France Sep 2011, Day Seven

Day seven, 3rd Sep

It was lovely and sunny so we had another day in the sun by the pool. I spent most of the time on a sun lounger reading and getting tanned but mostly resting.  The pain in my side had gone but it had left me very tired.  Anyway the girls spent most of the time in the water.

   

Over to the entertainment area later but it started to rain, so the outdoor stage was unusable and there was a private party on in the room where the indoor stage was situated.   So we thought that would be it and just stopped for a couple of beers undercover, outside the bar.  We were wrong, some of the entertainers came over and sang to the few people around the bar and again Amber was most impressed with them.

  

France Sep 2011, Day Six

Day Six, 2nd Sep

Good new I am feeling much better, the pain in my stomach has eased considerably and I have had a much better nights sleep as a result.

Sun out, time for a relaxing day by the pool (and a rest for me).  A day for reading books, drinking beer, watching England play football (how do I always manage to be away when England play) and a BBQ.   Although first, Ralph and I had to pop out to the supermarket again.

  

The girls went over to the show again on the evening, while the boys watched the match, a win for England.

France Sep 2011, Day Five

Day five, 1st Sep

Quite a changeable day weather wise but still warm. Picnic made we set off for another drive, we stuck to the river and headed the opposite way to yesterday. We had no plans but I though it would be nice to visit Beaugency, where we had stopped for a few days in 2005. It wasn't long before we came to a bridge over the river that I didn't have a photos of, so we pulled over to get some.

We parked below the bridge and as there was play park and picnic area, we had our lunch by the river. We were plagued by mosquitoes, so in the end we didn't stop there for too long. I took a photo of the campsite there and we got back on the road, away from the bugs.

  

We arrived at Beaugency and crossed the river over the river via the very nice old bridge, then continued along the riverside passed the Aire, out of town, to see if I could get a good shot of the bridge.

After the photo session, we headed back into town and parked by the river, then set of for a walk round, no surprise, it hadn't changed at all, since our last visit. It was also as quiet as the last time we were there, although the Aire was full.

Amber had a play in a park while we had a sit with a wonderful view over the river. Just about the time we were done walking and playing it started to rain a bit, so it was back to the car.
We drove back along the other side of the river but I was not as good a drive and we ended up in heave traffic in Blois. Eventually I stopped following the satnav and headed down to the river, where the roads were a lot quieter.

Back in Onzain we parked up to have a look round the small market there and also had a quick beer in a bar before going back to the site and the pool. Later after food, we headed to the bar to see what the entertainment was for the night

Worryingly the pain in my stomach was not going away.

France Sep 2011, Day four

Day four, 31st Aug

Had a drive to Tours, another place we had meant to visit twice before, on our two previous visits to the area. I had programmed a car park close to the river into the satnav, but it was full when we arrived, so we went to the next one signposted. It was free parking for two hours around lunch time, get in, that was long enough for us and luckily there was a spot vacant.

We had a short walk along the river (for me to take some bridge photos) and then headed into the maze of shopping streets.

   

After a fairly long walk, we found the tourist information near the train station and picked up a street map. Armed with the map we found the Cathedral (it was odd, we could see the Cathedral from the river but lost it when we headed into the city streets).

   

We then made our way back along the shopping streets to the Old Town, we got slices of pizza in a shop as we walked and ate them by the river.

After our lunch we had a walk along the river, back to where the car was parked.

We then headed back to the site to use the pool and sunbathe, stopped at a Lidl on he road back, stocked up with essentials, got some nice beers very cheap and also some chocolate. There was a railway bridge outside Lidl, so I got some photos of that as well.

I was still suffering rather badly with the pain in my stomach and taking lots of painkillers.  Still managed to have a beer in the campsite bar though, while the girls were in the pool.

That night the girls went to see what the entertainment was.

France Sep 2011, Day three

Day three, 30th Aug

My pain was worse and I was starting to worry that it wasn't just a pulled muscle and that it was a rupture or something more serious. I was taking a lot of pain killers.

Anyway we had lunch and set off for Château de Chenonceau, we had seen all the fantastic photos and been meaning to visit for years. On the way we stopped for a couple of shots of Château de Chaumont, last time we were here, is got dark every time we tried to take a photo.

  

The satnav took us along some of the most narrow roads I have ever been down but we got there and when we did, we planned a better route back.

