1st Nov
It's November already! It rained overnight but we awoke to a sunny morning so we didn't need the heating on.
Andy Loaded the bikes and we got on the road and headed towards the Vintage bar near Perrou ///chops.professions.ranking
where we had been invited to a 'Music Bingo' night but first we collected Andy's slippers which had left at Sarah and Mil's place last night.
We got going towards Perrou where the Vintage bar was but stopped in a tiny Aire in Domfront for a walk around the medieval town.
///castaway.starts.crucial
The Aire was small and it was challenging parking the Mac shack without blocking the way.
We got parked and set off for a walk up and into the medieval section of the town where there were some amazing buildings which were hundreds of years old with cobbled streets.
We walked up to the castle ruins and marvelled at the stories that this ruin could tell.
Back along the cobbled streets and into the modern area where we sat outside the Central bar for drinks and croissants whilst people watching.
Back to the van where, luckily, we hadn't been blocked in and we hit the road, heading for the Vintage bar and Music bingo night with our new friends, Julia, Nigel, Val and Alan.
We parked up and Sue got dinner on whilst Andy had a strum on his guitar which goes everywhere with us.
It was time to get into the bar and we sat with Val and Alan and more new friends Mandy and Pat and paid the 25 Euros for a full evenings entertainment!
The drinks flowed as we were not going to be driving tonight and the music started and we crossed off the tracks that we had on our cards and then Andy won a 'line' earning 4 Euros!
Sue won next, another 4 Euros and a few games later Andy won a full house earning 10 Euros, 18 Euros in total for the evening!
Back to the van for a quiet but sloping sleep, the car park wasn't entirely flat but beggars can't be choosers.
2nd Nov
It rained over night but we had no leaks...We had a lie in and got up at 9am. The rain stopped and the sun came out and lit up the autumn leaves. The bar was in the middle of nowhere really and surrounded by forest (Foret domaniale des Andaines).
Sarah had sent us some ideas of places to visit whilst we were in this area and so we decided to visit the Fosse de Arthour
///earmark.rapport.coach
A fantastic gorge and lake with brilliant walks through the forest.
We left the Vintage bar having said our farewell to Steve, the owner and headed up through the forest and onto the Fosse de Arthour where we parked in the car park got our boots on and started our walk.
We took our time walking slowly and taking in the scenery, Sue stopped every few yards to take photos of the multitude of mushrooms!
After a good hour we got back to the van and decided to try the restaurant where we had a shared tapas, which included snails, and a couple of beers before getting back to van and driving just around the corner to the Camping car aire which we had discovered on our walk, however once we had parked we found that there was absolutely zero mobile signal so we carried on and parked at the aire in Le Teilleul where we had been a few days before.
3rd Nov
A good nights sleep and we relaxed all morning. There was light rain and Andy sat and worked on this Vlog and managed to complete the October page and started work on November, adding some videos too.
We left Le Teilleul and drove to an Intermarche in Flers where we parked and shopped, Andy bought socks and pants and we settled down for a reasonable night. Sarah warned us that Flers could get noisy (roudy) in the evening but we always have a second and third choice if there are problems so we left the van ready for the road, just in case but all was fine.
4th Nov
It was wash day and so we drove over to the 'Wash Me' machines and spent an hour or so doing the laundry. Then we visited the elsan etc and filled with Diesel and set off towards the La Graal bar church car park to see how it was in readiness for our evening of open mic tomorrow.
We didn't have far to go before we arrived at the bar but sailed past it as we missed the turning to the church so we carried on and found a suitable turning spot and returned, pulling in up the hill to the car park.
Andy had a walk around and Sue made soup which we had with fresh bread and then cake to finish.
On checking our mobile signal we found that there was none so decided to move to a better place for tonight and return to this spot for the open mic night tomorrow.
We pulled into the small aire at Tinchebray which was next to a large Boules area and also a very busy main road! After locking up we went exploring and found a chocolate 'factory' which you could smell from hundreds of metres away.
