France 2016

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Hello again or Bonjour!

The work on the motor home to sort out the correct gas pressure took longer than expected and cost more than we thought!! Nothing is ever simple with Henry.

We finally left Romsey about 3pm and drove to Newhaven and parked up for the night in the terminal car park. We walked to the Rail Worker’s social club and had a couple of beers then a bit of food and an early night.

So our plans for the next few weeks are

vD Day beaches

vBayeux

vHelpx near Alencon

vDrive south towards Pau and into Spain

vPicos mountain range

vBurgos

vCasas Nuevas

Our sailing to France was fine, breakfast was the first stop and the four hours was a fairly calm channel crossing and we arrived in Dieppe at 2pm and by 2.10 we were off the boat and headed for a supermarket to pick up a few supplies and some cheap fuel. We try to arrive in France with very little and will do the same as we head for Spain as diesel gets cheaper. It maybe doesn’t matter as much in a car but our van takes 100li.

We were headed for the Normandy D day beaches and Chris had decided to do them from east to west. There are five beaches and about 20 years ago I visited a few of the sites. We were doing really well as we headed towards Ranville until Betty (our sat nav) had a bit of a dicky fit. I could see from the map that we started going north and Chris just said “it will be fine”. Suddenly we were on a toll bridge going north over the mouth of the Seine, 4 euros. The easiest option was to drive further west and enjoy the return journey on the magnificent Pont de Normandie, 6 euros. She then sent us through the centre of a very busy Honfleur and I navigated the rest of the way with a map. Fortunately it was a one-off and she has been fine since but she is on a yellow card!

We stayed at a campsite call “Camping haute couture”, High fashion. We had a large grass pitch down by the canal and the facilities were good with a bar and a swimming pool. We had a couple of beers cooked some food in the evening sunshine and had a welcome rest after a long day. Oh and just so you don’t think our life is totally idyllic we got chewed by mossies.

Friday we set off by bike along the canal and visited the Pegasus Bridge and the museum which described the role of the British gliders and paratroopers in securing the canal. Next stop was the British cemetery at Ranville. We cycled back to the campsite for a quick lunch and then cycled the other way towards the sea and Ouistreham where we had an hour or so in the battery which was part of Hitler’s Atlantic wall. It was quite a stuffy and claustrophobic place but full of interesting stuff and when we got to the top we watched the ferry, which was arriving from Portsmouth. The weather was gorgeous so we had a dip in the heated swimming pool to end a great day.

Our next stretch of beach to explore was Juno where the Canadians landed and we decided to drive there en route to a campsite further west. The centre is a fabulous design with titanium plates, a bit like the Guggenheim in Bilbao. A very well designed place, light and airy and different types of displays. They scroll the names of the Canadian dead on the ceiling in part of the museum and it would take thirteen and three quarter hours to read all of the names. We drove next to Langues de Mer to see a German battery and you could see the quality of the German construction and it was repeated right along the Atlantic wall. Our final stop was the American cemetery which is a sea of white stone crosses and a huge arch and memorial with maps of the landings. After a tiring day we went to a campsite in Colleville sur mer to be “greeted” by a miserable French woman, I wonder sometimes why people work in a service industry. Anyway it served its purpose, electricity, showers (although Chris’ was cold!!) and a rest for the night.

Sunday we were up early and sorted and drove a couple of miles to the Overlord museum. Overlord was the codename of the operation and this was the American museum. It was everything you might expect, big, brash but with some fabulous tanks etc..........if of course you like them. If you have seen the films Saving Private Ryan or the Longest Day you will know who it was the USA that won WW2. We drove on to Pointe du Hoc which is a battery and it is pretty much as it was when they left it, massive bomb craters and shelled gun housings and perfectly situated. Last stop was the German cemetery at La Cambe where there are about 21,500 graves. It was a very sombre place with dark stones in the grass marking each of the graves, sardonic and very German. Our final beach stop was Omaha, in the west and we drove to Ravinoville plage to a gorgeous campsite with huge pitches, lovely friendly staff, a bar and swimming pool and across the road from the beach.

Our original plan was two nights at Omaha but I loved it so much we had an extra day and it helped as Chris woke up on Monday with a hangover after polishing off a bit of red wine the night before!! I spent the morning planning the route once we finished out helpx stint. We will head to the Loire to see Leonardo da Vinci’s house and then towards La Rochelle and finally Pau. When he finally surfaced we decided to have a day off from the history of WW2 and cycled towards Quineville up the coast hoping to find some lunch. There was one restaurant Hotel du Plage and we had the menu de jour a country pate followed by skate and then raspberry tart. It made a nice change but it was really rich. In total we cycled about 30k including uphill to yet another battery and finally to Monument LeClerc.

Tuesday was back to the task and our next destination was Saint Marie Eglise . We cycled the back roads and were delighted to see a fabulous kingfisher in all its glory zipping along the dyke to the side of us. Saint Marie Eglise was very busy, especially with USA visitors, and it is the site of the church were the paratrooper got tangled on the spire. We visited the Airborne museum which was well laid out and varied. When we got back it had rained and our camping neighbours had very thoughtfully brought our washing in. They were a lovely Scottish couple headed for Spain and overwintering in Los Madriles our favourite coastal site, so we may come across them again.

We packed up and drove to the Omaha Beach museum and Chris visited this one on his own. We tried to see one of only two remaining Bailey bridge’s in France but got just a glimpse as we crossed the river on a parallel bridge.

France is so motor home friendly it makes life so much easier, we have been able to drive between sites and museums and all have had great big car parks, some with motor home specific large spaces. I realise it is September and it might be an entirely different matter in the height of summer.

We got to the Municipal campsite in Bayeux and met up with our friends John and Lyndis. They are selling up in the UK and motor homing in Europe till next Easter. We had a lovely barbeque and drinks and caught up on their news and plans.

The next day we headed on our bikes along the river and into Bayeux. First stop a cup of coffee and then to the museum to see the Tapestry. A fascinating piece of history and very well organised with automatic audio guides. We cycled to the British cemetery to finish out D Day tour, it is in the town of Bayeux and there was a large group of English schoolchildren so it did not feel very peaceful. The cathedral in Bayeux is stunning with gorgeous stained glass windows.

In the evening we had planned to have food at the campsite but the fish and chip van did not turn up so we walked over the road and had a very nice Chinese buffet although I did not feel the need to eat the frogs legs.

The weather changed and overnight it was pouring so we packed up and said our farewell to John and Lyndis and headed for our helpx stint near Alencon.

Till next time

Norma x

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