Saturday 29th June- Brantone is a lovely place.

It was grey and overcast again this morning as we left the site going South via Nontron to Brantone where we arrived around 11.30, just in time for a cup of coffee in this very nice little town which is located right next to a river. We were parked  very close to the fire station and firemen were getting their hoses out but we continued looking up river where there was a group of guys in canoes were heading down river towards the firemen who then turned on their hoses and covered the canoeists with great showers of water. The hoses were so powerful it was pushing the canoes to the side of the river, clearly this was a planned exercise but fun to watch.

We had a cup of coffee and then walked around town and noticed that there was a boat trip available later at about 2pm and so continued walking then had lunch followed by not a bad ice cream and then went back to the landing stage to find the boat trip had been moved to 4pm. Oh well better luck next time.

We drove around and visited another site that we had seen on the web and it was not bad with the exception of a group of six Brits boozing away outside their tent with the music going full blast, not sure why the neighbours did not complain as I would have.

Leaving town at about 2.30 it started to rain a little and then later quite a lot and we headed for Martheon which looked like an interesting place to visit but with the heavy rain not today. We continued along some of the smaller roads and noticed there were lots of security people standing around as their appeared to be a cycle race of some sort but we did not see any cyclists anywhere. When we got back to Montron there was a little stage set up for a presentation it appeared to be.

Once home in our van we had a nice cup of tea and as our plans for a BBQ had been thwarted by the weather once again we decided just to have the sausages and some French type baked beans and then we gave in and got some ‘frites’ from the takeaway.

We watched mission impossible tonight whilst the rain clattered down, the Irish girl serving the bar and takeaway said it would improve tomorrow but let’s see as the weather has been a complete disappointment.

Tomorrow will be an easy day getting ready for our departure on Monday morning to Larnagol in the Lot Valley.

NO PHOTOS UPLOADED THIS WEEK AS THE INTERNET CONNECTION IS VERY SLOW AN ALSO EXPENSIVE HERE. SHOULD BE BETTER NEXT WEEK WE HOPE  

Friday 28th- We should have been sitting in the sun

But unfortunately the sun did not appear apart from a few brief moments. We decided to go for a walk along the river which skirts the site, this site is actually very nice and we are enjoying our stay here that is apart from the weather.

In the afternoon and not long after we got back from our walk the sun went behind the clouds and it started to rain, light at first and then quite heavy later on but hey ho, this is caravanning.

We had purchased some lamb steaks which had been marinated and they were excellent. A little light reading tonight and ready for an early night.

Thursday 27th June- King Richard the Lion heart we are on your tail.

We left the site around 10.00 and took a very large journey largely following a tourist route of where Richard the Lion Heart had been in his past years pillaging and whatever they did in those days. En route he built several rather nice castles in some lovely locations which we stopped to photograph. Jennifer did her usual brilliant map reading job taking us to places down country lanes etc. and avoiding any large towns which there were not to many in this area. We arrived in St Yriex-la Perche where we located a large Casino store where we purchased prepared salads for lunch and then down to the nearest lake to eat it.

En route here we had passed mile after mile of forest and lakes up and down hill and so this lake and location were almost expected.

Across the lake was another Municipal site which looked quite busy by comparisons with others that we had seen and all the grass was clean and tidy and everything was well organised with a nice walled city nearby. We continued through the country every now and again stopping for a photo until we reached a lovely town called St Jean-de-Cole which was a lovely little village and one of France’s best villages. And then on back via Nontron where there was a large funeral taking place, and then we tried the so called truck route via Piegut-Pluviers ,as on the way out it looked a little bit tight to take the caravan through, should we decided to go this way to the Lot Valley. However the truck route was equally as tight and so we have pretty much decided to retrace our steps when leaving going back North about fifteen miles so that we can find a main road with plenty of space.

Wi-Fi is expensive on this site and they want about £ 0.90 per hour and you can only use the Wi-Fi at the bar or reception but outside where its often diificult with the sun. They really should do better and when I get a chance I will write and complain. We had also looked for free wifi during tre past few days but were are in the middle of nowhere is suppose and so tonight we will have to pay at the bar.

