The fascinating seaside town of Houlgate

We are currently in the rather architecturally interesting town of Houlgate, in Normandy.    

Well, to be truthful we are in a Eurocamp, called Camping de La Vallee, on the edge of Houlgate.   The camping ground is full of mobile homes, glamping tents and some camping sites, plus the usual swimming pools, games areas and restaurants that are part of these upmarket camping sites.  They are loved by the Germans, Dutch and British.  At the moment there are many people from the Netherlands here as it is still school holidays there.  And I must admit that it is a camping ground that I would love to bring grandchildren to stay for a week or two.  So much to do here.

But first back to last nights camping ground at Domaine les Peupliers, above Rennes.  A bit of a panic this morning when the coffee machine stopped half way through making the first coffee.  A broken coffee machine!  Panic! But then reason set in and we checked all power ponts and fuses.  It took a while to realise that we had no power in the caravan.  We had overloaded the camping ground's power box.  Running a hot water system and heating, all on high, plus the coffee machine was too much.   Panic over. We drank our coffee thankfully.

Walter looking happy, as he moved the caravan towards the car using the remote. A toy for grownups.  Mind you we then forgot to take the caravan mover off the wheels and we could not drive the car and caravan away.  The caravan mover, when on, is as good as a brake.

Not a long drive today, up the A84 and around Caen to the seaside town of Houlgate.  We were within 15 km of le Mont-St-Michel.  So tempting to drive into the bay in front of the island but too difficult when towing a caravan.  

It was cold here, and quite windy, but we rugged up well and ventured into town.  Walter found a fascinating name for the era when the town was built.  It is called Belle Epoque, which literally means 'beautiful era' and covers a time after 1870 when there was a feeling of optimism, peace, economic prosperity, building of colonial empires and technological advancements.

So the buildings along the streets beside the sea front were mostly built during this time.  They were all grand and ornate, and built in the styles of Gothic, Norman, Regionialist and later Villa.  

Unreal.  Yes. But utterly fascinating.

More buildings.

The sea front.

At long last we had a view of the Atlantic coast, well more the beginning of the English channel at this point.

A Dutch bell gable.

We would have spent longer walking around the streets but it was too cold.  Instead we went back to the Eurocamp.

The playground with lots of equipment and space to play.

Water slides, an outdoor swimmimg pool and an indoor swimming pool, not shown in this photograph.  Empty sun loungers lined up around the pool.

Tomorrow is our last day.  After we pack up, have breakfast, and our last cup of coffee, we head off up the coast to Boulogne and Calais.  We will not have to go via Rouen, thank goodness, as we will cross the Seine River near Le Havre.  Rouen is a nightmare of changed motorways and roadworks these days.

I hope the wind disappears otherwise it could be a rough crossing from Calais to Dover.

A birthday, plus fun and laughter in le Lavandou

We are currently in a very plush camping ground, called Domaine les Peupliers, which is in the grounds of a 16th century manor house.  We are north of Rennes, which is on the part of France that juts out into the Atlantic.  We are also nearly level with Paris.

We woke to sunshine this morning, and forgot all about the rain and strong windy weather, of the past few days.  Walter's cold, which he picked up in le Lavandou, suddenly began to improve.  And the further north we travel, the weather becomes warmer and sunnier.  Quite ridiculous really.  Should be the other way around.

A pleasant travelling day, on quiet D roads, plus a free motorway between Nantes and Rennes.  And no bumper to bumper trucks.  We finished the day with a lovely dinner of steak and vegetables.

Back to Le Lavandou.  Such a lovely week, spent with family and friends, who were renting a villa high up on the hill above Le Lavandou.   It was Andreena's 60th birthday, which was the reason for the gathering.

Andreena and John had been visiting John's family in northern Greece (once part of Macedonia).  They flew to Nice and hired a car to drive to the villa.

Lindsay, Trudy, Di and Mike (all from New Zealand) had been in Paris for a week, and travelled on the TGV to Marseille where they met up with Jenny ( a New Zealander, who works in London) who flew from London to Marseille.  They also hired a car and drove to the villa.

So on the Saturday we met up at the villa, high above Le Lavendou for a week of birthday celebrations, plus lots of fun and plenty of laughter and talk.  The wine also flowed very well.  Unfortunately four people developed colds but they soldiered on.

Trudy has been writing a blog on Facebook, and her descriptions of life in the south of France were informative and filled with humour.  As she tagged me on Facebook, I know that many people have read them.  I guess my blog will provide a few more photos, plus a little more information.

The view from the villa.

Another view towards the side of the hill.

The villa, very spacious, with four bedrooms, and a large lounge/dining room, comfortably accommodated the seven people sleeping there plus us during the day.   There was a good sized kitchen, where we took turns at preparing meals.  All very imaginative and delicious.

