Woke up to a crisp morning, got away about 9am. Fortunately Paul is feeling much better this morning. We had a good couple of days at the Plein Sud campsite, only 2 negatives, the WiFi / 3G was rubbish and the toilet/shower block was a bit smelly. But for 14e we had a lovely big pitch, use of the swimming pools and it was very convenient for the cycle paths. There were a lot of cycle paths through the pine forests, all under shade, running all along the coast.

Our journey to La Rochelle was quiet, not many cars, with it being a Sunday. We’ve worked out how to connect my phone to the van radio, showing my apps, which enables me to put a route into Google maps and then have it displayed on the van radio screen, and have audible directions. Why – you may ask. Well, mainly we useTom Tom but it’s not a quick task to change the route in Tom Tom, you have to go into settings etc etc but in Google maps it’s much quicker to make an alteration to a route or find an alternative route. We’re trying to avoid the payable autoroutes as much as possible on this trip so sometimes I change the route as we go. I’m starting to look at Waze, another route app, but don’t feel familiar with it yet.

The aire at La Rochelle that we’re trying out is very good. 12e for 24 hours including electric/water/chem disposal. Apparently it used to be a municipal campsite so it has a nice winding layout, rather than being just a big car park, it also has a lot of trees for shade and room for large motorhomes or vans with trailers. Quite a few pitches have room for an awning.

An English chap came over to say hello, he was telling Paul how he and his wife had gone to the Eurotunnel to go home, 2 weeks ago, and it was pointed out that the dog needed a rabies injection. This meant that once they had got the dog the rabies injection, they had to stay in France for another 21 days before it became fully effective. The chap admitted it was completely their fault, they should have realised. They’ve got another week to go before they can go home, he said that although he loves motorhoming in France, when it’s enforced it’s not the same. And he’s a teacher so he’s missing his first week of school. That wouldn’t have been a good phone call to make! And he actually enjoys his job. 😯

We had some lunch and then cycled into La Rochelle, a lovely cycle ride along cycle paths next to the water, just a couple of miles. Because it was Sunday La Rochelle was shut – seriously shut. The only places open were restaurants and a few ice cream shops. We wandered around the front of La Rochelle and then through the town, then had an enormous ice cream and sat on the quay side to eat it. There was a large crowd on the quayside cheering and applauding so we wandered over to have a look, it was a group of lads entertaining the crowd, with some lively music. When we arrived a young lad – who was obviously double/triple jointed – was turning his head around to face backwards 🤮 – I had to turn away, I couldn’t watch. Paul continued to watch and told me what the chap was doing – it sounded horrendous to me but obviously very impressive to ever else. They were then coming to the end of their entertaining but you could see that they were very good. On the way back to our bikes there was some chap who had strung a rope between 2 trees and was walking along it, shaking bells alongside some classical music – we didn’t stop long.

We cycled back to the van and sat in the sun for a while, the English teacher came along again for another chat with Paul. I think he’s bored.

Sunday night means phone calls home to mothers, so that’s what we did after tea.

Tomorrow we go to Il de Re which we’re both looking forward to.

A fast car apparently

A selfie in La Rochelle

La Rochelle

The tightroper

The contortionist- don’t look too closely!!

Our ‘pitch’ at the aire

Had to do some housekeeping this morning, sweep the van and wash a few shirts. Various people were leaving the site, families driving off with cars packed to the gunnels. It was looking very empty.

Once we’d finished our ‘jobs’ we had a choice of turning left at the cycle path and going back into St Jean de Monts for Paul’s oysters or turning right and cycling to Notre Dame de Monts. Paul decided to forgo the oysters and we cycled to Notre Dame de Monts. It was a lovely cycle ride through the pine forest, hardly anyone around so Lottie could run freely. The town/village was quite nice, low level holiday accommodation with not many bars/holiday shops. But as it is distinctly end of season all was very quiet. We managed to find a bar to have a couple of beers, but there weren’t many around. Every notice we saw indicated that all entertainment finished on 31 August.

