Eleanor, Day 5

It is not a plan to park up where a lighthouse is sending its beams every few seconds! I slept badly because of that, but fell asleep eventually to wake to a very wet morning and no hot water.   Turns out it needs more battery than we had available. So we ran the engine for a bit before we could have our showers. I think we will have to replace the leisure battery sooner, rather than later, as it simply isn't holding its charge.

So we left Barfleur in the rain and drove down to Caen, where we stopped to do some shopping and to have lunch in McDonald's and use their WiFi to upload photos, etc. Then a long motorway journey to Le Mans, where we now are. I fell asleep.

The rain was away when we got here, so after using the service point, we went out for a walk. Heartened by meeting another British couple who are moving to Portugal in their van, which seems every bit as temperamental as ours - we thought the fridge wouldn't turn on to run on gas, but it had!

One always thinks of Le Mans in terms of the eponymous motor race, but of course it is an essential stop on any Eleanor tour. We were too late to go into the Cathedral, but we explored the old town, known as the Cité Plantagenet, and had a wonderful walk.   All dating back to Plantagenet times. There is even a street named for Queen Berengaria, and a museum about her,

but sadly not open until tomorrow afternoon, when we shall have moved on if we want to see anything of Angers.

And so back to the van and fresh ravioli and a cherry tomato, basil, garlic and parmesan sauce, very delicious.