Final days in France but a celebration to return home to

Our last days in France were spent in le Touquet, Boulogne and Calais. The weather started to get us prepared for our return to England. The temperature dropped so that we considered putting on the heating in the van and it started to drizzle -english style. The northern coast of France is fine on a sunny day but we have experienced so much better in the last few months. Maybe it was just our mood. We were both experiencing a desire to get home and to see friends and family but were conscious of the fact that time would not be our own again. How does one manage the need to work, having an income and time to do all the things you want to?  We have been incredibly lucky to have this experience but now with our funds very low we have to look at our future.

In Calais the day before we returned home we spent some time in the hypermarket getting a few more bottles of wine and other bits and pieces.  We also checked up on our chunnel crossing as we did not have the required reference number on our booking form.  This sorted we wondered how we were going to spend our last evening when we received a text for Jay and Jules who were leaving France the day after us. They had spent most of the day getting Charlie (the dog) sorted out for his return to the UK and like us were keen to meet up to lift the home-coming mood.  We ended up have a good evening sharing our travel tales with a bottle of wine and a chilli.  It seemed a fitting end to our travels abroad as we had had such a good time with them in Greece. It was lovely to finish our trip with them and even the lights on the other side of the Channel seemed welcoming.

Next morning Mike and I were up early to catch the shuttle. Mike had been very keen to take this route home and whilst it was extremely efficient it was rather boring.  I think it will be the ferry next time. Once in Folkstone we set our sights westwards for Cornwall and Louise's graduation. Driving all the way to Falmouth seemed a bit far after our 21,000 mile trip so we stopped off to see Steve and Liz, our friends in Bristol. We had a good night with them and they seemed quite interested in some of our photos - I hope they weren't being polite. Richard, my son, joined us the following morning and we set off once more for Falmouth.  We arrived about 4pm and were joined about an hour later by Louise, Kathleen and Peter. Poor old Chris and his mates ended up with quite a houseful but it was lovely to meet up with everyone. It made the homecoming more worthwhile.  That evening we went to Pandora's for supper.  It was a nice meal and a good occasion but Mike and I were quite tired from our travelling and time differences.  We had managed to find a parking place close to Chris's house so we were able to go back to Buster in the evening to sleep. This was just as well as the graduation ceremonies had seen that all bed and breakfast places were full.

The following day I acted as proud mum at Lou's graduation ceremony.  I was so pleased that I had been able to get back in time to see her graduate. We all enjoyed a glass of champagne to celebrate in the pretty ground of the Princess Pavilion where the ceremony had been held. The weather held up although it started to rain just as we were leaving.  However it did not last too long and later in the afternoon I was able to take my elderly dog Tessa for a slow walk along the coast. We went out for another meal that night after playing card games back at Chris's.  For a moment I almost forgot I had been away for months.

It was now Friday the 13th. We took Richard back to Bristol and as we could not pick up the keys to our house until the 16th we had a slow drive northwards. On the Friday night we visited Mike's sister, Caroline, and Mark and on the Saturday we called in on Mike's mum. On Sunday we drove up to Mike's daughter, calling in on Julie and Mark.  Mike was very pleased to catch up with his daughter Kate and son Chris as well as his grandchildren.  That night we slept outside Kate's house but this was to be our last night in the van as on the following day we picked up the keys to my house where we will be staying for the foreseeable future.


We have had a great few months.  We have covered 21,000 miles and visited France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Czech R
epublic and The Netherlands before Christmas and then after Christmas France, Spain, Portugal, Spain again, France again, Monaco, Italy, Sicily, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Italy again, Switzerland, France again, Germany, France again,  We have seen some amazing sights and have some wonderful memories. Don't ask which was the best as so many places have meant a lot to us.  If you are reading this and wondering whether to do something similar go for it. It has been a lifetime's experience. Thank you Buster - you have been a great van to travel in.

Reims, the Somme and Montreuil

Thursday 5^th September Reims

We had breakfast with Richard before he headed off to Calais and then on to Cardiff with his friends. Mike and I then walked into Reims city centre. We weren’t going to 'do' anymore cathedrals but Reims was quite imposing. It was the cathedral where the majority of France’s kings were crowned from the 11^th century up to the Revolution.  Neither did I know that it was in this city that the WWII surrender papers were signed.

