Thursday 15 November 2018

Farewell to France

What a joy to discover Le Crotoy; a lovely village by the sea with stunning walks and lovely bird life. The high point was the food. 
After

Before

Le Crotoy



We only had a choice of two seafood restaurants due to it being end of season but they Fluffy One didn’t waste any time ordering and tucking into a plate of fruits de mer. A gigantic crab topped off a plate of oysters, huge whelks, pink and grey prawns and langoustines. He made short work of it all but refused to drink any of the bottle of white wine we’d ordered to go with our seafood. I, of course, had to come to the rescue and drink it all with my rather too cheesy cassoulette de mer - shame.

A morning walk dodging dog poo (the only downer about Le Crotoy) was interrupted by Hugo freaking out at someone shooting in the distance so we left early and headed to Watten for the night. It was a short hop to Calais from there for us to get to the Euro tunnel this morning. There is a short mountain walk where we discovered an 18th century windmill and an even older abbey. From Dickie we watched barges float by on the canal. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed on Wednesdays so we had to make do with an omelette sandwich - a bit of a step down from the seafood platter.

Tonight we’re parked up in Newhaven overlooking a gigantic pile of recycling which, we presume, will be heading to China some time soon. Home tomorrow.

Monday 12 November 2018

Bon Bon Honfleur

Our trip is coming to an end - until the next one - and we’re in Honfleur with a few days to go before we get the Eurotunnel on Thursday. Hugo has been to the vet for his tablet to get back into the UK, we’ve been on a trek up the hill to see a Black Madonnna (who wasn’t at home), and Graham has won a glass chopping board in a poetry competition. (Congratulations, by the way.) What a day!

Hugo wasn’t impressed when I fondled Bon Bon, the vet’s cat, for longer than he deemed necessary - she was pretty cute though.

Graham’s poem can be found on the Hymer Owner’s Group Facebook page. He’s looking forward to getting the prize when we get back.

We’ve had a fabulous time, especially in France. Italy was good too but the terrible roads made the trip quite stressful so we won’t be heading back in the van any time soon. I’m sure we’ve all put on masses of weight from all the excellent food and wine we’ve consumed. Diet when we get back until we take off again.

Chapelle de Notre Dame de Grace

Bon Bon

Sunday 11 November 2018

Souvenir

It was fortuitous that this morning at 11am on 11 November we happened to be standing at a WW1 memorial in a small village in Normandy as the bells of its church rang out. We were the only ones there; we presume the people of the village had their ceremony yesterday as there were flowers at the base of the statue. There were about 40 names on the memorial, many with the same surname so presumably sons and brothers from within the same families. It was raining - quite fitting really.

Wednesday 7 November 2018

Camaret-sur-Mer

Another day, another set of standing stones. Camaret-sur-Mer has a great motorhome parking area right next to a large group of stones and within walking distance of a most beautiful beach. The weather was wild overnight so, again, we had to wait for a sunny break this morning. Hugo absolutely loved wizzing around the beach at top speed until he was scared witless by a group of huntsmen shooting some poor animals at the top of the cliff. He recovered after a few treats and a tummy tickle.






Carnac

The stones of Carnac have drawn us back again. We’ve had a couple of visits before, mainly in the depths of winter, so it was great to go when stuff - like restaurants and boulangeries - were open.  We were delighted to buy a baguette de la menhir - so apt.

After a lunch of crepes and cider the rain fell quite massively so we waited till the following morning for a break in the weather to make our trek through the stones. They were, of course, as gorgeous as ever as you will see from the photos below.





Sunday 4 November 2018

Aaaaah, Moules et Frites

Before and after shots of the fluffy one getting stuck in to mussels and chips. I went for the galette..my favourite.

A Bit of Beach Action

Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside ... we’re back on the coast and enjoying the fresh sea air, long walks on the beach, and the occasional bowl of moules et frites. Mr Fluffy hurt his back bending over to put his socks on so we didn’t get to the seafood restaurant in Bouin on the Loire Atlantique coast but now we’re in Brittany and the gloves are off. Seafood R Us is the mantra for the next few days.

Locmariaquer near Carnac beckoned yesterday and we were lucky enough to get the last of the 22  spots in the Aire by the beach. The last time we were here was midwinter and we were the only van there but it’s obviously a fabulous place. There is a dolmen a few feet away, the sandy beach, and a fabulous walk to another set of standing stones on a tree- covered promontory a couple of kilometres away.

We’re now in Carnac recovering from a huge lunch.
Bouin 


Friday 2 November 2018

L’histoire

Another history-filled couple of days. We dropped into the town of Sarlat after spending a couple of hours descending into the depths of the Gouffre of Padirac, the biggest underground caves in Europe. 