After buying some bread for lunch we cycled back to the campsite. Lunch was followed by a doze in the sun. Late afternoon Paul suddenly felt unwell, blinding headache and dizziness, so either I’ve shared my sore throat germs or he’s had too much sun. After giving Paul some paracetamol Lottie and I went off to the beach on our own for a walk.

We have had some new ‘residents’ on the campsite, one motorhome is behind us and I saw to my horror that they have a cat on a lead. This meant no more free wandering for Lottie. She spotted it before me and made a dash, with me in hot pursuit, fortunately the chap caught her before she got to the cat. I then had an awkward conversation in English/french with the owners, fortunately they were fine. Lottie has had to be tied up, which is a shame.

We’ve decided to move on to La Rochelle tomorrow, to try an aire that we haven’t used before. We’ve been spoilt on this campsite with a tap on our spacious pitch and also drainage. We will stay on the aire for one night and then move into Il de Re.

We’ve had our tea now and Paul is asleep, let’s hope after a good nights sleep he will feel better.

No photos as the WiFi isn’t good enough to upload them 🙁

Paul woke me up this morning by prodding me, then said ‘you were difficult to wake up’ – I wanted to ask why I had to wake up, why couldn’t I have carried on sleeping ……

Anyway, once up and showered we cycled into St Jean de Monts town to go to the food market. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. There was a lovely selection of fish, meats, fruit and vegetables. We loaded the bike up with bits and pieces, Paul had a look in the church and we cycled back to the campsite. Lottie enjoyed her run alongside the bikes, fortunately there weren’t too many other cyclists around.

After lunch and a sit in the sun I packed up a bag and announced that we were off to the beach. There were quite a few more people there today, it was a lovely atmosphere with lots of little children building sandcastles and paddling. We met a Maltipoo who was lovely, she and Lottie got on very well (which was a surprise and a relief)

Difficult to work out which end is which sometimes

Today st the beach

On the way back I stopped off at the indoor swimming pool for a dip.

Back at the campsite most people were packing up, ready to depart tomorrow- we may be the only ones left! The bar closes at 7pm tonight until next year.

We’ve decided to stay another couple of nights as the campsite on Il de Re that we want to go to doesn’t start it’s ACSI discount price until Monday. Plus we saw a fishmongers in St Jean de Monts that was offering Oysters and a glass of white wine for 6e, so we’re going back tomorrow do that Paul can have them for lunch.

Paul woke me up this morning by prodding me, then said ‘you were difficult to wake up’ – I wanted to ask why I had to wake up, why couldn’t I have carried on sleeping ……

Anyway, once up and showered we cycled into St Jean de Monts town to go to the food market. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. There was a lovely selection of fish, meats, fruit and vegetables. We loaded the bike up with bits and pieces, Paul had a look in the church and we cycled back to the campsite. Lottie enjoyed her run alongside the bikes, fortunately there weren’t too many other cyclists around.

After lunch and a sit in the sun I packed up a bag and announced that we were off to the beach. There were quite a few more people there today, it was a lovely atmosphere with lots of little children building sandcastles and paddling. We met a Maltipoo who was lovely, she and Lottie got on very well (which was a surprise and a relief)

Difficult to work out which end is which sometimes

Today st the beach

On the way back I stopped off at the indoor swimming pool for a dip.

Back at the campsite most people were packing up, ready to depart tomorrow- we may be the only ones left! The bar closes at 7pm tonight until next year.

We’ve decided to stay another couple of nights as the campsite on Il de Re that we want to go to doesn’t start it’s ACSI discount price until Monday. Plus we saw a fishmongers in St Jean de Monts that was offering Oysters and a glass of white wine for 6e, so we’re going back tomorrow do that Paul can have them for lunch.