Jennifer is now reading up on Richard the Lion Heart who was, not only, listen to this, King of England, though he only spent seven months of ten years in as King of England, he was also Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Anjou and Nantes and Lord of Brittany, so just a few titles to cover all his crusades protecting his homes in France, a bit like the Brits do today. He was also cut up when dead and his various bits and pieces sent by DHL all over France.

Tonight Jennifer is preparing Salmon pasta with leak and broccoli tonight before we are heading off to the bar for some internet work.

Wednesday 26th June- Take it easy day

The weather is still not what you would call warm yet but never mind we did a walk around the site after a late breakfast and Jennifer did all the washing in the site machines as we seemed to have almost run out of clothes whilst Noel sorted some of the caravan storage areas and found out why the water pump was a little noisy in that the connector on the outside of thevan was not fully tight and this was causing some air to enter the system causing the pump to be a little bit more noisy than usual. In the afternoon we wnt down to the local very small town called Montbron to the supermarket and were surprised to find an English section with Heinz Baked beans, Yorkshire tea etc and in the freezer sector under a large Union Jack were backs of English back bacon which wont be cheap but will be purchased anyway for later consumption.

We had purchased some large salmon steaks and also some prawns as a starter and Noel cooked the Salmon which had with salad sitting outside under the Gazebo with a glass of Borgogne white and then retired to the caravan as it was getting cool and spent the rest of the evening reading. Tomorrow is a sightseeing day.

Tuesday 25th June- Heading for the Dordogne

We left the site about 0930 with Jennifer taking the first stint with a mixture of small D roads on to eventually the N roads via Loudun of rather starnge fame, if one remembers the film ‘The Devils’ which was based on the strange goings on in the church with cardinal Richelieu, however we took the bypass and did not see any naked nuns.

Once we got close to Potiers we changed and Noel took over on the grounds of expecting heavy traffic on the periphque only to find it was pretty quiet and then and on to Angouleme but we took side roads to save time and we reached the site of ‘Camping Gorge du Chambon’ which although a Castels Chain site it has a good reputation. The roads to site for about one mile are pretty much single track so heaven help you if two caravans should meet. We parked up and walked around the site which is split in to two sections with one section have larger pitches than the other section. The smaller size pitches there seemed to be rather a lot of English cars but in the larger pitch section it was much quieter. However when walking around the site we did notice loads of motorbikes of various types and then we found what looked like a good location with its own water, electric and waste connections and was a large size but also came complete with a an outside open gazebo with large table and chairs for six, plus a refrigerator and BBQ, just the ticket we thought but of course this would be one of the more pricier pitches.

The ground sloped both ways which always makes it a challenge to park the van with the wheel look in the correct position after putting on a small ramp so that the caravan is level both ways. But anyway about one hour later we were all set up and enjoying a nice cup of tea.

We had already decided that tonight we would for convenience sake try the site restaurant and it turned out that it was BBQ night, mainly to attract the many bikers, perhaps 40 of them, but anyway it was reasonably cheap but was not particularly good but the bikers seemed to enjoy it. They seemed a starnge looking bunch really to much interbreeding between the Harleys and BMW’s I think.

So back to bed and the red wine was not the best we have had and so we both enjoyed a little wind in the night.

Monday 24th June- Time to repair the Air Con

An early start was required as the town of Cholet was about one hour away from the site and as Toyota wanted the car before 10.00 but the roads in this neck of the woods are really quiet.

We found the dealer just outside of town in the middle of a new area with McDonalds, Carrefour et al and walked ion to the service reception and before I could say a word he said Ah La Climatisation, and I said oui. So within minutes they took the car away and they suggested we wait there just in case they needed to ask me something. This is a very modern showroom with a large selection of cars and we chatted to the car salesman as we had been showing strong interest in the Toyota GT 86 sports car but as soon as he arrived I explained that we were only looking and then it became clear his English was quite good and so we chatted for a while and eventually he had to leave and do some work he said.

By 11.45 all was complete and it was the Freon gas that had run out which they refilled and with typical Toyota fashion the cleaned the inside and outside and the aircon worked a treat and was very cold.

 We then went over the the Carrefour Hypermarket and checked our emails on their free wifi service and then had a nice sandwich lunch before driving a little around Cholet which is not a very nice town. After a little light shopping we headed back to the site on the quiet country lanes and also stopped in at a Municipal Caravan site next to the river at Vihiers and it was empty but was a nice site anyway and Municipal sites have improved a lot over the years as the local towns want to attract the tourists.

