Aah yes, La Fleurie! Great place, and more important, open on Friday night! I never realised it was the same bloke that used to be serving tables at Chez Jo to be honest.
Good detective work there Herr Sutherland, but I donât think that Iâve ever had the pleasure of visiting that restaurant.
Since itâs Friday, how about a little puzzle to keep us occupied during the weekend? Anyone knows what make this is, or could tell more about the interesting looking front axle?
And is he parked there, or has he hit that pole and possibly done some damage to the axle? I think on balance in view of what appears to be tramlines, he didnât park it like that, but why is the pole apparently undamaged? 
@jsutherland Yes , thatâs the one and, as to further action all I can say is that that was the way I saw, and filmed, it last June.
The original resto was opposite and is still there but derelict, due to the popularity of the place I am surprised that they havenât re-opened that, or rebuilt across the road.
One of my first, although not the first, jobs for the Dobermann Association took me from somewhere in Brittany to the Alps with a big Dobie boy, very sleek and muscular but, like all of his breed as gentle as any with me. We overnighted there and I promised to feed him when I got back from the resto.
The meal consisted of giant steaks, way too much for me so I wrapped part of mine in a serviette. A couple of companions asked me why and when I told them the reason and the fact that all I had was croquettes for my boy, they both did the same with their left overs.
Back at the car I gave him the meat along with a few croquettes, and the whole lot disappeared in about 5 seconds. 
We then had an after dinner walk up the fire access track at the back of the old resto before bedding down for the night. Together, because this was before I started dragging the Teardrop sleeping pod with me. Neither of us stirred till the alarm went off in the morning. 
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Iâm not sure if the inspiration for this cab came from the Willeme LD 610 T posted earlier, but it has got some simularitiesâŚ?
Well, at first glance it looks like the driver hit the curb, it does a look a bit odd though.
What some great photos and great stories this week.
Donât think i ever went into that Relais, so sad to see it destroyed, from what l hear it was a great place as most of them are or where.
That cab certainly looks similar to the Willeme, but wasnt that cab by Cotterell (sp) anyway ? Froggy will know Iâm sure.
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That has the look of the Spanish lorries we used to see back in the '70s and '80s I think it was. Canât remember the name of them now though. 
David, That would be the old Pegasoâs (sp) from that era
Reminds me of Bedenac on the RN10. There used to be two there. One was set back from the road south-bound, but before it there was another one we used to call âThe Flintstonesâ because it had a big prehistoric mural painted on the interior walls. That burnt down around the year 2000 IIRC.
Ro
I do remember one resto set back off the road near Bedenac. It was on the N-bound side near the level crossing and just South of the Esso station.
The one on the S-bound side? Was that right on the road, with road side parking both directions? âChez Grande Mereâ?
A true traditional Routiers with two long tables. Seating up one way then back the other so the waitress wouldnât get too lost. Soup, choice of two starters, dish of the day or steak frites, cheese, desert.
These were both on the south-bound side. I never visited the set back one. It was run by two blokes and had a long driveway to it. There were so many up the RN10 in those days that one forgets as many restos as one remembers TBH!
Thatâs the one, Dave, used to be all over the place back in the day.
About those 2 routiers, Chez Grande Mere appears to be still there, according to Google last year anyway. It is on the old N 10 (now the D 2010 and by-passed by the dual carriageway)
It looks familiar to me but I canât say I ever stopped there, living where I do if I did bypass home I would probably stop further north, south of Barbezieux or further south at Bordeaux, where there was a really excellent resto, Albatross, situated with a couple of others almost under the Pont dâAquitaine. The same exit as the Centre Routiers.
@les_sylphides Youâre right that there were many restos around, and with the competition mostly tried hard and were good.
Agree about The Albatross, excellent resto. Park in the CR and walk around to it, or I did park on street there a few times.
A good resto for weekends was The Renaissance at Marsas. 2 or 3 minutes off the main road, small quiet parking, and good Routier friendly place as well as catering to locals and weekend tourists.
A Mack NR14 Benne from the Dave Fawcett collection, 2 sticks but what is the grey binnacle? a tacho of some sort.
Oily
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Perhaps a very basic heater, nicked from his wifes bedroom and self installed ?
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A Salmson, a French British collaboration of bygone days, credit to Dave Fawcett for the 2016 photo.
Oily
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If Salmsonâs first car was indeed built under a British licence (Geoffrey & Nash) in 1919, all the following models were exclusively French. Salmson was also a reputed aircraft engine manufacturer, and this was even its first activity. Production ended in 1962.
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Great photos. Thanks for posting them.
