Deux Divs Et Un Chien
Day 7
Day 7
Day 7
Finish France with the visual splendour that is Dunes Du Pilat, also called Grande Dune du Pilat, it is the tallest sand dune in Europe…at 104m high it’s a serious work out for the calves and as you ascend the sand skits around and each step propels you nowhere!! In this case it’s a great idea to have an over zealous Labrador to pull you up! Then we picnic in the car park and France is complete. J’adore. J’taime France. Au revoir for now.
Day 6
Day 7
Day 7
Day 6 already!!!
So today was a holiday day and not much driving! A short drive west of Bordeaux to Arcachon. A walk down the promenade and Wilson was fuming that there was ‘NO CHIENS ON THE BEACH’! But ice creams made it better. A little 5km circular route round the grandest 4 story houses I’ve ever seen… the planting Feels much more Mediterranean even though it’s on the Atlantic. We are staying in a self contained apartment over looking a lovely lake so we head back back, had some duck, veg and deconstructed mash potato aka boiled potatoes (no masher) and relaxed - though we didn’t originally get a view of the lake, I asked if they could change us to have the view… I’m a baby normally to cause a bother but I did it. I’m really changing!!!
Day 5
Day 5
Day 5
We reorganise and get things back in place and designate a dirty washing section! Go to Lidl for a shop and eat our cereal in the car park, it’s a glamorous morning, before heading to Bordeaux. Little scare with the car where a warning light came on, but it was just brake assistance and it turned off again, so PHEW, on we charge! In France they have lovely little stop off areas with park benches and little forests where we stop for lunch, coffee and petrol. Dog got to chase a ball and chew a stick = heaven! We poured him some water we had bought at the shop and he wouldn’t drink it… stu discarded it and filled it with a very clear puddle from the Forest instead which he lapped up!!! Dog or div? We have a self contained apartment for tonight and have a lovely meal by head chef Stu..: but first we go to a fantastic lake and no one is there so Wilson gets to go for a swim. Wheezing away as he gets his stick and we trundle back into the sunset.
Day 4
Day 5
Day 5
We take a Leisurely walk around Chartres with lots of meandering bridges going back and forth over the river L’Eure every street has homemade personalised road names, it’s tres cute. We Walk back to the hotel via an avenue of trees and its gorg. Then drive to Tours. We had booked a mobile home and whilst on our way there we got a message saying ‘due to catastrophic floods they couldn’t receive us!’ So we quickly rebook at mister beds! We joke it’s looks like the bates motel and it does sell condoms in the vending machine but it is actually totally fine, cheap as chips and has fully seperated recycling… what more could you ask for?! We actually think we stick to our budget today thanks to Mister Beds! We then drive into tours… park by accidentally going through a no entry, but that gets us round the low barrier so Yey! We walk to Pont Wilson looking over the Loire valley and then we go for snails and boeuf to replenish our strength!
Day 3
Day 3
Day 3
Nothing says novice like 3 hours to pack up! Jeez. And like a cupboard that you try and open and everything falls out, and when you try and put it back…. It doesn’t fit!!! Once locked and loaded we Drive to Vernon, Giverny. There’s an Amazing rickety house attached to a collapsed bridge and a church surrounded by tulips of every colour. We pootle Over the (intact) bridge for a pain au chocolate, coffee and to decide our next move. Decisions made we Get back in the car just as it chucks down. Drive to the house of Claude monét where the sun comes out and is utterly stunning! Really really Worth the entrance at 9 or 10 euros. No dogs allowed so Stu and I both go for an hour as the other mosey’s around the rue du Monet. A lovely American called MJ took the first picture of the 3 of us. She lost her husband and is revisiting places they went together. They had a black lab called Magic and she said all the places she has been back to she has seen a black lab . At the Monet gardens there are not many dogs as the tourist places are not dog friendly and so her face lit up and she wanted a picture. Her love for her husband and Their love for their dog was so clear and it was a beautiful moment.
We then drive to Chartres (pronounced Shart!) By the time we get there we are STARVING! So I walk into town to see what’s what and decided to get pizza and meet stu and Wilson in the square. As I waited the lovely owner must of seen i was wilting so he poured me a free glass of Prosecco! Filling my glass up when I finished. The pizza man and I double cheek kiss goodbye and I go on my way. We ate pizza in the plaza Stu doesn’t talk while he inhales his food, too weak to speak. A small nose around once everyone’s got their personalities back then a drink in a place that has our exact bedroom wallpaper… random! We Stay in a lovely little boutique hotel - the weather isn’t ready for us to attempt the tent again yet!!!
Day 2
Day 3
Day 3
First we drive to Rouen and park at ‘Cathedral Vivien’ which is beautiful. We meet a woman called Fanta who asks if we named ‘Wilson’ after ‘Winston Churchill’ after trying to say Wilson’s name a few times I agreed that I had in fact named him after the big cigar smoking fella, yeah, why not! The town of Rouen is stunning. with medieval buildings dating around 1700 with the pastel exterior and wooden beams. We Go to the Joan of Arc church where she was burnt at the stake for heresy, had a retrial when she was dead and was basically cleared and made a Saint… bit late it seems to me. JOAN by Katherine J Chen is what I’m pairing the journey with and very much enjoying it. The tent Experience is next… so we set up in the rain whilst trying to work out how not to get mud and wet in it. Stu made a salad in a bag in the car and we Couldn’t even find the hook up!!! We looked like novices for sure! Then it stopped raining and it was up to the castle that was Standing proud over the campsite that was also situated right on the Seine. The castle is deserted and Wilson gets a great sniff around the battlefields of king Richard the lion heart… the castle was neutral ground but Dick saw the danger in that and came and took it anyway. My mother always said ‘I want, doesn’t get’ but perhaps it’s not applicable to war loving kings. Tip of the night: try avoid your dog vomiting on your bed and don’t eat cheese in a 2 person tent…!
Deux Divs Et Un Chien
Leg 1 - FRANCE 🇫🇷
Day 1
So, Le shuttle was smooth and easy (other than being 2 hours behind!) And the first hurdle Arrives at the supermarket in the form of a 2m 10cm car park entrance and we are 2.35!! So begins the problem solving! Nah, it was easy, just opened our eyes and found the big boy entrance. After essentials; Wine, cheese, shellfish and dog food we head to a Canal boat in Saint Valery. It’s adorable, quaint with beautiful walks along the promenade and the town where Stu happened to film ‘Monsieur Renard’ a short lived drama with John Thaw when he was 14 (don’t bother googling it) We visited the church he was chucked out of the window, where he met his death in the show!! More prominently it’s where Joan of arc was held prisoner! Back to the boat for Spaghetti Prawns and Mussels for dinner, I recommend travelling with an excellent cook! Slept well but the dog suddenly decides he won’t walk on the boat edge to exit… his fear of walking on the edge has grown over night and he is too scared! Stu had to pick him up. It’s a sight watching a fully grown man try and balance walking off a canal boat whilst cradling a 5 stone Labrador!