Lazy start to the morning, we left St Jean de Mayenne about 9.30am. We travelled about 155 miles to St Jean de Monts, in the Vendée, on the coast. Along the way we came across a road with triple white lines in the middle, Paul decided this was to say to people ‘don’t even think about overtaking!’

We decided on Camping Plein Sud as it is only 14 euros with ACSI, only a few euros more than the aires wanted, and this way we get a toilet/shower block and a large pitch.

Good journey, mainly toll free. Of course we arrived whilst the campsite was closed for lunch, but it gave us an opportunity to wander around and look at the pitches. Initially we weren’t taken with it as there were a lot of high hedges and trees, it felt quite claustrophobic, but then we found a new part where the hedges hadn’t had chance to grow very high, perfect for us.

Just before 2pm a young girl opened the office and we went in. I have to say she gave us one of the best welcomes we’ve ever had. She was smiley, friendly and informative, giving us naps and booklets, a bag and a present!

Shower gel, shampoo and soap

We were able to have the pitch we wanted in the new part of the site, although she was most apologetic that there wasn’t any shade – we assured her that we didn’t mind! And a huge plus was that Lottie could go in the beach! We were told that to access the beach we were to cross over the road outside the campsite and go through the campsite opposite as they both had the same owner, there was a back gate out towards the beach. I could also use their indoor pool if I wished, ours ‘only’ had an outdoor pool.

Once we had pitched up we cycled off to the beach to have a look, it was just under a mile away and lovely. We had a walk along the beach and let Lottie have a play with her ball, Paul had to wade in and get it at one point as she dropped it in the water, unusual for him to be in the sea before me.

After that we cycled along a lovely cycle path to St Jean de Monts.

Nellys Ranch

We weren’t sure what to expect, so initially we cycled along the front, following the beach and locked up our bikes at a busy spot which seemed to have a Main Street through which everyone was funnelling. There were large signs all along the beach saying No Dogs so I was pleased we weren’t staying here. We wandered down the Avenue du Mer, which was full of ice cream shops, churros stalks, cheap clothes and fast food. Not really our cup of tea. I looked on the map to see where the actual town of St Jean de Monts was, this turned out to be another half a mile away so we abandoned our walk and headed back to the bikes. We will cycle in to the town tomorrow for the market, hopefully the town will be more interesting.

Back on our pitch the sun was shining so we had a gin and tonic before tea.

I had an interrupted nights sleep as Lottie decided to jump off the bed about 3am and throw up, I knew I needed to get up and wipe it up before one of us stepped on it in the morning. 🥴 She decided to sleep on the floor after that so I left her to it.

Consequently I wasn’t in a rush to get up and we weren’t ready to leave until about 9am. Paul queued for the waste water drain, I was outside waiting to get him in the right position. A British van was in front of us, as I saw their faces I realised I knew them. I walked around to the drivers window and said ‘don’t you live around the corner from me, on Sticklepath Hill?’ He looked at me and said ‘yes, possibly’. Once I’d reminded him that he actually came to a meeting in our house about 6 months ago, he remembered me (I obviously made a big impression on him !) He then had a problem with his tap connections and Paul lent him the correct one. As he was going to fill up with water (which can take a long, long time) we moved to the other drain on the aire, unfortunately someone there was also filling with water so we abandoned the whole idea and took our waste water with us.

Only half an hour out of Honfleur the rain came down.

We took our time down to our next aire in St Jean due Mayenne, just above Laval. We avoided the toll roads and saw some beautiful countryside and pretty French villages. En route we stopped at a large Super U to stock up on wine and have some lunch whilst it rained.

Fortunately by the time we reached our destination the rain had stopped. This aire is lovely, it used to be a municipal campsite and still has several hedged individual pitches, along with a shower, toilets, and electric. There is also a BBQ area with picnic benches and tables looking onto the canal which runs alongside. On the other side of the canal there is a cycle path so once we had pitched up we set off for a bike ride to give Lottie a good run. It was a lovely cycle ride with beautiful scenery. We cycled to the next village, Paul had a wander around the church, and we cycled back. Lottie had perked up and enjoyed her 8 mile run, including a dip in the canal – she had to have a shower when we got back.

