En-route to Puyleroc

We left the hotel after a light breakfast in the room and loaded the car and headed off to the Leclerc Supermarket which was about a mile away where spent about 45 minutes loading up with rations for our stay with our friend.

Following that we turned on the Sat nav which gave us several choices and we chose the apparent fastest at that time which was go south to Bordeaux then East above Toulouse and then down to our final destination and it would take about 4.5 hours although whilst en-route that SatNav informed us that there we re road delays which we discovered were around Bordeaux where the traffic was very slow indeed but nothing you can about it and to change routes was not possible.

Around 1400 we stopped in a roadside ‘AIRE’ and had lunch before heading on the Puyleroc where we arrived at about 4.30 Pm. We knocked up a dinner of prawns to be peeled and chicken breasts from Costco and some wine and lots of chat.

By 11 pm we were getting tired and so to bed

Oh dear more rain

We awoke to the pouring rain and decided to wait it out and it stopped at about lunchtime. In the meantime we had a light breakfast of French toast and jam with a cuppa in the hotel room and then at about 1.30 pm when the rain had stopped we headed back down town in the light rain to find the little bistro that we had visited the previous day and the staff remembered my food challenges and again made sure everything was ok.

For lunch we both had a croque madame, which is a croque monsieur with egg on top??? and it came with fries and salad and most filling. We left the restaurant whilst the rain held off and did some minor shopping in a Carrefour City shop of milk and a couple of cheeky chocolate biscuits.

Noel spent some more time in the afternoon reviewing our travel plans and spending quite some time on the internet looking for suitable hotels which match our proposed route back to St Malo. So we have booked a five night stay in Carjac an old ton in the Lot Valley with the promise of no rain and but nice and warm and then three nights in Angouleme and nice town on a river where we have booked an aparthotel. and then we still have two nights to fill but will do that in a weeks time . And finally a night in a Hotel in St Malo so as to be in ample time for our early ferry back to Portsmouth.

Tomorrow we leave this Hotel and head off to see a friend who lives in a place Puylaroc which is not to far from Cahor/etc.

Then spent the rest of the evening watching TV.

A walk around Rochefort

The weather was going to be a bit mixed today but we also wanted to explore tis old town and the rope factory. We were both still feeling rather full from the previous evenings dinner and so decided we would skip breakfast and head of on our walk and then get something to eat when the hunger surfaced.

So we walked down alongside the old rope factory which is now a museum and this where they used to make the long ropes for the tall ships of old and its is a very impressive building indeed. With Noels knees issues and a general lack of interest in Museums we walked along to river and the quiet side of town and then up thro the main part of town which was very quiet and just what we wanted . By this time it was about 13.30 and feeling a little peckish we came across a little bar/bistro which seemed packed with locals which is always a good sign. For lunch Noel explained his garlic and opinion issues and they me no problems and so I had a cheeseburger and fries and Jennifer had the ham and cheese omelette and both were very good and so much enjoyed this we thought we may go back tomorrow.

After lunch we headed back to the Hotel all the time taking photos etc and got back to the room just as it started to rain again. So we used the afternoon to catch up with photo uploads, blogging and Jennifer reading and generally a very quiet afternoon indeed.

In the evening Noel set up the Roku Tv gadget and we caught up with some tv, and then to bed

Time to move on and its bucketing down with rain

What a rubbish morning. We have been so unlucky with the weather since we arrived with loads of rain and grey skies and the only saving grace was that the grandchildren could use the indoor pool where it was heated to a nice warm temperature so they could play for hours, which they did.

