Wednesday 24th July- To the beaches

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday 22nd July- Texas arrives in le Havre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday 20th July- Back to Le Havre we go

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

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

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

Sunday7th July- Limogne Market day

Jennifer awoke early and went for a walk whilst Noel enjoyed a few more zzz’s and then we enjoyed a bacon and egg and tomato breakfast, nothing like being in France, and then headed off to the Limogne market which was really buzzing.

This is a great little market to visit as mostly locals selling and also buying and we were able to get some nice strawberries, cherries and an excellent melon which will be devoured over the next few days.

We went to the usual café and enjoyed a beer and then in the very hot sun

Walked back to the car and headed to Carjac to see if there was a laundry as we do not want to use the site equipment which is old and we don’t want to give the owner any more cash.

A pleasant drive to Carjac and we found a newly equipped laundry which we will use in the next few days and then back for a cold sausage an bread lunch.

The afternoon comprised of swimming, going on the internet for email and then back for tea. En route back to our van Mike and Paula ( the couple from Birmingham) could not wait to tell about how the site owner had totally embarrassed  himself with a set of French regular customers who keep their caravan nearby and it was delivered last week for placing on site. Unfortunately he had placed the wrong caravan on the site and went to get theirs only to hitch it up, but not properly, and start moving only to find the caravan dropped off without his knowledge and it was blocking the road with the French couple extremely angry. Eventually he got the correct van on site and then tried to move the wrong van away and had the same problem in hitching and after moving off the van came loose and was rolling backwards uncontrolled and nearly smashed in to French couple caravan. At the same time a Dutch elderly couple arrived and he without checking properly backed his van into a tree, all of this happening within ten minutes, Mike and Paula could not stop laughing whilst the site owner had been totally embarrassed in front of 20/30 campers and went off in a huff, serve him right.

We passed British site workers who watch Andy Murray at Wimbledon and so we joined for a few minutes to see him finally win before heading home for a light tea.

Well this is the last blog for a couple of weeks as over the next two weeks we shall be just shopping, sightseeing, reading, cycling and eating and drinking and nothing really interesting for the reader.

We shall start again as we leave here to head up to Le Havre on 20^st July to meet our American friends from Austin Texas with whom we shall be touring France with for ten days.

So that’s it for the moment.

Update- Just heard that site owner damaged the French couples caravan when moving it, b great..

Saturday 6th July- More caravan cleaning and then a BBQ

Noel decided to clean up the outside of the caravan which had got quite dirty really and this took quite a while as it was getting very hot and showing about 35 degrees by early afternoon.

Then some reading and rest and then Noel continued cleaning the bits that were now in the shade and the result is very satisfying. The afternoon was spent relaxing and in the late afternoon the couple from Birmingham that we have seen here several times before came across for a chat for about and hour and some and then at 6.30 pm the BBQ went on and we enjoyed some Toulouse sausages with some nice rib eye steak, beautifully cooked and washed down with a really excellent Cahors wine. Gosh this is a tough life.

Friday 5th July- What a strange man

The owner of this site is a little strange and our early exploits with the electrics and move your car on to your own pitch were stupid and know at about ten am Jennifer decided to hand the bedding up put side for thirty minutes to air. Whilst I was away collecting water the owner who was walking by came and TOLD Jennifer to remove it immediately and stay on your own pitch. Bloody cheek, it was only going to be there for thirty minutes or so as nobody arrives on site before lunch and the site was only 20% full.

When I got back Jennifer was upset and so after a little while I went down to reception to find the owner only he was not there and so I gave his wife a hard time and demanded that her husband come and apologise to Jennifer when he gets back. She was rather sheepish then defensive bit it does take two.

Needless to say we have not seen him hardly since so let’s wait and see what happens. We did consider moving to another site but we do like this place and why should we inconvenience ourselves for this idiot, anyway let’s wait and see what will happen.

Thursday 4th July- Time for lunch

We decided to do a big shop and have lunch in Villefranche–de-Rouergue which is one of our favourite towns in the area and we have used a particular restaurant there for lunch for years and so off we headed and arrived just around lunchtime. En route we stopped off at a Hotel we have booked some friends at for the end of the month to take a quick look and it is right opposite St Cirq La Popie and is a lovely place and we are sure they will enjoy it.

