France 2016 | FindPenguins

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Trip start
June 27, 2016
France 2016 Traveler
Newhaven ferry port
June 28, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Left work and took the ferry to Portsmouth then drove to Newhaven. Treated ourselves on arrival with a tasty pot noodle !!!
Ferry crossing was a but rough and Karen felt sick but i was fine so had a couple of beers. Sleep was impossible but didnt expect to nod off although Karen did try.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Dieppe
June 29, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Docked in Dieppe at 5am after no sleep whatsoever. Drove on for about a couple of hours then stopped at an Aire for a few hours kip. Then back on road to Saumur. Lovely empty roads to drive on, what a change to English roads!Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Le Chantepie camping
June 29, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Met up with the Wards in Saumur, popped into Ackerman wine caves and procured several cases of fizz and white wine. Lesley cooked a lovely tagine for dinner and provided dessert in the form of lemon meringue. More fizz followed and then some sampling of Calvados from Mont St Michel region that Mike had cleverly provided.
A long sleep followedRead more
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France 2016 Traveler
Le Chantepie
June 30, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Late morning today due to lack of sleep the night before. Nice walk along the river to the Musee de Champignons. Fizz and raw mushrooms with a lovely dip. Sounds a bit anorak but actually interesting (slightly). Karen bought some lovely fresh mushrooms which she didnt stop talking about the price of, for anyone interested 1kg for four euros! Thats a heck of a lot of mushrooms!Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Le Chantepie
July 1, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Woke up to a grey morning but cool so perfect for a small 6km run along the Loire. Lunch soon followed at a lovely little restaurant where we all had Plat du Jour and a nice bottle of Sauvignon. Walk back to camp followed by a short snooze and the planning of next stop, somewhere near Bordeaux, that is where the sun appears to have gone 😎. Dinner of sausage baguette foliwed by caremelised bananas in Calvados and fromage blanc! Lush !!Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Chez Gendron
July 2, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Headed south towards Bordeaux to find sun, temperatures are supposed to head towards 26deg, not great but not too bad either. Stopped for lunch at Parthenay which has a loveley medieval quarter. Just north of Bordeaux we entered vineyard territory with vines as far as the eye can see, found a lovely Dutch run campsite where we have top and tailed the vans so we have a large area. Beer and fizz now flowing while we lap up the evening sun.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Chez Gendron day 2
July 3, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Lazy morning today as had a late night. Sat chatting till wee hours. Beautiful sky with so many stars as there was so little light pollution. Walked into the local town but all was shut but i suppose it is Sunday. Poignant reninder of the two great wars in the town square. Vineyards all around with vines teeming with baby grapes.
Caught some sunburn despite applying sun cream. Now have to figure dinner out😗
Cooked Quesadillas for the gang which seemed to go down well or perhaps it was the liquid supplements that carried it???
Chatted until the early hours again, girls competing for the loudest voice as usual !
Amazing clear night sky again, so many stars, really beautiful.Read more
Lesley WardThat's our normal volume level don't know what you mean
7/4/16Reply
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France 2016 Traveler
Chez Gendron 3
July 5, 2016 in France ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Had lovely walk to a local winery for degustation! Very welcoming host apparently named Jerome and very handsome according to Les😍
Tasted several wines and spent a small fortune on produce😉 which was delivered to the campsite, now safely stashed in the van ready for returning home.
On the way back stopped off at an even more local winery and felt the need to procure more wine which we will pick up on Thursday. Spotted a small dead snake on the roadside which the girls didnt like. All in all a great day with plenty of sunshine. Lesley cooked a lovely curry dish tonight with Karen in support on rice.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Chez Gendron Day 4
July 6, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Started the day off with a short 4 mile run alonside the vines and through some very pretty woods. Met one other runner and a couple of donkeys otherwise just the sounds of birds singing and the skittering of lizards in the undergrowth to disturb the tranquility.
