Beware of saucisson.

A busy week so far, well for us anyway.

A young friend of ours happened to have an unfortunate incident involving a saucisson, a sharp knife and his finger at the weekend.  And being the good Samaritans that we are (plus the fact everyone else works everyday!) and having a car meant that we got to take him to the hospital at Chambery (one and a half hours drive away) for it to checked and see if surgery was required.

So off we went Monday morning bright and early in order to get him there for his 12 o clock appointment. We dropped him off and headed into Chambery for a couple of hours, which was very nice. A small market town with a pretty cathedral, old windy streets, fountains, lovely old buildings, café’s spilling out onto the pavements and a few nice shops. Oh and of course the obligatory dog shit everywhere.

We collected him from l’hospital to find out that he needed urgent surgery 8 am the following day in fact. So after a very nice late lunch in Chambery, seated outside in the sunshine, we headed back to Val.

5.30 am the next morning I was up and out of bed for the next trip to Chambery, out of the door at 6.10 am and we were all on our way again.  To cut a long story short it was 10 am before we left him at the hospital (we arrived at 7.45), his travel insurance waited until the morning of the surgery (scheduled for 7am UK time!!!) to make the decision whether they were going to cover the operation, he had to fax a medical report to the relevant office twice and then wait for a decision whilst in the anesthetic department ready for surgery! Bloody insurers. He finally got the go ahead from them at 9.45 am our time after numerous phone calls on hold on our phone, an hour and forty five minute after his surgery was booked in for, just terrible!

So we spent another morning in Chambery, had a petit dejuner of croissant, French bread, orange juice and coffee and had another little wander around.

Earlier on we had gone into one café for our breakfast only to be told ‘drinks only’ so we headed off elsewhere, then a couple of hours later we thought we’d stop for a coffee in the ‘drinks only’ café only to be told ‘non’ food only now it lunch time!!!!! The fucking French and their ways!!! Honestly no wonder they are all so miserable, everything is such hard work in this place!

Whilst waiting for our friend to be discharged we drove up to the village where his hospital was. Challes les Eaux, a thermal spa (very small) town, possibly one of the most uninspiring places I have ever been to. It was 2 oc and everything in the whole place was closed. The boulangeries, the café’s, the restaurants, the mini supermarket. Once again you really have to question the minds of a nation that closes places that sell food at lunchtime!!!

Our friend was all fixed by 4pm and signed off work for two weeks, so with only two and a half weeks till close he has chosen to go early and head off home to the UK Saturday. He is probably the only seasonaire going home early due to a sausage induced injury!! Well maybe not the only one……………….