Arrondissement de La Rochelle

Bien sur , nous sommes arrive en France. ( sorry Fiona, Louise and all French speakers everywhere but I have absolutely no idea how to get the accents on those words)

Mike and I spent the past 4 days in Chester, England with Mike’s brother Alun and his partner, Natalie. It was wonderful to see them and really catch up after more than 3 years. I know many of you have met Al and Natalie and they send their best. We were treated royally and enjoyed some lovely meals ( thanks Nat) and lots of fine wine. Al took us for a couple of walks - one into Delamere Forest , which was once a royal hunting ground, and another along a peninsula jutting into the Irish sea and bounded on one side by the River Dee and on the other by the Mersey River. The land mass is known simply as The Wirral. Although it’s close to industrial areas, the views are over to the north of Wales and out to sea. Very pretty area and it sports a links golf course that hosts the British Open. On Saturday night we enjoyed a visit from Al’s sons and families. Once again, everyone has made a huge effort to come to see us and we look forward seeing them again soon in Canada.

Much of our time at Al’s was directed towards news of the Queen’s illness and death. We watched quite a bit of BBC with their sombre men in black ties. Al says that these suits were kept on site specifically for this eventuality. I expect that each person will feel differently about the Queen’s death depending on their age and heritage. But, my sense in talking to our UK family, is that the Brits will feel rudderless regardless of their views of the monarchy. We toasted the new King on Friday night. Good luck to him, I say. Hard shoes to fill.

Last night we braved Ryan Air and flew to Bordeaux. The flight was a full hour late and the security thing was weird. Both of my bags got pulled for inspection. I missed the tiniest tube of hand cream - busted. Manchester airport was a madhouse - even at 8 pm at night but we stayed calm and carried on arriving at our hotel at 1 in the morning.

Today we rented a car and drove into the Charente - Maritime area.. France has 96 administrative departments. This one is north of the major wine growing area of Bordeaux, borders the Atlantic Ocean and has a year-round climate that is generally mild, sunny and dry because of the lack of elevation. Driving up here was fun. It’s so nice to be back in France. Lovely small villages.. I remember when I dreaded the French bathrooms but now everything is clean and welcoming. My only challenge is the standard shift on the car. - a Fiat 500. I keep forgetting to gear down. I stalled at the autoroute toll booth today and set off a stream of honkers behind me.

Tourism and the maritime industries dominate this area. We are staying for a few nights on Il de Re , which is one of Europe’s big summer fun islands. It’s a bit quieter now as the kids are back in school but the weather is a steamy 34 degrees and the pool is warm. Tomorrow we hope to rent bikes to see the island and maybe find some seafood.

That’s the news for now. Hope that everyone is doing well in their work or travels, We send a special hug out to our friend and neighbour Lew.
Love Heather/ Mom xxRead more