Having done a bit of culture we then headed to the tourist information office to get some information about the Champagne caves that abound here.   We chose to go to theTaittinger cave in the end as we could walk there and you didn’t need an appointment.  We paid 16 euros each for a very interesting tour.  The caves were originally underneath a basilica and adjoining a monastery and was were the monks stored their wine. The caves were originally created by the gallo-romans as they dug the chalk out to make a type of cement. The Basilica was destroyed in the reformation but the cellars remain and were taken over by the Taittinger family.  It is still a family run business. Despite the sight of a rat which made a lady squeal and land on my toes we enjoyed the tour which finished with a glass of champagne. We also bought two bottles of pink champagne.  One for a friend and one for Christmas.

We walked back through the City to Buster where we had our lunch in the park behind where the motorhomes were parked and enjoyed the shady sunshine.

Friday 6^th September The Somme

I did 3.5 hours work using the wifi from the hostel which was adjacent to our aire in Reims. It was about 12.30pm when we set off northwards. Our plan was to visit the Remembrance Route in the Somme region between Peronne and Albert. However before we got there we found ourselves on the Chemin des Dames which was another area where the French suffered huge losses of men during WWI. Looking out over the beautiful countryside it was difficult to imagine what it was like in 1916.

The Remembrance Route takes in the 8 main memorials at Peronne, Rancourt, Longueval, Pozieres, Thiepval, Beaumont-Havel and Albert. All commerate various battles during the war with a different focus depending on the battalions involved. So that some remembered the fallen South Africans or Australians or those from Ulster and Newfoundland. Various other countries from the commonwealth who supported the French and English armies were also represented.  The largest monument is at Thiepval and stands 45m high.   It was designed by Edward Lutyens and along with the numerous gravestones also includes the names of 72,000 British men who were lost in the Somme. A total of 1.2 miliion men lost their lives during the battle of the Somme in which 12km of land was gained. It was so moving to see the gravestones of so many men who died in this period. Mike found three bearing the name HAW. All of the memorials were kept immaculately and with the centenary of the beginning of the war being next year there were many memorial events being planned. That night we slept in Albert near the Somme museum which we planned to visit the following day.

Saturday 7^th September Albert to Montreuil

The Somme museum in Albert was very interesting and we spent about 2 hours there. It contained a history of the battles plus lots of artefacts and mock up scenes. The museum was built in an underground tunnel that went back to the 13^th century. It was also used as an air raid shelter in WWII.  This made it rather atmospheric and fitting for the Somme museum.  You had to travel the final stretch of the museum in the dark accompanied by the sounds of falling bombs. Again Mike and I found it quite an emotional visit and to rediscover that worldwide 6.5 million lives were lost in WWI.

We had a much needed coffee in Buster before setting off to Montreuil all on smaller roads.  This made a pleasant drive. We stopped off at a picnic area for lunch and reached Montreuil in the mid afternoon. We walked around the town and on the remains of the towns ramparts that led to a 13^th century citadel. It is a pleasant town and is one of Catherine and Martin's favourites. Whilst walking we identified a restaurant Le Clos des Capuchins as we had decided we would have our ‘end of trip’ meal here.

Back at the van we got dressed up and headed back to the restaurant for 7.30pm. We had a lovely meal. We both had duck in a cassis sauce for a main course followed by cheese. Mike had a vegetable terrain as a starter and I had a soupy calamara dish. We spent most of the evening  reminiscing about the other meals we had had on our travels. It was a good night.

Paris

1^st September

Following on from our disturbed night we were both tired when we woke in the morning but we were up promptly as we wanted to get to the campsite at the Bois de Boulogne early. The first Sunday in the month i.e. today gives free access to the Paris museums and we wished to take advantage of this.

We found the campsite easily and we were soon on the bus to Port Maillot. From here we walked to the Arc de Triomph and down the Champs d’Elysee, past the Concorde monument and through the Jardins de Tuillieres to the Louvre. Here Mike and I split up. Mike went into the Louvre (or queued up for 1 hour to get in) and I went to the Musee d’Orsay. We agreed to meet up at the Musee de Rodin at 3.45pm. Here we went round the house and enjoyed the sculptures that are in the adjacent garden.

Although we did a lot of walking that day it was a good day with the free entrances saving us around 50 euros.