We had an early breakfast and finished the rest of the packing whilst waiting for the rain to stop enough so I could load the rest of the stuff in the car and finally succeeded at about 09.20 and then went to help if we could with the rest of the family packing but both were in a good state. We and Michael and Becky left the site just after ten and Joanne and Tim shortly after all going in different directions. Michael and Becky were going to Caen/Ouistream and Joanne to Cherbourg. We all came over on the Portsmouth to St Malo ferry but the return leg leaves around 10 am in the morning and there would be no way for them to make it as its three hours away hence using different routes for them to go home.On our part were heading South and in between the heavy and light rain headed back to Vannes and then South as we are planning to stay in a place called Rochefort which is close to the famous old town of La Rochelle where we are staying in a Mercure Hotel which was once part of an old ship rope making factory. The journey on the Motorways with heavy trucks kicking up lots of spray was not enjoyable and quite tiring but we eventually arrived at the Hotel around 3.30 pm where we immediately took a rest for an hour or so before heading to the restaurant for dinner. When we arrived there were only a few people there which made me worry that the restaurant perhaps was not so good but by the time we left at around 9pm it was packed. I passed them my dietary issues and they went to great length to ensure all was OK, Jennifer had the confit of duck and Noel the salmon and to avoid worries about vegetables etc had it with chips. Together we risked a bottle of Chardonnay and then finished off with Strawberry Pavlova only it was really strawberries and cream with some meringue in the middle, but quite tasty anyway.

And so to bed and Jennifer with reading and Noel containing with the case against Mr Stacey but it is all not what it appears and the defence are doing a good job whilst the storage of Kevin Spacey personal goods in Philadelphia will assist. It appears that he was a bit of a hoarder and kept everything he ever received, receipts for restaurants, short term leases on houses and apartments, old mobile phones, you name it and he had it and it was a blessing in disguise.

Goodnight

This blooming rain is not great

We decided that eating out would be nice thing to do today as we are due to pack up and leave tomorrow morning by and we tried to book the place we had been at a couple of days ago only it was closed on Wednesday however we located another Italian Pizza restaurant nearer to town and booked that instead.

Michael and Becky and family went off to the local market for a while and then looked at joining the Petit Train and purchased tickets that they would use later in the day. Joanne and Tim did their own thing that morning and hen we all walked down to the restaurant at around 1300 and all met up. 

As usual the grandchildren all ate well but the Pizza’s for the kids were rather large and so we had a box to bring back home. It was then decided that they would all go on the Petit Train and so back to the Tourist office to purchase some more tickets before heading back to the departure where there were so many people waiting for the Petit train it looked hopeless. When discussing with the guy controlling the train he said they were selling more tickets than the rain could handle for many hours to come and he had told the office to stop selling tickets but they did not. So deciding this was a no go they went back to the Tourist Office to get their money back only to discover this was not possible in that in French it says non refundable but the English translation does not. Not only that if purchased for one day it cannot be used the next in other words non transferrable.

So very upset and disappointed they all returned to camp and Jennifer visited Site office and they really tried to assist but to no avail and £ 40 wasted. Noel when he get home will write to the Mayor of Carnac and lodge a strong complaint.

So the afternoon the rain had eased and so we packed our car as far as possible whilst the kids went off to the pool and later on to visit the Disco that was taking place which they all enjoyed very much but it was a late night for the grandchildren. One the kids were in bed then Joanne and Tim, Michael and Becky started the packing so as to be able to leave by tomorrow morning.

W e had a quiet evening with Jennifer reading and Noel listing to a podcast on the case against Kevin Spacey trial in New York where he had been accused of sexually assaulting a 14 year old boy. More info on this to follow.

Its Birthday time

Well its Katherines birthday today as well as Jennifer's and so this evening we will have a special dinner for all to join but first the weather took a further downward turn and it pretty much rained all day. In the morning the kids went to the beach to complete some sand art and hope to have some photos of the event and will publish when internet it better.

In the afternoon Christopher participated in the kids fencing championships and enjoyed that very much. On our part we hung around and rested as walking in the slightly cool weather with lot of rain is not a great thing for us to do. But overall the children have really enjoyed being able to go to swimming pool everyday and will no doubt miss it when they get home.

