the time, the information is rapidly lost sight of. It's still there of course, but a) you need to know it's there and b) finding it can be far from easy as the forum's Search facility is crude and user-unfriendly.The Franch campincar-infos website started life as an aires database and added a forum later, but the two are not linked. This forum has no genuine database capability. An FAQ section (that might have contained favourite aires data) existed once, but no longer. The Hints and Tips forum was set up with the idea that it would be a sort of useful database, but it isn't and never could be.I admire robertandjean's aires enthusiasm, but it's a pity the recommendations/comments posted on this forum are quickly 'lost'. I think it wants duplication - posting to the forum, as now, for people to take note of should they so wish (and argue about!) and a copy (without the argument) stored on a blog or website 'database' controlled by robertandjean.

[robertandjean]

Derek, thanks for information and ideas here. What we will look into, when we get time, is setting up a web site provided costs are such that it can be free for all to use. Thanks again.

[crinklystarfish]

Blogs are easy to get to grips with and are a good way of documenting travels, here's an example: http://hoektohooke.blogspot.co.uk/ I haven't read it. but you'll get the idea.

You can start your own with this service: http://www.blogger.com or many others. You could add all sorts of graphics and styles as well as images of aires / sites etc etc.

Websites are a bit more complex to manage but companies like this: http://www.webeden.co.uk/ make it really easy and they too can be free / very cheap. You can even get your own domain name and I suspect robertandjean.net / com / org would be untaken.

The genius would be in a touch of originality / USP. There are at least a million aire guides / databases.

Still don't get it though, the ongoing paradox with revealing great locations is that you reveal a great location.