Upon return to the site we paid the bill and stared packing up our bits and pieces ready for an early start tomorrow as we head South.

Sunday 23rd June High hopes

The weather was due to be much better today but we was wrong, or more likely the forecasters were. In the morning we resorted the back of the car with all the boxes and awnings etc and then set off at around 12.30 through country lanes and Villages and we stopped for a snack in Montreuil Bellay by the river and did consider walking in the town but our best instincts of possible heavy rain showers came true ten minutes later. With Jennifer driving and Noel doing his best at map reading we pretty much took the route we wanted as the plan was to go cross country to the Loire River bank between Chinon and Saumur and try to get some photos of the houses built in to the rock cliffs. Unfortunately and once a year cycle event was taking place with thousands of cyclist some dressed in period costumes caused road closures and diversions and along with the regular bursts of heavy rain we gave it up after reaching a nice village called Candes-St-Martin and there appeared to be a nice caravan site next to the river so will check it out. En route to this village by the river we had to cross a army training site of many acres and we saw old battered tanks and other vehicles with signs in French and English to stay on the main road or risk getting blown to pieces by misplaced bombs and shells and nuclear weapons, or something like that so we stayed on the straight and narrow to avoid danger.

On the return to Clere St Laone where we are staying the heavans opened yet again, not sure what is happening with the weather with floods in South West France, Lourdes is flooded and in Canada and India there is also heavy flooding, what is happening to the world?

Tonight we shall have our pork chops with veggies and then perhaps watch another film or read a book.

Tomorrow we leave a little for early for us and head for Cholet to see if we can get the aircon fixed on the car, lets hope they can do it OK.

Saturday 22nd June-Let’s take it easy

We often like to have a day out then and then another one where we don’t do too much and we had hoped for some sun but clearly nobody was listening.

We spent most of the day enjoying some reading time and whilst Noel did the pleasant things in life like empty the loo and get some water Jennifer went off for a brief walk and found a nice lake. Tonight we are having the cod we purchased from Super U in a nearby town and will be tested with some Bourgogne wine we also found to our surprise, fancy find wine in a large supermarket! Twit, anyway it was quite nice and went well with the fish. In the evening it looked like the sun may come out but no it failed to appear and so we watched a film.

Friday 21st June- Damn it the air cons not working?

We left the site a little later than planned as people keep stopping to chat and there are some problems with the weather in the South of France as apparently Narbonne area his been hit badly with roads being washed away and a number of caravan sites being closed due to very heavy rain.

We finally left around 11.30 am and trundled the 25 odd miles to Saumur where we arrived and just about everything was closed for lunch, typical French.

So we decided to do the same and found a nice little restaurant which was packed and this is always a good sign of where to eat and so we got the last table and enjoyed an excellent meal. We both had the main course salad with smoked salmon, followed by a lovely desert and coffee and then time to hit the town. After walking around for a while we cannot honestly say it’s a pretty town but we did come across a square where a group of modern artist were making a statue out of old bikes after taking them to bits and hanging the tyres and inner tubes separately which was interesting but not really attractive. We then drove along the road to Chinon and it started to warm up a bit and so I put the aircon on only nothing really happened, damn it we need this for the driver South

as sitting in the car for hours with the windows open to keep cool is very tiring and so we took a slow drive back to the Toyota dealer in Saumur who could not help us until next Tuesday afternoon at the earliest but he was able to make arrangements for us to visit another dealer first thing Monday morning in Cholet.

I forgot to mention that the drive on the North side of the Loire Valley to Chinon is actually quite boring but the drive back appeared much nicer and we should have stopped but as we were in a hurry to get to the Toyota Garage we just got there as fast as we could.

A short visit to the Super U for some food for the weekend, fish tomorrow evening and Cote de Porc for Sunday evening but we are not planning much driving over next couple of days as iof the sun should come along it would be nice to sit out and enjoy. As we arrived back on site this evening around 6.30 pm it was chucking it down but now at 7.30 we have an almost clear blue sky but quite windy, must have been the lunch.

Thursday 20th June- A small rest first before the Military

The morning was spent sorting ourselves out a little, checking on the wifi connections etc and generally having a quiet morning.

