Its very nice going away for a few days but everywhere you go shortly afterwards you receive an email asking what we thought of the food, accommodation, etc etc, its most annoying. When you look some of the places we had just visited they have thousands of reports and so if they don't know by now how they are doing, my making a report will really not help.
So now they just get deleted and if I feel a reply is warranted I put it on Google and Trip Adviser
Well its been a nice few days away from home touring the county of Northumberland and visiting some very nice places although the weather was not the best , but we enjoyed anyway.
WE packed and left the Hotel around 11.00 and headed South for about 2.5 hours and we thought we would finish of the trip by having lunch before arriving home and so we booked at the Rose and Crown at Thorpe , a place we have visited a few times with excellent food.
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We arrived home about 15.00 and immediately unpacked the car, had a cup of tea and then a zizz for an hour or so. We always find if you stay in several Hotels on the go with different beds and bedding you really don sleep to well, well we don't, and so when you get home you go n your own bed and have a good nights sleep.
Perhaps next time go to Wales or Yorkshire
It was rather nice being able to decide what time we would have breakfast rather than the need to follow the rules of the Hotels, with some finishing at 9.30 am and other 11.00 but on the Lodge we could do what we want. So we had breakfast around 10.30 and enjoyed the quiet and caught up with emails ret before jumping back in to the car to do a tour of the lakes, we thought.
On the map there was a line indicating what we thought was a road going around the Lake ( reservoir} and so we followed the route and had to enter a Parking lot before continuing only to find that the so called road was only for pedestrians and bikes and so there is no road around the lake from which you can see the lake itself, this was a bit of let down. So we got out the map and followed several roads as close the lake as we could and then stumbled upon a Garden Centre which had a café, very new its seems, and so we entered and had a nice lunch sort of overlooking the lake providing you stood on one leg…
Following lunch we departed for the nearest shops so we could purchase a snack for the evening and we located a Tesco where cheese, bread and some wine and water were purchased before we headed back to the Lodge for a relaxing afternoon . We were a bit disappointed about the lake not being visible and next time be more prepared for walking etc. In the evening we were watching a fil and there was this almighty bang which as first we thought was a fuse blowing but we then discovered that the gold driving range was next door and somebody had hot the ball over the side netting and on the rood of the Lodge.
And so to bed.
After the usual hotel breakfast we packed the car and headed off out of Seahouses and this sun was shining and blue sky everywhere, at least for a while. We topped up the fuel tank to avoid doing so in the A1M where they rip u off like mad. We then headed off via country lane to the A1M in the direction of our next paned stop near Rutland Waters.
What I did not mention in yesterdays blog was that we had decided to only book the first five nights and then make decisions on where to go next, either stay in Northumberland, or somewhere else entirely and we had decided to to visit the County of Rutland which we believe is one of the smallest County in the United Kingdom and a County we had not visited so that seemed like a plan. So we started looking for Hotels and you go from cheapish B&B thro very expensive £ 300 per night for just the room, and then via the internet I stumbled upon an offer from Expedia , which I thought was for a room at £ 120 per night which seemed to good to mis but also aware that Hotels often prefer you book direct which I tried to do but their website says fully booked and when I phoned them go the same answer. So I nearly gave up but then went back to the Expedia site and studied the offer which turned out to be a wooden three bedroom lodge with fully equipped kitchen and with large lounge area all for £ 120. So with a great deal of trepidation I booked it and hoped all would be Ok.
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Anyway we headed South on the A1M with Tom Tom taking us off to avoid a significant queue due to extensive road works until we reached our exit to Greetham. One small rather surprising thing we noticed both Northbound and Southbound that there were two large sex shops with extensive parking so lord knows that goes on there. we also passed Trophy Motors who had at least 40 or 50 MGF cars.
We arrived at the Golf Club and were given the key to Lodge Number 5 and we trundled down the road and located our lodge and boy were we happy. It was very large , almost as large as our house in sq ft terms, so brilliant discovery. For dinner we went to the club house for something to eat, they had a limited menu and it was quiet whilst we were there but we were early as at 7.30 pm they were expecting about 20 people to show up.
Back to the lodge and we watched a film with Tom Hanks in a film called ‘A man called Otto’, which was very good and made you think.
So to bed we go with plans to tour the lakes tomorrow.
After yesterdays gorgeous day with lot of blue sky and sun we awoke this morning to pouring rain and very strong winds. From our room you could see the whitecaps on the large waves that wee crashing in to the Harbour wall and nobody was there .
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We went for our morning breakfast in the Bamburgh Castle Hotel, it was the usual buffet which you help yourself to and the room was quite busy and as the car parks was also full we assumed the Hotel was doing well. Due to the Hotel car park being full when we arrived Noel had to park the car about 300 yards away in a public car park which is fine to walk to and from in the sun but when its raining and blowing a gale, its not great
Once the rain and wind had slowed down we went over to ick up the car and drove North up to Bamburgh Castle and then beyond on the Great Northumberland Coast Road for a few miles and then we parked by the side of the road with Jennifer watching the birds in the small harbour seeing mostly seagulls, oyster catchers, shell duck and a hawk of some type. After a while we headed back to Seahouses and found we could park the car in the Hotel car park and then walked up the hill to the Italia restaurant which had a good reputation. The previous days dinner in the Black Swan was excellent, however the pop musing blaring away was not conducive to a nice atmosphere and so we opted to try this Italian restaurants called Insieme Italian restaurant with great views over the car Park. The food however was excellent and we both enjoyed it very much until the bill came, Ooooh, perhaps we should have had a bottle of win and deserts, but you only live once.
