Bayeux - Monday 7th April
We had an early start as Rio had to be at the vet at 9am for his fit to travel examination and worm tablet. The surgery was out of town and had masses of parking. One large pill shoved down his throat and €40 later he is ready to go home. Rio has put on 1kg while we have been away!!
A quick shop in Intermarche which was practically empty at that time of the morning.
Next was Omaha Beach which is 4 miles long and was amazing. You just have to say beach to Rio and he is just so excited. Having watched the Longest Day it was very sobering walking along the sand.
We took the scenic route to Arromanche as Richard wanted to see the mulberry harbour remains. His grandfather, Bruce, was the liaison officer between the government and the builders during the construction of them, so they mean a lot to him. It’s very strange to see the remains sticking out of the water, but I could imagine the vehicles driving over them.
It was a lovely drive to Arromanche. The road sides are covered in primroses which are just so pretty. Richard noticed that some of the village name signs were upside down. I googled it and discovered that the local farmers had done it as a protests against the EU regulations and policies.
From Arromanche we drove to the British Normandy Memorial. Another sobering walk. We were lucky enough to see the Standing with Giants installation which isn’t complete yet, it opens on April 12th and will remain until mid September. There are 1475 figures which is the number of fatalities that Britain received on DDay itself. We just stood and stared, it was very moving.
64 miles
Visiting Caen and onto the ferry at Ouistreham - Tuesday 8th June
We said goodbye to everyone and drove to Caen. We have enjoyed our time with the group. We have learnt things and, hopefully, passed things on to them. It’s been lovely to be hearing English spoken again by English people. (My cousin Kathy is Canadian and Michal is from Slovakia!)
I had booked a CampingCar Park for the day, which seemed a good idea - and it was! We ordered an Uber which took us to the Abbaye aux Hommes. I was rather disappointed as it was just a church, and a rather dismal church at that. Round the corner we found the Abbaye, but since 1965 it has been the Town Hall. It has a history though. It was founded in 1063 by William the Conqueror. Most of the abbey church dates from the 11th century (Romanesque style). The spires and the choir, where William is buried, date from the 13th century (Gothic style). While the abbey has preserved two medieval dwellings, the old monastic buildings were destroyed during the Wars of Religion. Rebuilt in the 18th century, Benedictine monks lived there until 1790. It was a high school between 1804 and 1961. The complex, which served as a refuge for the population, miraculously survived the bombings of 1944.
We had promised ourselves lunch out, only the second meal out during the holiday - 5+ weeks. We walked to the old town and found a street cafe in the sunshine. We both had a steak, which was one of the best steaks we have had for a long, long, time. The frites were excellent too. We couldn’t resist a Cafe Liegeois for dessert.
While we were watched over while we ate by this guy, King Louis XIV.
Our next port of call was Le Château de Caen or Caen Castle. We didn’t think we would be allowed in with Rio, but in fact it was free though I think there were exhibits that you would have to pay for. We climbed one of the ramparts but that was enough for Richard’s knee so we sat in the sun and people watched, until I realised that my phone was running out of battery and we needed to get an Uber back. When the car arrived the phone was down to 1%!
The castle is one of the largest fortified castles in
Europe. Even today it is large but it
was on 13.5 acres when it was built. It
was built by William the Conqueror in 1060.
The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346,
1417, 1450). The keep was pulled down in 1793 during the French Revolution, by
order of the National Convention. It was
used as a barracks during World War II, and was bombed in 1944 and seriously
damaged.
My historical knowledge of William the Conqueror is practically non-existent, so I’ve done some research which I am going to write here. I apologise if your knowledge is better than mine!
Born in Falaise in 1027, he is the natural son of Robert the Magnificent, Duke of Normandy, and Arlette, daughter of a tanner. His illegitimate birth earned him the nickname of William the bastard. In 1035, when he was only 8 years old, he succeeded his father, who died after returning from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. A period of unrest and plots weakened the duchy of Normandy but the young duke managed to impose his power. Before he became the king of England, William I was one of the mightiest nobles in France as the duke of Normandy, but he is best remembered for leading the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, which changed the course of English history and earned him the nickname of William the Conqueror. Following his acquisition of the English throne in 1066, William founded a mighty Anglo-Norman kingdom. and commissioned The Domesday Book. He also initiated the construction of numerous structures, including the Tower of London, which was built from Caen stone. In 1087 William the Conqueror died and was succeeded as King of England by his son William II, also known as Rufus (the Red, due to his red hair). He was succeeded as Duke of Normandy by his eldest son Robert, and his third son Henry was given the short end of the stick – £5,000.
We left Caen about 8pm, but we couldn’t get out of the barrier! I tried the card and a PIN number but nothing, zilch. Fortunately CampingCar have a 24 hour help number and whatever he did sorted the problem out and the barrier rose.
It was an easy drive down to Ouistreham where we checked in and waited. The check-in lady checked Rio’s passport for me, even though we weren’t using it this time, and it is perfect - what a relief
We were boarded by Immigration to check we had no stowaways hiding in the bathroom, under the bed or in the garage. We were clear, phew! However, next to us was a British van with a man and a cat in the cab. I had noticed that there was a cat carrier on the seat with a blanket over it. The Immigration chap wanted to look in the back of the van, which was all OK. Next thing a member of staff appears and asks the man if he has a cat on board. Has it got a passport or ticket? I would like to say that the man was frogmarched off, but they did go off together. It’s obviously not worth trying to smuggle an animal onto a Brittany Ferry!
We finally got onto the ship, I think we must have been the last to board. The dog cabins were on Deck 5 and we parked on Deck 5 so not far to walk. The cabin was pretty awful and the smell in the bathroom was rank! We were spoiled last time by being on the brand new ship.
Will we get any sleep I wonder!
Hayling Island - Wednesday 9th April
I did not have a good night. The bed was very narrow and hard plus the fact
that Rio thought he should sleep right across it! Richard can sleep anywhere
so he was OK. The music came on to wake us up at 5.15am but went off again
quite quickly. I was already awake but I wonder how many people overslept.
We docked at 6.15am, right on schedule and we were back on British soil at
6.28am. By 6.33am we were on the motorway and on our way home. We
actually saw the sunrise!! Home at 7am. All fine but the white car wouldn’t
start and had to be pushed out of the way.
Rio was happy to be home. He checked out his toys and ran round the house like
a whirling dervish! Victoria popped in her way to work and Rio was beside himself.
He really didn’t know what to do next.
13 miles
So what have we learnt on the trip?
Firstly and most importantly, we love motorhoming. It would have been better
if the weather had cooperated though.
We did too much in the 6 weeks. In future we will spend at least two nights in
most places so we can look around. The good thing about going to so many
places is that we have a list of places that we want to go back to.
More planning on where we want to go and what there is to do. I will do research
on the places we want to go back to and some other places that have been
suggested. That can then be filed away until the right time.
Off grid camping works. We have an Ecoflow power bank for my sleep machine
which we charge up as we are driving along. It should have enough power for two
days plus powering the Amazon Firestick in the evening.
I am a planner, but tried to wing this trip, which wasn’t easy for me. I like to know
where I am going. My confidence in the “new me” grew over the weeks, but I’m still
not the type of person who wakes up and says “lets go to this place today”!
To conclude - bring on the next trip 😃
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