In the afternoon we took a country drive to a number of small towns and ended up in a nice looking town and when we went to the car park there was about a 100 French Military just hanging around until some more senior guys turned up and we were able to watch a full half an hour of a change of commander for this troop. I spoke to a young lady in Military uniform with a camera and it turned out she was the communications officer and she explained that every two years they change the man in charge of this troop. The guy taking over the troop looked a little on the gay side but never mind.

To keep costs down the playing of a trumpet was done using a tape recorder over the speaker system and it was quite interesting to watch. We continued our drive through country lanes and decided this area does not have the views and rolling hills and beautiful houses that you see in Normandy.

Then back to the Super U Supermarket for some bits and pieces and then home around 6pm with the good intention of having a BBQ, we had the first course of fresh prawns and then it started to rain and so inside for the steak and sausages. I must say the standard of French sausages has improved enormously since last we purchased some and there some really good ones out there.

We tested some Rose wine from the area and then some Saumur Champigny with the steak and both were rather good.

We then decided to watch a film at which point the main power went off we understand is due to a large foreign built van made by Hobby which is known to mess up the site electrics as it has done it before. It was then fixed and then went out again ten minutes after the site and family disappeared somewhere for an evening dinner whilst we had to resort to our books. Oh well that is life but the power did come back about 10.40 pm but now too late for our film. Oh well there is always tomorrow but we also plan a trip to Saumur and Chinon tomorrow, we won’t stop at the vineyards as there are far too many and p[perhaps we won’t make it home safely

Wednesday 19th June. It’s not raining at the moment.

We awoke expecting rain to greet us when we leave but no there were one or two spots but nothing much. Jennifer a few months ago had been on a caravan manoeuvring course and she was now ready to try. So a little nervously she got in the car and we took the easy way out of the site but we did have to negotiate one tight turn and then on to the road to go via the local town and then country roads for about twenty miles to Bernay where we could join the motorway South. As usual in France in the country there is very little traffic compared to the UK and so once we got on the motorway it’s a much easier drive except the rain poured down for a while and after about two and half hours we thought we would have a technical break and Jennifer was pleased to handover to me. She did brilliantly and did not make any mistakes at all and so very encouraging for sharing the driving load in future.

It was motorway pretty much for 80% of the journey skirting Le Mans where many British cars were heading for the 24 hour race this weekend, and then when on the other side of Le Mans, no Brit cars at all. Down past Anger and on to Saumer which we by-passed and eventually arrived at the site we have never visited before Camping Le Serpolin in a place called Clery Sur Laone. It is run run by a British couple who also offer caravan storage and there were about 30 vans stored there mostly for English caravan owners who did not want to trail there van back to the UK each time.

Our van on field near Saumur

The site was quite wet but they had recently installed some hard standing and we were put on this rather than drive through the muddy grass. We set up but being on the gravel surface decided not to put up the small porch awning as it can be difficult to go through the stones with pegs.

Later in the evening we met the owner Adam who had just flown back from the Uk and it turned out that he is a serving special fire arms policeman who works ten days in London out of Hendon Police station and then ten back on his 17 acre site. I presume this way he can keep his full pension which for the police at the moment is pretty much one of the best pensions schemes around.

There are only about 15 sites at this location and spread around the outside of a field and with only British on site, which is a shame as we like to mix a little, but anyway we had dinner after sitting outside enjoying a small whisky and water.

Tuesday 18th June- Wow Wee the new internet equipment has arrived just as we leave tomorrow

Well it started raining overnight and continued in to the next morning and we were so glad that we got the awning down when we did. We wanted to buy some flowers from Ingrid the site owner and also for Marie, the young girl on reception, and we decided to go to Liseaux for lunch at our normal café, check the email etc and buy some flowers.

The rain had stopped by about 1500 and so we were able to put away the final bits and pieces of caravan supporting gear, water bottles etc and then when to see Ingrid to give the flowers which she was pleased to receive and she asked back for dinner in the Chateau next time we are there.

We had just settled in for the evening and have a light snack when Gerhard arrived on his bike and invited back to his caravan for evening drinks which we accepted. It was a nice evening with Helga not speaking much English language but Gerhard was doing all the translation but the evening flew by and at 10 pm we bade our farewells and headed back for a night’s sleep.

