Where in the world is Gabby the motorhome? Nowhere exotic that is for sure. She is parked up on our drive waiting for her next trip away. I have though gone ahead of myself. Let me take you back two weeks. We are still in France, Morning is breaking over the country and we are setting out from our campsite heading for the tunnel and the journey home. It is still dark as we leave and we both say the same thing. Let's not stay here again. The journey to Calais takes us 15 minutes and we see not one migrant. What we do see are acres of high fencing. I swear the fencing has grown in size and quantity with each year that passes. Razor wire atop the fencing. The economic migrants have moved on ... read more

Our next stop after Oleron was Loches a royal city with an impressive donjon and one of those stories about a King and his lover. It is one of those stories that repeats itself over time in different places. A man , royal or not seems to fall in love with someone he shouldn't have. A woman of less than royal birth and one that is deemed unworthy of him, She might be his mistress. Destined never to marry him but she is there in the background. It happens in most countries histories at some time and we come across it time and time again. Think Ines de Castro born in 1325 in Galicia, Portugal. She is best known as lover and posthumously-recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal . The dramatic circumstances of her ... read more

We are standing on the edge of the land between the Charente and the Atlantic in front of a black and white phare de Chassiron. What brought us here to the largest island off mainland France with the exception of Corsica ? A pin in a map. We woke early in St Jean D'Angeley and decided to head further south and cross the viaduct over to the Ile d'Oleron. We might not see a Cathar castle, nor a puy, nor the petite yellow train but what we would see was a massive viaduct crossing the Charente over to the island. What an impressive thing it is. It was Sunday morning and it felt as if all of France was heading over to the island and it would sink under their weight. We had been to the ... read more

I was standing in the early morning sunshine at our camping site in deep conversation with the receptionist who was out listening to the birds whilst smoking her first cigarette of the day. She said how nice the morning was. How lovely the birdsong was? Did I know the Hirondelle? He was back. She described a black bird with a white chest. I had so many ideas but none were right. All of a sudden they appeared. Five or six of them perched on a beam in the shed. Swallows I told her were what we called them. They made such a noise swooping and diving catching insects. We stood for a while entranced in their every movement. Coulon is like that. It is enchanting in every way. I thought one swallow does not a summer ... read more

Nous arrivee . Camping Nantes 5* Luxury. We are in the Pays de la Loire in Nantes according to Wiki. In our heads Nantes is still in Brittany , always was and always will be. Camping Nantes is open all year round and we received a very warm welcome both by reception and by the sunshine that rained upon us. The site is well spread out in a green oasis in the city. Trees everywhere providing much needed shade in the summer. Do you have a satellite dish for T.V I was asked . No that is something we thought to do without in Gabby and up to now have no missed it . However in a cold British summer we might think otherwise. On the site are large camping plots, chalets and cottages, cabana du ... read more