Monday 2^nd Sept. Bois de Boulogne

Today was spent at the campsite.  I spent most of the day working but was rather annoyed to find the KLE was down which prevented me from completing my marking. In the afternoon we went for a cycle ride around the Longchamps race course and into the Bois de Boulogne where even in the daylight hookers were hanging around. In the evening we shared a bottle of wine with an Australian couple who had just arrived in France. They had hired a motorhome to tour France for 3 weeks and had no knowledge of motorhomes or France. We shared our experiences with them and identified some key places for them to visit.

Tuesday 3^rd September  Paris

Today in very hot weather we headed back into Paris. We took the Metro to Abbessess and walked up to the Sacra Cour.  It was a very clear day and we were able to get good views over Paris. We walked down through the Montremarte,past the Moulin Rouge and down to Pigalle. Here we got on the Metro again to get to the Jardins de Luxembourg to see the Palais/Senate building and the Medici fountain. We ate our lunch here in the lovely sunshine before heading on to the Notre Dame.



 It was a very hot afternoon and after visiting the cathedral we found a bar alongside the Seine where we had drinks. We then continued our walk to the Hotel de Ville and then along the shopping streets. I was still looking for something for Louise from our trip but still could not find anything suitable. Very hot and weary we returned back to the van.

Thursday 4^th September Versailles

After another bad night we were feeling rather jaded as we headed off for Versailles.  Our original intention had been to visit the palace but our heart was not in it so we just visited the gardens.  The temperatures were soaring in the 30s so we were pleased to park under some trees and have our lunch. We then joined the throng who had come to visit the Chateau. We only paid for 1.5 hours parking but this was enough for us to explore the formal parterres, the orangerie and to walk down to the large lake. 

Both wilting from the sun we headed back to Buster. We still had a long drive as we had tentatively agreed to meet Richard who was on his way back from Croatia in Reims.  We eventually arrived at 7.30pm and Rich arrived at 10pm having left Croatia that morning at 6am!  He was very grateful for food, a shower and a bed in the van.  It was so lovely to see him after 9 months absence even if it was only briefly.

Fontainebleau

Saturday 31st August



As our campsite did not have any internet provision it rather spoilt our plans to stay there to catch up with some marking so we decided not to spend a second night here. By late morning we were ready to head off for the Chateau at Fontainebleau. Our neighbour, Jane had recommended this as a better place to visit than Versaille and although we were probably going to visit both we were keen to see Fontainebleau.


After a shop, (knowing we would soon have electricity for our fridge) we arrived at the Chateau about 2pm. It certainly was a very impressive building from the outside and we were just as impressed with all the furnished rooms that we visited. It is quite amazing with everything that has happened over the years that there is so much that has been well preserved for us all to see. Mike especially loved all the history associated with Napoleon. After a slow wander around the building we then had a look at the grounds which were quite stunning.  The first stop was at the Carp Pond which contained the most enormous carp we have ever seen. We were quite worried for the ducks that were swimming amongst them. Most of the carp were quite a dull brown but there was one particularly fine specimen that was a lovely golden colour.  From there we wandered down to the more formal gardens known as 'the Grand Parterre' which contained some lovely colourful flower beds. It has been a very enjoyable visit.

It was now time to head back to the van as we running over our paid slot. On the way back we saw two wedding couples having their photos shot in the grounds.  Both girls wore beautiful dresses and one was wearing a very fashionable hat. We headed off in the direction of Paris.  We were not too sure where we would spend the night. We knew if we got too close to Paris it would be difficult as we wanted to wild camp tonight to save some money before we had to pay Paris campsite fees.  We followed the River Seine for a few more miles and  eventually parked just past Evry.  It looked a quiet spot but actually Mike and I ended up sleeping very little due to background 'bassy' music and frequent boy racers driving past the van to well past 3 am.  Eventually we fell asleep about 5am but we had to be up early as we wanted to get to the campsite at Bois de Bolougne early so that we could spend a full day in Paris and take advantage of the free entry to museums that occurs on the first Sunday of the month.

Travelling East again

Monday 26^th to Friday 30^th August Travelling East again

Our last day in Notre Dame de Monts was spent on housework. We spent a lot of time getting the blog up to date (mainly because the internet connection was so slow it took forever to load any photos). We also spent time looking at our finances (need to get back to work!), answering e mails and general paperwork. We went to the launderette with all our bedding and went shopping. I decided that we would have a nice meal as it was our last night here. So I bought some mussels (never prepared them before), cream, white wine, garlic and onions and some crusty French bread. I had a quick check on the internet to see how I could cook them and then we drove back up to our beach aire. Before our supper we went for a good walk in the pine forest and sand dunes before returning back to the van. I then washed the mussels, pulled out the ‘beards’ and got on with my recipe. It turned out to be a fantastic meal that had cost about 7 euros including a bottle of white wine.