Tomorrow we go South by about 200 miles.

Monday17th June- Oh heck its pouring with rain

It started chucking it down overnight and then in the morning we had lightning and thunder and our plans for taking down the awning looked doubtful indeed. So we decided to have a brunch of egg, bacon and sausage and tomato to get us going, really excellent start to the day.

After an on board shower and freshen up we visited the local town for some minor shopping and then returned to wait for the rain to stop, The internet came back on again for about twenty minutes and then stopped again for the rest of the day.

By 14.00 the weather was improving and so we started packing up bikes and all the other tons of stuff we seem to carry and then started on the awning at about 14.15 and it took us an hour and ten minutes to accomplish which was not bad since we have not taken this particular awning down before, but it is so much quicker than the previous caravan awning which could take well over two and a half hours to do.

We both then spent some time getting all the other things away and the car packed and with the plan that tomorrow we finish the last bits and pieces and Jennifer sorts out the cupboards before we travel on Wednesday to near Saumur in the Western Loire Valley.

In the evening it was quite warm and so we had dinner outside until we felt the odd spot of rain but it do not rain until very late on.

Sunday 16th June- Places to go

We had been invited along with a German, Dutch and a Swiss couple to attend the Flotilla from Rouen to Honfleur which the day had been arranged by Ingrid.

Not sure how all this came about and but apparently Ingrid met this rather ‘trampish’ type of gut near the Seine riverbank and he offered his garden and house to our group but could we confirm the numbers by phone please. Apparently the garden was a mess and when this was mentioned he saidf no problem it would be ok on the day but Ingrid was not so sure. He gave Ingrid a telephone number to call to to confirm the arrangements and this number turned out to be a neighbour about 50 metres downstream who said this guy is crazy so don’t go there and come to us, which is a nice gesture as they did not know us from Adam.

So on the previous day Ingrid and Gerhard went and delivered tables and obtained passes to allow us down the road and then we were set. We left the site about 0900 and arrived shortly after 10.15 and then watched to boats for the rest of the day and enjoying a nice lunch which had been provided by Ingrid.

The choice and style of ships were quite interesting and even included a French Government Scientific vessel which was about 230 metres long and this must have been a challenge to get down the river with a receding tide. The Mexican tall ship was the most fun with pop music blaring out and the crew lined up on the cross members whilst others danced. The British boat had its crew in uniform which also looked good.

We left there around 15.30 and took the ferry across the Seine and then intending to visit Jumieges Abbey but it was near closing and so we went back to the ferry and Ingrid put us in the wrong lane which caused a slight problem but the police were flexible and helped us through.

On the way to the River and on the way there were literally thousands of motor homes parked everywhere, I have not seen so many ever at one time before, quite amazing really.

We got back to the site around 18.00 and we had a light snack and went to bed early as we were both rather tired.

Saturday 15th June- Things to do!!

Noel decided to clean the outside of the caravan and also have a general sort out which seemed to take some while. The caravan was quite dirty and so with lots of spit and polish and some car wax a large proportion was polished whilst the other part was washed as the wax had run out.

Jennifer caught up on some washing and then we hung out for the rest of the day catching up on emails, the internet worked for about ten minutes and then stopped again which is very frustrating indeed. We had a light dinner and and early evening and then watched the film “Gladiator” which was good to see again after last seeing some years ago.

And so to bed.

Friday 14th June- slightly hung over

We had a most enjoyable evening with Gilles and Ingrid and the time flew by as did the wine and so on Friday morning we were both a little tired and decided that we did not need anything from the market and so generally took it easy for the day.

The weather was not to bad today and so an enjoyable day in the sun with Jennifer going for a swim and Noel spending a little time with gilles on his computer as again the site internet was down but the in house one was still working and so he lent me his pc to work from.

