Tuesday 6th- Going home today

Would you believe we had an early morning swim at around 0900 and the pool was pretty much empty except for about seven other people and it was a really nice way to start the day off. WE cooked up the rest of the bacon and so had a smallish English breakfast and then  did a trip down to Cormeilles for some last minute shopping and cheap fuel. Ingrid the owner turned with a much larger package than we expected containing wine for friends in Surbiton which she wanted us to take back on her behalf and so Noel had to re organise the boot of the car to accommodate this important package.

We left the site around 12.45, perhaps a little early but actually not as we got stuck behind a combined harvester for about ten miles and that slowed us down but we were the third car to arrive at the Le Havre Port for the 1700 hrs LD/DFDS vessel back to Portsmouth. We checked in and the security people checked the caravan for stowaways or pets quite thoroughly.   These ports are miserable places and although there is a sign offering food and drink this is really only machine coffee and tea and chocolate (if you can taste the difference) and packets of chocolates-brilliant.

We seemed to be one of the last to board the ship but suddenly we found ourselves right at the front and what a surprise that was. We went to our cabin which was OK, not brilliant, and had a snooze and shower before heading to the self service where they serve rubbish food. Oh Brittany ferries why are you are not cheaper?, and then took a walk around the deck and chatted to a couple from Scotland who had just cycled for two weeks around France, rather you than us.

We arrived on time and being at the front somehow we were on the road in about 20 minutes after arrival which was quite unexpected. The journey home was short up the A3 which was quiet and we were home by about 11.30 a ready for a cup of tea and a short break before going to bed.

Well this was a great holiday with good memories and we travelled around 5400 miles during this three month sojourn. We are also glad to be back for a while but the Groves have always had itchy feet and we are already planning for next year.

Signing off for a while.

Monday 5th August-Back to Normandy

The journey back from Buzancais was mostly on Motorways after we reached Tours. It was here that the weather changed and it started to rain quite hard for a short while then thankfully cleared up after about half an hour.

WE used the motorway all the way back to Bernay and from there arrived at Chateau du Colombier about mid afternoon and boy was the place packed. They had reserved us a nice site and not surrounded by caravans. We took to the swimming pool and then enjoyed a dinner in the Creperie before heading back to read before bed. We took the long way round from the Creperie and tried to see if we knew anybody there but there was no one. There must have been about 500 people on site but after 10.30 you could hear a pin drop. Good campers.

Sunday 4th August- This is much better way

We left the site around 0900 and headed East through Carjac and then via not bad roads to Fijeac and from there the slightly faster roads up to the junction 56 on the motorway. If you remember we did try another way to this junction but by gosh this is at least 30 minutes or more, faster and a much easier route with less tight bends and rocky outcrops to worry about.

The motorway was quite busy and so were the service stops but around lunchtime we found an ‘aire’ where we found space and parked in the lorry car park and had a light lunch. Jennifer took over the driving for a while and later we changed back again as we reached Chateroux and took the smaller roads towards Tours and looking for the site in Buzancais. We arrived earlier than expected and found a nice place to park by the river and with really good facilities for a municipal site and at only 14 Euros per night. This place is really quite nice and not full and the town also looks interesting albeit it was closed as it was a Sunday. This site is worth revisiting for a longer stay.

Jennifer cooked dinner tonight a rather nice pasta dish enjoyed with a glass of France’s best product.

Saturday 3rd August- Finish packing up

We did not have a huge amount to do and so we did the jobs required and then enjoyed some relaxation reading and listening to IPods etc and generally taking it easy as we have a longish journey ahead tomorrow.

Noel paid the bill for the site, the prices stated on the web site are different to what he applied to us, actually about 120 Euros cheaper so we did not complain. The owner asked us if we would be back next year but I said unlikely as we know tend to change around a bit, I could have been honest and said NO because this place is like Fred Carno’s Army with Mr Fawlty thrown in for good luck. We invited the couple who looked after our caravan over for a last thank you drink and then a light dinner and had an early night.

Friday 2nd August- Time to start packing up

A little light shopping in the morning in Cajarc along with quite a lot of washing at the Lavateria and a coffee whilst was all this was going on. It was hot again today and as we had already decided to leave taking the awning down till the evening we agreed that this was a good decision rather than get to hot, and so after dinner we set about taking it down only to have the weather suddenly change on us and the wind came up but we go the lot down before it could start to rain, phew that was close.

Our route to Le Havre had been planned but we were still waiting confirmation of site booking en route and so Noel had been chasing and hoped for a quick reply as we don’t like travelling in the busy season without a booking.