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We got bck to the room at around 4 pm and Noel was planning to watch the LIverpool vs Chelsea game on the pc via the internet only now the internet started to play up and so as it kept cutting in and out and then totally out he had to listen in audio on his phone. Blast. Later in the evening the Austin F1 race was to take place and initially the wifi continues to play up then somebody must have fixed it and so we could watch the race which was great, and also good to see Ferrari get one and two positions with the flying Dutchman third and poor old Norris 4th.
Noel ate a few grapes which had seen better days then one hour later fully regretted the decision and so had to stay up a bit longer to ensure no accidents. Tomorrow we leave for Rutland Waters and planning to stay on a Gold Club in a three bedroom hut.
Following breakfast we left the Hotel Le Petit Chateau at around 10.30 and our trusty Tom Tom Sat Nav sent us down some lovely country roads and through small villages and there was a lot of farming activity mostly sheep and cows. There were lots of Pheasants walking in the road attempting to play ‘chicken’ and we even saw a group of partridges which were also walking along the road no doubt trying to avoid the hunters up on the hill.
The road had suffered heavy rain in the last couple of days and sometimes crossing with with a semi electric made you think until we came to a road with about thirty feet of water blocking us. What to do, Jennifer offered to walk with a stick to check the depth but I said not a good idea in case there were hidden potholes and so we turned around and headed back via the partridges and pheasants.
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Just outside of the route to Holy Island was an information board advising when you could and could not cross the causeway and it was open until 14.10 and now was about 12.00 so we drove over the causeway and reached the town car park which was extremely full and quite a way from the actual town itself, so we turned round and headed back. On the hill overlooking the causeway was a coffee shop and also what looked like a very nice camping site for motorhomes and Caravans. S we stopped for some refreshments before heading back to the main road. As Berwick on Tweed was only a short distance away we decided to visit there before heading south again.
The junction with the A1 to go north is a bad junction and we had to cross the two heavy streams of traffic with no one giving way and so you have to push your way in and in doing so upset a guy in his Range Rover who insisted to sit two inches behind me for a short while blasting his hooter and flashing his lights so I pulled out the way. I had already noticed that the standard of driving on this road was poor, probably Scots, it was a 60 mile road and I was doing 58 they all bunch up behind you like peas in a pod, ridiculous.
We spent a short time driving around Berwick but not much to talk about except they had a very large Sainsbury’s and so we headed down to Bamburg Castle which is most impressive but the really nice weather had brought out the masses and nowhere to park and at that moment the battery in the camera gave up exhausted , perhaps go back tomorrow but then the weather was not going to be so good.
So off we went further South for a short while to find out Hotel in a place called Seahouses which was really packed and the Hotel car park was the same. So Noel parked several hundred yards away in the main car park and we then signed in to our room overlooking the sea, that is you ignore the flat rood immediately out of the window.
After a short rest we went for a walk around the fishing port harbour and we noticed that the council has placed wooden seating so people can sit and enjoy the view just like in a cinema. There were lost of people eating fish and chips out of packets whilst enjoying the view. Trip Adviser had recommended the Black Swan pub and when we got there it was quite busy with lots of empty tables, we thought, only to find they were all reserved and you can eat in the bar if you find a table which we eventually achieved. The food was really excellent, Noel had the Halibut fishwith boiled potatoes and Jennifer the Thai Curry and we may go back there tomorrow if we can get in.
Now back in the room Noel wired up the TV and we watched the F1 Sprint race from Austin, Texas and then a couple of documentaries before turning in. The room was quite warm and so with window wide open we went to bed.
Following a breakfast bacon sarni in the restaurant this morning we gathered our gear for a drive in the sun and take a look at the country side. We decided to let Tom Tom take us on a circuitous route which was great with single lane roads passing the off farm and/or very small village util we reached a road with a very large gate shutting off the road, Oh well that's life.
So we turned round and headed back the way we came until we could find another route to Keilder Water where we spent a short while looking at the lake come reservoir before carrying on and unfortunately the very nice sunny weather seemed to disappear and along came the rain. We stopped at a Forestry Commission countryside woodland caravan site which also had chalets for rent which looked nice but only when you have good weather as otherwise they would be very dark. WE also think that they would be quite expensive.
From there we came across a petrol station with a small local shop attached where they were making sandwiches and baguettes to order and so we ordered a ham and tomato which we enjoyed about an hour later next to a small river in the pouring rain. Unfortunately the second half of the trip the weather was poor by we passed by and though the following towns and villages.
With a short rest after a long day out we went for dinner and heard the noise from the big wedding that was taking place but so far it is not reaching our room. Time will tell.