As mentioned earlier we decided to host a dinner party for all and we had roasted chicken with veggies and also apple tart and chocolate eclairs for the kids to celebrate the birthday girls. We had a nice evening all wrapped up due to the cool and wet weather but it did not spoil our enjoyment thank heavens. At around 9pm the kids went to bed and we sat up for a short while catching up on the days world events which actually make dismal reading what with a war ongoing in Russia and Ukraine which I wish would end soon as it will not ever achieve anything.  Have also watched with interest the war over Coutts Bank with Nigel Farage and glad that he has proven his point.

We have now changed our ferry booking as when we booked many months ago we did not know when we would return after some French Sightseeing but have delayed our trip home by a few days but now looking to book a Hotel at St Malo the night before our sailing so as to not to need travelling a great distance and missing the sailing.

Ah well this part of the holiday ends on 3 August when we all leave the Camping des Menhirs in Carnac and head off all in different directions

The rain is here

Well it rained overnight and in to this morning and the children went up to the Kids Club, Christopher is really enjoying it whilst Katherine is slowly adapting and Ethan is really not to sure and so would prefer to stay at home, The reason for this is the age groups they use on-site as Christopher who is approx. two years younger and so not in the same group so we can understand the problem of not being with either Katherine or Christopher.

On our part we had a nice delayed breakfast sitting outside of the hut and watching the world go by although it was not to warm but still I could sit there and do my usual round up of checking bank accounts, and writing the blog.

For a change today we have decided to to go to the pizza restaurant just down the road and I must say it was very good and the kids really enjoyed it although Christopher had spaghetti bolognaise whilst the rest of us enjoyed some nicely cooked pizza’s.

 What was nice is that the restaurant recognising we had three young children and one baby was very fast to provide the food to the table as by this time it was about 1.30 pm and they were all getting hungry. For desert Michael and Becky shared a chocolate profiterole and Tim the coffee gourmand and the kids polished off the ice creams. On the way walking back to the site we were overtaken by an ambulance, and police cars and also a fire engine with their siren blasting away. Umm must be something bad?

As we turned in to the road that leads to the camp site there was this motley crowd of fire and ambulance and two police cars blocking the road as it would appear that two English registered cars had a collision, only minor and no one appeared hurt which was good but why they needed so much emergency services I don't really know.

It was raining again but the family all went off to the the heated indoor pool for couple of hours and Katherine went on the slides again which she enjoys very much.

In the afternoon we helped Michael and Becky research their planned trip to Kuala Lumpur next Easter and then nearly fixed it only to find the travel agent raises the price by about £ 300 after we had agreed a lower price which was nasty, as it happens the bank rejected Becks card for some reason and so they were able to escape and do some more research tomorrow. We also helped Joanne and Tim with their plans to visit Hamburg later this year by investigating the various methods and now think they will fly EasyJet from Gatwick Airport. All this research took a couple of hours when I was also wanting to follow up on some update on the St Jean De Luz house where the sitting squatter will not move out. This is taking for ever and it now about four years since all this started.

We had a quiet evening by ourselves with a light evening snack and then watched the latest edition of ‘Plank of the Week’ which was good fun as usual.

Oh well and off to bed with tomorrow being Jennifer and Katherine’s joint Birthdays

Elton John is in town- I don’t think so

A fairly quiet morning with the family heading off in various directions. Joann and Tim went to the old part of town and spent some time wandering through the local market and buying some knick-knacks of green glass plate which was heart shaped and an old lighter on a small stand.

The weather was very kind to us today with quite a lot of sun with only a few clouds to break up the sky.For lunch we had some cheese specially imported from England, Ha and some biscuits as in the evening we are planning to get together for dinner and using up all the left overs from the previous evenings BBQ. We have pretty much moved from one Eurocamp ht to another for each evening mean and whilst the BBQ with Mady and Ken was held in our residence tonight's function would be held in Joanne and Tim's place.

However in the afternoon the family went to the swimming pool complex and Jennifer and I wandered later with the camera to take some photos of the family going down the various slides and/or splashing about in the indoor pool which is a bit like a sauna. They all had a great time and were little tired when they got back but as you know they never give up until the party’s over.

