19th Jan 2017- Time to leave

It was another cold but bright morning with the sun shining as we left the Hotel and drove along the coast in the direction of Ouistram where we would later in the day catch the Brittany Ferries ship back to GB.
The coast road is very pleasant to drive and at this time of the year there is little or no traffic. We filled up with Diesel just outside Cabourg and then went in to town to our favorite Boulangerie  to get some sandwiches and quiche which we plan to eat later overlooking the sea. Continuing our drive along the coast passing hundreds of closed up holiday homes and very few pedestrians to watch out for or card for that matter.
We located a small town and was able to park by the sea wall and enjoyed our lunch and then continued over the Pegasus Bridge and past the memorial building and eventually found our wat to the port where arrived a little earlier than planned and drove straight, no security check just nothing until some while later we realized that we had driven through the check in area which was not fully manned. Oh well so we turned round and checked in properly
The ship left on time and we had a pleasant time on board but it was pretty empty, this ship takes 800 cars and 2200 people and there was about 80 cars at the most but quite a few trucks. We visited the main restaurant on board which again was lightly populated and enjoyed a pleasant meal.
We were the first car off the vessel in Portsmouth and the ship arrived at approx 2110 and we were on the road home but about 21.30 which we did not think was to bad and arrived back in Weybridge at 22.30 and looking forward to a cup of tea and our own bed.
This has been an enjoyable trip and Normandy is a very nice area to visit.

And So to Bed

18th Jan 2017- Its market day!

It was minus 4 degrees centigrade when we awoke this morning a little later than planned and we went down for a light breakfast with the view of having lunch as a main meal rather than an evening meal. 

We left the Hotel and walked down to the market which must be a lot smaller in the winter than the summer as there were not that many stalls there at all. However we had a good look around and took a couple of photos which I will upload when home. A coffee was called for which we partook at a small cafe come tobacco cum paper shop and then considered what to do for lunch when most of the restaurants were closed!!!.
Well it appears in Wednesday which is still a half day for the general shops that perhaps to open for a half a day is a bit pointless and so most of the shops, if not all, were closed and this messed up our planned lunch arrangements. Even the bread shop was shut, can you believe. The only shop open was a a Monoprix supermarket where we purchased some passable sandwiches which we took back to the Hotel to eat.
We spent a comfortable afternoon taking it easy with Jennifer trying to finish here sewing and Noel listening to some music.
Well for dinner which now became necessary we walked down the main road and out of the thirty or so restaurants there was only about three open and so we went back to the one we tried  on our second night here. Its Ok but nowhere as  good as last nights dinner.
It still quite cold and know with a wind which was missing this morning but makes it feel even colder than before. We touched base with Joanne to check all was well and then back to the room for some R & R and blogging.
Tomorrow we check out and leave for Caen to connect with a 16.30 Brittany Ferries to Portsmouth and all being well we should be home in Weybridge for about 10.30 pm . Friday we get to see our new grandson and cant wait to meet Christopher.
Well it's been a nice break but time to get back to reality and the diary is already full for the next few days. On Monday the Land Cruiser has to go in the the workshops as a stone has hit the front camera/parking sensor and we both miss it. Its an expensive job but rather necessary.

17th Jan 2017- A trip out

The sun was shining but Noels knee's were suffering so after breakfast we collected the car and decided to do a brief tour of the area. We had no set plans where to go but just take off and see where we got to to. The firs t stop was  a new hypermarket where we could by some batteries for Noel's UP which measures daily exorcise and sleep and also some sandwiches.
We took some rather small country lanes through some very nice little towns and there appears to have been a lot of new building going on as there were many brand new houses either complete or nearly complete.

We arrived in Honfleur but we were no planning to walk around as we have been there many times and what with the knee problem we carried on down the coast in the direction of Trouville. We found a quite car park where we had our sandwiches which overlooked the channel between Honfleur and the Le Havre docks and so could watch some container ships come and go,
We arrived back mid afternoon and Jen continued her sewing and Noel his blogging and then we called Joanne to check on the new arrival and then off to dinner. We had a list of three restaurant from trip adviser we wished to check out and after finding all three and looking at the menus etc we decided on one establishment and after dinner very pleased with our decision. You cant go wrong with fish in this town as every morning you can the fishing boats leaving for the day and there is also a small market selling fresh fish and shell fish plus nice lobsters, in some cases just for sale and in a couple of places to eat on the spot but the place where you eat is not comfortable in this current cold period.

