Monday 10 th to Wednesday 12th July 2017 -Well we are home now

We got the awning down in the hot sun with the help of our two Dutch friends who work for rent-a-tent as site managers. Boy it was hot and we had to stop every 20 minutes for some shade and drink some water but it was good to get the awning down and packed in to the car.
Over the next two days we packed up the rest of the caravan bits and pieces like putting away tables and chairs and then set about preparing the caravan with the putting away of food supplies and and all the condiments that we take.
Noel then checked the tyre pressures and used the torque meter on the caravan wheels and took off the security systems to make for a fast departure. On Tuesday evening we went to the Creperie  and briefly met up with Ingrid but she was on the way to the Doctors having got a a 'Tick' in her leg which had swollen up.
Wednesday morning arrived and it was raining overnight and first thing, just what you need when moving the van and connecting to the car but with the help of the caravan motor mover we moved back on the to the road and connected to the car in a light drizzle, what a bummer. We then had a bit of trouble with the electric plug connection to the car which delayed us ten minutes but finally it worked and we left the site at around 10.15.
We went out through Moyaux and the truck route without any difficulty and it then started raining again and it pretty much rained all the way to the Port at Ouistreem. The security people checked the van looking for illegals and then we were on board and went direct to the cabin to drop off our stuff and then to the main restaurant for some lunch.
An afternoon was spent listening to music and relaxing until we had to leave the cabin 30 minutes before arrival in to Portsmouth and enjoyed a cup of tea and a strawberry tart as a snack. The ferry arrived at 7.15 pm and by 7.45 we were on the main road heading home and as there was no traffic we were back in Weybridge just after 9 pm and the caravan in the driveway and locked by 9.30 pm, pretty good really.
So that was a really great holiday and we were so lucky with the weather this year and it was certainly good for Noel to rebuild his strength after so many operations over the last two years and although there were some tough moments during the trip whilst getting used to the new bowel system things are on the up.
Looking forward to the next trip which is in the planning department at the moment.
Hope to see you all soon.

Sunday 9th July 2017- Its awning down day

Gosh another early start but the sun was shining and it was beginning to get warm again around 0900. The weather forecast from Meteo was showing rain showers this afternoon and so we immediately set about putting away and folding up tables, shoe racks etc to make space for the awning to come down. So bit by bit we took out the sides and at that moment Arie and Henny arrived to assist which was necessary as I still find it difficult to fully bend and still warning about carrying heavy loads so left the majority of the heavy bits to them.

Ghosh its hot again which was not forecast, they say 26-26 Centigrade but again it hit the early thirties which made it very hot work and the need to stop every so often for a water break but midday it was down, cleaned and put away in the car which was great which then just left Jen and I with the last few bits to be put away, As a thank you we gave them a Costco Sirloin steak and a bottle red wine which we hope they will enjoy.

We then had a little rest under the umbrella and then set about preparing lunch of a rib eye steak from the grill and vegetables with Noel trying two glasses of red wine to see what happens, hopefully nothing. Later on in the days there were lots of tummy rumblings and a little flatulence but nothing to bad. We then did a small caravan sort and then a rest before watching the Austrian F1 GP highlights on Channel 4, not a bad race but have seen better. It’s not Hamilton’s year again one feels but let’s see what happens at the Brit GP next week.

We chatted to an English family which had arrived yesterday but also noticed during the day and increasing number of arrivals and particularly children and mostly from Holland where the schools have finished for the term. The site is looking a lot busier now and so as usual it’s time for us to leave this fair and pleasant land. Tonight its cooler but there is clouds around and the odd rumble of thunder with rain expected so let’s see what happens.

We have decided that tomorrow will be a quieter day for us and although Jennifer has some final food sorting to do and we need a little shopping we plan to have lunch in Courmeilles  for a change.

Weill try to see if we have a wifi connection tonight otherwise will have to wait again and will find a better place to upload the reports.

Saturday 8th July 2017- A busy day at the office

Another beautiful morning with the birds kicking in at about 5.30 Am so if you need an alarm call at that time it’s quite perfect. And of course this place is so quiet that any birds that tweet will be heard from some way away.

So prior to breakfast we had set ourselves a target to clean the awning and specifically the windows both inside and out and although you can hose down the outside you cannot do this inside for obvious reasons.

We also purchased some while ago the special cleaner made by the awning manufacturer called Isabella and we are both pleased with the result and the windows are far better. Let’s hope they don’t get to dusty before we pack the awning tomorrow afternoon. We also sorted through the caravan and discovered that we had some old and pointless bits of flooring which is not needed and also we have one broken chair courtesy of a very large guest who plopped herself down so that the plastic bracket broke and we did consider looking locally for a replacement but we have decided to do without until we get home and then re-assess our requirements. We may decide that this style of chair is not strong enough and that we should spend a little more and get chairs with aluminium frames and brackets.