The swimming pool and paved area.

We visited quite a few cafes and restaurants.  Coffee at Le Centre, our favourite cafe.

A lounge area on the patio.  Walter making the most of it, sitting in a comfortable chair in the filtered sunshine.

Andreena and Lindsay relaxing in the sun.   The thick mattresses on the loungers made such a difference to comfort.

A few brave souls in the water.  It was very cold.

A pleasant lunch at a restaurant in Le Lavandou.

Andreena's birthday.  Trudy managed to get everyone out of bed to decorate the house before Andreena got up.  There were balloons, and bunting, plus New Zealand flags and decorations.  Then they made plenty of noise in order to wame Andreena up. It was all very exciting.

There was a special birthday breakfast of pancakes, strawberries and bananas plus champagne.  Plus the opening of presents.

We went to Collobrieries for a birthday lunch, followed by a walk around the town.

The birthday girl posing in our favourite square.

Such a beautiful town and a perfect place to spend a birthday.

We wandered up and down many of the narrow streets.

Jenny cooked a special birthday meal for Andreena.  The birthday candles were placed in the homemade apple crumble and ice cream.

The crew came to Camping Manjastre for coffee and a piece of Tarte Tropezienne, which is a sponge filled with creme patissiere.  So delicious.  As we only had two chairs we had to borrow some from the bar, and our guests had to bring their own cups.

A visit to Le Lavandou is not complete without a trip up to Bormes les Mimosa.

It was a very cold day, so we huddled together for a photograph.

Bormes les Mimosa is a beautiful hilltop village, and very touristy, but also very charming.

We followed a map and completed the tourist trail, so managed to find out some history about the village. Sadly it was too early for the brightly coloured bougainvillea flowers and perfumed jasmine.  Both of these plants cascade down the walls in summer.

There were plenty of interesting old houses, courtyards and passageways to explore, plus numerous souvenir shops to tempt one into parting with some money.

Jenny and Lindsay, having a rest in one of the courtyards.

Another lunch.  This time in a brasserie in Le Lavandou, which had a good view over the sea.

Di and Mike went exploring, and found an amazing network of steps and paths which led up to the top of the hill above the villa.   There was a shrine there, which looked well kept and used often.  There was also a public garden and fishpond, plus a boules area.

They were keen to show the rest of us.   The view over the sea was spectacular.  It was certainly well worth the climb up to the top.

Trudy, Jenny and Di stopped for a short while to have a discussion.  There were many steps to walk up.

Our final lunch together, at a restaurant at St Clair, the beach next to Le Lavandou.  A special 50th anniversary lunch for us.  A perfect day, sunny, and a great view over the sparkling water.

We have now all left and gone our separate ways.   Andreena and John flew to Paris for a couple of days before they flew back to Australia.  Jenny flew back to work in London  Lindsay, Trudy, Mike and Di met up with their tour guide in Nice, and are currently being driven around Italy before a cruise along the Dalmatian coast and around the Greek islands.

We, of course, are slowly towing our caravan back up through France.

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we all had a marvellous week together, and most importantly, Andreena celebrated her birthday, in a wonderful way.

Happy birthday, Andreena.

Off to the Atlantic Coast of France

Now before I start, just a little whinge.  Last night, I had a terrible time trying to upload photos and writing this blog.  First I received a message from Google to let me know that I had run out of photo storage and that I needed to part with some money in order to increase the storage space.  Then a huge van moved into the site beside us, and the wifi modem could no longer find a good connection to a hot spot.  I wrote my blog twice and lost it all.  In the end I gave up and went to bed.  

But tonight I have a fantastic connection, and plenty of photo space on Google storage. Back in business as they say.   So here I go.  

We are on the way back to Britain, and taking the long way back via the Atlantic Coast.

We have been on the road now for three days, and all has gone well so far.  Just a tiny little problem yesterday morning when we tried to use the caravan mover to take the caravan wheel off a ramp, before winding up the steadies.  Well I can tell you that did not work.  But other then that, hitching and unhitiching has been easy, and the caravan has stayed steady on the back of the car, even in the very windy weather during the first two days.

We left Camping Manjastre reluctantly on Sunday morning.  After driving through Toulon we took the A7 to Aix-en-Provence, and turned off towards Monpellier. At that point we felt like continuing up the A7 towards home, but we had decided to return via the Atlantic, and nothing was going to deter us from that route.

We drove easily on the motorway, without the heavy traffic one encounters during summer holidays.  We drove past Arles and Nimes, where the weather turned nasty, strong winds and heavy rain.  Luckily the sun came out as we bypassed Montpellier and drove to Narbonne.  

