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Published: September 12th 2023
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Musical accompaniment to the sunset
Trouville, Campsite Au Chant des Oiseaux 14. As we reach the final few weeks of our 10 week journey its time to wind our way through France, visiting friends and relatives and reflect on our wonderful trip.
So lucky are we to have friends and family who have fabulous places for us to visit in France. We spent some vey hot days chilling with my sister and beau-frere just North of Bordeaux. Spent a lovely jazz evening at Montangne-sur Gironde, and enjoyed a karoke in their nearby town. When the weather changed we were able to visit the unique and extraordinary Chateaux Mercerie, and Chateau de Villebois Lavalette.
About an hour North we met up and stayed with friends Chris and Gary. We helped them with a bit of extreme gardening then enjoyed a lovely BBQ party for Chris’s birthday, meeting many of their friends, and Kim even got his guitar out!
On the Ile De Re we stayed with Craig and Jo rather gatecrashing their friend’s holiday! Biking around the island, eating seafood and generally enjoying the good company.
Our last week arrived too soon, spending a night at the seaside town of Tranche sur Mer then on to Angers
for a couple of nights. We walked via a lake into Angers, it appears a well-designed city, with lovely open spaces, and a good tram and transport system. The main attraction is the stunning Chateau d ’Angers with it’s 17 massive towers, however it is also home to an enormous medieval tapestry of the Apocalypse! Which I am now much more informed about!
The towns of Trouville and Deauville, were our last stop. They both have fantastic houses of the rich and famous, and are separated by the river Touques. I was hoping to spot Jude Law as there was an American Film Festival going on in Deauville, but he must have missed me. The highlight was the wonderful views of the English Channel or should I say (as we were in France), La Manche from our campsite.
What a journey! Over 4000 miles by our fabulous camper Django. From Santander, along the coast of Northern Spain, via the Picos De Europa, down the coast of Portugal, and along the Douro wine valley, back along Portugal’s coastline the lovely cites of Porto & Lisbon, along the coast of the beautiful beaches of the Algarve, back into Spain to
sizzle in Seville, dip into Gibraltar and then follow the Spanish Mediterranean coastline, through the Pyrenees and into France.
During our 70 days of travel we have walked hundreds of miles, and swam almost daily in the sea, pools or lakes and rivers. We’ve been on buses, trams, trains, boats, bikes, canoe, a taxi, a cable car, a tourist train and a funicular railway. The sun has shone too, one of the hottest summers in Spain reaching temperatures of 45 degrees in Seville, meaning we were unable to visit the cities of Cordoba and Granada as planned, but we also got to visit many places we had not expected.
We have camped in campsites, in car parks, at a vineyard, on a farm, in the grounds of a villa, at a marina and in Aires adding to the adventure of the trip rarely booking ahead allowing fate to determine our route.
So where next…. I hear the bagpipes calling, I think I’ll take the high road, but not for a few weeks.
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