Nous Sommes Arrivés

We drove off Le Shuttle and were welcomed with sunshine and clear skies. The fields look pretty sodden so we may have missed some of the worst weather - so far.

A short drive later and we've arrived for an overnight stop in one of our favourite towns, Montreuil Sur Mer. A festive Christmas market was somewhat ruined by a rather solemn tuba intoning exceedingly slow versions of well known carols but the santa-hatted carolers waiting in the wings looked like they'd be much more fun. We didn't hang around to find out.

Instead we headed out to the ramparts and all eight of our legs.

Deal Does Dog Drama

Next stop Deal in Kent - via Folkestone to pick up Hugo’s Animal Health Certificate for our trip to France as Pet Passports no longer exist thanks to the sovereignty of Brexit.

A true lapdog 

Sixty nine Pounds and two hours later we arrived in Deal to a frenzy of dog fighting as Hugo asserted his authority (in his own mind) over our friends’ resident border terrier, Teddy. It calmed down quite quickly as long as Teddy kept his distance from me and Graham. Jealousy is a curse and it comes with bared teeth and a curled lip.

Chaotic scenes as they vie for ownership of the Conservative candidate’s leaflet which has just been thrust through the letterbox.

Thanks to Suzi and Scottie for putting up with the dog drama and for serving us with such fine food at their restaurant, The Dining Club, last night. We’re now at the Aire in Canterbury for an overnight stop before we head for France tomorrow.

A Room With No View - for a while

 Beachy Head will be a good place to spend our first night, we thought. Good distance, gorge location, nice pub to have a meal and stay in the carpark. We hadn’t quite expected the view to be limited to the hand in front of our faces. Rather amusing but maybe it will improve by morning.

 

Where Am I?

The new day dawned and, as expected, the sky was clear and a fabulous view was to be had. We walked to the edge to find a memorial to WWII Royal Air Force pilots. 

Sporting my new shorn haircut

RAF Memorial

Dickie from a safe distance

If you’re up at Beachy Head it’s worth popping in to the shop next to the pub. There’s a small museum there with artefacts from the area. They range from a Shepherd’s smock to a 3,000 year old skeleton of a young woman who came here from Cyprus (don’t tell Farage). And, most importantly, you can buy chocolate too.

Hot Shepherd Action

Skeleton of a woman in her 20s found in the area

A New Chapter Coming Soon

After a little thing like the pandemic got in the way of our motorhome meanderings we are, once again, heading off to the wilds of France, Spain, and maybe even Portugal in the next week or so. 

    We did spend a couple of months last year travelling down the west coast of France and into the top of Spain to sample the culinary delights of San Sebastian and its surrounds but I chose to use Instagram and Facebook for our photos and updates.

    I've come to realise that this blog is not only a travelogue for our friends and those interested in motorhome travel, it's actually the perfect way for us to keep track of where we've been, who we meet, and what we get up to - and it's all in one nice neat parcel for us to access when we want to look back on our trips.

    We've found some lovely house sitters to keep the home fires burning while we're away so I'll soon be blogging about our antics as we head off to Europe once again

Hugo being coerced into loving the idea of going away in Dickie

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Au revoir Europe

It is clear from the state of my hair that we had to return to the UK so that I can get a cut from my fabulous hairdresser. Unfortunately he’s recently become rather more well known in Drag circles so his waiting list is quite a bit longer than when we left. This ball of fluff on my head will remain in situ for another couple of weeks.

A Fluff-fest

 Last Wednesday we reluctantly boarded the Eurotunnel after a night by the canal in Watten and arrived to sunny skies in Kent. They lasted for about - eight hours. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Farewell France

The only one of us who is delighted to be back is Hugo who’s been shagging his favourite bed and dashing around the beach with a huge doggy smile on his face.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the blog as we travelled around. Our next trip may be to Greece later in the year. See you then.

A French Wood-yssy

Tell me that doesn’t look like a giant wizzie 

As we hit the last week of our European odyssey the temperature has plummeted, we’ve met our only unpleasant person of the whole trip and we’ve visited a penis-shaped church in an oak tree. Oh, and we’ve completed our second jigsaw of the holiday - we know how to live!

Getting jiggy 

Our night on the cliffs at ArromanchesLes-Bain was quiet and totally freezing. Thankfully Dickie’s central heating held out and we only froze to death when Hugo needed to pop out for a quick wee (or should I say ‘oui’?)

D Day Garden

Honfleur was next on our list of stops. We’ve been there many times before and were amused to meet a very unpleasant Belgian man at the Aire. He was most unimpressed when we momentarily stopped him from washing his van (very frowned upon) when we filled up with water. Our day was cheered by a fabulous meal in Le Fleuron and by noticing the medieval public toilets opposite the wooden church - very posh.

Posh dunnies 

Feeling the need for more wood, the fluffy one decided we needed to go and see the tiniest church in a tree in the world so we headed off to the village of Allouville-Bellefosse. Little did we know that it resembled a giant wooden penis in more than a small way. It has two little chapels inside the tree, one on the bottom and one half way up. If you’re in the area, do pop by and see it for yourself.

From every angle ...

Looking up ...

While you’re there pop in to the friendly bar/tabac opposite for a step back in time. On the outskirts of the village are several carved statues (yes, more wood) and Mr Fluffy thought it would be fun to walk out and visit them this morning. You may be able to see how I felt about this from the look on my face.

Thrilled

We are now in Le Tréport where I found the biggest hag stone in the world after a seafood meal at La Goelette.

We’re going to miss this amazing french food - sigh. The Eurotunnel awaits us on Wednesday.

Remembering Them

Standing strong

As we look out over the sea to Britain from the Aire at Arromanche-Les-Bains where the allied forces landed on D Day in 1944 the sky is blue, the sea is calm, and the air is crisp and cool.

Hugo enjoying the sand near a mulberry harbour

I didn’t know what they were either

If it wasn’t for the mulberry harbours dotting the shoreline it would be difficult to imagine what it would have looked like during that time with hundreds of battle ships heading towards the beaches.
Nearby there is a memorial garden with a series of statues of soldiers and steel spikes. It was dedicated last year for the 75th anniversary of the landing. Poppy wreaths still lay at their feet, left over from the commemorations.

That shadow is annoying me

Calm today

Powerful piece

Earlier we had a run on the beach and Hugo was incredibly excited to feel sand under his feet again. To add to his fabulous day we let him think he was taking Dickie for a drive.

‘I love driving’

Don’t tell him, Pike.