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Carnac
Not warm enough for a swim yet Monday 1 June 2015
A wonderful welcome to the first day of Summer - the sun is shining. Auray was only a one night stand and was close enough to the coastal town of Carnac. Before heading off on our expedition we popped into Mr Leclerc for lunch provisions. Pastries, bread rolls, cheeses, tomatoes and bananas went into the bag. A very nice elderly French lady helped with the weighing. We think she was getting rather anxious that we were holding up progress. She was so nice about it. Then a lady, in a very Midlands English accent apologized in French for bumping into us. After a lengthy chat we all agreed it was nice to talk some English for a change, we wished each other bon voyage and went our separate ways.
Our "bonjours" must be getting really good because the person serving immediately responds in a great flow of French that we then have to confess to speaking English.
It was only a short drive from Auray to Carnac. The day was glorious but with a slight tempering breeze. We took our last chance of seeing the sea for a while. White sands, flat sea, low
Carnac
Standing stones in alignment tide and yachts racing in the distance. They say last year the temperatures were in the high twenties. If that was the case this beach would have been packed with people.
Carnac is famous for ancient standing stones. These stones have been here since 4000 BC. It is amazing that so many stones have survived in their current position for so long without being used for building material. Perhaps the people through the ages have respected what they stand for. It is a pity that this isn't so in the Middle East where groups of people are destroying cultural artifacts without thought.
We noticed a bus load of hardy souls sitting around fold-up picnic tables having lunch. Another group were standing around a clump of rocks eating theirs (hope the rocks weren't ancient, at least the people were standing). We chose an indoor lunch. It was warmer and quieter, and no flies.
We were heading for Nantes but made a brief stop in Saint Nazaire, a large port in the Loire estuary made famous for ship building and as a German submarine base during WW 2. Polly was happy to take us into the centre of the
Carnac
Larger standing stones city. She is good like that, even got us to a carpark with 30 minutes free parking. It is obvious this city was hit hard during the war. The buildings are all of the same fifties era with very little character. We had time for a coffee and get on our way. As we left the city we spotted the remains of the giant concrete U-boat pens constructed during the war. Today they are a museum and tourist attraction. Perhaps next time we'll stop longer.
Rush hour in Nantes around the periferique is like a mini M25 in London. Four lanes suddenly becomes two which means standstill. Tonight we have a "large" apartment. Large lounge, large kitchen, large bedroom and large bathroom. No tripping over suitcase for us. Tomorrow we start a 6-day stay in the Loire Valley near Blois. This is the reason for returning to France.
And so to bed.
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