We walked down to the church and a school just as the children were leaving, bad timing! It was very busy with people and traffic.
Back at the van we decided to settle and chance a night here, the facilities were free and included fresh water and an elsan and a grey water dump. EHU was charged by card on the Quipeo app.
5th Nov
That was a noisy night but an even noisier early morning as the large tractors and larger trailers and articulated lorries started work. It was also very windy now and the small branches of the trees which we had parked next to tickled the side of the van.
Andy got on with some repairs, (Tightened the electrical connections to the water pump and stop the leak from the pumps filter) whilst Sue got things ready. We had decided to move to a quieter aire for tonight so after a little walk to stretch our legs we dumped our waste water and headed for Mortain.
///grafts.overpower.showy
The aire was in a large car park at the bottom of a hill where the old chateaux used to be, there is a model of it at the aire.
We parked in the designated motorhome places and Andy went to investigate and found that there were urinals, a toilet block, covered lockers for bikes and lockers for ruck sacks and the like.....all free to use and the aire was free to stay at!
We stopped at the bar which we had visited 5 years previously with Sarah, Jenny and Lucy when we had all visited the Grande cascades during the week of Andy's brother's funeral.
It was a different experience this time, the young girl who was looking after the bar was singing, Karaoke style, to the music videos on the TV and the atmosphere was different.
Leaving the bar we headed down the hill to the van and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
There were no fireworks to look forward to celebrate Guy Fawkes, (That's an English celebration)
6th Nov
Wow, we slept until 10am!
We got ourselves into gear and set off up the hill for a walk to the Grande cascades descending to the Petite cascades further down and past some fanastic rock formations which reminded Andy of the time he and his Dad would go climbing.
Eventually, back at the van we decided that it was time to move on to the La Graal bar church and get ready for the open mic evening, hosted by Nigel and Julia.
After using the services we powered up the hill (in 2nd gear) and drove out of town up more hills.
We eventually found ourselves at the church and parked in the empty car park.
After showering and getting our party gear on we walked down to the bar and met our new friends, Julia, Nigel, Val and Alan. We got a bottle of white and a beer and sat and listening to the acts until Andy was asked to play and Nigel kindly gave him the choice of a Martin or a Fender guitar, he choose the Martin and played a 20 minute set of 'Before you accuse me, Mrs Robinson, Wonderwall, La bamba and 'Good riddance,Time of your life'.
We were introduced to Jude and Leon who used to know Chris, Andy's brother and we talked about him for a while and exchanged contact numbers promising to be in touch. Leon and Jude invited us to stay at theirs when we are next in the area so we added their invitation the the others that we had received over the last couple of weeks!
Andy then joined Nigel on stage playing drums as nigel played guitar and sang a few more tunes before it was time to get back to the van saying our farewells to all and sundrie. Ahhh what a great evening.
7th Nov
A nice quiet nights sleep until the 7am church bells started up!
Back on the road and off to an aire that we stayed at in March 2023 at Remy Sur Orne,
///cook.examine.syndrome
We drove down the hill and headed to Remy sur Orne, Orne being the river which runs along side the Aire and meanders for hundreds of kilometers.
The journey was easy enough and the sun broke through and lit up the golden leaves and we passed along the tree lined roads bringing us to the aire next to a lake and a fantastic cycle way which lead from Caen to La Rochelle, 450Km in total.
Andy sent the drone up to get this video of the aire.
We got on the bikes and rode 5Km to the viaduct which passed over the river Orne where we stopped for a rest and to take some photos before heading back to the aire just as the rain started.
We settled down with soup and bread again and had a nice evening watching the rain drops running down the window!
8th Nov
Today is the day of Sarah and Mil's gig and we had found an aire in Caen only a 20 minute bike ride from the venue, the Tandem entertainment centre so we left the aire at Remy sur Orne and aimed the van sort of north towards Caen.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the aire in Caen it was fully booked so we headed for a second choice which was even closer to the venue, unfortunately again, Andy ignored Sue's instructions and relied on the SatNag and missed the aire at the final 200 metres and ended up adding about 10km to the journey!