In the evening we watched the first two episodes of Blackadder before hitting the sack

Thursday 13th June- We entertain tonight

Forgot to mention that the on-site internet has not been working since Sunday, it the suppliers fault but its annoying all the guests as well as the management of the site.
Hope they can resolve it soon as typing this on word for posting later.
We went over to Liseaux this morning to do some shopping for the evening BBQ but damn it , it is now raining quite hard. We purchased loads of salads plus some excellent Toulouse Sausages which are really excellent and very tasty when cooked on the BBQ. The skies still looked grey and what with the large steaks and sausages it might be difficult to cook all on the caravan cooker and so Noel was despatched down to Cormeilles to look for a sun shade (actually to keep the rain of the BBQ)  and was able to get a nice one. We were looking for one with a plastic base which you fill with water but they don't seem to do them so we had to by a 25 kilo stand which we will have to lug around, Oh well.
Of course once we put the sun/rain umbrella up, the skies cleared within ten minutes into a gorgeous evening which was quite warm and just great for the cook.
In anticipation of the guests (Ingrid the site owner and Gilles her friend and sometime site manager) arriving at 1830 we lit the BBQ and opened the wine and poured a glass but then at 1845 they sent a message they would be arriving around 1930 and so we had made quite large hole in the Saint Veran bottle of wine. Anyway we had a really good time and we then invited by Ingrid to join her and a couple of other regular site campers to attend a party on the River Seine to watch the tall ships leave Rouen and sail down to Honfleur and out to sea. This promises to be a nice day on Sunday and something to look forward to.
http://www.armada.org/en/

Wednesday 12th- A day to recover

We were both quite tired after the quick trip to Weybridge and back and we had a good lie in and then a brunch. The sun was shining and so we could enjoy some time just relaxing and and odd zzzz.
In the evening Jennifer made a nice pasta dish and then we watched the very episode of 'The Bridge' and discovered who the killer was. An excellent series but later on this week we will move on tpo something a little older, Roman days to be exact as we have purchased the complete series of I Claudius , the BBC series from 1975. We watched in in Hong Kong when we first got there and look forward to watching again.
Shopping tomorrow

Tuesday 11th- Its raining….

We spent some time doing all the various jobs and Noel went over to Sunbury to collect the awning bits and pieces. The house is fine and looking good after all the work. Our daughter came over for breakfast and we caught up on all the latest news which was good.

Noel had a row with Sky over the online voicemail not working after three weeks of shouting, what is up with these people.

Now it was raining quite heavily and then we decided that driving the M25 in the rain with the long road works on an area known for its high accident rate would not be fun. For some reason neither of had slept well the previous night and so after strong deliberations we looked at the Portsmouth to  Caen route on Brittany Ferries and then to hell with it lets do that as it only one hour of little traffic to Portsmouth rather the hell of the M25 for however long.

The journey to Portsmouth was delayed for ten minutes whilst we popped in to Waitrose for some English bacon and then the one hour to Portsmouth and at 14.45 we left port and headed down the Solent. There was an American looking out of the window and I overheard him say to his mate, boy this is much better than the ‘Staten Island Ferry’.

We had nice and comfortable lie back seats on board and eventually went to the main restaurant for dinner where we both had the prawn cocktail, Oh god was it big, and the best end of lamb also quite large.

We arrived in Caen around 21.30 and off the boat soon after and drove on the deserted roads back to the site where we arrived around 23.00 after an easy drive.

A nice cup of tea and then to bed..

It was a quick and tiring trip but well worth the effort but no doubt we will be taking it easy tomorrow.

Monday 10th June- Le Havre and Weybridge

We left the site around 10.30 after finishing packing the car, turned off the water, water pump and gas and drove in to Cormeilles for some flowers and wine before driving off to Le Havre. Jennifer is driving today now that her hand is better and so we arrived in Montvilliers, near Le Havre just about 12.00 and sat down for a long French lunch which was excellent and eventually left at 15.30. The drive to Dunkirk was good, very little traffic. We passed some workmen resurfacing about one mile of road which was cordoned off and arrived at Dunkirk ferry port at 18.30. This is a miserable place and we walked to the departure lounge? For a cup of instant machine tea which tasted nothing like instant machine tea and so we threw it away.

The crossing was uneventful but the club lounge was closed and so the seating elsewhere is not really comfortable but we made do lying on the sofa type seating.

We went through UK Customs quite quickly and when reaching the M 25 they had cordoned of 14 miles down to two lanes but were resurfacing about half a mile is spate little pods of men. Bloody ridiculous and so it took almost two and quarter hours to get back to Weybridge instead of the expected one hour twenty minutes.

