Bayeux

We left the camping ground feeling rather relieved as the one toilet and shower that was open was very dirty. In fact it is was dirtier than the facilities at one or two of the camping grounds in the North Island of NZ. It would appear that some people just cannot be bothered to keep their facilities clean for the few campers that may use their site. The thing is you are still paying the camping charges, which are not cheap. The Wifi was excellent though and only 2 Euros (NZ $4) for three hours and the bandwidth was excellent.

The chateau in the village by the campsite is called Montreuil-Bellay. The village is really lovely, full of atmosphere and friendly people. There are camping grounds in the village so will be paying a return visit to see the chateau, which is closed on Tuesdays so we could only view it from the outside.

There are so many chateaux in the Loire Valley which portrays so clearly the extravagent spending by a few people centuries ago. No wonder there was a revolution!

The chateau in Saumur was closed for the winter.

A view of the Loire River from the chateau in Saumur.

When we arrived in Bayeux the tapestries were also closed for the week. We were not having much luck! The tapestries, which are joined together in a long line, depict the story of William the Conquerer's success at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. So Darren had to be content with reading our information about the tapestries and viewing the outside of the building. However, we did go for a long walk around the old part of Bayeux and discovered there was more to Bayeux than the tapestries.

We decided to stay in the aire, which is a busy carpark during the day. We were really lucky as there was free electrical hookup plus a working water tap, due to a medical mobile service needing power and water. The power/water unit lifted out of the ground when needed for specific purposes. We were very happy as the main water tap for motorhomes had been turned off and the power meant we did not have to rely on our leisure battery and could also use our coffee machine. All in all it was an improvement on the camping ground.