Eventually we arrived and parked at the aire in Bretteville sur Odon,
///digress.start.cherry
taking on fresh water and and dumping waste which is included in the price of parking which was 14.40 Euros or £12.60 and as this is only the second time that we have had to pay to park in the time we have been in France we can't moan, can we?
We had plenty of time for food and showers and Andy got the bikes ready as Sue finished off with the magic that all ladies understand better than me, make-up, hair....etc. and then we mounted our steeds and set off down the hill towards Caen getting only 100 metres when Andy stopped, declaring that he had a puncture. Rear tyre was flat and we had left the repair kit back in the UK!
We got back to the van stressed out now as it was going to be an hour long walk to the venue and the band would be going on stage in one hour and 15 minutes.
Sue phoned our new friend, Julia and she immediately offered to come and collect us and drive us there (and back after the gig!) What a star, what a legend! Thank you Julia. XX
We met Julia at the McDonalds across the road from the aire and she got us to the venue in good time. We assembled in the dressing room and accepted a bottle of beer each, (there was no bar!) and then we all took our seats in the audience of about 40.
The band came on and played a brilliant set of what they describe as dark country rock and got the audience engaged with Mil's grunge guitar sound, Sarah's electric violin and slide guitar and Carl's energetic drumming whilst the smoke machine and lighting added to the atmosphere.
VIDEO OF GIG
It was soon time for the final number but the audience wanted more so the band teased them with their rendition of Stevie Wonders 'Superstition' and then came the standing ovation and as the cheering crowd showed their appreciation for the evening's entertainment the band left the stage.
We congratulated them on the performance and Julia very kindly drove us back to the aire and we collapsed into bed just before midnight!
9th Nov
A cold morning but the sun came out eventually and Sue decided that she would give the van a 'blow through' and a spring clean whilst Andy was banished to the outside to mend the punture in his bike tyre. Andy had got up and walked to the nearby supermarche and bought a small repair kit. BUT, before all of this we popped across the road for a sneaky McDonalds breakfast.
Andy got the puncture fixed and Sue finished the cleaning and we settled down for the day, deciding to stay for one more night so Andy went over to the pay machine and splashed out another 14.40 Euros! (This has gotta stop!)
10th Nov
Rain, rain and more rain this morning!
Andy worked on the web site as we had power and internet and he managed to catch up and write up the Reload gig but didn't edit the video yet.
Everything was put on charge including the leisure battery for a few hours before getting road ready and driving over the service drain to empty and refill as usual, then off to the supermarche for supplies and onto Decathlon where we enjoyed some retail therapy, looking at bikes and equipment that we couldn't afford and didn't need anyway. We did, however buy a new saddle for Sue's e-bike and her old one had split and was soaking up the rain.
VIDEO OF JOURNEY TO DECATHLON AND LEAVING
Now onto the aire at Arromanches les bains which is right on the coast and Gold beach D-Day monuments.
///contributor.textile.mooing
The aire was not the one that Andy had thought it was and we drove past it initially, turning around and choosing a spot in a row of many other vans, very crowded. The ground was slightly muddy/sandy and Andy had to step carefully as he worked his way to the pay machine where he paid 12.50Euros for around 24 hours which included a drive over service point but no water at this time.
VIDEO OF ARRIVAL
We walked along the display of monuments and into the small souveneer shop before heading down the very steep hill and into the town where there were more military equipment on display in the streets.
VIDEO OF WALK AND DISPLAYS
Back up the steep hill to the van for a beer and a wine before bed.
11th Nov
A special day, we had already witnessed the 2 minute silence on Sunday, (9th) and today we heard bells and bugles (playing 'The last stand') from afar, across the town at the church we suspected but there was no gathering around the D-day monuments.
We had another walk down into the town and stopped for a couple of Americano coffes at a nice looking bar and sat outside with a view of the sea trying not to think of what happened on June 6th 1944.