In the afternoon Jennifer caught up with some washing in one of the sites big industrial sized washing machines as this would save time when we arrive home. We also did some other sorting and planning in readiness for packing up over the next couple of days in readiness for our departure on Wednesday morning.

We have placed our caravan on the same location for the last few years and it enable us to plumb in the water and waste as there are only about 6 locations in the site where this can be done, however with so much hot weather this year the little road alongside our van kicks up lots’ of dust and so we went on a walkabouts and think we shall take site A15 next time. So providing our waste pipes are long enough it should be fine but we will be out of the WIFI zone which we understand is due to change next year anyway, lets us see.

Channel 4 is showing the highlights of qualifying and also the race of the Austrian F1 race and so in the evening we watched the qualifying and based on the grid it should be a good race which we can watch the highlights of tomorrow night.

The site seems a little busier than recent and interestingly there are far more tents than we have seen before, what this means I don’t know but it is usually mostly caravans and motor homes that fill the place.

So tomorrow morning we have a busy day with putting the awning down and also packing up the tables and all the other bits and pieces we seem to have and so that should take a while. We hope to be finished, providing it does not rain somewhere during mid-afternoon so that we can have our steak BBQ and then watch the F1.

Was hoping to post this tonight but cannot get internet connection, ah well will just have to be tomorrow.

Friday 7th July 2017- A nice day in the sun

Following a relative early breakfast we headed downtown to Courmeilles to visit the local market and purchase some fish for the evening’s dinner. As usual the town was quite busy with about forty market stalls selling everything from ladies dresses to live chickens and ducks, we considered buying a duck as a sign of opposition to the amount of people who have arrived with a multitude of dogs. Why anyone would need five dogs we cannot imagine, however we decided against the duck as it would not have time to get a passport to come back to Uk with us next Wednesday let alone the problems of immigration. If it was an Afghanistan ducks perhaps it would be different with the offer of a free apartment in London. Anyway with a brief walk around the market for a few photos we ended up at the fishmongers and purchased some fine whiting for tonight’s dinner plus some nice seafood volavents.

We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun under the umbrella and watching the new arrivals, about 20 today, we have been reliably informed. It’s often fun to watch, perhaps if not a little rude, to see people who have arrived either camping or caravaning for the first time and are not quite sure what to do . You would thinks that people who have never camped before would put the tent up at home so as to understand what to do but no, you watch them for hours as they the put the pole in there and then see the tent fall over, its quite fun but sad at the same time and perhaps we should offer help but that can also be misconstrued.

It was a mixture of Brits and Dutch arriving today, as always, for some reason the French prefer sites on the coast, perhaps overlooking the UK and thinking about, if only we had a Brexit vote.

Tonight’s fish was excellent with boiled rice and vegetables consumed along with a bottle of Saint Veran wine followed by a Normandy apple tart. Tonight we have decided to watch one of our last films this time its Oceans 11, old but still fun.

Tomorrow we need to wash the awning windows in readiness for the awning to come down on Sunday afternoon ion readiness for our return to the UK on Sunday. As the site fills up we recognise its time for us to leave.

Just seen the headline, Putin meets Trump face to face??? What did you expect arse to arse???

Anyway quote of the day from Ronald Regan Ex USA President

“ I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandants would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.”

Thursday 6th July 2017- Gosh its very HOT

Talk about Global Warming, what about warming in Moyaux in Normandy asits really hot today and perhaps the hottest day so far. The Thermometer reached 36.1 and even Yahoo Weather showed 36 Centigrade whilst the inside of the caravan reached almost 38 Centigrade so it was to bloody hot to do anything, but we tried.

In the morning we went to Liseaux to the Leclerc Hypermarket amnd purchased a few foody bits for the next few days and then headed back to the Caravan. Following a light lunch we decided to go for a swim in the really magnificent Chateau pool and it was the first time for Noel due to concerns over bowel control over the past few weeks. Needless to say it was a great experience but just the same a little worrying should there be a problem mid pool, but thank heavens, all went well.

In the afternoon we caught up with the Blog as it so easy to get behind but it was so hot even though we went in to the site TV room which was in the shade but after an hour or so even that place go hot and so by mid to late afternoon it was pretty much up to date. In the evening we had been invited for an evening drink by Arie and Henny who are the two Dutch Rent-a-Tent staff who we have go to know over the last few years. They love this site to death and refuse to work in in any other location although they did indicate that this would most likely be their last year. It would appear for the last few years they have spent five months onsite here in Normandy and then six months in Spain and the balance in their apartment in Northern Holland. We had a good chat about travel and he reminds us of the actor who used to play the white bearded Grandad of the ‘Only Fools and Horses’ TV programme. Apparently he used to be in the Navy and was based in Curacao in the West Indies for many years and he travelled the world. Since then they have also travelled a lot in Australia and other locations and so what started out as a quick evening drink ended up with us leaving at about 8.45 pm, rather than the 7.30 we had planned but it was a good evening. Lucky we had decided to have our main meal at lunchtime.