Tomorrow we leave the Hotel and will head further North
After a good nights sleep and and very good Hilton Garden breakfast we packed our bags and headed of towards Gateshead where we are planning to visit the local Lexus Car dealer as we are currently looking/considering to change our current vehicle and we wanted to look a bitt more on what is on offer.
We now needed to top up the fuel tank and as Costco was only minutes away we went there for unleaded at £ 1.24 as against other 10 p per litre more expensive and then decided to stop and have a cup of tea.
From there we took a long and interesting route from Gateshead to arrive two hours later in a place called Otterborn which is a relatively small village with a couple of hotels but not far from a very large Army establishment. The hotel had pre warned us that on the second day of our stay there would be a wedding taking place with certain areas out of bounds but actually it will really no impact on us at all..
The Hotel we are staying is called Le Petit Chateau and is an amazing Hotel with lovely rooms and a good area where you can get married in a church like building and then walk five yards to start celebrating.
Jennifer went for a quick walk to the Mill, which unfortunately was closed but perhaps visit tomorrow and Noel caught up on some emails etc ..
In the evening we went to the restaurant and the food was very good with Jennifer having the chicken pie and Noel the beefburger.
Afterwards we took another walk around the Hotel and sat for a while in the lounge and then returned to the room as Noel is working on a website for the controlling of all the documentation of the estate Management review and also working with the West Surrey Badger group with regard to badgers living in the adjacent wood. This is important as they want to build 450 houses next door and this piss off the badgers immensely and also UK rules state they cannot be moved, or something along those lines.
And so to bed
Well after a busy few days with visiting family in Oxford and looking at new cars we had a good nights sleep before heading up to Northumberland for a few days. A close neighbour had waxed lyrical about the area and suddenly we thought we would visit as we had a few days spare.
So we were up reasonably early and packed the car and sorted out the house and bins before leaving at around 11.00 for an approx five hour drive. So round the famous M25 to the A1M and then headed North and shocked at the amount of trucks using this road. The trouble was a lot of the trucks have speed governors and so when they try to overtake it can take 2.5 years before they make it past and so you can age really fast sitting behind and wating for the road to clear.
Part the way up the Tom Tom Sat Nav said leave the AIM and take the following side road which got us concerned and then we found that the A1M had major road works causing several miles of tailback which Tom Tom very carefully guided us around.
We drove for about two hours and stopped at a Starbucks for a cup of tea and our sandwiches and swapped driver and so Jennifer took over and unfortunately had the worst of the weather and with very few opportunities to stop and change she had to drive for 2.5 hours, more than planned. We finally made a stop about 30 minutes from our Hotel and by this time the rain had stopped, thank heavens.
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We had booked to stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel in Sunderland which had received good views and as we had decided that we did not need to visit Newcastle and just needed a good bed for the night. We arrived about 5 pm and settled in to our room but a beer was desperately needed and so shortly afterwards we went to the bar and then finally on to the restaurant and the food was really good. Jennifer had the grilled chicken with sweet potato fries and Noel the Sunderland fish and chips which was also excellent.
The Hotel is right next door to the Stadium of Light where Sunderland FC play and they seem to being doing well as currently Number one in the Championship.
So a quiet evening in the room after a busy day and hoping for the weather to improve after todays rain.
We were both pretty full from yesterdays dinner and so decided not to spend £ 25.00 per head for breakfast as right next door there was a boulangerie and so Jennifer went to collect some rolls and Noel organised retrieving our car from the valet service.
It was pouring with rain as we left Rouen and a little earlier than we had planned and so the Satnav was telling u approx. two hours and fifteen minutes to arrive at the Port of Calais Ferry terminal, We had already changed out ferry from the 16.20 to the 14.20 but now it looked likes that we could be a to early for this one and so on checking there was another at 12.50.
Once the rain stopped Noel put his foot down so as to get to Calais early and we arrived at just on 11.50 and without trouble they put us on this ferry. We retired to the DFDS premium lounge which on this ship was looking a bit sad but at least it was quiet.
The ship arrived in Dover and where we parked on the ship their was a large truck just behind us from you know whom.
We arrived home at about 1530 and the Tom Tom Satnav has a good way of avoiding all the traffic so brought us the M25 early and thro Oxshot and so we arrived home without being too tired,
With the car unpacked a cup of tea and biscuit followed with a little zzz before a glass of wine and early dinner.
Thats another trip, taking the extra time getting there and back is actually more expensive than you think as we tend to go for nice Hotels and they are not so cheap.
Yes, we could have used all the motorways and Toll roads from St Cirq le Popie to get back to Calais, but where is the fun in travel. Some years ago we left the Lot Valley in our comfortable V8 Jaguar car which goes quite fast and is very comfortable and drove pretty much all the way back to Calais and thinking perhaps to stay the night near the Port for an early morning ferry, but this was at about 6 pm and then again we could be home tonight in our own bed and so we did this and drove from St Cirq all the way home in one day so it can be done although tiring. However the negative outcome of doing this is that you miss all the best bits of France which are whizzing by you at 80 mph and so you don't see anything so this time we decided to drag it out and stay away from Motorways, Toll Roads and use country roads which is much nicer hence or route back via Limoges, Sable Sur Sarthe and Rouen, its more expensive as you have four nights Hotel and food etc but you only live once.