Back to campsite for a cooldown as its a lovely hot sunny day today. We have decided today is our last day here as tomorrow we will head off to our next destination at the foothills of the Pyrenees. This campsite is highly recommended for its spacious pitches and beautiful location amidst the vines and wooded areas, a truly relaxing experience.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Camping aux Memes
July 8, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Drove down further south yesterday towards the Pyrenees and briefly saw them in the distance. Pitched up at a lovely small campsite in the middle of nowhere. The Tour de France apparently comes within 10km of our location today but we won't be able to see it.
Nice walk through the woods at the rear of the camp although trails a bit rough so had to make a few new ones!
Lovely swim in the large pool, really nice after the hit sun.
Struck lucky with some friends who have offered the use of their house in Condom whilst they are away in England for a wedding. We'll stay in the vans but make full use if their pool.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Condom
July 10, 2016 in France ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Lovely drive to Condom along typical virtually empty french country roads, many of them tree lined. Also fields of beautiful sunflowers all facing the sun reminding me of the Day of the Triffids film. Parked up by the river side at Condom and crossed the bridge for a walk to the 15th centurary cathedral and then around the old town. Lunch in a restaurant adjacent to the cathedral was pizza washed down with a beer although Mike strangely picked a strawberry beer???
Arrived at Brian and Sarahs bungalow which is set on approximately a 300 sq metre plot with a lovely pool area. A swim and sunbathe duly followed which was most welcome in the 30degree heat. Brief stroll along "The Way of St James" which is to the rear of the property so we could walk Bella. Sun persisted till 9.00pm which made for a super setting for one of Lesleys special cold plattters.
Once the sun had fully gone to bed the stars could be seen in all their glory as there is so little light pollution here. I've never seen the milky way so clearly.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Condom day 2
July 10, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Early start with a short 2.5 miler part way along the Way of St James. Sun broke through the clouds and it got too hot for running. Karens official false birthday today for which we decorated the garden with banners declaring her 50th. Booboo had saved up her treat allowance and bought Karen some presents.
Afternoon spent in and around the pool after the customary fizz. Tenperature gauge reached 35C in the shade. Treated us to a bottle of Ackerman Royal before a walk into town for dinner. Lovely restaurant in a side street where we had Floc (blanc) as an aperitif. Mike had rocquefort salad for entree and i had gizzard salad. Didn't know what to expect but very pleasantly surprised by the lovely flavour and meatiness. Nearest i can compare it too is cured reindeer meat. Mains were steak with peppercorn sauce (Karen !!!). Duck breast (Mike) and Moules in Rocquefort sauce for Lesley and me. Really enjoyed them although they were quite small and took forever to eat. Absolutely lovely though. All washed down with a couple of bottles of local vin blanc.
Back at chez nous we celebrated further with a tarte citron with a candle that played happy birthday and numbered 50 sparklers. Brandy and coffee folllowed to end the evening. All in all a very good day indeed.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Condom day 3
July 11, 2016 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
Dull day today after the thunderstorm overnight.
Tenperatures still good around 24 to 30C.
As it was mild i went for a short 5.5 mile run along the Way of Saint James. Ran past vineyards and sunflower fields along to a series of fishing lakes and then back. After resting Karen then felt like going for a run so i went back out with her and did another 5 mies. I crashed out after that and had a little rest by the pool. Dinner was emergency burger and courgette fritter as the steak we were looking forward to didnt smell right!
We are moving on tomorrow towards Perigueux where we will spend 4 nights before our long trip back to Dieppe. We have had a lovely time at our friends Brian and Sarahs place, it was so kind if them to offer us the use of their house especially as they were away.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Camping Domaine De Corneuil
July 12, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Rained again overnight so we left a very wet Brian & Sarahs house at Condom ths morning. Whilst it has been a lovely stay it feels right to be on the road again. Drove north and stopped at Bergerac. It has a lovely old section alongside a wide river where we had lunch. Carried on after to our next campsite which occupies 25 hectares and we have located our camp at the edge of a wood. Sun came out while we setup, as they say it always shines on the righteous.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Camping de Corneuil day 2
July 13, 2016 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Moderately lazy day today mopping up some rays. Bella, Lesley, Mike and I did go for a walk though and gave Bella some ballage. I carried on through some woods for a bit extra walking. We sampled a few cold beers at the bar before camperol and aperol time. Dinner of chicken and pork kebabs followed with new potatoes and haricots vert.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Camping De Corneuil 3
July 14, 2016 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Woke to a lovely sunny day with only a scattering of clouds. Wasnt too hot around 20C so after an early brunch of sausage sarnies I went for a run. Covered 8.2 miles, probably 80% running 20% walking as there were some tough hills. Once again I barely saw a soul, only a couple of farmers cutting wheat. Passed by some beautiful small chateau's the french do seem to like their circular towers.