Tomorrow the weather threatens to be hot but cooler than today which will suit us no end as we need to get the awning down over the weekend with the help of the Dutch couple and it needs to be cooler than 36 Degrees to do it or we will all collapse.

Tomorrow we plan to go in to Courmeilles to the weekly market for a look see and a few photos and go to our favourite fish shop.

5th July-2017 -Lunch on the hill

A hot day was forecast for today but we had already planned to go to one of our favourite restaurant in the area a little place called Le Petit Beaumont in a place called Beaumont-en-auge. So after an early breakfast we headed off to the hills via a roundabout way and arrived just before twelve. We were able to get a table on the terrace outside with a nice view over the hills. This place is amazing as it looks so small from the road but it goes back with many different rooms and I guess it could seat almost 100 people. The menu is simple with a buffet starter and a choice of three main courses and four deserts all for about 15 Euros and of course the place was very busy when we left.

Jennifer wanted to look at a couple of dress shops but could find nothing that she liked apart from two new pairs of sandals.  Then back home and hide from the sun as it was about 34 Centigrade by this time and so Jennifer went for a swim whilst Noel south shade.

We watched a little British TV but nothing to write home about. Whilst Noel was in the shade of the trees the Dutch couple who manage the onsite Rent-a-tents came by to invite us for a drink on Thursday evening and so that should be nice.

When writing this BLOG on Thursday it’s so very hot and its now up to 36 Centigrade, phew much too hot for us.

Let’s hope it cools down at night as the caravan temp gauge was registering almost 38 Centigrade.

2-4th July 2017- a few things on my mind

Well I seem to have received from the effects of the bread and must now add it to the list of foods which I cannot take for the moment. Unfortunately the list is building and includes fresh tomatoes, fatty cheese, apple skins and oranges are beginning to have an effect as well, but of course I have to avoid all the cabbage family plus garlic and most herbs for the moment. Although on the bright side I can eat most meats and fish and regular cooked potatoes and rice etc. but have not tried beer yet as they tell you to avoid gassy drinks.

We have also decided that Noel was very tired from four days in the car that a road trip to the Italian Lakes looks a bit doubtful at the moment for September as is the drive via Kiel in Germany up to Norway, so we may investigate a cruise through the Norwegian fjords when we get back to blighty for September. Let’s see what happens as cannot make any travel decisions until after next blood tests in late July.

The consultants did say it could take me up to a year to get back to full strength and I think they must be right based upon last week’s travel and a minimum of a year up to two years for the bowel to finally settle, a bit long but nothing I can do but be careful

Have felt very sorry for the victims of the London fire until I found out that many of them were ILLEGAL immigrants and should not have been in the building in the first place. And now they want to give them another year before they look at their status and so no doubt come the time one year later they will all have scarpered. One enterprising Vietnamese gentleman turned up at the Council offices and said that he had lost his wife and child and so could he have the settlement of £5K each please and they nearly paid until they found out he lives nowhere near the burnt out block of flats.

The site has been quite empty over the past week and no doubt the new owners are getting a little worried about their future investment and they sent one of the staff down to the competition site about five miles away to check them out and they were much busier but then also their prices are lower. Let’s see if they make any changes to the pricing. In the meantime due to their view of health and safety of the swimming pool they have put new signs up warning guests that the pool is not in the campsite territory and the risk lays with the owner. Our good friend Ingrid, and she is most upset by this. The Creperie is also not now in the land that Hutopia want but have suggested that locals should be allowed to use it, over my dead body says Ingrid. So all exciting stuff going on here in this peace full corner of Normandy

1st July 20127- Is it really July already?

A grey morning awaited us with rain overnight but actually they need it here as the grass was beginning to look rather brown and dry.

We had breakfast and then went down town to Carrefour to get some stuff for the weekend and then came back and had lunch of ham and sourdough bread. The plan for the evening was to have grill some echine de pork if the weather stayed nice but Noel was struggling a bit as it looks like the sourdough bread is not suitable  for him but we continued with the grilling of the chops and opened a bottle of medicinal Chardonnay, actually a Saint Veran. The chops we excellent and we have found the meat from the private butcher installed in the local Carrefour to be extremely good although we will not try the steak as past experience has not been good with supermarket steak. However we still have some rib eye’s and sirloin from Costco in the freezer and so we plan a steak for tomorrow night all being well.

Unfortunately the effect of the sourdough bread was having a bad impact on Noel and so off to bed he went as it was closer to the Loo. It’s a real bastard finding out the hard way whether your body will accept certain food as the effects can be quite upsetting and it can take days to get over it.