Anyway we left our Hotel this morning shortly after 10.00 and drifted thro the country side taking four hours to do a 2.5 hours route by Motorways and passed thro some lovely towns and villages. In Sees there is an amazing Cathedral but we could not stop due to all parking close by taken up but we said we must return some time. We stopped for petrol so that we would have a full tank when leaving Rouen tomorrow so we can get home without any further stops. The Satnav
We arrived at our Hotel de Bourgtheroulde , a very nice old Hotel in the middle of the old part of town, we did stay here once before during the time that Christopher was born in January 2017 , about two weeks early , and so we celebrated his arrival at the time with two glasses of Champagne in the nice bar they have here.
For dinner we went to a local restaurant in the market square and it was a nice place with lots of good reviews from Trip Adviser and it certainly was nice. One comment about the Hotel, for only one night we took cheapest room but discovered that due bed and room layout there was no headrest at end of bed and in Noel's case the air con unit blew all night so needing some ducking and diving. The phone rang a few times for no reason and so needed to be unplugged. Apart from that its a nice Hotel but if we stay agin get a better room
Anyway we are here for only one night and tomorrow head off to Calais to catch our ferry back home but will be using Motorways and Toll roads to get there on time.
Breakfast finishes at 0945 so we rushed down before it was to late. We were both a bit tired as by eating late yesterday evening neither of us slept well and we think there was a mosquito buzzing around which never makes for comfortable sleeping.
On reviewing our travel over the next couple of day we realised that we could connect with an earlier ferry from Calais as its only about 2.5 hours from Rouen to the Calais port and it would mean we get home just before the main traffic starts, we hope.
We went for a walk around the Abbaye Saint-Pierre de Solesmes more info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solesmes_Abbey and is an amazing building right by the river Sarthe. We retuned to the Hotel and Noel spent some time using the online chat with DFDS to change our booking to the earlier boat which thankfully was achieved. We then took a short break and at 1300 got in the car to drive in to Sable sur Sarthe to await the sailing of the boat that goes up the river which we had booked a few days ago. It was a pleasant trip and the Captain and also acting as tour guide gave an almost non stop commentary which must have been a bit to much for the locals but thankfully for us we did not fully understand.
Ironically the trip consisted of going down stream past the Abbye , going thro one lock then turning around and returning to Sable at just after 1700 Hrs.
The Hotel restaurant was closed tonight and that was good for us as we did not want a late night and also only had a small snack for lunch but there was a burger and pizza joint in the old part of town and so we meandered up their and of course I had to explain about my allergies and so he suggested a fish burger and fries which would suit me fine. Jennifer ordered a pizza La Reine which was ginormous and so she had to leave about a third as their was just to much.
We returned to the Hotel for a quiet night in the room and watched some you tube stuff and Noel caught up with some work stuff. Tomorrow we leave for Rouen for a one night stay before returning to the UK on Tuesday 24th.
We had a light breakfast at the Kyriad Hotel and left about 1000 en route to our next Hotel The Grand Hotel Solesmes which is close by Sable Sur Sarthe.
As before we have chosen to use the country route and avoid the motorways and Toll roads and we are so glad we did as went through some very nice towns and countryside en-route. But then we cam across a town called Chauvigny where there is a famous Chateau and on the outside of town there is a sign saying the they had been twinned with a number of towns around Europe but in Uk they are twinned with Billericay and one could not think of anything with such a difference, see photos.
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However we carried on until about lunchtime and found a place to stop and finish up some cheese and biscuit's that we had left over before returning to the road.
The Sat Nav kept us out of the way of the main roads near Tours and took across fields on single track roads but it worked to our advantage. We arrived at our Hotel around 4pm and checked in and enjoyed a brief rest before heading down for dinner.
The Hotel is quite nice but not very full by the number of cars in the car park but the waiter assured me the restaurant was full and so it was pretty much. Noel explained his dietary requirements and enjoyed some prawns to start followed by a steak as suggested by the Maître de and Jennifer also started with the prawns an then a sea bream which they topped and tailed and removed the bones tableside which took a few minutes but the food was very good. For desert Jennifer enjoyed a Cointreau souffle which she said was the best she had every enjoyed. This Hotel room costs are relative for a four star hotel but the restaurant costs were very high. The restaurant did not open until 7.30 pm which is always bit late for us as by the time you get the food its 8.15 and much later by the time you have finished.
We returned to the room and Jennifer read whilst Noel checked out the football results and what with Chelsea beating West Ham on their pitch 3-0 was excellent
During the previous few days we have planning the best route to take from our Hotel to the Kyriad Hotel in Limoges as we wished to avoid Motorways and Toll roads and some of the smaller roads are much nicer to travel on. We looked at the map and also Tom Tom and Google Maps and decided that the best way was to use the old A 20 which is now the N820 which is the old main route south to Cahors and beyond.