VIDEO OF WALK, MONUMENTS AND COFFEES
We finished our coffee Americano's and continued our walk along the beach where we met a couple of horses (and riders) out for a hack.
VIDEO OF HORSES ON BEACH AND SCENERY
Back at the van we set off to our next stop which was an aire at Grandcamp Maisy, near Omaha beach.
///soapbox.reacting.toot
VIDEO OF LEAVING AND JOURNEY
VIDEO OF ARRIVING
The aire was a pay aire and we scanned the bank card at the barrier and it took £12.60 for the 24 hours althought we might stay for longer.
We backed into a pitch and set the front wheels up on the ramps to level off, (so the sink drained properly).
The cost of the aire included fresh water, grey and black water dump and EHU so we plugged in and put our devices on charge, including the leisure battery.
PHOTOS OF PITCH
We biked down to the beach and harbour and watched the boats, checked the bars and restaurants,(closed) and then back to the van. Sue's chain guard got caught up and she couldn't pedal on the way back so she used the 'twist n go' option to get home and Andy got the toolbox out and made the necessary repairs.
A few beers and TV and then bed.
12th
Bikes out again this morning but this time we turned right at the junction and headed past the monument to Sgt. Frank Peregory, an American soldier who took 35 German prisoners armed only with grenades and a bayonet.
///frontline.prestige.induction
PHOTOS OF MONUMENT
Carrying on to the German defenses at the Point du Hoc ranger museum where the Rangers (INFO HERE) took the beach and destroyed the German defences just west of the Omaha beach landing forces.
///passers.procures.glitch
VIDEOS OF BUNKERS ETC.
When we visit places like this we are torn between enjoying reading the information about the attack and feeling terrible about the suffering. We walked around the bomb craters and partially destroyed German bunkers, investigating the insides of the bunkers and trying to imagine how terrifying it must have been for soldiers on both sides, some as young as our Grandson who is in the British army as we write this.
MORE VIDEOS AND PHOTOS
We got back on the bikes for the long but beautiful ride back to the town where we sat outside a bar with a couple of beers and veggy lasagnes and people watched before returning to the van.
13th
Off to Utah beach today where we have found another free aire a few minutes walk from the beach and all of the usual monuments to the D-Day landings along this coast.
///continental.agitation.eyedrops
VIDEO OF JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL
We drove past the church in the village of St. Marie du Mont and the small hotel B&B where we had stayed in the early 2000s.
///twitching.sauna.happier
When we arrived we parked behind another British motohome in a layby and went to have a look at the beach for 20 minutes.
VIDEO HERE
Back to the van to park at the aire which was a minute away and get some grub sorted and have a cuppa.
14th
A quiet night, even with new campers turning up!
We got the bikes out and headed west along the coast road passing a few other monuments to fallen soldiers when we noticed that the bike batteries were getting low so we cycled back to the van to charge them for a hour whilst we had some soup for lunch.
Now it was off east this time and we got as far as a bird hide and sanctuary but as the bikes were not allowed into the area and the batteries needed more charge, we headed back to the van. At least we had got some excercise and fresh air!
In the evening we walked on the beach and stared at the stars, the sky was clear and there was no light pollution so the milkyway was visible too.
Back at the van the leisure battery was too low to supply any usable power so we went to bed and hoped for a sunny morning and plenty of solar!
15th
No power first thing but sun came out and solar started charging the battery by about 09:30. No heating yet as the glow plug needs 12 volts to run otherwise the heater throws up a 'low voltage' error and wont start. We could have started the engine to use the alternator to throw some charge through both batteries but we managed to wait and eventually we could start the heater by about 10:30.
We set off after breakfast towards the aire where we had stopped on our first night in France, Surtainville.
VIDEO OF LEAVING AND ARRIVING
We used the aires services to empty when we arrived and parked up deciding to go for a walk along the beach and up the steps near the archealogical dig at the end of the beach.
The steps were a bit too steep and Sue, sensibly, decided not to chance it as the path was very close to the edge!
