Blogs from Upper Normandy, France, Europe - page 4

Advertisement

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Dieppe September 27th 2016

We are so lucky. Weather still good when we woke with a lovely blue sky, even if 10 degrees cooler than most of the days we’ve enjoyed. Decided on trousers for our outing and a long sleeved top. A change from the suntop and shorts I’ve worn most days. Kisbee excited to come out of the garage for a final trip and we wizzed down to the town, only 10 minutes away. Bob found a handy parking spot, by a church which was handy later as the spire made a useful landmark when we wanted to find it again. We’ve never really been into Dieppe before just to the campsite and the ferry port. Quite a pleasant town and a busy one. We walked the length of the main shopping street and found a small produce ... read more
160927 Dieppe (45)
160927 Dieppe (70)
160927 Dieppe (66)

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Dieppe September 26th 2016

Off to a good start again today as more than 200 miles to drive and not using motorways. Bob had planned a route going as directly north as possible but avoiding Rouen at all costs. He decided we would use the Brotonne bridge well enough west of our most unfavourite French place to cross the river Seine. First of all up to Beaugency which we know well as we use the aire on the river there quite a lot for overnighters. The aire was closed when we drove past in June but suspect that might have been because of the severe flooding at the beginning of June. It was open as normal as we went past today. From there to Chateaudun, a road we’ve driven many times but then Bob took us on a completely new ... read more
Normandy style
Leaving the Loire for Normandy
Lucky spot and a quick camera shutter, a thatcher at work

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Dieppe September 26th 2016

Day 2: Shipton Bellinger to Newhaven port to catch Ferry to Dieppe via A272. The idea of this trip is to avoid motorways and toll ways where possible. There are faster and more simple routes than the one I took today but this went through some pretty pleasant countryside. The shades of Autumn are beginning to show here. Just not many places to stop. The weather was dull rainy then sunny then rainy again... Not a good day for the top down and pictures. Arriving at the Ferry port well ahead of the required time gave me chance to top up on water and things for the trip. For me not the car. The car is behaving pretty well so far without any bother. The roof definitely needs replacing before I do any more trips like ... read more
Day 2
Day 2
Day 2

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Dieppe August 1st 2016

What a great day! Headed off at a decent time for a 3 hour to Dieppe. The drive was very nice and scenic with a few slow downs for construction but not too bad. Arrived in Dieppe in time to wander the city centre and find a quaint restaurant to eat lunch on the patio. Me and the kids all had Croque Madame (like Croque Monsieur but with a fried egg on top and with a "Chef Specialty" sign on the menu) which was delicious (and on my list of foods I must eat while here) while Nigel tried Steak hache bleu. We all enjoyed our meals very much and the atmosphere was fun too. Then we wandered around some more until we found the pebble beach. This is the historical site where 5000 men stormed ... read more
Wet feet
Chateau de Musee
Cliffs

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Rouen July 26th 2016

So, here we are again and this time it's not so much around Europe in a van, more round Europe hoping not to give birth. Theoretically there are a good ten weeks before the bladder puncher makes an appearance but there's a big part of me fully expecting a Slovenian birth or similar. At least I have the best issuance money can buy ( but not a car seat......) So this year we headed to Calais in the car expecting delays and carnage. Instead we had the easiest journey through the port and on to the ferry that we've ever had. A calm sailing and we landed in an equally quiet Calais and headed to Rouen. Given my current hefty with child state the only thing I can really comment on fully are the public toilets ... read more

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Connelles July 20th 2016

Today was the day of reckoning! If we were to be able to continue our planned and booked travel to Ireland then I really need to be able to pick up the replacement passport somewhere we hoped that was in transit by courier from London. It was another beautiful day and the morning temperature was already in the mid 20’s as we sat on our little terrace to have breakfast. We hope it wasn’t an omen but as I was about to take a mouthful of muesli and fruit with yogurt a tiny baby bird fell out of the terrace rafters above me narrowly missing my breakfast bowl! It seems the baby bird was either dead in the nest or near to it and the parents decided to heave it out! After this most upsetting incident ... read more
Entering the A d T,Paris
Exit number 6 from the A d T,Paris
A glimpse of the Eiffel Tower,Paris passport now secure in the moneybelf around my middle!

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Connelles July 19th 2016

We have another 500km ahead of us today but pretty much highway driving all the way although we do want to try and make two stops on the way. We had seen a TV news item when Prince Harry had visited Thiepval Memorial on the Somme to commemorate 100 years since the battle and we would like to see it as the structure is huge and has the names of all the missing/dead Allied soldiers whose bodies were never found. The memorial is not far off the route we need to take to our destination at Connolles, France. Because we are old fans of the TV series ‘Allo Allo’we also want to have a look at the French town of Nouvion that it was based upon. Not that we really expect that it will look anything ... read more
View from the bedroom,Uden
Heading into Antwerp
The lines left by the spraying unit and wheat nearly ready to harvest

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Etretat July 17th 2016

I have to admit, this entry is only about smiles, family, a cliff, and an amazing golf course! This is the last stop of our little French trip. I have to admit, we have been so lucky with the weather. I told the girls before the trip...we need to get ready for Summer in Brittany. It could be rainy, windy, and fairly cold. Instead of this, we had gorgeous sun and warm days most of the time. One more time, we drove the back roads from Bayeux to Fecamp where we are spending our last night together. We crossed a huge bridge above La Seine, the well-known river passing Paris all the way to Le Havre. We didn't spend much time in Fecamp, our goal was few kilometers on the East, the cliffs of Etretat. I ... read more
Amazing golf of Etretat....
I had dreamed of playing here for years!
The golf course sits on top of the cliffs

Europe » France » Upper Normandy » Dieppe June 21st 2016

Our stay in the Netherlands came to an end with our departure out through Rotterdam. We first had to leave through the marina opening bridge and time it so that we didn’t have to wait for the next scheduled opening of the nearby Erasmus Bridge. This bridge is one of the main highways here therefore it only opens a few times a day. In looking at the tides we decided it would be best to ready ourselves for the 1:30PM opening. The harbor master told us to call the bridge tender about 45 minutes before we wanted to leave and he will be sure to open the bridge to the marina as well. We called and were told that the bridge wasn’t working so we’d have to wait. This left us up in the air as ... read more
The Trip to the Mouth of the River at Rotterdam
A little rain, a little sunshine!
Finally a Sail is Up With Leaving the Canals

Europe » France » Upper Normandy March 12th 2016

The apartment we are staying in is located down an isolated narrow country lane about 3km from the small village of Sainte-Colombe. As the sun rose through the misty haze this morning it revealed that overnight there had been a frost although this quickly evaporated as the sun for the first time we had noticed since arriving seemed to have some warmth in it. As Nadine had told us when we arrived a small number of cars arrived as we getting ourselves ready for the day. They had bought in young girls for their pony club lessons. The property is very well set up with an equestrian centre which includes stables an area of ground with a pony circuit including jumps and a room set aside with a blackboard and chairs for the girls to receive ... read more
Our apartment at the Pony Club,Sainte-Colombe
We always seem to attract cats
Cape de la Hague,Normandy




Tot: 0.156s; Tpl: 0.007s; cc: 10; qc: 87; dbt: 0.0748s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.4mb