We’ve been pondering long and hard about the spiralling cost of internet access and today grasped the nettle. Well, sort of. I’d researched the possibility of getting one of those hotspot devices that uses wifi. In UK you can get a monthly top up version. It seemed that you can here too. Bouygues Telecom came out as the best mobile coverage so off we trotted to Orange (the town) to enquire. I’d even found the shop on Google streetmap. Parked, walked and found no trace. So enquired of one of the ubiquitous Police Community Support Officers who told me it was no more and had relocated to a Centre Commercial on the road to Avignon. Orange les Vignes, by name. Here we discovered a new circle of Hell. Tasteful and landscaped but with no soul. Even has a C and A! And a Brake France van was going round and round, obviously totally lost.
The chap in the Boutique (they are thus styled) was the usual merciless fast talking techie. Apparently madame was asking for something that did not exist. No such thing as a top up on demand, it had to be a contract to get any reasonable data allowance. One can cancel the contract and resume it but each time you have to send A Letter giving 10 days notice. Not online mind you! This is an internet company fgs. Orange themselves are no better. You do seem to be able to cancel online but not rejoin.
Result - we are going Cold Turkey at the end of this current stay. Sending back the Livebox and saving ourselves 27 euros a month. We’ll use free wifi and friends as necessary, so be warned...emails may not be answered very fast and this Blog might be even more sporadic when next we come out.
We cheered ourselves up at Roaix with a hearty lunch. Daube for him and a vast Potée Auvergnate for me (had to offload the sausage!).
Here is our Cabaret Artiste/Burlesque Queen waitress. Tattoos not visible from this side. She is remarkable, and statuesque.