We stopped at Tesco for some milk and then got home around 11.15 and a cup of tea and bed.

Sunday 9th June- A pleasant day all round

Not the hottest day today but not unpleasant and we took it easy. In the afternoon we wandered off to the Chateau to see if Ingrid was in and eventually we stayed a couple of hours with one of her friends and then the German Nuclear man and his wife turned up and so tea and biscuits all round.

In the evening we had the pork chops we had bought in the local town and they were really excellent and then started to get ready packing all the bits and pieces we wanted to take home and then another episode of ‘The bridge’ this is the penultimate episode and we did consider staying up late to watch the last one but in the end felt it was to late what with a long day tomorrow.

Saturday 8th June- Wow its warm here

The sun came out quite early, it’s almost daylight here at 0530 and so we keep the caravan blinds down to keep out the bright sunlight but it’s the birds singing through loudspeakers that wake you up nice and early, damn, so turn over and back to sleep again.

A nice quiet day and with the promise of good weather and time to think about how to get the bits for the caravan awning over here with damage and loss and although DHL is reliable it is expensive. So after a few deliberations we decided at short notice to return to Weybridge for one night, collect all our bits and pieces whilst checking the house and post etc etc.

So after researching we came up with a deal Dunkirk/Dover/Dunkirk for £ 22.00 which is pretty damn cheap and so that is what we plan to do after leaving our French friends in le Havre on Monday afternoon.

So now we off to the pool for a nice pleasant swim before heading back for a shower and then of to ‘The Creperie’ for what turned out to be a very nice meal.

Watched another episode of ‘The Bridge’ boy this is good.

6-7 June- Just chillin out

Our Normandy Home

The weather has been fantastic for the last week and in the two days the temp has reached about 27 degrees and it has been great to sit in the sun and go to the lovely pool for a swim.
We did visit the local market on Friday morning for some local food and was able to have two nights of BBQ one with steak and one with fish.
Yesterday and extremely large odd shaped van turned up with twin axles and it looks more like a mobile home than a caravan and it is towed by a Swiss Registered Mercedes, how it pulls this weight I don't know but surely it must be quite dangerous.

Also yesterday a British couple arrived and put their van right next to ours which is really strange as there about 100 empty placements and then they mentioned that their son would be arriving on Saturday and will park on the other side of us. It also turns out he runs lots of caravan rally's where many people turn up and so we think it must be the cow herding instinct in him to park next to us. Anyway will turn up the music, A little bit of Deep Purple may not go amiss. Got to be careful though as understand his son is European Parts Manager for Toyota. So we have two Land Cruisers and a RAV 4 all within spitting distance. Oh Such is life.
In the meantime we have booked our next two caravan sites, one near Saumer in the Western Loire and the other in the Dordogne, we shall be spending six nights at both places prior to moving on the the Lot valley.
But in the meantime we shall be having lunch near Le Havre next Monday with the French couple we have met for years and then we shall head off back to Weybridge for one night to handle some personal matters and then return again on Tuesday to Normandy. Talk about cheap ferries, car and two pax return Dunkirk/Dover/Dunkirk for £ 22.00 oh plus fifty five pence for use of credit card.
Anyway lets hope the sun keeps shining.

Our great swimming pool

5th June- A day back in the caravan

It was a little misty first thing in the morning but eventually the mist cleared away and the sun came our bringing a really nice day.
As mentioned previously having cleaned the rubber matting we were now loath to put it back so that it get dirty again and so we put down a tarpaulin we had purchased for Pickles the dog to sit on and this works out quite well.
There were several newcomers and departures today but still some of the old faces are here. There is a German couple from Munich and he is a Nuclear Safety Advisor who about three years before the earthquake and tsunami in Japan visited the Fukashima Nuclear Plant in Japan and warned them of siting the operation there, The Japanese management ignored his recomendation and in fact lodged such a strong complaint against the company he worked for he eventually after a big battle was fired for upsetting a really big customer.
Of course now he has been proven correct in a tragic sense however. U meet all sorts of people here.
We are going to a town near Le Havre on Monday to have lunch with a French Couple who camp here every year that we have got to know and so that should be nice.
Life is not dull here at all.
Also got a nice surprise today when collecting our morning croissants that our son Michael and wife Becky had left an undisclosed amount of cash to cover our future bread and croissant requirements for a while.Marie who isrunning the shop told us about the arrangement with a big smile on her face..
Nice evening to sit outside but later back to chapter 7 of The Bridge, the plot is thickening????