We had a nice dinner altogether with the kids anxious they do not miss the evening entertainment which is an Elton John Tribute Band. The whole bar area was quite packed so we found a nice warm spot in the bar from where we could hear the music and watch the event. He put on a good show playing he usual list of well known songs but after about an hour Jennifer and I left for a quiet period before we went to bed and leaving Tim and Joanne and the kids enjoying the show. Not sure what time the rest of the family got home but they were right down at the front sitting on the floor and really enjoying themselves.

I did take some photos and video which I will load on this blog once I get some decent Wi-Fi which does not cost fortune to use so will wait until we get to the Hotel later this week. The children have made friends with some young girls who have a home in Bristol and they have been having a great time running up and sown the road and playing all sorts of games. So all are having a good time.

Good weather today so BBQ

We all slept well and Jennifer enjoyed our breakfast on the balcony whilst watching our two families doing the same. Late morning we walked down to the sear front to meet up with Mady and ken who had arrived and were planning to spend the night in a local hotel and we were able to sit in the sun whilst enjoying the view across the beach and also the bay or the gulf of Morbihan. After a couple of hours sitting in the sun we headed back to the glamping site for lunch and an afternoon of chat catching up our mutual lives since we last physically met last year.

After lunch we did a quick walk up to the swimming pools and games areas for Mady and Ken to see and there in the warm indoor pool were Michael, Becky, Tim and Joanne with the kids having a lovely time.

At around 4pm Mady and ken walked off site to the Hotel to check in and then later re-joined us for a sort of a BBQ dinner. The menu consisted of local sausages, chicken drum sticks and salmon baked in foil. The sausages were cooked on the BBQ as was the salmon packets but with chicken you must be sure its well cooked and also with not much room on the Barbie we decided to cook them in the oven. So with eight adults and four children crowded around the table we had a really great evening. To support the  bbq food we had salads and ready made pasta, and other stuff purchased from the local Super-U supermarket. With ample wine of three different colours and with some aspiring to a glass of Jack Daniels and the kids playing out in the local road with the girls from the opposite shed they also had a noisy ,fun packed evening.

Needless to say there was a considerable of clearing up to do before bed which we finally reached at around 11pm. An all round great day which was enjoyed by all.

Lets hope the weather holds up for tomorrow although rain is forecast for later in the week it seems…Damn.

Better weather today in Carnac

We slept a little longer than normal as rather tired from the travel and not sufficient sleep on the ferry mostly due to the creaking and vibrations which was not good and I have reported this to Brittany ferries, not sure what they can do but this ship is over 30 years old and needs replacing.

Anyway we had our breakfast and then noticed the family was already up and  active. We stayed around the accommodation today and Joanne and Tim went for a walk around the town and did some small shopping. For lunch somehow we all crowded around the table after the kids had their lunch and the adults enjoyed hot dogs in French baguette whilst I could not risk this and so had baguette and cheese. In the afternoon we took a walk down to the town which is very nice and what with the weather improving it was pleasant time, We bought some vegetables from a local shop and then discovered it was rather expensive and headed back to the Super U supermarket to finish the rest of the shopping whilst the editor returned for a quick zizz. The kids had been that morning in the Eurocamp Children's Club which they sort of enjoyed being the first time they have played with other children they did not know but it was a new experience for them all. The afternoon session had been cancelled as the current children were going to put on a show in the centre of the site which we went watched and they all seemed to have good time with the staff working hard to get them all doing the same thing.

I also had to go and complain about the state of the BBQ allocated to us it was filthy. And when it says you have to clean up after yourself in the mobile home and its left like this I don't think I should be the one to clean it so eventually they sent  someone over to clean it but missed out on the other BBQ’s which are in a similar estate. I think Eurocamp are having staffing problems and perhaps getting to big.

For dinner we all got together and had spaghetti bolognaise which was nice and then let the kids play for a while, and it was fun to watch Archie eating a banana and also melon which he enjoys however it did leave the floor and the high chair in a bit of a mess, but he really enjoyed it. Michael then gave Archie a bath which was nice to see and then off to bed they went .