Thursday 1st August- Jennifer Birthday whilst our guests leave for Germany

First thing in the morning we all did our own thing, our guest to repack and us to wander around for some small shopping and also buy a croissant at a normal price rather than Hotel inflated prices. So we sat by the river having our breakfast which was quite nice.

We packed the car and left the Hotel just after 11.30 and found the airport in about 20 minutes and dropped off John and Denise to connect with their flight to Munich via Barcelona.

We on the other hand headed for the large mall just near the airport where we had an early lunch before leaving to see the Airbus A380 jumbo production line. The tour lasted about an hour and a half and it is quite impressive to see two A380’s being dwarfed by a building. The only shame was this very large building was split in to about three separate units so you could not fully gauge the size. Unfortunately they did not allow cameras on the tour and so no piccies at all.

We left Toulouse around 4pm and looked for a caravan dealer who sold certain chemicals but with any luck but we arrived home at the caravan site around 6.30 pm in time for a quiet light dinner, a nice glass of wine whilst sitting outside in the mild temperature before enjoying an early night.

We did some reminiscing about the last ten days with J & D and we enjoyed their company very much and we think that they enjoyed their brief trip in ‘bel France’ more than they expected which was very satisfying indeed.

Wednesday 31st July- Time to leave the Lot

A late’ish departure as we took the country route to Toulouse in almost 36 degrees of heat and it was really very hot when we arrived at the Hotel. After driving for a few hours we all had a little rest and then met up for dinner which we planned to have in the old town of Toulouse. On this occasion we had not booked anywhere which in retrospect was silly as many of the places were closed for the holiday which then put pressure on the other restaurant’s remaining open.

After enjoying a drink in the old town square we looked for the Italian restaurant we had chosen only to find it closed and so we tried several others but ended up in a quite good place where the menu was varied and covered everybody’s tastes. After dinner we walked the streets of the old town and then headed back to the Hotel and we were all looking forward to the air conditioned rooms.

The car park in the Hotel was below the Hotel and the Land Cruiser just about squeezed in width wise and about 10 cms from the roof. This is not unusual in French towns with modern Hotels.

Tuesday 30th July- A visit to Cahors

A late morning start and we headed for Cahors and a visit to the old town and Cathedral and also the Valente Bridge. It was rather warm again today but we all enjoyed the opportunity to walk rather than ride in the car and of course u can see so much more. We had the usual coffee in a side street cafe and then spent about an hour looking around the Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Cahors) which dates back to the 11^th century and of course there has been quite some considerable renovation during its long history but recently all the stained glass windows have either been replaced or repaired and they look really beautiful.

From there we walked to the Point Valentre bridge which is a fourteenth century fortified stone arch building and very impressive as it spans the Lot River. Following this we had a picnic lunch by the river instead of doing some washing.

We took the long way back so that they could enjoy the countryside some more and got back to the Hotel late afternoon. Later in the evening we joined J & D on the terrace for a pre dinner glass of wine before departing for Cajarc where we went to the new restaurant we had discovered and we had a really great meal with Denise saying that it was probably the best meal of her life but certainly the deserts were to die for. The owner and chef came out to have a chat yet again and say goodbye and we thanked him for the excellent dinner and also the free bottle of bubbly he welcomed us with. What a lovely evening it was and the temperature sitting in the restaurant courtyard was just about right.

Then back to St Cirq Hotel and us to our camp site in Larnagol.

Monday 29th July- A little bit of rest

We have travelled quite a few miles in the last week and J&D decided they would like a day off and enjoy the Hotel and in fact they visited St Cirq on walkabouts. They spent time in the swimming pool and generally enjoying the environment and views from the Hotel grounds. We on the other had had things to do and places to go.

So first thing we had to put all the furniture back outside and generally tidy up the place and then we went over to Villefranche for some all important shopping whilst at the same extracting the steaks from our neighbours as apparently the power had gone off and so they raided our freezer and fridge and put the goodies in a safe place.

We then took a little break in the afternoon and once all this was complete we collected J & D and brought them back to the camp site for an evening BBQ where they also had the opportunity to meet the couple who were monitoring our caravan whilst we were away.

A good evening was had by all.