So after and early morning start we put the key in to reception and chatted to the owner about next year and please book direct, and the headed off in to town ? to have a croissant and tea at the Boulangerie and then on to Proxi Store to by some water to cover us for the next few days. We went thro lots of little villages going north away from the Lot Valley until we hit the N820 which was great road to travel on as it was not crowded, had great views and a good road surface. Unfortunately something, perhaps the tea water gave Noel a few challenges and trying to find a public loo in France is just as difficult as in UK. So loading up on all sorts of pill was able to work his thro the problem and the after having overcome same we cam across a brand newish loo , but that's life. For lunch we stopped at a wayside parking area which overlooked a Chateau whose name I cannot remember and then continued on to Limoges where we were stunned by to total lack of traffic and considering it was Friday afternoon could not believe how little amount of cars there were.
We arrived a the Kyriad Hotel in Ester , Limoges and checked in to this quite new hotel and the had a rest before heading off to the local restaurant serving pub food where we had a pint of Budweiser beer and fish and chips. Then back to the Hotel for some blogging and to watch the final part of the Prince Andrew three part’er.
En-route when passing thro the various little towns we had noticed that the name of the town signboard were upside down and we could not understand why but looked it u and it appears the reason is that |French Farmers are saying they are having a tough time and protesting vi upside town name boards.
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Tomorrow we go to the River Sarthe for two nights and with a local boat trip booked for the Sunday afternoon, should be good.
We are leaving tomorrow morning and so we need to start preparing and begin to pack the car as we want an early start so that we can take the long route without touching Toll Roads or even Motorways.
Noel made some scrambled egg for breakfast which was very nice having to do the job using a frying pan as there were no non adhesive small pans available but the result was excellent. The eating of scrambled eggs for Noel can be difficult some times as the result may interfere with life for about an hour or so and so it did.
So we packed our bags in the morning and and partly loaded the car so we can just put two bags and go. We have decided that tomorrow we will visit the Boulangerie about one mile from the Hotel and buy some croissants for breakfast and sit outside the shop on the little table provided and also some baguettes for out lunch. Once completed we stopped for lunch which was smoked salmon on French toast and ver nice indeed it was.
In the afternoon we visited reception and handed back the towels and dressing gowns used for the Spa and chatted to the owner about our stay and paid the bill. He said if we book direct its better for him rather than thro booking.com which I said I tried but for some reason the date section would not work and I did email but no reply so was forced to use the Booking.com as agent. he also mentioned that in April 2025 they will have a full restaurant opens and we had already seen the building that will be used, it will be nice as if you sit outside yo can see St Cirq le Popie across the other side of the river hanging off the cliff, and amazing view.So we paid the bill and wandered back to the apartment for a brief afternoon rest.
In the evening we had a ham salad which was quite tasty but there was something here that effected us both???
For the evening television we watched the Amazon Prime three par t series on Prince (Randy Andy) Andrew and his relations with Jeffrey Epstein and some rather young ladies. Most interesting and no doubt his mum will look down with consternations.
And so to bed..
Well after receiving the email from the Hilton Garden Hotel in Tours which puts us in a bit of a tizzy we then had t decide what we should do. There were a number of choices as follows.
1- Go to Tours early and hope we can get in the car park as with many thousands of people arriving to see the race this could be risky, whilst the town will be packed and restaurants full.
2- Forget Tours totally and go somewhere else instead – but where
3- Cut our losses and reorganise everything and go straight home with one overnight stop but that entails cancelling Hotels and ferry booking etc.
So after review the map for while and looking at other potential towns like Blois, Chateauroux etc Noel in a rare mad moment remembered on the way down seeing signs for Beaville sur sarthe which reminded him of a visit we paid many years ago with the kids where we rented a boat on the river and Joanne brought here best friend Pippa. Also that was the time we had a dressing up fun night and the ‘The Parrott Club’ was born.
So after emailing Hilton as was concerned that by cancelling I would lose my points and which were worth over £ 250.00 and the auto reply came back saying we always answer within 7-10 days, Oh Hell but there's not much we can do but hope and about one hour later after cancelling the Hilton I received a reply saying don't worry Hotel is cancelled and we have refunded your points, magic!!! So now to find nice Hotel where we can stay for two nights which would allow the Rouen and Ferry bookings to stay as they were. So after somewhile following the river up and down looking at Hotel we cam across one called Grand Hotel de Solesmes which seemed to fit the bill in Solesmes which is close to Sable sur Sarthe and so we booked their for two nights. We also noticed that there are boat trips on the river and so we have also booked a boat trip for Sunday afternoon although we expect it to be raining.
So with that finalised we spent an hour by the indoor pool as Noel seems finally to overcome some health issues and then for dinner we had a large packet of bacon (unsliced) which Jennifer sliced up an to meaty size slices and fried on a bed of rice, really excellent.
An evening of TV followed with a mixture of you tube stuff and Netflix documentary on the music producer Phil Spector who committed murder and then played the system for five years before finally being found guilty and sent to jail.
Well we had a slow start and then headed down to the local town to do some shopping for water and milk bread and croissants and its only five minutes down the road and so most convenient.