VIDEO
We climbed back down the steps and walked back to the van via the road and then past some small plots of land which were being used as holiday areas. That got us thinking, it would be nice to have somewhere like that as a holiday base where we could park the van for free in the summer whilst we explore.
VIDEO
Back at the van we decided that it was pizza night and Andy walked to the vending machine at the end of the road and bought two pizzas for 22 Euros but we couldn't finish them so we saved some for lunch tomorrow.
We ended the night with a walk to the beach to stargaze but it was too cloudy tonight so we got back to the van and went to bed.
16th
No bells this morning but there was some club music in the early hours that went onto around 6am, must have been a party!
Out of bed, put heating on and sit with first cuppa of the day whilst listening to the rain on the van roof and working on this Vlog.
Todays walk would take us to the top of the path that we tried to reach yesterday but, via a different route. The route was a lot safer but still very steep but the views were fantastic.
VIDEO AND PHOTOS
Back to van and got it road ready and set off to another aire that we had stopped at in our first week in France, St. Germain sur Ay which would cost 15 euros per night all inclusive.
Setting off we passed the pizza machine and carried on until we arrived at the aire and this time the barrier worked first time when Sue scanned the membership card, (Campingcar-park).
We filled the fresh water tank and parked on the pitch right at the end on the right but discovered three piles of dog poo all around the pitch so we moved to another one. Why do people not clear up after their dogs? 🤬😠😤
We plugged in and put devices on charge and took our washing over to the 'WashMe' machines at the entrance to the site.
17th
We had a great nights sleep as our pitch was well away from the main road.
Sue took more washing over to the machines whilst Andy had a shower and the sun came out so we got on the bikes and went to the beach which was a 5 minute bike ride away.
The beach was mind blowing, vast and empty. We rode our bikes down the slip-way and onto the sand heading south to the next sli-way where we left the beach and rode through the estate of beautiful beach front properties, past the fresh shell fish vending machine, along to an estuary and another massive sandy beach until we found ourselves at some dunes which led onto a nudist beach!
VIDEOS OF BEACHES ETC.
The wind was very cold but we braved it and walked over the dunes to the naturist beach, which was empty! (Too cold🥶☃️😉)
Time to get back to the van and warm up with some pasta and a coffee American before settling down for the evening.
18th
A cold morning to wake up to and we stayed in bed 'till 9am hoping that it would warm up a bit but eventually Andy got up and fired up the diesel heater and put the kettle on for a nice cup of Yorkshire tea.
We are heading south today towards our next stop, an aire in Cerences, on the way to Mont St Michel where we aim to be by Wednesday or Thursday.(19th, 20th). We had been to this aire before and it was free and had waste facilities so we got ready and got going.
We stopped at Lidl on the way and noticed that we had both lost our connection to the outside world, no 5g, 4g, 3g or any other g.
After checking that our roaming settings were correct Andy phoned EE and got an automated message announcing that there was a fault which was causing the problem.
We went shopping but couldn't check our bank balance so just in case there wasn't enough funds we used the credit card. We hate using this card as you can sometimes incur a charge by the bank or card company when abroad.
Bank in the van and we got our connection back, we wondered what the problem was?
We drove into the aire and we were the only van there so we parked next to the service area and put the front offside on a chock to level us off a bit and opened the wine whilst catching up on our new series on Netflix, Broadchurch.
Andy attended a webinar live questions session on buying a holiday home in France but it was mainly aimed at people who needed visas or residence permits to live there so he disconnected after 20 minutes.
19th
A cold night and morning. We laid in until 9:15. Last night the Gite next door had visitors who brought food so there must have been some sort of celebration. They stayed the night and left this morning taking their now empty pots and pans with them.
We emptied at the service area and headed to the L'Archange restaurant aire at the Mont St Michel.
///quickest.obtaining.placidly
Again we had stayed here before and when we arrived we found that the price hadn't changed, still 6 euros per night.