Three days later and my legs are still hurting from taking the stairs down into the deep caves - we took the lift back up. After a quick discussion with the lovely women at the ticket gate about the abomination that is Brexit, we entered the cave then took the boat along the underground river. What a magnificent space! There were no tacky ‘son et lumiere’ which we’ve seen in other such caves and it was very well organised considering the number of visitors they must have during the year.

Yesterday we went forward a few years to Cassinomagus. What looks from a distance like a collection of farm sheds is actually a Roman thermal baths built from the stones of a meteorite that fell in the area several thousand years ago. We had the place to ourselves before a huge school group arrived - phew. 

Today we’re back in prehistory with a visit to Bougon, a set of neolithic burial chambers. We had the sun for the visit but it’s now pouring with rain. Graham managed to glimpse a couple of ghosts on site which is rather appropriate for November 1st.


Tomorrow the coast of Pays de Loire on our way to Brittany.



Tuesday 30 October 2018

Rocamadour

We visited the sanctuary at Rocamadour several years ago in the middle of winter so we returned yesterday to check things out while it was a tad more ‘ouvert’. The last time we were here it was under scaffolding but this time the Black Madonna was suitably attired in a frock and crown along with her accompanying child. She is truly beautiful and, I think, looks a lot better sans dress but perhaps she is a little warmer in her robe. The village below is full of the usual tourist shops but has a pleasant feel and isn’t too overdone.

Perhaps we’ll come back in another few years.



On Top of the Roc

After a hairy drive along a single track we ended up at a peaceful aire on the top of a hill. The medieval village of Peyruss le Roc is (to use a well worn cliche) a trip back in time. The village is famous for its medieval church, synagogue and a very early tomb of a king. There is no commerce to speak of apart from a pottery shop and a small bar but perhaps in high season there’s a bit more going on. The views were spectacular and it was good to have the place to ourselves after everything else has been so busy. Here are a few photos of our visit. It’s funny that wherever we go Graham manages to find himself on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.




Saturday 27 October 2018

Mende Madonnas

Our circuitous route over the mountains has brought us to Mende, a town with two Black Madonnas. The first sits in the Cathedral; she is made from olive wood and wears a yellow robe. I can’t help thinking she’d look better without the frock. The second is in a niche on the Rue de Notre Dame and has an inscription above her which, when translated, reads “I am black and beautiful’.






We’re parked by the river and I was a little disturbed to see the fire brigade parked next to Dickie when I returned from the supermarket. Luckily the river isn’t flooding, they're just doing some anti-pollution work.

Couleures

We’ve been doing a tour of medieval villages since we’ve been back in France - Rosans, Aubignas, and now Mende with two fabulous Black Madonnas (next blog). Oh, and we popped in to Digne Les Bains for a massive slog in the heat up to the chapel of St Pancras (the sign said 1.5 km but it was actually 3km each way and mostly uphill). Ugh! Graham loved it and it was worth it when we got to the top.





The roads are still windy but the many colours of the autumn leaves take my mind off it -an absolutely stunning drive through the clouds as we snaked our way through the National Park of Cevenne today.

Wednesday 24 October 2018

Witchy Village

Several years ago our friend John Smart told us about a village called Triora in the Italian Alps that is famous for its witchy past. It’s apparently known as the Salem of Europe as, in the late 16th century, several women were burnt as witches after a bit of bad weather a few failed crops. It’s been on our bucket list for a while so we made our way up the (yet again) steep and windy road to a parking place at the top of a hill.

The village is proud of its witchy history and has its own small museum of witchcraft in the basement of the ethnography museum. Upstairs there’s a rather fun collection of dolls and the usual agricultural implements but downstairs the witchcraft section is mainly a few torture tableaux and occult books along with its replicas of the trial records. It’s a little dusty and they take the cobweb theme to another level but it was interesting to see how another museum presents the subject. The Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft still wins.







Around the village we found paintings with witchy themes dotted around on doors and boards propped up against walls. The countryside and views were superb but the road back down to the coast was a nightmare.There’s a massive Halloween festival here but we were a week to early and we’re not going back.

The satnav took us on a different route back to the coast and to say t was treacherous at times would be an understatement.it was pretty much single carriageway for 20km and in two sections a large part of the roadway had fallen away and we had to sneak past the orange tape with a massive drop on MY side of the van. Even Graham was worried and he’s usually pretty fearless when it comes to scary roads. It took us about an hour and a half to cover that 20kms and I almost ran out of rescue remedy.

We’re now back in France nad not quite out of the Alps but hopefully soon we will be trundling along some lovely wide flat French avenues so my blood pressure can return to normal.

A Soggy Return

It wasn’t the welcome home we expected - torrential rain, flooding, and giant potholes in pretty much every road we drove on today. Ugh! The...