The place was packed with locals as usual plus some extras as they were making a film in the streets around the area and also there was a special evening function being planned for Thursday/Friday and Saturday nights with fireworks and over 50 famous guests??, but not for us. They were also filming a snogging session in a local bookshop much to the amusement of the owner.

After lunch we did out usual walking the streets around town and then Noel decided to get a haircut as it was getting a little shaggy and hot and so we found a barbers previously used and wash and cut later and ten kilos lighter we left.

We did some shopping in LeClerc and then drove through the beautiful countryside in to little villages with some amazing old buildings and then a did a diversion back to Carjac to buy some more of that delicious cake.

So dinner tonight was cake with strawberries and crème fraische, can’t be beaten.

Much warmer again this evening and the weather seems set for a 

Wednesday 3rd July- Looks like the weather is good

The trouble is that when you fall behind in writing this blog you tend to forget what you did in the last hour let alone in the last week.

Anyway the weather has improved significantly with temperatures shooting up plus 30 degrees centigrade with lovely blue skies. What is nice that at night the temperature drops back again back to 16 up to 18 degrees and cool enough to sleep well.

Anyway, we did another little trip in on Carjac which is a lovely little town and had a cup of coffee in the main Hotel and then found this lovely shop selling all sors of pastries and cakes and we tried one which was delicious. It was a fluffy pastry with apple and some other stuff but tasted great and made a mental note to try again.

Spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the inside of the caravan which had got a little dirty but less than one hour later all was clean and we got rid of the ants which had found the sugar.

We had some nice salmon pasta tonight, really good and looking forward till tomorrow.

Tuesday 2nd July- Let’s sort the power out.

The site allows six amps per pitch, so I reset the control panel to allow only six amps and again we were having problems and then the site owner and his electrical handyman arrived and found out that in the box of four plug sockets, the old French type with only two pins, one was working normally, one was broken and two were on reverse polarity and this was the problem. We changed to the working one and everything has been fine since.

All this happened after we were having a late breakfast and trying to enjoy our croissants but never mind. We then spent some time sorting ourselves out and early afternoon enjoyed some great pate and a sleep in the relaxing chair until the site owner arrived saying that the rain storm due tonight would now come around 3pm with winds of 50 mph, so be prepared.

The new owners of this site have really invested and they have improved pretty much all of the infrastructure without ruining the effect and the views etc.

At 3pm nothing happened and again at four, five and six but we made ready and eventually the rain came but it was not to heavy and no wind at all hardly.

As we had been warned about a storm Noel kept checking until about 1pm and then gave up, oh well that’s camping.

Monday 1st July- The sun is shining

We took all the D roads down to Perigeaux and this took about ninety minutes as we were a little worried about one town near the site where the truck route is pretty much like the car route but just avoiding one corner.

Once we reached Perigeaux we joined the motorway East and joined the motorway South near Brive and at about 2.45 we arrived at Larnagol.

We checked out the pitch we had booked and then got everything set up in the heat, it was about 29 degrees centigrade and we even got the awning up after losing buckets of sweat. Then we discovered the power problem, the powered site connection kept breaking and after lots of fiddling we lit the gas heater instead of using the electric, and let’s sort it tomorrow.

We were both a little tired and then decided to test the snacks in the bar area which were great.

We were both so tired that sleeping was a little challenging plus the fact it was a good ten degrees warmer than we had experienced elsewhere.

Sunday 30th June- Getting ready to move on

It was a bit grey again this morning and after a bit of shopping in the local Inter-Marche which was quite busy considering the known fact that the French do not like shopping on a Sunday. We hit the British counter and bought three packs of bacon, just in case we can’t find it anywhere else, and then headed back to the site.

We sorted the caravan ready for travel the next day and then suddenly the sun came out and we could enjoy for a while including eating outside for dinner, something we could not do for the past days.

We paid the bill for the site and the receptionist gave us a good discount and even said that after six nights we could get one night free, oh well next time perhaps

A quiet evening was spent reading and an early night as we wanted to leave as early as possible the next day for Larnagol.