Late spring holiday 2024; 29 April

Camperplaats Croy, Aarle-Rixtel, Netherlands. 

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday it was wet, and when it wasn't wet it was overcast and cold. Today it is sunny and warm, and I am quite comfortable in shirtsleeves, no cardigan, no wrap!

We slept fairly well, although I was rather overtired and out of cope by the time I finally got to bed. After breakfast and the usual chores we set off about 09:00. Our first port of call was the Auchan in Grande-Synthe, near Dunkerque, where I did a shopping - almost my only chance to shop in France. Of course, they were out of agrumes tea, which I like at least two cups of per day and haven't brought enough with me, expecting to be able to buy it today. Oh well. 

After which it was a long, dreary drive across Belgium, not bad until we got to the Antwerp ring road which was rammed and very slow. 

We crossed into the Netherlands and eventually found our way to this campsite, which is really rather nice. I tried to do a tai chi video without looking at the screen, only listening to the instructions, but got lost in part 2 - will try with another video, as some are clearer than others. 

So I wandered round the campsite and took a couple of photos, and in a few minutes I'm going to get supper. And another long drive tomorrow, into Germany. 

Late spring holiday 2024; 28 April

Today has been busy, to say the least! We got up fairly early and after breakfast loaded up the car and headed up to the church where I was preaching.

When the service was over, we were going to head straight for Sussex, but the Swan Whisperer said he'd forgotten his shoes, and I thought I'd forgotten my clock, so we called back at the flat very briefly (in fact, neither of us had forgotten anything!) and arrived in Sussex in time for a late, but badly needed, sandwich lunch before getting the WoMo out of the garage and loading it up.

We only unpacked the fridge stuff, because we were already late for the Bluebell walk. However, we do know our way around the woods, and we knew where my mother's car was going to be, so we put our car in the WoMo's garage and went on up the lane. Because it has been so wet, I put my wellies on. Big mistake! They are fine in towns, but the soles are very thin and I could feel every stone on the route, and by the time we reached my mother's car I had really had enough! But the bluebells are spectacular this year! 

 So I got in the car and we chatted until my sister came past with some of the "short walkers" and said nobody else wanted a lift so we drive down to the church where tea and cake was on offer. The walk and the tea were to raise funds for the Friends of Clapham and, and my sister tells me they made around £330!

We, meanwhile, went back to the WoMo once we had had our tea, and put away the stuff in the crates (groceries, mostly) which would not be safe to travel unsecured, and filled up with water. We set off at about 5:00 pm and arrived at Folkestone in time to get a Shuttle an hour earlier than booked. This was just as well, as it turned out, as when we got to the aire at Calais, we found it was closed for repairs! We have managed to take the last space in the aire at Marck, which we discovered at the end of last Holidays. At least we are that much further up the road for the morning! 

I am very tired and rather out of cope, so I am going to go to bed as soon as it has been made! 

Early Spring Hoilday 2024, 11 March

So we are home. We actually got home last night (Monday), but once we had unpacked and sat down, I went fast asleep and didn't wake up until the Swan Whisperer woke me as he was going to bed!

Yesterday morning, we got up early without too much dawdling, and were away shortly after 9. We had hoped to call in at the nearest Lidl, but they had a height barrier at the entrance to their car park (Grrr), so we went to the one in Cité Europe, which has all its announcements in both French and English. I got several things I wanted on coupons, most notably some fish and some stuffing for vegetables - I adore French stuffed tomatoes, and hope that this stuffing will be able to recreate them at home. I also have some tomatoes and a cucumber. And I bought, not on coupon but couldn't resist, a pack of 12 yoghurts based on traditional French puddings; we had two last night and they were okay, quite edible!