PHOTOS OF AIRE AND VIEW
We parked up and got on the bikes, wrapping up with snoods, beenie hats and gloves and pedalled the 20 minutes, against the cold wind to the Mont st Michel where we walked through the medieval streets.
PHOTOS HERE
We paid the 26 euros to walk around the Abbey and it was worth every cent to think that we were in a building which had seen so much history.
The only down side was the amount of steps but we just thought of it as our workout for the day
PHOTOS AF THE ABBEY AND THE MONT
The bike ride back to the van was easier than the ride there as the wind was behined us! We parked the bikes, locked and covered up and got the heating on.
20th
It was only 2 degrees C inside the van when we woke up and Andy put the Truma gas heating on as well as the diesel heater! The Truma feeds hot air to all eares of the van including under the bed storage area, cold water tank and bathroom where the diesel heaters only outlet is in the lounge.
Before leaving the aire we tried to pay the 6 euros but the restaurant was closed and we didn't have an envelope to put the cash in so we decided to pay on our return journey in a couple of weeks.
LEAVING THE AIRE
So, off to St Malo and the Park and ride aire
///decide.imposes.congas
which would cost us 7.50 euros per night and that included a free bus into town and the use of the drive over services.
JOURNEY ALONG COAST ROAD
We pulled into the aire and collected the ticket at the barrier, parking at the end of the car park and away from the railway.
Locked up and jumped on the bus to Intra Muros area of the city and walked around the cobbled streets and around the city walls enjoying the views of the beaches, the islands of Petite Be and Grande Be and watched as a couple ran across the causeway from Grande Be as the tide came back in washing their feet as they just made it in time before the route was completely under water again.
We sat in the Ancient cafe' a quirky little place with quite a history of its own and apparently has the title of the oldest cafe in France! We had drinks here to warm up and Andy's beers were served up in a dimpled pint jug taking him back to the 1970's!
PHOTOS OF BEER AND CAFE
Once we had warmed up and quenched our thirsts we made our way back to the bus stop, passing the restaurant where we had sat and had Moules and frites with Chris and Sarah a few years ago.
We took the the bus back in the dark and got the van warm and after a lovely burger salad we snuggled up in bed.
21st
Our propane bottle ran out overnight and Andy got up and changed the bottle over to our spare and put the kettle on for tea.
We got on the road and headed for a free aire in the village of Saint Solen.
///deductions.meaningless.ebbed
This was an aire in the village which was free to stay for 24 hours max and has clean water, waste dump and a very clean toilette block, all free.
The journey took us out of the park and ride where we paid the 7 euros to exit and round to the drive over waste dump and out of St Malo, through the forests and along some beautiful lanes and soon we pulled into the aire in Saint Solen.
VIDEOS OF JOURNEY
We got the bikes out and cycled to the forest area where we had found some very interesting rock formations but it was impossible to get near them on the bikes due to the boggy terrain! We turned around and cycled back to the village and out throught the other side and around the lanes. That was a great ride out and gave us some exercise and fresh air.
PHOTOS OF ROCKS OR LINK TO WEB
Back at the van we used the service area to wash the mud off the bikes before locking them up and settling down for the evening.
22nd
We woke up to a frosty morning and the Truma heating was started up to help the diesel heater for a while as we had our first cuppa. Apparently the areas around us, where we had visited for the open mic night and where Sarah and Mil live had snow and the villagers had cancelled trips out due to the weather!
We had found a chateaux and city walls in Fougeres which we fancied a visit to so we set off and drove through the rain to Fougeres where we had chosen an aire close to the chateaux but, when we arrived we found that a circus had been set up where the motorhome parking was.
We decided to try to find the 2nd choice but it was impossible due to the confusing road system which had obviously been physically updated but not released to our Garming Satnag so, we gave up on Fougeres unfortunately and headed for Le Teilleul again as we knew that we would be able to park and use the services there and we thought that we might touch base with Sarah and Mil again.
LEAVING FOUGERES ARRIVING LE TEILLEUL
We drove past Sarah and Mil's place on the way to the aire but didn't want to disturb them tonight so we parked at the aire and messaged Sarah and arranged to meet them tomorrow lunchtime.