The following day was time to move on but before we did so we drove back into NDDM to use the daily free half hour of wifi to load some more pictures on the blog. We then set off in the direction of Angers and back to the Loire (but the other side this time).

It was cooler today and it was a pleasant drive. By late afternoon we arrived at Bouchemaine and to one of the best aires of our travels. The site had plenty of both hard ground and grassy areas for each van, electricity was included in the overnight price and there were wonderful views of the River Loire. What is more the sun was shining and it was much warmer than it had been on the coast. We decided to get the kayak out and we went for a gentle paddle on the Loire for about 1.5 hours.  The flow on the river did not trouble us at all. That evening after we had walked around the small town, we had our supper in the setting sun and spoke to two English couples who were parked nearby. This was quite a rarity for us and I still do not really understand where all the English motorhomers go because we have seen very little of them.

As the spot here was so lovely we decided to spend most of the day at Bouchemaine. I read in the sunshine until lunchtime and then we both walked into the town to pick up some bread and something for supper. Again we spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun before packing up. We eventually left about 5pm and it was around 8pm when we reached the little portside aire on the River Sarthe  in Le Mans. There were only 7 spaces at this aire and we were the 10^th van but we managed to squeeze ourselves in before settling down to a late supper.

The following day (Thursday) we were up early. After breakfast we walked along the river towards the old centre. Le Mans in known as a Plantagenet city and the buildings around the cathedral were lovely and quite at odds with the rest of the modern commercial city. The cathedral itself had some lovely stained glass windows and a wonderful set of flying buttresses but it does not look in proportion. That is because the money ran out and the cathedral ended up in a Romanesque style rather than a gothic one.

We continued our walk along narrow alleyways, pass a fountain and some lovely small gardens. I t was quite an atmospheric place and we enjoyed exploring it before heading back to the van and the real reason for visiting here – to see the 24 hour race course. Mike was very interested in this although motorcar racing has always left me cold. 

We drove to the 24 hour Le Mans museum and parked there. I sat in the van whilst Mike wandered around the track, the pits and the grandstand. I was pleased to be able to pick up wifi so whilst Mike was out I skyped Mum (Cathy and martin and liam were there too) and did some paperwork. Nearly two hours later Mike returned but he was not finished yet. We then drove Buster around the track as a good part of it is on public roads.  Once the car business was done we set our sights for Chartres but we were much later than we planned.  Chartres was over 120km away.  We had had no lunch and it was nearly 3pm. We ended up stopping at a supermarket for supplies and then eating our lunch in the carpark – urgh!!

We eventually arrived in Chartres and after driving around the centre and failing to identify anywhere to park we drove down to the river where there was plenty of parking and only a short walk from the centre. Chartres is a lovely cathedral, quite elegant after Le Mans, with some exceptionally beautiful rose windows.  We had mainly come to see the cathedral but we also walked the ‘town route’ which took us past other churches, markets halls, little squares and back down to the river. It was a very pleasant tour.

It was now 7.45pm – we had not identified anywhere to stay overnight in Chartres so we hit the road again. The route we chose took us through some agricultural areas – huge fields adjoin the roads but no parking spaces. Eventually we found a car park in a small town just outside of Etampes.  It was next to a picnic area and a children’s playground and was a perfect place to spend the night. We had a late supper and went to bed.

Back on the road the next morning we continued our drive to Fontainbleau. Mike had identified a municipal campsite at Samoreau which was only a few kilometres away from the chateau at Fontainbleau. We arrived at the campsite midmorning. Although it was a largish site it was virtually empty. We parked in full sight of the River Seine but then was disappointed to find out that the campsite had no internet access which meant I could not do my planned marking. I worked for about 4 hours on some other stuff and then we went for a cycle along the Seine. At this point the river is beautiful. It was clear with little fish and quite still with weeds growing in it. There was very little river traffic. At one point I remarked to Mike how quite it was as there was not much bird song either. After a few kilometres we stopped for a drink in a small village before turning round and heading back to the campsite, picking some blackberries for supper on the way.  We had a salad supper outside but the nights are getting cooler now. Back inside the van Mike started to get his CV up to date – the need for work and money is becoming more urgent as we near the end of our journey.