We then got diesel - only marginally cheaper than in the UK, but we needed it, and as most of our journey in the UK is on motorways, definitely cheaper than there!  After which we made our way to the checkin for the Shuttle,

to be offered a crossing an hour earlier than we'd booked. Which was good, especially as our letter had just been called, so we could go straight through - and then the train we were loaded on turned out to be half an hour earlier even than the designated one! So instead of stopping at Clacket Lane services to eat our lunch, and arriving at no 6 at about 14:30, we actually arrived at 12:30 and shared our lunch with my mother and sister!

After lunch, of course, it was a matter of packing up and checking stuff, and the Swan Whisperer cleaned the WoMo inside and out, and put it away, and we left for London at about 17:00, getting here about 18:45.  Then it was a matter of unloading the car, putting away the cold stuff and the contents of the crates, and the bare minimum of the rest of the stuff (I finished off this morning). doing a load of washing, eating a Chinese (thank you, Just Eat) and flaking out in front of University Challenge! And, as I said, I fell fast asleep on the sofa!

Next trip in the WoMo will be to Oberstdorf in May. Not sure whether there will be anything between now and then, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Early spring holiday 2024, 10 March

Marck, Pas-de-Calais. 

I woke up in the wee small hours worrying about that wretched Intermarché card, and thinking I should perhaps have used it so that it was up and running and wouldn't expire or anything and make me have to go through the whole rigmarole again. And, of course, I then couldn't go back to sleep until the Swan Whisperer woke in his turn and was able to reassure me that we could stop at an Intermarché on our way here.

Which we did, and I have done almost all of my take-home shopping, although I hope we will have time to call in at Lidl tomorrow morning as I have some rather nice coupons, and it would be a pity to waste them. Mind you, I don't suppose for one minute that the shop will have what I want, but I still have to look!

Anyway, after I'd been to the Intermarché - which took a long time and it was beginning to close by the time I left (French supermarkets close at noon on Sundays), we drove up as far as the Aire de la Baie du Somme where we stopped for lunch, and then we stopped again at another aire en route for the Swan Whisperer to make himself a cup of coffee and get a breath of air as he was feeling a bit sleepy.

Then we came straight here to Marck, a few kilometres north of Calais, to a very nice aire, with everything you could want, including electricity. It's supposed to cost €8, but nobody has come round to collect it, although the money is sitting out for if and when they do. We will come back, I expect, although I imagine it gets full quite early.

The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, which he says was a bust as he couldn't get where he wanted, and he forgot to record it. Then it was time for our Zoom Lent worship, and now he is getting a quick supper. Home tomorrow! 

I haven't taken any photos today, so here is one from a few days ago:

Early spring holiday 2024, 9 March

Mesnières-en-Bray, Normandy. 

We hadn't intended to be here tonight, but we decided that Marck would be a better place to spend the last night of our holiday than Merlimont, where I had originally suggested we stop, not least because the latter was full last night and we didn't want to risk it (okay, we could have checked), but mainly because it is a good hour from there to the Eurotunnel, and I will need to do a Last Shop and buy things for people. I already put our crossing back an hour.

If Marck is full, we can go to Calais, which is dull and expensive. So, anyway, I checked on What's Halfway, and it seemed to be around Neufchatel-en-Bray, and this aire is free and quiet. The only thing wrong with it is that the services are "mises hors gel" and haven't been brought back into use yet.

So anyway, the Swan Whisperer went and picked up the baguette and croissants I'd reserved last night, and after breakfast we set off. Our first port of call was an Intermarché, and I decided that as we had been to so many this holidays, it was silly not to get a loyalty card. The only problem was, I couldn't register it, because it demanded an identity card number and, obviously, not being French, I don't have one of those. Hold that thought!

The Swan Whisperer wanted to go over the Pont de Normandie and then along the coast as far as Dieppe, then south to Mesnières-en-Bray, since we had plenty of time and it wasn't very far. So with a judicious tweaking of the satnav, we had a simply wonderful drive round much of the port of Le Havre, quite fascinating. When we got to Fecamp we stopped for lunch, and then in Dieppe I saw another Intermarché, so we stopped there, and I went to talk to customer services.