Sunday 28th July- The Lot Valley experience

We left Perigeaux around 1000 for a motorway drive via Brive and then the back roads as we planned to visit a beautiful hillside town called Rocamadour where the view of the town is amazing if you arrive on the lower road. Stopping a few times for photos we then parked and took the little train (petit train) up the hill where after the first coffee we separated and J & D did their own walk about whilst we sat and watched the world go by ( we have been here before several times) you know. Whilst waiting at the end of town there was a terrible scream it and would appear that a young boy ran out in to the road and was hit by a car, thankfully the only injuries were shock, but parent do need to watch their kids in a very busy small road with cars, buses, motorbikes etc combined with pedestrians. John and Denise really enjoyed the town having walked right up to the top and also visited the Church which is halfway up the hillside.

Then a drive down to the Lot Valley via Gramat, Laboustide Murat and finally to Vers where we joined the road alongside the River Lot in the direction of St Cirq La Popie where J & D checked in to the Hotel and we headed back to the site to check on the caravan which thankfully was fine.

Around 6.30 we met at the Hotel and took the shuttle bus up the hill to the main town where we joined some other friends from the UK for dinner in one of our favourite restaurants. Both John and Denise were prepared to try the local delicacies and what with my friend David working out the wine in the ‘pichet’ was the same as in the bottle and was cheaper, typical b forwarder to the end.

A really nice day and it looks like that J & D really enjoy the Hotel, which is very pleasing. And back to the caravan for a sleep in our own beds.  

Saturday 27th July- Cognac and on to Perigeaux

Overnight there had been a very bad storm, not that Noel was aware, with thunder and lightning and strong winds which were most evident on our drive alongside the river to Cognac. There were hoards of trees blown down, crops damaged and electric wires down and so we started to worry a little about our caravan but nobody had called us and so we hoped it would be fine.

We arrived in Cognac and wandered around the town and visited the central market and also the store which shows off the choice of cognac available in the region with some bottles being rather expensive !!!.

We then took the country route to Perigeaux passing many small towns which had also been affected by the bad storm and at around lunchtime came across a new Auchan store where John and Denise purchased a new bag and we gor some really cheap fuel, presumably because the store was new and they wanted to attract customers. At the petrol station was a Brit in a very old French car and we started talking and he had been the last night in Cognac listening to a very old historic pop group of the 60’s era.

Our journey continued through fields of sunflowers which seemed to go on for miles with lots of lovely towns and fantastic churches and really great views, Jennifer really exceeded herself here with her map reading skills.

We arrived in Perigaux and the Hotel was pretty much as expected, a bit old and in need of a good upgrade but it had nice views over the lake and was not so expensive compared to some in the town. Rather than drive in to the centre of town and perhaps have trouble parking whilst always being aware of drink and drive laws, we took a taxi. The old town is really very attractive and although we could not get in the Cathedral the old walled city is something to behold. We found a good Italian restaurant and had an excellent meal and then continued our walking around the old town and in to one of the many squares with restaurants reasonably busy, but not as busy as expected for this time of year.

With a taxi back to the Hotel we all needed a good rest. 

Friday 26th July- Let’s move on

We had to cover quite a few miles today travelling via Nantes and Niort and our first stop is planned in a place called Coulon which is a nice little village where there are boat roads around the marshes. We arrived just after lunch and had a quick picnic before hiring a boat and Captain to take us around for a couple of hours to explore the area. The guide/punting poleman/captain had good English and was able to provide a running commentary, mostly about himself, of the areas we were visiting and then came a side stream where he used his pole to stir up the bottom of the stream thereby releasing methane gas to which he set fire to. Interesting thing to do and we hoped that the boat would not go up in flames.

Back to the car and we continued our journey down to the river Charente and to a town outside of Saints called Saint Sauvant where we had a hotel booked of unknown quality which turned out to be an absolute delight. The rooms were air-conditioned a really nice and so we all met up by the smallish swimming pool and tested a bottle of Chardonnay whilst sitting in the sun with legs in the pool, what a way to spend the late afternoon. This town was in the sticks (as they say) and so we had an excellent dinner in the Hotel and sat by the pool whilst the Hotel seemed to be quite full. This Hotel was originally a derelict block of old houses running uphill on a bend and so you could enter the hotel on three different levels whilst walking up the hill. The owner was an architect and he had the vision to see what could be done with old building but they have done an excellent job and all the fixtures and fitting were of modern design.

And so to bed.

Thursday 25th July- Go South West young man

We took mostly motorway for a longish drive to Vannes and by-passing Caen, Bayeaux, and with brief views of Mont St Michel in the distant mist, we arrived mid afternoon. Housekeeping matters took over for a couple of hours as the laundry was attended to before returning to the Hotel and we took a taxi to the harbour where John and Denise walked around the old town whilst we waited for my sister and brother-in-law to arrive. We had a nice dinner overlooking the harbour and then finally returned to the Hotel around 11pm and looking forward to an air conditioned room as it was still very hot.

