Work, Save, Travel, Repeat...

Saturday Au revoir France - we have thoroughly enjoyed our stay, from the Granit Rose coast, the Nantes-Brest canal and Hennibont in Brittany to the Normandy beaches, and memorials which are so moving to the 16th century artist town on Honfleur. We took the scenic route through rural towns to Calais for Le Shuttle and bought lunch from an artisan boulanger along the way. A brief stop at the terminal to stretch our legs and we managed to catch an earlier train. It is Conqueror AGM tomorrow near Bristol so we have booked a stopover at Thornbury Lodge so have travelled almost the width of England from Dover to  Bristol! 400 Miles and 7 hours 40 minutes driving for Colin today. 

Friday Another scorcher forecast for today so we set on the 10 minute walk to the town soon after breakfast.  Honfleur is known as the artists town as many of the Impressionist painters were regular visitors and it's not hard to see why. We have never seen so many 16th century buildings jammed into narrow cobbled streets.  The Church of St Catherine is the largest wooden church in France built by shipwrights and resembles an upturned hull. The Bell tower is separate as the main building couldn't take the weight of the bells. The inner harbour now supports mainly pleasure boats and is surrounded by bars and restaurants. Nearby there are hidden parks and washrooms where the women did their laundry.  Also huge salt barns that held 10,000,000kg used to preserve cod caught in Newfoundland!  By lunchtime the temperature was hitting 30° C so we found an artisan bakery for baguettes and then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon in the shade of an apple tree.

 Thursday  Another busy day visiting mainly British Normandy memorial sites but we began in Bayeux and visited the famous tapestry which is almost 1,000 years old. It depicts the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the events leading up to this. Created by nuns in England the tapestry is in remarkable condition.  The colours are vibrant and appear to give the tapestry depth. Poor King Harold gets an arrow in the eye and William the Conqueror becomes King of England and the Duke of Normandy. Close by is the Cathedrale Notre Dame (not the one in Paris), the original home of the tapestry.  The museum of The Battle of Normandy was excellent at explaining what happened after the D Day landings until Paris was liberated at the end of August 1944. The Allied forces heavily bombed towns and villages that were held by Germany but were still greeted as heroes by the newly liberated French. Very close by was the beautiful Commonwealth Cemetery, so many mainly young lives lost incudi...

Wednesday Today was a day of reflection on the horrors of occupied Europe and the bravery and sacrifice of the Allied Forces that landed on the Normandy beaches on 06/06/1944. 81 years have passed but these men are celebrated here in almost every street. There are many flags and memorials lovingly tended even one in our hotel grounds.  Our first stop was at The American Cemetery which has occupied it's current site since 1956 ( before this time the men were buried in temporary cemeteries close to where they fell). When the permanent site was being built the families of the fallen were given the choice of burial here in France or repariation to USA. There are almost 10,000 graves here and a memorial wall to those who are missing in action. The site is beautiful and mostly serene apart from the many visitors paying their respects. I have to say I shed a tear listening to the story of one man who was wounded by shrapnel on Omaha Beach aged 19, he was evacuated to England and required ...

Tuesday We are moving from Brittany to Normandy today,  quite a long drive with a stopover at the Iconic Mont Saint Michel. During our time in France so far it has been remarkable how quiet the roads, countryside and the coast has been so it was a real shock to see hundreds of people here today. Parking was very well organised but a 2.5 km walk along a boardwalk to the island itself (there was the option of a complimentary bus but the queues were long). The extremely narrow streets exacerbated the overcrowding and although it was a must see attraction I wouldn't go again.  The bay of St Michel has a tidal range of 14.5 meters - the second highest in the world. The tide was out as we left  and there were many groups opting to cross the sand rather than taking the bridge. Although we have travelled many miles today some of the roads were like English country lanes and very pretty.  We arrived at our next hotel Chateux La Cheniviere around 5.30. We have a huge suite h...

Monday We both had a wonderful night's sleep last night in our sumptuous Manor Room at the Chateux. We spent the morning in the Medieval town of Hennibont and the Park Botanique, it was lovely to see the children having their lessons outdoors sitting in the shade of the trees and pond dipping. We had our picnic lunch alongside the river but managed to resist using the outdoor gym. Our warmest day so far so opted for an afternoon by the pool. Dinner in the hotel Bistro tonight so might be time for a beer soon.  Our meal on the Terrace was just delightful,  delicate flavours.  Confit of lamb for Colin and Monkfish for me. A really unusual dessert of rhubarb compote and basil sorbet encased in a meringue shell. And a Strawberry/ creme pat sponge. What a treat! An after dinner stroll through the trees to watch the sunset on the hotel pontoon.

Sunday We are moving to the Atlantic south coast of Brittany today via Chateuxlin. Everywhere seems very sleepy on Sunday although the patisserie was open and we couldn't resist a Strawberry  tarte. Nearby there was a lovely spot for our picnic on the bank of the Nantes-Brest canal - part river and part man made waterway. A lovely place for a Sunday afternoon stroll.  Our hotel is a converted Chateux and Manor House .  We have a sumptuous room and private terrace overlooking the estuary.  Beautiful landscaped gardens which we will explore more tomorrow.   The Bistro couldn't accommodate us for dinner until very late this evening but the helpful concierge recommended a sea food shack at Port Louis, so Fish/sardines and frites it is. 

Saturday Today we drove a few miles inland to Lannion a lovely market town with independent shops a little like Shrewsbury.  A town with a semi tidal river, plenty of "wonky " buildings and a man made white water rafting course (sadly not in operation today). Then a short drive to the Bay of Lannion for our picnic lunch and a circular walk on the coastal path taking in a lighthouse and a German bunker. Party time back in Troubeurden today with a 5km race de disguiz  aka as fancy dress and accompanying DJ. Lovely to see the town buzzing with locals tonight.