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Published: November 2nd 2009
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Coutainville Beach
Trotting horses being exercised. These races are popular here. In Biarritz -shirtless! No, casino strictly viewed from outside. We’re on an "aire" by one of the beaches watching other ‘vans,mainly French, come and go in the rain(more like a fine sea mist). The most surprising sight of the morning was a man in a kilt and slippers arriving at the bread van. Turns out he’s the Brit in an enormous motorhome and trailer with a classic racing car on board. Yes, a "bread van":one of the joys of campervanning life in France with the French;they do like to sell you a fresh baguette in the morning so here they come to you. Here, the aire, is a special parking area for motor homes which are found all over the country. Most are free with small charge for water or electric hook-up. We have returned to France after a couple of weeks in NW Spain where campsites are of poor standard and very expensive with one notable exception in the Picos de Europa at Potes. However we were blessed with wonderful weather, hot and sunny. We spent one week sunbathing and swimming in the sea on the far west coast at a place called Paxarinas, near Sanxenxo(San”sh”en”sh”o-it’s Gallego being in Galicia)
Coutainville
The Sucettes Chaudes shop! after a “poco” of walking in the Picos.
Fortunately the weather has been good all the way since leaving the UK in September until this last week.
Our first stop was at a place called Coutainville south of Cherbourg. This was a nostalgia trip for me(H). I stayed here for two summers in the 60s with my French pen-friend, Béatrice, and her family. Of course it’s changed but I was delighted to find the “Sucettes Chaudes” shop where we used to hang around the open window while the sweet-makers rolled and stretched hot toffee to make the lollipops. The braver ones made attempts to snatch bits only to be whacked on the hand by a toffee-stretching tool! Unfortunately the shop was closed when we got there and the family house has gone too but it didn’t spoil the enjoyment of a pleasant seaside town. The sea goes out a long long way revealing rocks where an abundance of sea food is found and I remember being initiated into finding one’s own dinner(cooked by Grandmère) among the seaweed and rockpools.
Our next stop was the Ile de Ré:a small flat island connected to La Rochelle by a soaring curved bridge. Being
St Martin de Re
Concert "en plein aire"
by Joseph Verdi! flat, everyone cycles everywhere on well placed cycle paths so we did too. It’s a beautiful island with small whitewashed houses, their shutters and doors painted in various shades of green and blue and set off by brightly coloured flowers. Oysters and salt are the main industries so we had mussells(oysters not being a favourite of mine) and even better caramel icecream and chocolates both laced with salt-delicious.
From here we travelled on down the west coast thinking we could get to N Spain while the weather stayed good. We got seduced by an aire by the side Lake de Cazaux et de Sanguinet at Biscarosse. Placed under pines on a sandy beach next to the enormous shallow lake, like being at the seaside without waves and marvellous to swim in once one had waded out about 500m. The west coast of the lake is part of huge pine covered dunes which form a barrier between the lake and the Atlantic. We did cycle as far as the top of the dune but decided we would be too exhausted for lunch if we went any further.
So back in France and making our way now towards Barcelona via the north
Ile de Re bridge
Taken from Ile d'Oleron side of the Pyrenees and, hooray, the sun has just come out. A tout a l’heure!
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Jude and Kiri
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Great to hear from you and see some piccies of your travels.
good to hear from you and see some of your photos of what you have been up to. We have just returned yesterday from doing a cruise from Istanbul to Israel to Egypt and on to Greece. It was great. Then went to a wedding in Crete. Jet lagged now but happy Cheers Jude and Kiri