And then back to the hotel for the night.

16th Jan 2017- A brief walk about in Trouville

This place is almost dead with very few tourist, even the Hotel looks empty'ish. Just walking around the streets many shops are shut for the month of January and also many restaurants doing the same. We understand from the Hotel staff that Christmas and New Year are quite large in Trouville but in January most people leave and take it easy until the tourist season starts again.

So we did a good walk but without photos as it was grey and a bit dark and looked like rain and so on the way back to the Hotel we had a cup of tea and cake, we were not really hungry as we had a really late breakfast and decided that a bid breakfast and an afternoon cake would tide us over until dinner time.
In the afternoon played with his phone which refused to to connect with data to the Orange Network and after an online session with Samsung it required that the phone must be completely taken back to factory settings to make it work. This is not a problem but the WIFI at the Hotel is so, so slow at just under 1mb, I can walk faster than that. And so while Jennifer adjourned back to her sewing Noel spent a frustrating afternoon reloading all the apps on the phone which took so, so long and at home would have taken ten minutes instead of about four hours.
At 6pm we had another video call to Joanne and look at Christopher and try to understand what Katherine was getting so excited about and she talks and talks but difficult to fully understand. However it all seems fine even if they are all rather tired, Joanne certainly is but in good spirits.
In the evening we wandered in to the town to look for a good restaurant but so many were closed and we followed some trip adviser suggestions and it looks like we made the right choice as our place was very full of locals whilst many others only had a few guests. We had some nice fish and (chips) Frits actually and it was all rather filling but very good.
Then back to the Hotel for more sewing and listening to music as the only English channel is the BBC world news and you can only take so much news.
And so to bed

15th January 2017- En Route to Trouville

We spend all this money on the Hotel and then think that the breakfast for 26 Euros is a bit much considering the price of the Euro at the moment. So if we had breakfast in the Hotel it would be 52 Euros but for 8 Euros you pop next door to the Boulangerie for some croissants etc and its just as good.
Anyway we finished packing and headed of out of Rouen in the direction of Courmeilles where we are due to see our friend Ingrid who is the site owner of the site we love to stay at called Chateau le Colombier, and we plan to have lunch and catch up with her about the possible sale of the site and also update her on Noels recent health issues. Ingrid herself has suffered with cancer and aware of the challenges.
We arrived at the Chateau at around 11.45 in the pouring rain only to be met at the door by Gilles who has managed the site in the past and so together the four of us had an excellent lunch by the open fire whilst it poured down with rain outside.
The site may have been sold to a French Camping Group but not yet confirmed but during 2017 there will be little change, which suits us should we get back there.

At around 4pm we left the Chateau and headed to Trouville to find out Hotel which is right buy the sea front whilst our rooms has a view over the Harbour. In the evening although we had an early lunch we were a bit peckish and so had a snack in the Hotel bar to tied us over till morning.
Tomorrow we plan a walk around the town.

14th January 2017- A quiet day

After all the excitement of yesterday and of course we were out touring for many hours and also the weather was not looking to good we decided that we would have a quiet day.

So in the morning Jennifer continued on her sewing making a cross stitch picture for Christopher and its a little bear (called POPCORN the bear)so when its complete it can be framed and hung in Christopher room. Jennifer started this many weeks ago and it takes great patience to be able spend hours with very little sign of change . On the other hand Noel was able to spread on the lounge settee and listen to his music on the Ipod.

For evening dinner we found a good place as recommended by trip adviser and when we got there at just about opening time the place was quite empty but by 9pm it was packed with people waiting, very few tourists and mostly locals which always shows if it a good place.

So a slow walk back to the Hotel which we have decided is a nice Hotel with large rooms and good staff but not cheap!

Tomorrow we leave here.
   

Friday 13th January 2017- What a day this was.