We have decided after lengthy review that we would leave here on Friday morning and take a slow country drive to Limoges where we would stay the night at the fairly new Kyriad Hotel Este which is on the outskirts of Limoges. Most of the Hotel in the town require street parking which we do not like as we leave a lot of our stuff in the car when overnighting. From there we will go back to Tours which we really enjoyed last time when walking around the old part of town without a camera and so that would be a nice thing to do. We tried to book at the same Hampton by Hilton Hotel which we stayed in on the way down but it was full, which was a little bit surprising, and so we opted for its sister Hilton Garden Hotel across the square. So we booked two night using our saved Hilton Points and then worked out where to stay next as its a longish drive to Calais from Tours and then either stay overnight locally and/or catch late ferry home but that makes for a very long day.
So we agreed that a night in Rouen which is a nice old city on the River Seine and we would stay a the same Hotel as per our last visit many years ago during the month that Christopher Denovan-Smith was born( boy do we remember that time when driving in the suburbs of Rouen with no mobile signal) anyway we have booked the Marriott Autograph Hotel called Hotel de Bourgtheroulde which is an old Hotel right in the middle of town, not cheap but a good way to polish of the trip. From there the next morning we will drive to Calais and we have changed our ferry booking to the 1635 DFDS and with plenty of time to get there and do some shopping if we are looking for a time filler.
For lunch we had baguette with the left over Salmon from the previous evening before settling down to a restful afternoon reading and looking at stuff on the PC. In the evening we finished off the two pork chops and cooked amongst tomatoes and served on a bed of pasta. Following dinner we watched a disaster movie on Tv and then off to bed, EXCEPT Noel was just checking his emails and noticed one form the Hilton Hotel in Tours advising that the whole place will be road closed due to the annual local marathon run which will cause havoc to the area and mess up all the car parking. Over 5000 competitors are expected plus all the people watching and family members and so the whole place will be packed including car parks, restaurants and this explained why we could not get a room in the Hampton Hotel, so in a word bugger!!!
Oh its to late to worry about this now so lets leave until the next morning and decide then what to do. Having spent a couple of hours on planning its a damn shame we sort to have to start over again.
As an aside noticed that the Governor Of Florida has made the decision that Florida will be the place where the guy who tried to shoot Trump whilst playing golf, will be charged and not sent to FBI HQ and charged by the same people who are currently trying to charge Trump with all sorts of ‘Trumped up charges’
The weather has started to improve over the last couple of days but its still quite cold at night. Its not terribly hot and the highest temperature we have had is about 22 Centigrade and so all the effort to make certain I had sufficient pars of shorts seems now to be a bit pointless.
Unfortunately the editor odd this Blog was still having some challenges and maybe it was the Yogurt or the change of Orange juice but is is messing up my opportunities to go for a swim. Noel has now missed four days of swimming ( perhaps three) all due to the white bread causing me issues which means no swimming.
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So in the afternoon Jennifer went for a swim with Noel wrapping up the blog and then spending time listening to music. Noel came across a Roger Water’s Concert in Portland , Oregon USA which was brilliant and nearly caused him to burn the salmon as he was also in change of cooking due to Jennifer having accidentally kicked some metal furniture and damaging her toe. I think she did it on purpose to avoid cooking and I can safely say that here as I know she never looks at the Blog.
In the evening as I mentioned I fried up some Salmon with green beans and baked potatoes which down quite well and then watched ‘Plank of the Week’ from Talk TV which is always fun to watch.
We had earlier in the week spoken to the Hotel Boss for say three extra days but they cud at the time only offer one, and he would let s know about cancelations etc however that put strain on the rest of our plans where we have pretty much decided to take a real country road to Limoges, about 5 hours over the hills and dales rather than 3 hours on the Autoroutes . We plan to stay at the new Kyriad Hotel North East of Limoges and then the next day on to Tours for two nights and then finally one night in Rouen before heading for the ferry on 24 th Sept. We just have to speak to the reception tomorrow morning to finalise the status and then can go ahead with the Hotels for the route home and also changing the Ferry Bookings, all of which will take a little time.
Being home on the Tuesday allows to catch up on a few things as Noel has a golfing with colleagues in Hampshire on 1st and 2nd of October although will have leave early on the 2nd to attend a funeral, yes another one bites the dust.
We needed to doe some shopping today and and as the supermarkets only open on a Sunday until 12.30 we left our Hotel around 1045 and drove alongside the Lot river on a bight ,very clear day, and the views are stunning. We have visited this area many times and it never ever fails to deliver. Over the many visits we have driven just about everywhere exploring, taking photos etc but now we really have no need as we have done it.
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We dove past the caravan and camping site in Larnagol which we stayed in multiple times and arrived in Carjac around 11.15 and went to the Intermarche stores and bought all the essentials except for bread where the cupboard was bare, and so we drove around to the main road in the town and found a boulangerie and a small baguette which would be great for cheese and biscuits for lunch.
Noel was still having some lower body issues and decided yet again not to visit the pool just in case, as they say, and so spent the afternoon looking at routes, Hotels for our journey home. We had originally booked to stay until the 19th but have been able to extend for one extra night with any more being doubtful but we dont want to leave it to the last minute to try and book Hotels particularly over the weekend when the good ones get busy.
For dinner Noel prepared salad with pork chop and followed by some fruit and then we watched the last episode of the Grand Tour when they visit Zimbabwe, the program was as entertaining as usual.