We settled down and had some lovely soup and bread and watched the Las Vegas F1 qulifying from last weekend on catch up before tucking up in bed and listening to the rain on the roof.
23rd
Still raining this morning and Andy worked on this blog for an hour or two and then we drove 'round to the supermarche to get some bits to take to Sarah and Mils. We left the van in the car park whilst visiting Sarah and Mil and we could just about see it from their kitchen window!
PHOTOS OF VAN PARKED UP
Mil cooked us a lovely veggy stew pot with tons of cous cous and seperate chichen and sausages and followed that with a nice chocolate desert.
We sat and chatted all afternoon and then we left them to enjoy the rest of their Sunday evening in peace and drove the van back to the aire and settled down for the evening.
24th
Another week starts with more rain forecast but it felt slightly warmer than a few days ago.
We hit the road and headed east to a medieval tower at a place called Juvigny sous Andaine about 45 minutes drive away.
///curating.wisdom.mewing
VIDEO OF JOURNEY
We had found an aire near to the tower and pulled in to check it out before driving the 2.5 km to the tower but decided to park the van and cycle to the tower.
PHOTOS OF AIRE
We had a walk around the tower
///swelling.spinning.addition
and surrounding area and then retreated to the lovely cafe for coffees, crepes and finished off with a couple of small beers whilst researching the history of the tower which you can read here.
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS OF TOWER
It started raining whilst we were in the cafe so we stayed a bit longer but eventually we made a dash for home setting the bikes on warp factor three and speeding along the lanes and back to the aire.
Another good day and the evening was quiet too.
25th
Woke up this morning to another lovely sunrise and we had a nice hot cuppa as the van warmed up from the overnight 3 degrees centigrade to a more acceptable 12!
During the usual blue jobs we discovered that although the water bourne was working we didn't have the correct adaptor for the bayonet type fitting so we couldn't load any fresh water!
We re-thought our options and decided to drive to the forest where there was and old Sherman tank on display, in the woods and then onto a site where we could get some water!
Setting off we started well but our Garmin satnag let us down big time again and sent us along a very narrow lane to a blocked off mud track! We checked with Google and could not for the life of us understand why a truck specific navigation aid which had been informed of our weight, height, width and length had decided that we would be fine to drive along a mud track which was closed?!
We turned around and followed the Google navigator on Andy's Samsung S25 Ultra to the middle of the forest and soon we were pulling into the small car park next to the tank.
///weakest.resides.blooms
We got some shots of the tank and the forest and then checked in with Search4sites to find a more suitable place to stay tonight.
SHOTS OF TANK ETC.
We decided to head for a Camping car park site Le Mele sur Sarthe and blow the money, 15 euros per night, as Andy's pension is paid in tomorrow.
We set off through the forest with the last of the sun on the autumn trees and were soon pulling up to the barrier where Sue swiped our membership card to raise it and we pulled over the service area to fill with water and then onto our gravel pitch, running the front wheels up onto the ramps to level us up and then plugging in to the 16 amp EHU.
///devolves.astronomical.rebounder
JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL
Heater on, devices on charge and laptop out, office is open, there is work to be done. This website doesn't update itself you know!
SHOTS OF AIRE.
We went for a walk around the lake and saw that all of the cabins, shelters ect. were obviously new. There was a lot of work going on to get ready for the next season and the newly erected wooden structures still had the distinctive newly sawn wood smell which we could smell from pathway.
VIDEOS HERE
We wlaked into town of Le Mele sur Sarthe and around the market, which was beginning to pack away as we arrived. Andy had promised to take Sue out for a meal once his pension had been paid so he went to book a table for 8 O'clock that evening at the Hotel de la Poste.
PHOTOS OF TOWN AND HOTEL
We popped into a cafe for coffee and then walked back to the van past the lake side properties, which were amazing.
PHOTOS HERE
Sue's hip was painful today, (trapped nerve) so the walk was a slow one but we had no reason to rush!