It was chucking down with rain overnight and still quite wet in the morning and so rather than wlak in the rain again we decided to get the car and drive up the side of the River Seine to see how far we could go in the time we had availability.
Just prior to leaving we texted Joanne re our central heating requirements only to get back a message that she thought her contractions for the baby had started. Jennifer thought this was probably a false alarm as the baby due date is 23 January and not Bloody Friday the Thirteenth!!!
Anyway we took of in the direction of what looked like a nice place on the river called Les Andylys arriving there about 12.30

and we decided to have lunch if we could find somewhere to eat as it looked like a small place on the map. However after taking a few photos of the Seine from the top of the hill overlooking the town we went in to town and found a Hotel called La Chaine D'or which was right by the river. We thought that looked nice and was surprised to see about half a dozen Gendarme cars in the Hotel as they were having a conference or something so I parked very carefully to avoid hitting one of the police cars and went inside. The restaurant was delightful with lovely views of the river and and excellent food, not cheap but good all the same and most enjoyable. Might be a good place to stay if you want piece and quiet.
We finished lunch around 1430 and started to wonder what was going on back home with Joanne and so we sent of several emails and texts with not an answer and so by about 4.30 pm we were getting a little worried. By this time it had started chucking it down with rain and almost sleet in the air and so we made a slow journey back to the Hotel. For some reasons Noels mobile phone was playing up and unable to make or receive calls which was not good as we were expecting some updates.
Well at about 1730 local the phone rang and it was Joanne announcing the arrival of baby Christopher James to the world which was really marvellous news.
So about an hour later we went to the bar and posted a photo of us drinking a toast to the newest family member.

Christopher James Denovan-Smith born today

So what a day we had, we had hoped to be in Uk when the baby arrived but it was not to be but that is life as they say and we shall be looking forward to getting home on the night of the 19th January and see the new arrival on the 20th.
So the end of a very nice day.

Thursday 12th January 2017- Rouen walking tour

The weather was not to bad in the morning and so we walked through the old part of town for several hours and also entered a few shops out of interest and had a coffee in a nice bar, forgot to have the brandy with it, though.

The old part of town and the cathedral is quite historic and it is understood that Joan of Arc was given her farewell here as there are numerous signs reminding you. The cobbled street and interesting shops were of great interest and no Marks and Spencer of Boots or WH Smith equivalents and so the shopping experience is much nicer than most UK towns. We went via the food market and then on the to famous clock

tower and Jennifer bought a new lipstick. Inside the market there was a good choice of fruit and vegetables and also a super fish shop

with a significant choice of fish. In one corner was also a restaurant where you could have your Oysters with a glass of plonk for a reasonable price but neither Jennifer or I like oysters so that was out.

For lunch we had some sandwiches and planned where we would go for dinner that after consulting Trip Adviser and we decided that we would go Italian for a change and found this restaurant which you could book online. In the afternoon the weather changed for the worse with strong wind and rain and we hoped that it would go away before we had to leave for the restaurant only it did not and so we got blown to the restaurant which was about half a mile away and when we got there is was down some stairs and there was the Pizza oven blazing away in a nice walled room with a great atmosphere.
Jennifer had half a pizza and a salad whilst Noel had Tagliatelle with Salmon also very good and washed down with a small pichet of white wine.
We walked back to the Hotel in the pouring rain and high winds being unable to get a taxi anywhere, apparently they are like gold dust to find. However we made it back home to the Hotel and got warm in bed until light's out but we watched the latest 'The Grand Tour' on the PC for good measure.

Wednesday 11th January 2017- Travel to Rouen

We had decided to stay away from the motorways and take the old main roads and glad we did as it was a delightful drive through the country side. The roads were pretty much empty most of the way and in the many villages we passed through no one was visible, presume indoors out of the cold.

We stopped in Abbeville we thought that by going to a Super U Hypermarket we could do some little bits of shopping and there is usually two or three restaurants to which to chose from but not the case here which was surprise to us. We purchased some car screen window wash and some sandwiches if we could find no better and had to resort to eating across the road in all of places McDonalds-Uggh.

We continued our journey and entered Rouen at about 1600 and there was lots of traffic and we found the Hotel Ok which is in the middle of the old town.Parking is a nightmare here but the Hotel has a valet parking service (at cost of course) which we used as it was a lot easier. The Hotel is one of the Marriott Chain 'Autograph' Hotels ( Hotel De Bouthgtheroulde) and I was able to get a good price using my Marriott card for an OAP rate which is about £30.00 per room cheaper than usual rates.
The room is very nice and well equipped and the bed is really comfortable as we put our feet up for a brief rest before going for dinner. We decided to use the Hotel Brasserie, expensive and of course like most Hotels in Europe the food only being passable. But it was convenient and we wern't in the mood to trudge thru streets in the cold, that's for tommorow

Tuesday 10th Jan 2017- A little tour around

After breakfast in the Hotel we took off in the car to pick up some baguettes for lunch and then to a place called Ardres which is about 20 minutes by car from the Hotel.,
Its is a nice area with lots of lakes and also a number of Mobile Home sites as well as caravan sites. We guessed it would be rather busy in the summer but at the beginning and end of the season it should be nice and a good place to remember if we needed an overnight stop with the caravan some time.

