Let the games begin!

It seems right to preface our trip today, as we sit in our garden, 1st Friday beer just opened.
The 8th September 2023, the opening day of the RWC.
Planning for this trip started during our RWCMeer informatie
En route a France

Certainly beats a Motorway Services!
Lunch in the very quaint village of Chacombe. Very nice food at The George and Dragon too. 😇🐲🏴
Onto Folkestone 👉
Folkestone at last

Things peaked at Chacombe.
Sat nav said 2 1/2 hours to Folkestone but the m25 had different ideas.
2 hours to go 4 miles wasn't funny.
Anyway, we are here, barman put on the rugby, the hosts vMeer informatie
Eurotunnel

Decent nights sleep and the Holiday Inn Express had pretty good disabled features and very friendly staff.
Seems Dupont has a broken jaw and that was the talk of the breakfast room.
Through passportMeer informatie
Arrived in the lovely Lille suburbs

Arrived in our lovely little Gites in Flequieres.
Crossing under the sea was as seamless as usual and driving on the right has been remastered with only one petit faux pas! 🤭
Raining in Dunkirk soMeer informatie
England 71 - 0 Chile

Our first Rugby game off British soil.
England fans friendly and in great spirits.
The people of Lille welcomed us all and were so helpful.
The Chileans were absolutely incredible. Sort of a shame weMeer informatie
Lille Citadelle

Had a right ģood post breakfast natter with our Gite neighbours, the Teesiders and the Cornish before heading back into Lille to explore the beautiful Citadelle.
Perfect weather today, low 20s withMeer informatie
A night in Villenauxe la Grande

Another super friendly host and a stay in a mill on the outskirts of the village, Moulin de Cutesson.
Delicious food in the recommended restaurant, Le Flaubert.
Some photos of the village and ourMeer informatie
Lille to Villenauxe la Grande

We said our goodbyes and set off south to Villenauxe. As we were only half an hour from Belgium we took a detour across the border. Kev wanted waffles 🧇 but couldn't find a purveyor of wafflesMeer informatie
Champagne region

What a great drive!
The last time we drove through France we were en route to a new life in Spain. We chose fast routes which now appears to be a big mistake. The choice to take D roads has paid off.Meer informatie
Two nights in Dijon

Our first central city stay. Dijon, the capital of the Burgundy region.
Hotel des Ducs (The Dukes) has a different feel after the last two 'home' stays. It is efficient, clean and the breakfasts areMeer informatie
Museums Beaux-Arts and Natural history

A selection of the hundreds we took in Dijon's Museum visits
J'arrive en Lyon!

Safe and sound in Lyon.
Bit of a culture shock after the the small cities, towns and villages to be on a multi lane motorway heading into the city centre!
But we are here, parked up in a snugMeer informatie
A woman's work is never done!

Determined to be packing the car back up tomorrow without dirty laundry so up and at it this morning.
Last night we found the tram stop, worked out how to buy a ticket (over a beer in a nearby bar),Meer informatie
Lyon, Fun on the Funicular

After putting my washing out on the maiden and tucking into our new favourite breakfast, Rilletes on fresh bread, for breakfast we headed into the sprawling city.
The city's trams are very accessibleMeer informatie
New Zealand 96 - 17 Italy

Fabulous seats, fantastic assistance, a warm late summer night.
Friendly fans, pizza hats, more expensive beer, Englishmen wearing onions and carrying baguettes. And all in wonderful spirit.
#rwc2023Meer informatie
Very brief 'arrived in Limoges' post!

6 hour drive from Lyon to Limoges.
Arrived at 6pm, the accessible ramp into our well researched hotel has broken down but they thought three steps would be ok with a mobility scooter!?!?
However, theMeer informatie
Morning in Limoges

Gorgeous town, great market!
More Limoges

After a couple of wines in the market we continued our walk / roll around this beautiful town.
The Irlandais bar came highly recommended by the lovely Emma, receptionist at our saviour Hotel, theMeer informatie
Oradour sur Glane

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradour-sur-Glane
In honor of the 642 martyrs.
Rest in Peace.
Thanks for enlightening us Andrew Walsh.
Time out for a 2nd honeymoon break

Relaxation for 4 nights in Les Sables D'Olonne
Hotel faultless so far, last night's beer and bruschetta in the hotel bar was really welcome after the long drive from Limoges / Oradour.
Breakfast andMeer informatie
First full day in Sables

Just can't stop smiling. Such a lovely day, walking, eating, the odd vin or two.
Totally relaxed, this is the day the shoulders dropped two inches, we saw the local sights. We had such genuine andMeer informatie
Breakfast overlooking the Atlantic

Further to Sam's breakfast update! Definately had worse starts to a Tuesday!
7/6/2019 Sables

Lazy days

The thing with lazy days when doing a blog is there's not so much to talk about. Today I'll probably spend most of the day back in the jacuzzi, or lying on my sunbed watching the ebb and flow of theMeer informatie
Sounds awful 😊 have the best time xx [Mrs Ashy]
Reiziger😎🏉😎
ReizigerReluctantly I have downloaded the App 😅
Reiziger🤣🤣