Wednesday 24th July- To the beaches

Quite an early start today after a nice breakfast in the Hotel and then off for a long day to visit the beaches and other areas of interest along the Normandy coast. So on to the motorway via Caen in the direction of Bayeaux and shortly after we arrived in a place called Grandcamp –Maisy (which was an important area during WW2) where we had a coffee and visited the fish market for a while and then drove along the coast to Pointe-du-Hoc which is the location where the US rangers climbed to cliffs to knock out the guns at the start of the WW2 invasion. The place is still littered by large holes where bombs were dropped but it was the ranger who knocked out the guns.

We then toured along the coast until we reached Arromanche but as the town parking is limited whilst a better view can be obtained from the hills surrounding the place and you can see the floating harbour, or what’s left of it, and then we decided to go and see the 360 degrees (wrap around) cinema in HD of a 20 minute film covering the important parts of the first few days of the invasion. This was certainly worth visiting and gives you a good understanding of the sequence of events of the start of the invasion.

The next stop was the US Cemetery where John and Denise  wandered around by themselves exploring the site and when you see the amount of white crosses it does bring home the extent of dead Americans lying in French soil   From here we we drove through the countryside to the Caen Memorial Museum which also  has magnificent coverage of all things up to the end of the second world war and a separate section which looks at subsequent wars around the world, this museum is well designed and most informative but you really need a day to fully explore the place.

Dinner that night was at the Cafe des arts in the village square and just across the road from the Hotel but also parked there was a Pizza takeaway man which I think Denise preferred. Anyway we had a good meal and a nice couple bottles of wine before retiring for the night.

Tuesday 23rd July- Tons of rain overnight but no water to shower with

We awoke after a rather noisy night of thunder and lighting and heavy rain to find there was not water in the taps. We all needed a shower and the gents a shave but no luck. The town’s water supply had broken as it had been hit by lightning or something putting out the electric pumps.

We did some shopping in the high street after visiting the local church where the floor rises away from you when you arrive at the front door but aids a quick departure and if you are in a coffin you can be guaranteed to exit this church quite quickly. We tried to find the flower shop but finally opened with not the best of selection, it was only Monday, and so we bought some rather nice chocolates form the local small chocolate shop as a thank you present for Ingrid. We also purchased a small flower arrangement for Marie, who normally works on the site reception but on the last night had acted as waitress.

Ingrid was not there but we left the presents at the Chateau leaving name cards to avoid any misunderstanding and then headed for Liseaux where we visited the famous Basilica of Saint Therese. Jen and I had been there many times and so we left our guests to wander around before joining up and having a cup of coffee in our usual cafe. On leaving the town we visited a small military cemetery from the Second World War where there are both UK graves (actually mostly Scottish) and then a short distance away is a German cemetery and there for some reason they are buried two to a plot. This might be due to the fact that the British burial also took care of the dead German soldiers as well.

From there we drove to Cabourg for lunch where we purchased some really great salmon and leak quiche Lorraine and sat on the a sea front bench and enjoyed the view for a while. We then drove along the coast in the direction of Caen through various towns and villages until the time indicated that an early check in at the Hotel in Beaumont-en-Auge so that we could get a shower after not having the chance earlier in the day.

Sitting in the bar for a pre-dinner drink we learnt that not only was the restaurant in the Hotel closed for the evening but also the two other restaurants as well, brilliant planning w thought.  John and Denise had been to the lovely view over the coast and had seen off a bottle of wine and so they were ready for dinner.

Our nearest town was Pont L’Eveque and so off we toddled but many places seemed closed, what is going on, and then we asked somebody who was closing his pizza place if there was any where to eat and he recommended a place down the road which turned out to be really good and family operated. So after a very good meal we went back to the Hotel with its very steep stairs and interesting architecture and very different bedrooms.

Monday 22nd July- Texas arrives in le Havre

After a light breakfast at the train station John and Denise arrived on the train from Paris and after a short luggage sort out we left for Etretat which is a lovely town surrounded by high cliffs and it has good history. We wandered around the town and caught up on their travels from Texas to Amsterdam and then via Paris to join us over coffee on the beach front.  From there we went to Honfleur which is another well known town and fishing port and again we wandered around for a couple of hours before heading back to to the car. We had a fairly short drive along the coast and then went inland to Cormeilles to check in the Hotel. The temp was still very high and when we booked the Hotels for this trip earlier in the year we had no idea it would be so blooming hot.