Had a quick look at the news and heard about another attempt on Trump’s life by a gunman who lives in Florida. I once watched a US reporter say that the Democrats are so worried about Trump winning the next election that unless they strangle him with courts cases and fail the only other way would be to try and kill him. Appalling situation for a Country like to USA to be in.
And so to bed
On Friday ( yesterday) Noel had some tummy issues, lets call it that, which he put down to having a beer on a slightly empty stomach, which would be most unusual. However this morning following out whole toast about an hour or so later the problem re-appeared and so after some grand translation using google lens Jennifer discovered that most of the ingredients of the bread would most likely cause me lots of harm which it certainly did.
Unfortunately this meant no swimming again for the second day as cannot afford to have an accident in their nice swimming pool and so Noel decided to stay in the apartment whilst Jennifer went over to the indoor pool for about 90 minutes and had a lovely time swimming and relaxing. On my part I was anxious to watch Chelsea play Bournemouth match live on SKY SPORTS but my attempts to achieve this were not working whilst using a VPN. Bearing in mind its many months since I last attempted similar I was assuming that I would access the game the same way, only it turned out that I was wrong. Whilst fiddling around with the virgin app on computer and also mobile phone I was able to discover that Virgin Media to whom we are contracted had updated their app and so you had to go to their app listing all the programmes then select what you want and it will then send you directly to Sky Sports and so Noel was able to watch the game.
The speed of the Wi-Fi is not fast and so the quality of the picture on the large screen laptop compared to the much smaller mobile phone screen was poor and sometimes blurry and so the mobile phone it was. Bournemouth put on a good show and although Chelsea had most of the possession the best chances fell to Bournemouth but they failed to score either by missing the goal or Sancho the goalkeeper doing some great saves. At half time it was level after Bournemouth missed a penalty and in the second half on came Jadon Sancho recently arrived from Man United and played a blinder and finally in the 75th minute setting up Nkunku to score. The next part of the game Bournemouth tried very had but somehow Chelsea escaped.
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The game had a massive amount of yellow cards mostly due to derision at the referee who was not making the right decisions.
I just started to write this daily blog and wanted to prepare what to say as not much happened but then just realised it was 13th September. So what's so special about this date ?
Well on 13th September 1975 at 13.00 hrs we left London for Hong Kong from gate 13. Yes a lot of 13 numbers here. It was a day we remember so well turning up at the airport with a four month old baby and flying to our new home in Hong Kong. As we tried to check in with Jens mum and Dad watching and worried about our departure we were informed that the flight was quite full and that we would be on standby and so please wait around for a while. Eventually they closed the flight and there appeared to be lost of people waiting to be called forward as it was now only 45 minutes before scheduled departure and with about 20/30 or could be more travellers waiting to see if they can board and one by one they were called until we were the only people left and so I thought that's it we may have to leave and then suddenly came the call, Mr and Mrs Groves please come to the desk and we were given boarding passes and we could not believe our luck as they were for seats 1A and 1B , ie First Class and at the front of the aircraft with space for a baby cot. Wow and what a nice flight with the old BOAC 747 the upper deck was small and was a lounge with a bar, brilliant.
So today sitting here in St Cirq Le Popie we were having quiet morning as no shopping required and anticipating a swim mid afternoon we went or a walk around the estate and looked at the various other accommodation and also a new Bistro they are building and then back to the apartment for a cheese and biscuits for lunch.
In the afternoon we spent some time looking at routes to get back to the Uk but unable to fix anything as we were waiting for a date of funeral we will attend in the Uk and so this would impact upon our travel plans but we have prepared several different routes depending on circumstances at the time
So at about 1600 as just considering moving the to pool Noel was suddenly affected by something he had eaten resulting in multiple trips to the loo instead of going for a nice swim, so Jennifer went alone and enjoyed her time and it was not busy at all, about six people only .
For evening dinner we had our favourite chicken splodge and demolished a nice bottle of chardonnay and then watched a film called Rebel Ridge on Netflix.
It was a little chilly this morning but we understand the weather will be improving over the next week back to a comfortable level. During the day we both did a lot of reading and Noel some blogging and also dealing with some family matters back in Uk. The Cath event is improving and hoping tomorrow will be a lot better.
Well we have stayed in this Hotel several times in the past, both in the regular bedrooms and once before in the self catering apartments which are part of the complex. Mr Macron has apparently stayed here several times according to various photos around the reception area and standing next to the jovial owner.
So as mentioned we are in an apartment for three people which is one double bed and one single, I have not used my own photos as we have our stuff everywhere ant it looks just a little untidy and so I have used photos from there website.
I needed to book the car in for service which should be a simple phone call but no they have to ask you date of birth, full address and mail and telephone numbers and do you want to receive lots of info from Lexus on cars and services and how about some extras on the service, so NO thank you just a regular service under my plan. Lexus Guildford was previously owned by Inchcape Holdings but they have sold this to an American company and so I hope the service level do not deteriorate.