I had a couple of beers in the bar afterwards to refresh myself. We had booked the Table d'hote fot dinner whch was served on a long table. There were approximately thirty adults and twenty kids on a separate table. Food was a lovely quiche followed by duck leg and ratatouille. Dessert being a chocolate sponge, some ice cream, strawberries and a macaroon. It was all washed down with a couple if caraffes of local vin blanc. We chatted the evening away with a very nice group of Dutch people, all in all a perfect dinner.
Back to camp for a coffee, chocolate and brandy nightcap. An earlyish night for us all, I for one was just a little wobbly!Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Camping De Corneuil day 4
July 14, 2016 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Beautiful hot sunshine for our last day here. Pain au chocolat and coffee for breckie. Popped to reception to download a new book using their wifi and saw the terrible news from Nice, France is certainly getting hit badly recently. Joined at bar for a beer by Mike soon followed by the girls who guessed where we might be. 😉
Chicken salad for lunch washed down with some fizz for a change hah hah.
More sunbathing followed and then Salmon for dinner followed by Ben & Jerries cookie dough tubs. Karen had bought 5 tubs, one for each including one for BooBoo too of course🐒🍦
Bit of stargazing then earlyish to bed as travelling home tomorrow.Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Last day!
July 16, 2016, English Channel ⋅ 🌙 17 °C
Packed up camp and said our farewells to the owners and then sadly to Bella, Mike & Lesley. Somehow doesn't feel like the holiday is over yet ?
Although a family campsite with plenty of kids i really rate it as the staff were superb, the pitches and facilities great with the added bonus of woods all around. One to use again if in the area.
Drove up to Richleau where we stopped for a break we were extremely low on fuel and getting a bit fanicky but managed to get some at an Eclerc. Noticed that the drivers side front tryre was very squidgy and found ot 20psi in there, so much for the garage fixing that bedore we left! After topping up the tyre we parjed up in the town and walked into the main square. This town seems to be one of those placs you see in films of the french revolution era where the rich were ridiculously rich and spent all sY shouting about it in flamboyant costunes and makeup.
They were in fact having a "cape and epis" festival in the grounds of the former chateau which in its day must have been incredibly beautiful. The gardens and some buildings were still there and truly spectacular. We had a lovely merguez sausage, sweet pepper and onion baguette with a beer for lunch then back on the road. Stopped off at a winery in Chinon, Vignobles du Paradis, and sampled some wares before swapping another wedge of euros for some clanky boxes😄
Then on to Saumur again (well we were close!) where we picked up some more pink fizz and a couple of cases of Cremant. Checked TomTom who said our eta at dieppe was 11.30 for a 11.59 crossing ( Oops😳) so we pressed on a bit. Arrived at about 10.45 so no drama in the end. Ferry left on time and now feeling better for a couple of Stella🍺🍺Read more
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France 2016 Traveler
Back to BIighty!
July 17, 2016 in England ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Uneventful crossing to Newhaven and a short hop to Portsmouth on empty Sunday morning roads. Made good time so caught the 6am boat rather than the 7am one we booked. Only our camper and two caravans on this first boat of the day. The Solent is blissfully calm this morning with barely a ripple to spoil the mirror like surface.
Our van (bless her) has performed faultlessly all holiday taking us over 1200 miles without complaint despite me reversing over our rear step.
What a great time we have had this year and sad that it had to end as I really think I could do a much longer holiday but work as always gets in the way. Still now we have the fun of planning for next year and hearing about the Wards adventures for their remaining 6 weeks as they explore the Lavender fields of Provence.
Au Revoir xRead more
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Trip end
July 17, 2016