It was a very warm day and the entrance fee was well worth it but it is always disappointing to find scaffolding on the sight you have come a long way to see. It wasn't too bad and they had made the effort of screening the scaffolding with a picture representation of what was behind. Its time like this when I wish I had a better camera to take proper photos rather that just holiday snaps but then again, I can not be bothered to carry a large camera about with me and prefer something that fits in my pocket (albeit a big pocket).

  

We walked alongside the river to get a longer view of the Château before heading back through the gardens.  We then explored the inside of the Château, it is very good and as I said before, well worth a visit.  It is a lot like other similar attractions with period rooms etc. Amber really enjoyed it and for some reason kept asking if Jesus lived there, I think she had seen a painting in one of the rooms.

  

  

The drive back was a lot better than the one going and we stopped off at a supermarket to stock up for the next coupe of days.

Back at the site the girls went to the pool and Ralph and I went to the bar (just for one), then later we had another BBQ, we haven't had the chance to have that many back at home this summer.  So it was nice to cook and eat outside for a change,

Later the girls went over to see the entertainment crew's version of Aladdin, I popped over later to see how it was going.  Amber thought it was fantastic.

France Sep 2011, Day two

Day two, 29th Aug

Cunard's latest luxury cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth was in Zeebrugge, a very impressive ship, but I think some of the other company's have better looking modern vessels.

Off the ferry we had a long drive to the Loire valley, about 370 miles the plan was to avoid Paris and as many toll roads as possible. So the route we took was, straight out of the port on the N31 to the A10, back towards the coast and the A18. The A18 name changes to the A16 as it enters France, it is a long drive along the A16 to Abbeville, where we took the slip road onto the A28. At Rouen (which I also intend to avoid in future) the road name changes a couple of times before ending up on the D18E, to the A18 and then the A154. About this time Ralph texted to say he was there but couldn't get into the mobile home until 16:00. The last third of the journey was by local roads and took quite a long time. We continued on the A154 until the name changed to the D6154 to the N12, then round Dreux on the D282 to the N154. It was off the N154 onto the D910 at Chartres, the D910 changes to the N10 to Châteaudun. Then round Châteaudun bypass to the D924 to Blois and then along the river to Onzain where there are sing posts to the site. The tolls came to €9.50.

Ralph and the girls met us at reception and led us to the accommodation, lots of unpacking ensued, did I mention I had a severe pain in my side. I think I must have pulled a muscle when I was packing the car but do not remember any pain at the time though.

While Dot and the girls finished in the van, Ralph and I want to the supermarket to get something for a BBQ and some beers. Back at the chalet I cooked the food and Ralph got the satellite dish set up and working, he did have to put it on another pitch but it worked.

France Sep 2011, Day one

Day one, 28th Aug

We actually set off for Hull and the overnight ferry in August, on a Bank Holiday weekend, the road were quiet and we arrived at the port very early but just joined the line to check in. It was our first time usung the car on this crossing, although we have done it several times in the van. The check-in had moved and traffic for both ferry routes were queuing together, this did cause confusion for some and there was no staff around to ask anything. Eventually we checked in but there was still an hour before boarding, waiting is better and more relaxing in the in the van than it is in the car.

Once aboard, we upgraded to an outside cabin and had a couple of drinks and supper while we watched a film on the laptop. Later we had a couple more drinks in the piano bar.

 

The ferries on the Hull / Zeebrugge run are getting a bit old and reminded me of the times I used to visit the IOM in the seventies (they are not really that bad but they are old).

France Sep 2011, Planning

August 2011

As we did last year, we booked a Mobile Home holiday with Siblu Holidays and as last year we use Tesco Supermarket holiday vouchers. We booked before the value of Tesco points was reduced, now you only get three times the face value instead of the four times you used to get. We also had a £100 voucher from Siblu, awarded as compensation for problems we had last year (see the blog for 2010 below). The vouchers together with a £9 return ferry crossing Dover Calais, made this a practically free holiday.

We booked eight days at Siblu's Domaine de Dugny at Onzain in the Loire valley and eight days at Siblu's Domaine de Litteau in Normandy.

We had been to Domaine de Dugny in 2009 with the van but Domaine de Litteau was new to us, although we had been to Normandy a few times before.

We did however change the booking later, we changed the ferry to the Hull Zeebrugge route, at a cost of £200 but there would be a lot less driving involved and I like the overnight ferry anyway. This new route meant we would have one day less at Domaine de Litteau though.

Lastly, young Ralph, Amber and Chelsie would be joining us for the first week in Onzain.