During a afternoon walk it was noticed that have built or added some new rooms to the complex and including a gite so will need to take a closer look. When we arrived we noticed that the sun umbrella base was broken and so we could not use it and today a new one arrived and so now we only need some sun. Today for lunch we had ham and tomato sandwiches and in the evening a pre cooked Carrefour chicken and salad, chicken was fine but perhaps not quite as juicy as a Costco one. Costco have two shops in France, both near Paris so if we get lost on the way home we know where we can get a cheap hot dog and coffee.
In the evening Jennifer w anted to read her book and so Noel watched a lot off different videos on you tube from ATC recordings to travelogues. We did not visit the pool today ad Noel was still a bit achy and Jen wanting to continue reading.
So as promised on the weather app it was grey all morning followed by an afternoon and evening of quite heavy rain. not what we were hoping for . Apparently the next few days will show an improvement so lets wait and see what happen.
So after a brief discussion we agreed it would be better to do our required shopping today when it is grey and miserable rather than in the good hot weather. To male it more interesting we decided to go and shop in the Carrefour in Cahors which is stuffed full of everything you can imagine but the store is pretty dowdy compared the the LeClerc we visited a couple of days ago. So after Noel had updated the Blog, checked the bank and credit cards for any misuse, I do this every day of the year except when on aircraft, just in case somebody is playing tricks.
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Our journey to Cahors took about 40 minutes and its a lovely drive in the sun and we found the store having visited many times in the past years and did some serious wine shopping plus other essentials and then headed back to the apartment near St Cirq le Popie for some cheese and biscuits for lunch. Although I have brought my camera I am not taking any photos as over the many years we have been visiting this area I have taken hundred of photos and to take a picture of the Le Lot river again seems a bit pointless as the river and hills don't change.
We had considered going to the pool and I know its stupid but we would have got saturated getting there as its about 300 yards away and so we mutually decided that an afternoon with zero on would be good. Noel had a some issues in the pro area following his regular Cath job and so a peaceful afternoon is great.
For our evening meal we had bought some lamb chops and they were quite large and in fact we need two frying pans to be able to cook them and so together with baked potato, carrots and beans we enjoyed our dinner although sitting on the stools for more then ten minutes was uncomfortable and so desert of strawberries was taken sitting on the sofa watching TV.
Tonight we watched a film called Damage, not great but filled up nearly two hours and then a BBC report in to FX Trading companies which are actually scams and people have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds and so these scammers based in eastern Europe have made well over a billion pounds out of who did not recognise that u cannot make vast of amounts of return on the stock markets. They also pointed out that the UK Police force have done absolutely nothing to resolve the issue unlike the German Police who are vey active.
The weather app is saying it will be better tomorrow so lets hope so.
It was nice to have the opportunity for a slow morning and get up when we want and have breakfast when ready. We spent some time soring our clothing and finding storage places for all the stuff we had brought before taking a walk around the Hotel and swimming pools.
The Hotel receptionist advised how to access the indoor swimming pool and spa which has a steam and sauna rooms and also places where you have some personal massages which needs to be booked in advance. The Hotel seems reasonably quiet but they said that July and August had been manic and right now in September is a good time to visit. For lunch we had some Ham and tomato rolls and then some relaxation before heading off to the swimming pool where we spent about 90 minutes with some light swimming , as neither of has swum for a while, then lay on the relaxation chairs for s brief zizz before heading back about 18.00 for a cheese and ham salad.
In the evening we watched Baz Luhr’s version of ELVIS PRESLEY life being managed, nee controlled by the infamous Col Tom Parker, who neither a Colonel or a Tom or a Parker but an illegal immigrant from Holland it would appear. You can always teel a Baz Luhr film by its continual moving locations and people at speed and a bit messy in parts but slowly we got the story.
By this time we were ready for bed
We left the Hotel at around 10 am as the distance to our next Hotel in St Cirq La Popie was not a huge distance , perhaps 100 miles and so we could take the country roads which we did for a while and then the satnav decided to put us on Motorways. We experienced rain, mist and windy weather, certainly not the weather we were expecting and hoping for but that is life.
Our next Hotel we would be self catering and knowing the area quite well we decided to go to Carrefour on the south side of Cahors town but as we were driving north to south the call of nature came and so we were passing a new Leclerc Hypermarket and so Loo’s. Their must be some and so relieved then ended up doing our shopping there which took about an hour as not knowing the shop layout. So with the car loaded with cheese, bread, prawns etc we departed for the Hotel but also looking for somewhere to stop and by a sandwich for lunch which we eventually did, Noel having the three cheese baguette with Jennifer a quiche which she enjoyed. We arrived at the Hotel at 14.20 but were able to check in and get settled and unpacked.
For dinner Noel knocked up a smoked salmon and prawn salad with a bottle of chardonnay of unknown quality but the result was really good. We spent the evening watching a program about Apollo 13 moon shot, not the film but the original video shot at the time, not so melodramatic as the film but very interesting. We then watched Tim (walk with me) on You tube and this time he was visiting a huge hotel in Miami beach called Hotel Fontainebleau resort with four major tower blocks of rooms, to us it looked awful and not our style.
Another new bed tonight but at least the room has air conditioning as it can get very hot here but it made for a first good nights sleep