France in Focus

I have just paid 1,200 euros for a replacement German Elektroblock that sits beneath my camper van's seat Its taken 3 months to resolve the problem and I have been ripped off I will not be going back there again, My Garmin camper Sat Nav is taking three hours to update, to entre Italy you need a PCR test so Rome is not happening so I have changed my mind north Portugal here we come starting Saturday

Taking into account that this simple, low-cost battery charger - intelligent and very fast - has a price tag of around 40 euros, these 1.200 euros are indeed impressive. Okay, add fuses, wiring, several relays, converter, metal box etc., but these hardware components are not in the sector rocket science.

Update time: a problem for many sat nav users. The TomTom guys keep inviting me to update the maps of my old sat nav, but for some or other reason forget to mention that the update is much larger than the max of my 4 GB memory. Please take a saw to the branch you're sitting on and pay for it.......Their so called life-time update promises for the younger generation are time limited: as soon as the production of one of the many, many models has stopped you run out of luck. So if needed, traffic information, new roads, there is always a smartphone with google maps for some guidance.

North Portugal: beautiful when we visited it 30 years ago. But: everywhere new roads under construction, subsidies from Brussels, trying to take away what made it so attractive. One EU, the same roads everywhere, the same shops....

I don't know anything about sat navs - but Portugal is lovely I'd like to live there when I retire, so enjoy yourself. I'm really jealous.

I have been popping over to Portugal for the last 18 years its just an 14 hour drive to the Algarve but no problem for me I was a bus driver in Bristol for 4 years its a great place especially up north Lisbon and Porto and in the winter it saves on heating bills Its sad they rely on holiday makers its a poor country but the people food wildlife scenery and history are out of this world I had thought of living there permanently not so sure about their medical care
I intend stopping off in Zaragoza and other towns in Spain the first holiday in two years in my German Possl campervan

Reminded my self today Morrisons have free parking in Gibraltar for 3 hours a quick walk to Marks and Sparks for new underpants and socks