For the rest of the evening Jennifer did some reading, whilst  I did the Blog and uploaded some photos.

The weather outlook for tomorrow has changed and it will be a 20 C temp with mixture of sun and clouds it would appear, lets hope that is correct. Tomorrow Noel’s sister and husband who live not to far away will come to visit, they will stay in Hotel overnight and so it will be nice to catch up.

Oh dears its raining cats and dogs

Well the overnight was sort of ok but the ship was quite noisy with creaks and rattles and so a number of adults did not sleep well which was a shame only to wake up to initially to see a lovely sunrise for it to be covered in heavy rain a little later. We all met up for breakfast in the café for a croissant and tea as at 6.30 body time we don't usual eat a heart English breakfast and so this was enough for the day.The Cars were all in different places in the ship and so we got off at different times, and initially Joanne wanted us to wait to follow us after we had waited about half and hour an our she said she felt confident enough to go by herself. The rain chucked down most of the way from St Malo to Vannes where we had agreed to meet up at the big Leclerc Hypermarket for lunch and shopping .

By 11.30 we were all parked up and went to the Flunch restaurant for a bite to eat and then on with some food shopping. We bought some prawns and and also some very nice lamb chops, we hoped, for the evening meal. It was a bout a half an hour drive from Vannes to Carnac , again in the pouring rain which is not appreciated. We arrived and checked in and we have three mobile homes all next to ach other which is good and easy for the kids to play. We all did our unpacking and and then even though it was chucking it down we would do a trip around the site to see where everything is.

So at about 1630 we headed off to the swimming pool complex and there was a bar there and so we decided to all have a beer. From there back to the Mobile homes and it was planned for the kids to have their tea but the draw of the swimming pool was to much and so off they went.

On the other hand we opened a bottle of win and enjoyed some prawns we had purchased in Leclerc and then the lamb chops which were really very good and as Jen did the washing up I created three days of blogs . And still it rains and it now 20.47 and it carries on and we can ly hope it better tomorrow but the forecast for the next week is very poor which is a crying shame.

In the evening Jennifer read her book and Noel listened to some music  apart from writing this blog

Well today is the day

As  the car was pretty much packed there was not too much to do before we left apart from turn off all electrical stuff we will not need and include turning off the hot water system. So an easy morning and then we left home at about 1530 for this short journey down to Portsmouth. The weather up till that time had been really nice but as soon as we got to Portsmouth the heavens opened and it was really unpleasant. We checked and waited for our son and daughter and families to arrive before we all boarded the Brittany Ferries Bretagne to St Malo. It was about 8.30 by the time we all met and the children were getting tired but not giving up, and then  around 2145 we headed of the bedroom to sleep.

We have used Brittny ferries quite a few times but one a different route and vessel but this one was very noisy with creeks and rattles and Jenifer and the adults had a rough night although the kids seem to sleep quite well as they were nearly asleep when the they adjourned to their rooms for a restless night.

So tomorrow will be an interesting day as we leave St Malo for Carnac with the weather forecast looking pretty rubbish.

Time to pack and go

 Well we have a had few easy days to prepare for our travel to France insofar we could have left a day earlier if we wished, but not to be.

Its a mixed holiday with self catering, Hotels, staying with friends and all requiring different clothing and general stuff. Jennifer has packed up tea bags, sugar and few spices that we like along with bedding that we may also need and so by Tuesday night came along the car was pretty much full. I also used the time to phone family a friends to say au revoir as I always like to keep in touch. As usual their is some home stuff to do, check on paid bills, ad pay some as you will be away and then later in the day to get the car cleaned as it is pretty dirty. A couple of hours later the car was cleaned and so I could start packing it to see how it all went  inside, clearly I need a bigger car and I miss my old 4.5 litre Toyota Land Cruiser in which you could pack everything from the kitchen sink to bicycles when there would be tons of space but with the NX its all a bit of a squeeze but we made it.

Well tomorrow we leave home and should be interesting meeting up with the family at Portsmouth.