The Hotel did not have air con but hey ho we had been suffering for about ten days with quite warm days and cooler evenings. A drink in the bar and we went off for the surprise dinner at the Chateau. As we arrived the tables and chairs were outside and John was able to open the Champagne bottle using a sword which if done correctly removed the top two inches of the bottle leaving the cork intact inside. John did it well and no doubt it is resting somewhere in Austin Texas.

Dinner was excellent and we had a choice of two starters, and we all had both, then a lamb course with vegetable which tasted great and finishing with another choice of two deserts which we all tried. The dinner was washed down with some nice red wine and finally coffee with a small glass of Calvados to finish it off.

To our surprise and unexpected pleasure Ingrid refused to accept payment for this dinner and she had disappeared off to bed so we could not discuss it, what a lovely lady she is. Afterwards we did a quick walk around the caravan site which was quite busy to show our friends where we stayed. We had a small drink in the lovely bar before leaving back to the Hotel and it was still rather warm and we all wondered if we would sleep well.

Sunday 21st July- a windy route to Le Havre..

We wanted to visit another site North of tours on a lake called Camping Loir Sarthe The Lac des Varennes which also had a good reputation and we got a little lost as the Garmin suddenly freaked out and gave up whilst the on board sat nav was struggling to find us. We think this was due to the severe heat and not picking up the satellite signals but anyway after going the wrong way for a short while we found our correct road and arrived at the site. This also was rather busy and there was a nice lake where you could swim, there may have been a pool as well but we did not see it. This site had lots of mobile homes which gives a negative view as far as we are concerned but we also recognised that out of season it might be quite nice.

We then found the motorway again and headed to Le Mans and Alencon and continued up to Berney where we left the motorway and headed to Cormeilles and the Chateau du Colombier where we were to meet the owner to discuss tomorrow night’s surprise for out American friends who we are due to meet at Le Havre the next morning. Having made all the arrangement for the next  evening we departed to Le Havre and when we arrived the car temperature gauge was showing an outside temp of 37 C degrees. We parked the car and picked up the the key for our room at the Novotel which we had chosen as it was next to the railway station where our friends would arrive the next morning.

After a shower we walked in to the pretty much closed shopping mall and found a restaurant but the food was not good so not to be repeated. Next time we will go in to the main town to see what we could find but it was still pretty hot and walking any great distance might be challenging. Anyway tomorrow we can lay in a little as we don’t have to be at the station until around 11.00 perhaps.

On the TV that night we watched the closing ceremony of the Tour Du France and the digital images shown on the Arc de Triomph were quite incredible but it was also good to see an English guy win the 100^th race!!!

Saturday 20th July- Back to Le Havre we go

We have been lucky to find a nice couple who actually work on the site to look after, or keep watch, on our caravan whilst we are away. The weather in this part of France can suddenly conjure up an amazing storm and so it was great to know that somebody would be watching out.

We left Larnagol around 0930 and decided to try what was apparently the quicker route to the motorway and if successful we would come this way again on the way home with the caravan. It was a very windy road with a reasonable amount of traffic and it took some time to reach the motorway and then drive up to Junction 56 which we usually use . The traffic was quite heavy today as its almost the start of the French holidays and as we headed North to Brive the traffic on the southbound carriageway was far worse and after Brive there was a traffic jam southbound of about six miles.  It was shortly after passing Brive that we suddenly remembered the electric lights that we had carried all over France for Noels sister which we were to drop off had been left in the caravan, blast!!. We are not going back as it would take far too long in this traffic and so they will have to wait a little longer to receive them.

Up past Limoges and on to Chateroux before heading North West towards Tours.  We were also planning on this route to check out potential caravan sites for our return journey and the first one was a in a town called Buzancais where there was supposed to be a nice municipal site and it looked very nice. We then went on to a town called Loches which had a larger site with all mod cons  you could think of but it was crowded and with lots of Brits, not for us we thought. It was now quite hot at around 35 C and we thought that we should look for a Hotel and settled on going to Tours where we stayed in a an air conditioned Kyriad down town.  After a shower we went for a walk and a beer or two on the sun and then found an Italian restaurant from Trip Advisor and so had a good meal there and a nice glass of plonk.  We walked around the town after dinner and then went back to the Hotel as it was still pretty hot and after all the driving, eating and drinking thought we would have an early night.