Our campsite for the night was at Camping-la-Nautique on the Narbonne inlet.  An ACSI camping ground run by people from the Netherlands.  Spotless of course.  There were high hedges bordering all the pitches, which was just as well, as the wind was very strong.  Good protection.

And we had our own private ablutions block.  All for €20.  Luxury.  However I did cut back the blackberry vine that trailed over the footpath.  It would not do to get one's leg or towel caught on the prickly vine.  

We woke to glorious sunshine, and set off on the A61 motorway towards Toulouse.  The plan, made in Britain, was to take minor roads through this section in order to enjoy the scenery between the Pyrannees and the next mountain range.  But we forgot.

The motorway passed some spectacular country, so we did not miss out on too much. We passed through vineyards, woodland, ancient villages and pastures.  

The motorway also ran beside the Canal du Midi which runs for 241 kms from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean.  The canal, which was built in the 17th century, connects with the Garonne River, and the Canal du Garonne at Toulouse.  A short cut for people travelling between the two seas?  I am not really sure what the canal was used for, but the planning was certainly grand,

We stopped at an aire overlooking Carcassonne, for a bit of reminiscing and to take some photographs.  We remembered when we drove our motorhome down here in April 2010.  Jackie came with us, and Carcassonne was the first place that was warm.  A very exciting trip down but so cold, especially for Jackie who was sleeping in the tent. Jackie needed one duvet on the mattress, and two duvets on top of her, plus a hat, in order to keep warm.  We had a great time exploring the town, and the castle of Carcassonne, which was actually a fortified medieval town.

After Toulouse we took the A62 to Bordeaux, taking great care not to take the A20 to Paris.  We needed to be very vigilent.

Last night was spent at a very beautiful wooded campsite called Camping la Moulin.  We turned off the motorway at a quaint town called Agen, but no time to explore sadly.  The area is called Lot-et-Garonne, which looks a wonderful area to explore further, with plenty to see: villages, plum orchards galore, museums.  There are good cycling and walking tracks too.  Everything was very green and lush.

Interestingly, Lot-et-Garonne is in the south east Aquitaine, and I cannot let this opportunity go by, without including some British history. During the 12th century King Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine.   She had been briefly married to King Louis II of France but the marriage was annulled.  King Henry owned much of France and much of the British Isles.  But Henry and Eleanor's many sons could not get along with each other so the land was divided up, and given to the sons.  No doubt to keep them away from each other.  On another note, Henry had quite a bit to do with Thomas Becket's death in Canterbury Cathedral.  He then built Dover Castle in order to provide accommodation for the rich people who came from France on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.  Henry was a very busy man.

The camping sites in the woodland at Campingla Moulin.

There was also a lovely pond with flowers bordering one bank.

The camping grounds also had a restaurant, so we had take away pizzas for dinner.  And they left our baguettes in a wooden mailbox, in front of our caravan, this morning.  Very good service.

It rained all night.  And the world looked dismal through our window.  Even the delivery of our baguettes did not cheer us up.  Mind you, I was still feeling very cheesed off with my internet problems.

 It did take some time to dry the knees of my jeans, but we hitched the caravan without any problems.  Thank goodness. We were both a trifle short tempered this morning.

Luckily the rain stopped and the sun appeared, and we could not believe our luck.  We drove north west on the A62 motorway, and then drove around Bordeaux, which was reasonably close to the Atlantic coast.  No time for exploring the coastline.

We were planning to drive north on the A10 motorway but the satnav took us onto the N10, which was a free motorway.  So we joined the bumper to bumper line of trucks, mostly from Spain and Portugal, travelling north.

Our lunch stop.  It was called 'lunching with trucks'

 And the trucks rolled past us consequently.  Very noisy.  And a bit scary.

After lunch we turned the satnav off and took a D road, which was very peaceful.  We ended up going through the town of Cognac, as well villages and small towns that focus on growing the grapes for the cognac.  Amazing countryside, and very different grapevines too.  Some of the villages were very old, and many buildings looked very neglected.  But it was interesting.

As I was navigating, we got lost around the town of Cognac, due to a roundabout that was not on the map, but eventually I managed to get us back on the right road again.  Walter drove very well through the many side roads that I directed him onto.

We arrived at our destination, quite late, as we needed to stock up on groceries at a supermarket.  Luckily the carpark was nearly empty, as parking a car with a caravan  could be quite tricky in a full carpark. 

We are currently staying in Camping Le Martin Pecheur, not far out of the town of Niort.  We are not far from the Atlantic Coast and Portiers is on our right.

And tomorrow evening I will write about our week in the south of France as I have finally uploaded all the photos.