Back at the van and Andy watched F1 (Las Vegas) and then we got ready to go out.
The meal was lovely, we had Goats cheese on seeded rye bread followed by Beef Brisket with vegetables and Creme Brulee to finish washed down with wines and beers. 71 euros.
Onto the bikes and back to the van and bed, lovely and nice!
27th
We left the electric heating on all night and woke up nice and warm to a cloudy, overcast morning.
Today were going to continue our journey east so Andy set the Satnag up but typed in the co-ordinates for west instead of east and then couldn't understand why the Garmin was taking us back to St Malo ! He sussed it out eventually and we set off, stopping at E.Leclerc supermarche on the way and spent 148 euros, but we did splash out out beers and Gin.
The journey was ok until we got close to the aire and then we came across road works and closures, deviations and 3.5 ton limits but we got there in the end and parked in one of the six empty spaces and put the heating on.
///gemstone.earbuds.statistic
VIDEO HERE
PHOTOS OF AIRE
Andy checked out the services but the water and EHU was off so he walked over to the notice board and found a chateau which we could visit tomorrow.
28th
We had a quiet night although a couple of vans turned up in the evening and clattered about a bit before settling down, it's surprising just how noisy it can be when someone opens and shuts cupboards and drops cups on the floor when they are in a van next to you!
We had a chat about the journey back to the UK and decided that we would get the ferry booked today as we had the money in the bank due to the pensions having been paid in. We checked some options and as we were heading east and towards Calais we booked a ferry from there to Dover sailing on 12th December in the afternoon. It cost us £140 with insurance against cancellation etc.
This will give us more time to organise our Christmas when we get back and get the presents and food ordered.
We went for a long walk stopping at the supermarche to get the toilet rolls and brown sugar that we had forgotten yesterday. We walked along the river and onto the chateau des Joncherets where we found it closed and having works done so we took some photos from outside the gates and continued our walk back to the van along the river and past some of the beautiful old houses.
PHOTOS HERE
Andy explored the aire and found a monument and memorial to the fallen during the two world wars.
PHOTOS
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and checking the leisure battery voltage as there was no sun for the solar charger, we needn't have worried, it kept going until bedtime after all.
29th
Woke up to the neighbours dropping their cups etc. on the floor and slamming cupboards again so Andy got up and put the kettle on and had his first cuppa, solo until Sue made an appearance.
We are off to the Chateau Gaillard today and although it is also closed we had found that the view from the opposite side of the Siene was worth checking out.
///deviancy.frailer.netting
This was a 70 kilometer journey through valleys and across the hills towards the river Siene through pretty medieval villages and finally up and then down a 15% hill to the view point car park, which was sloping quite a lot so Andy parked the van into the curb (just in case)!
JOURNEY AND ARRIVAL
Sue made a pasta dish and we took some shots of the Siene and Chateau and then worked the route out to the next stop which was going to be another Camping car park site at Lyons la foret
///breed.bulging.coffeepot
which would cost us 13.60 euros for the night with all facilities included. (only 6 amp EHU here).
We headed down the very steep hill out of the car park and got to a point where we couldn't see where the road had gone as it disappeared around a right hand bend doing a one-eighty on itself!
VIDEO OF ROAD
Sue had to get out of the van to check that it was there, finding that it was we continued down in 2nd gear to the main road and drove out of the town and across the open countryside as the drizzle continued to wash the wind screen.
We arrived at the aire and parked, backing in so that we had a view of the small stream in front of us. Andy plugged the EHU in after checking the safety of the cable (which he had parked the rear wheel over at the previous but one aire, Le Mele sur Sarthe. It checked out safely and so we started to put the usual devices on charge and settled down with a coffee and the laptop to catch up with this blog as the rain started and and got steadily heavier as the evening drew darker and darker.
A couple of neighbours arrived and we hoped that they would turn out to be quieter than our last ones but we probably wouldn't be able to hear them over the noise of the rain anyway!