Tuesday, June 05, 2012

I said I would not Blog, but then again it’s…


Raining!!!.
Well I decided to write this blog as we have had several days of poor weather and apart from a little bit of shopping we have pretty much stayed on site and so I thought I would write up what we have done so far.
Well just prior to leaving for France, Noel had a walking accident and sprained his knee quite badly which really slowed down the process of getting the caravan ready for departure. The evening prior to us leaving we attended Kim & Judy’s BBQ night in their newly built BBQ area and it really is very nice and puts our rustic one a little bit in shame, Ummm.
So following a reasonably late evening and getting home to see the last few kicks of Chelsea winning the European Cup and then getting up at 0500 so as to try and get to the 0830 ferry from Dover was a bit tough but unfortunately missed that one by a few minutes and then left on our booked 0925 ferry instead.
The journey was uneventful from Calais and for convenience we stayed on Motorways until the last moment and then down through the county lanes to Chateau Du Colombier which is not far from Moyaux and Courmeilles and right in the heart of the Normandy country side.
We arrived about 4pm and had ample time to set up with Noel hobbling around, not great but we got set up Ok.
Monday 21st May was a day of rest (for Noels knee) and shopping and then on Tuesday 22nd we were able to get the big awning up with a little bit of unnecessary help from rather strong winds and set up all the table and chairs in readiness for our guests.
Wed 23rd we left early back to Le Havre and met up with Brian & Sheila our friends from New Zealand at the Mercure Hotel and then on to Etretat for a mid-morning coffee. Lunch was in Honfleur up by the market and we left Brian & Sheila to wander a while as Noel was a little slow on his stick.
Thursday 24th, morning we headed back to the coast to Cabourg and had a coffee and then bought some food for a picnic lunch and then we went along the coast via the Pegasus Bridge on to Arromanche looking at all the old WW2 sites.
In the evening we had a BBQ and some decent wine that Brian had purchased.
Friday 25th again an early start and we drove to Bayeux to see the tapestry and toured the town on the’ Petit Train’ and also have a light lunch and then went to the Caen Memorial Site which unfortunately was crowded with noisy school kids and this ruined the visit and so we complained to the management. But this memorial building and contents are really worth a visit
We had dinner that evening in the Relais du Normandy in Courmeilles which was excellent.
Saturday 26th  we visited the British & German War graves in St Denis, just outside Liseaux and the site is kept in a perfect state and therefore highly respectful of those who gave their lives in the second world war. A coffee just next to the Basilica and then a light lunch before we dropped Brian and Sheila off at the train station as they are en-route to Paris and beyond.
Saturday afternoon we had a quiet zizz and wondered where the week had gone.