South of France, 22 March

Well, the snail farm was very slow!  I suppose it was too muddy to show us round, and there was nobody around in the morning to ask. So we drove the couple of kilometres to the Parc des Félins, which was super, even though we only managed to see about half of it. Because they try to keep the cats in environments as like their natural ones as possible, many of the enclosures are huge and took a lot of walking round, especially if you had seen all three of, say, the cheetahs at the first corner! 

There was some splendid roaring from some of the lions - I didn't get my act together in time to record it, but it was amazing!  By this time we were right at the other side of the park, and I was getting tired, so we caught the little train back to the entrance. We decided we'd both had enough, even though we hadn't seen any of the American cats, so called it a zoo and moved on.

First stop was an E Leclerc in nearby Provins for milk and bread, and we had lunch in their car park. Then we drove south and east (I slept a lot of the way, and we had a break while the Swan Whisperer also had a nap) to Velars sur Ouche where we hoped there would be services - there were, but we don't really need them and you needed a jeton to use them, and it wasn't really meant to be an overnight place, so we drove another ten minutes down to Marsannay-la-Cote, where we used to spend the night on our way home from the Mountain Cup. The services here are out of use for the winter, but we are comfortably parked up and I'm about to get supper. We will get services in Nuits St Georges tomorrow. 

Meanwhile it is raining. I love the sound of the rain on the roof.

South of France, 20 and 21 March

We are not, of course, in the south of France yet, but that is where we are headed! 

Yesterday I should have been on grandparent duty, but woke up with a sick headache and had to ask the Swan Whisperer to go instead, which he kindly did. I felt better in the afternoon and got up and started packing the motor home ready for departure.  It was a late crossing as the SW had a Circuit meeting, so we set off at about 10:45 pm, with me dressed warmly in pyjamas, bed-jacket, dressing-gown, warm socks and slippers, wrapped in a shawl and with a rug over my knees!  We had a good run to the terminal, and about 20 minutes to wait before we were called, during which I got rather cold. We were surprised how many vehicles were crossing at that hour of the morning; at least 7 or 8 coaches, and the high vehicle section of the train was nearly full.  But we were off at last and it was not long before we were arriving at the Aire in Cité Europe, having had a snack and then washed during the crossing. I had filled hot-water bottles before we left, so we had a lovely warm bed to snuggle into.

This morning we didn't really stir until about 09:00 local time, and there was still a bit of sorting out to do, so I did some shopping and we headed on, first to the caravan shop to buy a new bin (but, alas, it was broken so will have to go back), then diesel, and finally a long, long drive on motorways to this place east  of Paris (and very slow along the Francilienne as it was rush hour) which is allegedly a snail farm, but they haven't tried to sell us anything, just let us park in the farmyard as the normal field set aside for us is waterlogged. 

We have discovered that there is a feline conservation centre very near here, so plan to visit it tomorrow before heading over towards Dijon.

Off again!

I suppose we are quite sane, heading off to France again this time of year?  But the thaw has come, and it is much warmer than it has been.  And we are hoping that maybe, in the South of France, we will have the sun on our backs for a day or so.

This post, as always, is to goose Network Blogs into checking daily for new posts - will update from my phone, and add photos when I get home again - Wednesday 5 April, unless things go desperately pear-shaped between now and then.

Brittany and Normandy, 27 February

I woke up in the night and ominously discovered there was no water in the loo. Put the heating on for a quick blast, which sorted that one out (although didn't do very much for my sleep!), but in the morning we found the outlet pipes were frozen, and when they thawed, water from the bathroom basin was leaking all over the rear tyre. So we sadly decided to call it a holiday. We needed diesel, so asked the satnav to take us to a nearby Super-U, which not only had petrol but had a decent mobile signal, so I was able to change the booking to today - incredibly easy, and there seem to be few restrictions on changes for Frequent Traveller accounts. I did have to pay an extra £20 as we were going to be crossing in peak time (although given how few vehicles were on our crossing, I'm not sure they ought to have charged me!), but again, that was easily sorted out. We would probably have spent the day driving up to Calais on non-motorway routes, but because we only had a couple of hours, we went on the motorway and stopped at the Baie de Somme for lunch. Then we headed on and arrived in Calais in time to fill up with diesel - although it was the same price as here, if not slightly dearer - and got a crossing half an hour earlier than scheduled, which was good. And a very easy journey home - we seem to have brought the clear skies with us, even though it is very cold here. But still, it won't be draughty in bed! I'm now going to go through and add photographs to past posts in this series.