Let’s hope he is better tomorrow,

30th June 2017- Back to Moyaux

The weather had turned very windy overnight and what with the noise of the sea cascading in and the sound of the wind and rain and being in a different bed again we were both still tired in the morning. Gilles had intended to take us out for the the morning and followed by lunch before we left town but Noel was tired after a number of days in the car and not having slept well we decided to leave mid-morning which would also allow us to miss the early evening Caen traffic jams. The weather was quite bad at times on the motorway heading back to Caen but we made good time and got back to Courmeilles to find a restaurant still open and so as they had a special of Hamburger and fries we were sold and had a pleasant lunch.

We did some little shopping to cover us for the evening and then went back to the caravan and both of us had a rest as we were rather tired. In the evening we watched an episode of Touch of Cloth the spoof police drama which is really excellent and very funny if not a little rude at times.

We are both looking forward to our own beds tonight.

29th June 2017- On to Dinard

We left the Vannes Ibis and purchased some lunch from a local Boulangerie just as it started to rain again. We handled some local issues and then left town just after lunch time and headed for a small town South of Dinard where Gilles opera singer daughter lives and where Gilles had been enjoying his recovery from surgery. En route we decided to stop by the lake at Ploemel where some years ago we had stayed on a lovely caravan site right be the lake. We were luck with the weather and could sit by the side of the lake and enjoy our food. After lunch and a top of the diesel fuel tank, yes it was cheap, and headed North towards a small village called St Pierre-de-Plesguen where Gilles daughter lived. It was still raining unfortunately but we were able to look around the house which had been nicely decorated but perhaps suffers from Stephanie being away all the time. We did not meet Stephanie but for more info see link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St%C3%A9phanie_d%27Oustrac

We then left for St Malo and the port area where we visited a fish shop right next to the boats that catch the fish and there was a huge selection of crabs and lobsters in the tanks.

Gilles then took us on a little tour of the area which is very nice indeed and then on to the house where they live. The house was built in 1906 and overlooks the harbour and nice sandy beach and with great views over the outer edges of the entrance to the harbour of St Malo and it was quite still and it was interesting to see the rowing two’s and single sculls heading out to sea.

We had a very nice dinner prepared by Felicitas Gilles partner but by 1030 we were also getting a little tired and so off to bed. We were on the second floor of this large family house and the view from the room was magnificent. It rained overnight as we could hear the rain coming in through the windows.

28th June 2017- ON ON they cried to Vannes

We decided to have breakfast on route as we both felt rather full from the previous night’s dinner. We followed the signs to Redon and then on to Vitry where we had previously planned to stay and was surprised to see how large the place was with lots of industry on the outside of town whilst the old town was very quaint with an old walled city and really worth a visit sometime in the future but not stay in an Ibis.

We had lunch out in the countryside and unfortunately it was still raining and so in the car we enjoyed the food. By late afternoon we arrived at the Hotel in Vannes at the Ibis, using nice Accor points although the Kyriad across the road is better. Mady and Ken arrived at the Hotel around 18.40 and we had a brief drink in the bar before leaving for the port area where we planned to have dinner. Although the restaurant is only about 400 mtrs away from the car park it started to rain again and so we changed our plans and had a very nice dinner overlooking the harbour. Noel had the whiting fish which looked a little expensive on the menu but it was a large fish and really excellent. After a good long catch up chat we left the restaurant to go back to the Hotel and it was great seeing Mady and Ken looking so well and with Mady losing some weight which looks good on her.

27th June 2017- Leaving town for a few days to Vannes and Dinard

After an early breakfast, well early for us, we headed out via Moyaux to buy some sandwiches for our travels and then a stop in Lisieux for some cheap Diesel.

Our plan is to visit Noels sister and husband who live on the West Coast near Vannes but we would take a longer country route and spread the journey over two days rather than rush down the motorway. Our route took us from Lisieaux via Liverot (where they make some cheese) then on to Argentan where we tried to stop for coffee but there was a market in town so nowhere to park, and then via few small towns and we stopped vion a nice place called Bagnoles-de-L’orne to eat our baguettes overlooking the lake as the rain poured down. This looked like a nice place and although we had booked an Ibis Hotel in a place called Vitry, which we knew little about and suspecting the Ibis might be in the middle of an Industrial Estate we decided to check out the local Hotel prices and blow me we could get a double room in a four star hotel by the lake for less than wer were paying for the Ibis and so we made a quick decision and booked to stay in town at the Hotel Spa de Beryl (great name). We had a little rest in the late afternoon and went down town for a quick looksee on food and not much was open and so clearly it’s the off season hence low cost for hotels.

We found a bar and had a quick drink and then on the way back to the Hotel came across a little restaurant doing omelettes and the like and so went in there and had a good meal rather than brave the expense of a Hotel restaurant cost, tight bastards that we are.

And so. to bed.