After a coffee in a deserted bar by the lake we sat in the car and ate our baguettes only to find the geese appeared looking for the left over sandwich bits. We toured around the area for a while and then headed back to the Hotel for a bit of a rest.

In the evening we drove in to Saint-Omer to have dinner at the restaurant that I had fixed for the 'Brothers' French trip which was before Christmas but due to circumstances at the last moment could not join. The restaurant is called the Swan in Brit language but Le Cygne to the locals and the food and service was excellent and really for the quality not too expensive. To be frank we both ate to much but it was really good food and we shall return another time.

Then back to the Hotel for a good nights sleep as we are off to Rouen in Normandy tomorrow.

Monday 9th Jan 2017- Off to Dover

A good breakfast in the Hotel, however there was a rather large lady there who had piled her plate so high with the English breakfast it was not a great sight first thing in the morning.
We ate a light breakfast and then headed off in the M25 traffic until it cleared about twenty minutes later and it was quite light traffic all the rest of the way.
We stopped at Folkestone services as we running early, fancied a cup of tea and a Loon visit and so we stopped for a short while. we spotted the Diesel prices at this place which were about 17 pence per litre more than we were paying in Chertsey, incredible.!!!

We arrived at Dover and caught the 1255 P & O ferry and went to the club lounge for some sandwiches as we did not want much as we are planning dinner in the Chateau restaurant tonight.
After leaving the ferry terminal we headed of to Chateau Tilques which is only a short distance from Saint Omer where we staying for two nights only. Its a nice Hotel in the middle of nowhere with large gardens and lots of art both inside and outside in the garden (see photos).
The bedroom was nice with a nice view over the garden but the Hotel lacked guests as when we went to dinner that night it became obvious that there was only about nine people staying in a 48 bedroom Hotel.

Chateu Tilqney

The meal was fine but very slow to arrive as due to the reduced guest count they had reduced staff and so it was a very long dinner.

8th January 2017-Louts and Trouts 'Its party time'

We have good friends from the air freight industry in Uk with whom we meet on a regular basis, Noel is one of the Brothers with a nickname 'Brother Blog' whilst Jennifer is 'Sister Mappy'.

Noel was unable to join the party last year as he was in hospital but this year both of us were available to join the gathering at the Runnymede Hotel Egham for the get together. There was approximately 22 guests, there could have been more but many people travel away from home this time of year, but nevertheless it was a great part which started at midday and finished around eight pm.

After the rather excellent buffet lunch a quite a few bottles of wine then Kim and Steve started on their guitars to entertain us for a short while until we all had a go at Karioki. A really good night indeed.

We had decided to stay overnight in the Hotel as we were leaving the next morning for France via the ferry and wanted to be able to leave without all the usual fuss and bother of getting up, fiinsh packing and washing up etc so the night in the Hotel solved this problem.
So off the bed!!!

Well its been a long time since last entry

Following our great in the USA we came home and four months later Noel was diagnosed with Bowel and subsequently Liver Cancer. Well without going in to all of the details, which is a book in itself, Noel has had four major surgical operations as well as five (what they call procedures) followed by two near death experiences and is somehow still here. 
Its been a very tough 18 months or so and had the local GP made the correct diagnosis life could have been better but Doctors make mistakes too.

Its not been easy to write a blog when you feel like sh*t,but hopefully things are on the improve with only one surgical operation left on 6th February when they reverse the Ileostomy and mend the hernia around it , then I will have further challenges controlling my body. After that they will make decisons about further Chemo and if the portacath can be removed (another procedure).

In the meantime we have decided to take a brief holiday in Normandy to give both Jennifer and I break, Jennifer certainly deserves it as without her support I am not sure that I would be here today.

In the meantime I have had almost 45 days in Hospital, with more than 70 Hospital appointments and first hand experience of the following Hospitals as part of my treatment.

Runnymede Hospital, Chertsey                St Peters Hospital , Chertsey 
Nuffield Hosptal, Woking                         Mount Alvernia Hospital Guildford
Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford              Nuffield Hospital, Guildford
Clare Park Hospital, Farnham                  Frimley General Hospital, Frimley

Thinking of doing a 'Trip Advisor' report on all of them.

So now on with the usual type of Groves travel blog