Brittany and Normandy, 26 February

Well, I don't know why the Swan Whisperer was unimpressed by Villedieu-les-Poêles; it is a lovely little town!  True, the bell foundry and the other museum were closed - as, indeed, were most of the shops, it being Monday - but we still had a lovely walk round, and visited the church which, judging from the extra seats set out, is doing a roaring trade this Lent!  We were amused by an old-fashioned confessional box with two comfortable-looking armchairs placed tête-à-tête in front of it, presumably so one could discuss one's sins with the priest. 

Even the public loos - which were closed, but whether for good or just for the winter wasn't clear - were built in what was obviously an old water-mill.

Anyway, once we had had a walk, we drove up to Grandcamp-Maisy, where we parked in front of the harbour and had lunch, and then the SW said he wanted to go to some of the Normandy beaches.  I have been brought up to be totally uninterested in them - my father, although proud of his Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, hates talking about his experiences and we have learnt not to ask!  So I am never really interested, and had a nap while he walked round Point du Hoc, and then dozed while he drove to other places and pottered round. 

By the time he had finished doing that, and I was properly awake again, it was 16:00, and still a 2-hour drive to our overnight stopping place. Rather a dull drive, and probably rather expensive, although I always like the Pont de Normandie. And it was dark by the time we arrived here - somewhere in the middle of nowhere that I chose mostly because it was half way between Villedieu-les-Poêles and Calais!

The weather, which has been absolutely glorious almost since we arrived (although bitterly cold), has taken a turn for the worse, and we are hoping the snow they tell us has hit London will not reach us until we are safely home. Meanwhile we are pretty snug in the van, although it can be draughty!

Brittany and Normandy, 25 February

The Swan Whisperer went off for his run this morning, and I got up, washed, dressed and got everything ready for breakfast, and was just about to set off on my walk when he returned. So I went off on my walk - not many walkers, except with dogs, but hordes of joggers and a fair few cyclists - and when I got back, breakfast was almost ready!

After breakfast we decided to drive through Rennes as it was Sunday and we assumed - correctly - that there wouldn't be much traffic. Rather an attractive town, we thought, but driving over cobbled streets is noisy in the van!

Then we came out of town and found somewhere to stop to have coffee - the SW had bought pains au chocolate when he got a baguette for lunch - and then round St-Malo, which we remembered from last time. Then we drive to our halt for today, the town with the glorious name of Villedieu-les-Poêles. The SW had been for a walk but says he wasn't very impressed. I was at a complicated bit of my knitting, so stayed in to do that, but we will have a walk tomorrow morning, and see.

Brittany and Normandy, 24 February

I bottled out of visiting the submarine this morning, as I was afraid it would be claustrophobic, although the Swan Whisperer, who did go, said it wasn't at all, once you were in there. All the same....

So after that we decided to go down to the nearest beach to have our lunch, stopping at a supermarket en route. We were a bit annoyed as we parked up totally in nobody's way and some officious man - not an official, or anything, but probably a local who gets tired of motor homes all over the place - politely suggested we go and park in the aire round the corner, so we did. It has services, so we emptied the loo and the grey water, but it didn't have any fresh water. 

We decided to take the main road across Brittany to Cesson-Sévigné, outside Rennes. We did debate driving through Rennes itself, but I think we had done that last time and hadn't been very impressed. So we ended up here by the lakes, where there is a running/walking course all laid out. I walked round the bottom lake, which takes about 17 minutes at my speed, and feel refreshed for it!  

There are services here, and we think the water is running; it wasn't when we got diesel in the town earlier. The man at the kiosk, who had only just come on duty, said his predecessor knew very well that it wasn't working, and shouldn't have sold us a jeton, and he refunded us!  Only €1.50, but still....  Water here is €2.60, but it looks as though it's working.