France 87 - St Cyr near to Futuroscope and Poitiers . It's a long way down France and we have got nowhere yet

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Despite the wine which usually dulls the senses last night was a cold one. It went dark at around 8.30 slightly later than back home but that was more due to the hour difference between France and Britain. We woke at 7 and it was nippy but this was hardly surprising as it was really only 6am back home. The bells rang from the town church. Hello France. The site was relatively quiet after the resident ducks and our noisy neighbours went to sleep. We had watched stars last night in the night sky through our skylight. They were clear to see in the inky black sky. Something we don’t see back home due to light pollution. Saint Clares was almost full which surprises you this time of year. It is almost on the verge of closure. Only another few more weeks before the season is over . Such a short season. The site could open longer as there are many plots with hard standing but they close in order to carry out maintenance and to have a much deserved holiday.

So what was the day going to bring for us. It was cold 12 degrees and rather chilly in Suzy. So to knickers . What did I forget to bring enough smalls to last a week!!!! What things to forget. So we planned to stop off first at the huge Le Clerc store just down the road. Sadly it was before 8 when we arrived and the only staff in were the cleaners. So it was knickers to that idea. We left pretty Neufchatel with its brown and yellow brick houses thwarted. Would we go again ? Well the site is definitely looking jaded and the brasserie food rather sad but it is not a bad site all in all. Authentically French in a French sort of way.

We are in a hurry to get to Spain as this holiday we only have 28 days on the road instead of 33 which means not so many stops to get over the drive. In order to get there we have to hit the toll roads whatever the cost. They were empty and gave a feel of 1960’s British motorways. Miles and miles of open road which in a car would invite you to put your foot down. We average 70 if we are lucky on roads that you can drive on at 90mph. We see small villages very rural in character with the church in the distance. Fields of corn ripening and ready for harvesting. Our next stop Rouen a pretty city we are just going to skirt around.

Well that was the plan and as always all good plans never quite take off. Like Paris where all roads lead to Rouen is much the same. You cannot avoid it but most of the time you can go round it and avoid the congested middle. Today we found Sally Sat Nav had made her mind up to take us right through the middle. Problem low bridges and tunnels. She is programmed to know our height, width and weight but somehow at the back of your mind you wonder if she will make a big mistake and we will find ourselves on a slip road to a tunnel we cannot get under. We saw the cathedral with its metal spire much painted by Monet. We criss crossed the river. We found ourselves in a less than salubrious district and competed with pedestrians, bikes, the local cars and tram service before seeing the dreaded sign 2.6 headroom. As we came round the roundabout it was there . We couldn’t go to the right nor did it look like we could go to the middle road as this one was signed too low for us to get under. Round the roundabout we went looking for alternatives when I bit the bullet looking ahead said let’s go for it .I think we have a road without a height limit . Breathing in and bending down hoping for the best we went for it and sure enough a big lorry followed us. That is always a good sign if the big boy behind us could get through then we sure as hell could. It was a relief to get out of the city and onto the open road again with its hedgerows taking on their Autumn tints. Black elderberries and yellow sunflowers well they were yellow some ago . Now brown and sadly dejected . I wonder if Van Goghs paintings would have been sold for millions had he painted the dead heads of sunflowers rather than the pretty ones that look up to the sun. Bullrushes filled the ponds on the roadsides. Life was good again. Lapwings in the fields. The sky was not as blue as yesterday . More clouds ribboned the sky.

We stopped for lunch on an aire and parked up next to a car with a trailer on which were two very old motorcycles. They must have been at least 80 years old. Lunch was again simple fayre of French cassoulet . Beans, sausage and some kind of meat. Similar to London Grill but different. It tasted delicious with crusty French bread. A feast fit for a king.

On our way to our overnight stop we found an Intermarche. A cross between Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco and Aldi it should sell those essentials I have left behind. I did struggle with French sizes . There appeared only two 34 -36 or 42 – 42. French ladies must be small or extremely large. I chose the smaller pairs and smiled when I opened the packet to find moustaches all over them. Why do French ladies knickers have moustaches on them?

Our disaster today was trying to pay for diesel when the Caxton card which holds all our cash for the trip failed to work. After two attempts at putting in the PIN I gave up before it locked me out of it. Perhaps it was the petrol station at fault but there again it is a new card and it is the first time we have used it. We had problems transferring money from the old card to this one so something in the back of my mind is thinking what is the problem and how do we fix it .

Our stop for the night was Camping du Lac de St Cyr a very large campsite completely different to last nights stop. There are 161 plots , 3 buildings called Fun Flowers, many bungalows and a few yurts . All set in a park with a big lake . Reception was very friendly, we had the facilities of a fantastic swimming pool, a small shop, a café/bar and free WiFi all for the same price as last night. I swam until I was invaded by three male adults and about 9 boustrous boys . We didn’t manage to walk around the lake which was 5 km, there were birds to see and pedaloes to hire . You could spent a few days here and it looked like many did.

We paid a visit to the café bar and ordered a pizza. We didn’t expect much so it was to our surprise when it turned up that it was rather tasty . Much better than we expected . We had a quiet night watching Ripper Street before retiring rather tiredly to our beds . Overnight the heavens opened . The rain thundered on the roof as if both Ginger Baker and Phil Collins were trying to compete with each other in a drumming competition. It was a here comes the rain again sort of night. It has been a funny holiday so far. We seem to be struggling to get going. We are still nowhere near the bottom of France. It is such a big country. I have failed to take any decent photos as we have stopped nowhere. Our thoughts as we pass through this year is maybe next year we won’t rush about so much and spend more time going off the beaten track and seeing more of rural France.

Tomorrow we lie in late. We only have the short three and half hour drive to Bordeaux. Should be uneventful

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