 Who really went above and beyond for me. Turns out you really need an address in France to register, and as I'd told her I'd got an Auchan and a Carrefour card with no problem, she decided to see what she could do! Did I have any friends in France whose address I could use? Alas, no - I do have friends in France, of course, loads of them, but not their postal addresses! I was about to give her my address in Paris from 50 years ago, but she decided to try using the address of the store. And eventually she got through all the red tape and my card now works. Which will be very useful next holiday, I hope - especially in those supermarkets that do scan'n'shop!

After that, we drove more-or-less straight here, and then had a cup of tea. The SW went out for a walk, to see if there was anywhere he could run in the morning, which there isn't, as it's too muddy, and now he is getting our Saturday sausages and mash ready.... 

Early spring holiday 2024, 8 March

Courtonne-La-Meudrac, Pays d'Auge.

Although I like Le Mans, I was feeling really tired this morning - and we have been there before - so decided to pass on having another look round it. There was a boulangerie a couple of hundred metres away, so the Swan Whisperer got a demi-baguette and some croissants, which were nice. We then emptied our grey and the loo (using the contents of our hot-water bottles to rinse the loo, as it really wasn't worth spending €8 just for that and a top-up of water! Our route out of town did take us up the hill and past the cathedral, but though, as which was a bonus.

I really couldn't think of anything I wanted to buy today, other than perhaps begin to collect stuff to take home, so passed on that, too, and basically drowsed off for awhile. The Swan Whisperer decided that we were going to visit a chateau en route, at Saint-Germain-de-Livet, but when we got there - down tiny roads we were thankful not to have et another car on - it was closed until 1 April, so we came away.

We arrived here at Courtonne-La-Meudrac at about 15:00, and were not best pleased to find most of the aire taken up with parked cars, when it specifically said Camping-cars only. However there was a space, so we grabbed it, wondering whether nobody could read, but it turns out there was a funeral at the church and so the church car park was closed, so those who wanted to attend the funeral didn't really have much choice.

The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, and I read and watched a couple of YouTube videos, and tried not to doze off.

Later, I went to investigate the local restaurant, but found that they only serve food at midday, and are just a bar in the evening. So I have had to cook (courgette and mushroom risotto, which is smelling lush just now!).

However, the restaurant gets bread delivered in the morning, and I have ordered a baguette and two croissants to be picked up after 08:00 tomorrow. Meanwhile, the funeral party has gone, and the two remaining places have filled up! This seems a very pretty hamlet - I don't think it's more than that. 

Early spring holiday 2024, 7 March

Le Mans, Sarthe.

The Swan Whisperer went for a run this morning, and after breakfast we both walked round the lake, which was a shorter distance than it felt! A lot of the path was very wet, and my navy boots are now rather muddy.

When we got back to the WoMo, I had a second cup of coffee while the SW had his, and after using the services we set off for Le Mans. It was just as quick to go cross country than to use the toll motorways, so we did, stopping for lunch and then for the SW to cope with an emergency in one of the Circuit's manses that has been let out, although what they thought he could do from France I don't know. Anyway, I think they've sorted it for now. 

This is the third time we have been to Le Mans; the first time was on our very first motorhome trip and the aire was on the other side of the river; then that aire closed, and we had to use the car park where we now are, but there were no dedicated places for motorhomes, and no services provide. Now there is a small area dedicated to motor homes, and there are services, although they are quite expensive so we will probably only use them to empty our grey water. We could empty the loo, but not rinse it. 

The Swan Whisperer went for a short walk, and I hope to join him in the morning, although it is very steep up to the old city. Still, there is a free shuttle bus that runs all over it, so once we are there, it shouldn't be a problem.

Meanwhile, today I saw daisies growing in various patches of grass, for the first time this year, and there are some lovely flowers just outside our habitation door. Spring is coming, even if it isn't here yet!