4th June- Lunch at the Chateau

We took it easy this morning and had a slow start with breakfast in the Hotel before commencing a slow country drive to the zoo and château. The Chateau
We arrived at about 11.30 and this gave us time to wander around for a while and take some photos before meeting our friends for lunch.It was alight lunch and then we continued our tour of the site looking at Lions and Tigers plus all kinds of wildlife before sitting down to watch the birds of prey show.
This was excellent and with an amazing choice of birds and Noel regretted not bringing his long lens, oh well perhaps next time.

the show lasted about 45 mins and then it was time to leave as we wanted to go to a caravan accessory shop in Caen where we hoped to purchase some Isabella awning parts but we were quite disappointed as they did not have anything that was really suitable. So it looks like we have to order from Uk and perhaps one of our friends can handle the shipping onward via courier to us over the next week.

The sun was still shining when we arrived back at the site but we were both rather tired and after a light snack we went both went to bed about 22.00 for a good nights rest.

Monday 3rd June- Go West young man

We left Moyaux at around 10.00 and headed of via Caen to St Malo where we arrived using the coast road which is quite interesting. There are nice bits and and not so attractive bits in this part of the Brittany and we mosied around for  a while eventually arriving in St Malo, the old walled city, at around lunchtime.
After walking through town for a while we came across a cafe we knew from our last visit where this time we had an excellent Club Sandwich with some absolutely amazing ice cream, some of the best we have had in years.
In the afternoon we wandered around the city walls and watched the kids learning to sail in the bay whilst there were quite a few people sunbathing as well.
We left the walled city around 4pm and then headed up along the coast road for about tywo hours before finally arriving at our Hotel see link called.http://www.tirel-guerin.com/?lang=en
This is a very nice Hotel and really not a drench feel and more of a London Hotel style but most enjoyable all the same.

We tested the bar for a pre dinner drink and then sat down to a very nice meal with a french gay waiter who had until recently worked in Windsor, its a small world.

This was a nice day with great weather

Sunday 2nd June- Its cleaning time again

Well it had to be done and the weather was great and it took amost five hours of scrubbing to get the main matting clean but now it looked really good.
Noels back now was playing up after having bent over scrubbing away for several hours and so paracetamol was the order of the day. In the meantime we had planned to meet and old friend in Dinard on Tuesday 4th June and so as the weather along the coast  was going to be good we decided that we would actually leave on Monday and visit St Malo and then stay somewhere overnight before meeting our friend at a  Château de la Bourbansais  which is not only a Chateau but a zoo as well. So we fixed up a Hotel we had used last year which we new where the food is very good although not so cheap but then again we are also celebrating our 42nd wedding anniversary..
So we had an early night asw e did not want to be late tomorrow in leaving

Saturday 1st June- Gosh is it June already?

It is a nice day forecast'ed so after rather a latish breakfast Noel set about staring to clean some of the runner matting to see how it was before starting on the really big mats.
The result was pretty damn good but very hard work indeed and after several hours work we had rubber floor matting which looked like it should do.
We also cleaned some of the caravan internally as well as externally to bring it ship shape and in apple pie order as they say before enjoying some sunshine for the rest of the day and pluck up courage before we clean the rest of the matting.
Tonight we had a BBQ of rib eye plus salad and of course a little glass of plonk or two wash it all down.
A nice day but a little tiring

TGIF- Thank god its Friday

Well the weather was miuch brighter this morning as we drove in to Cormeilles for our weekly fish shop visit where this time we purchased some rather nice salmon fillets to have with our salad in the evening.
We also toured around the part of town which had sprung up since our last visit one year ago and found a couple of new shops to wander through.
We also picked up some rather stiff brushes which we intend to use on the rubber floor matting which is now worse for wear with mud and stuff after all the heavy rains.
In the afternoon a rather silver land cruiser appeared from behind some rather muddy exterior and it looked more like a car than before.
Tomorrow we plan to start cleaning the rubber matting if it doesn't rain.
The salmon was excellent with a nice glass of chilled Chardonnay.