Opposite us in the Aire there seems to be some sort of rally with about 8 vans. The average age seems to be about 75 which is great – I hope we’re still travelling at that age!

Paul cooked our burgers and onion on our electric hot plate which upset a French man who was walking by, he was horrified because he said there was a charcoal BBQ down by the water, he threw his hands up in despair!

A lovely friendly lady came around about 8pm to collect the money, 9 euros for the aire and 1 Euro 10 cents in tax. Very good value.

Tomorrow we head for the coast, near to Noirmoutier. Hopefully the sun will come back!

Spot the Carthago! It’s the last van on the middle row.

One of the locks on the canal

Lottie enjoying a paddle

Paul cooking his burgers

A view of the aire

The bread van came about 9am, tooting his horn to let everyone know he was coming, we bought a baguette and pain au raisin, very nice too they were.

Then we had a visit from a woman driving around the site, she told Paul that we had to move as the policeman was on his way and whilst we were ok to park on the end of the line in the middle of the aire last night, we had to be in a proper place around the edge during the day. So we just drove a few feet into a vacated spot overlooking the canal, and free electric – hurray I can shower and dry my hair later!

We cycled into Honfleur, initially following the water until we got to the beach with a HUGE sign saying No Dogs, so we had to turn around and go back into town. Honfleur had been recommended to us as a lovely town and everyone was right, amazing old buildings tucked away everywhere with a mix of architectural styles. And of course lots of boats which we love to see. We had a wander and then stopped for a fruit juice on the harbour side – the most expensive fruit juices we’ve ever had. But it was a lovely spot to do a bit of people watching. There were all different types of people of varying nationalities and ages, including a large party from Yorkshire – we could hear them before we saw them! There were 2 enormous river boats on the canal and a cruise ship, so many of the people would have come from those I guess.

By lunchtime the early morning sea mist had cleared and it was getting hot, we sat outside at the van and had our first bread and French cheese lunch, I did have to have little doze afterwards with Lottie. Late afternoon we walked around to the Lidl to stock up on a few essentials, Lottie was chased by a large dog baring it’s teeth – did she run? No, she danced around it barking at it 🙄 until I could reach down and snatch her up. It was a close encounter – for her and me!

Back at the aire vans were beginning to fill up the gaps left by departees, we had new neighbors from Belgium who were very friendly. Paul enjoys looking at all of the vans, but I do wish his friend Mike was here as I’m not a lot of use when he wants to talk about them.

The electric is 5amp here so Paul wasn’t sure if my hairdryer would work but we turned off anything else and yes – it did! I felt much better after a shower. It has been a hot and sticky day.

Tomorrow we head off south, not too far, though if the weather’s not good we may keep going.

Our view over the canal

Honfleur

Beautiful roundabout with organ music

Spot our Carthago!

Good drive up to Portsmouth. I’d planned for us to have fish and chips at Portsmouth overlooking the water but Paul said he would prefer a sandwich so we ended up with a Tesco sandwich eaten in the Tesco car park, not quite the same.

Ferry was very quiet, only 6 artics and a dozen cars plus a caravan and us. Only 5 dogs including Lottie, fortunately all lovely dogs. We sat outside for an hour before the sea mist came down and then you couldn’t see a thing. Lottie wasn’t very settled during the crossing, wanting to go out every 5 mins but then wanting to come in. Paul did throw a towel at her at one point when she was whinging (not to hit her of course) – it did the trick for a while as she leapt onto my lap and put her head down!

Paul and I took it in turns to go and have a hot meal in the cafe, with me going first. I didn’t buy a dessert as I knew I couldn’t eat a whole dessert, and I knew Paul was going to have the ‘meal deal’ where he got a main course and a dessert for a fixed price, so I was looking forward to him bringing back half a dessert – hopefully the apricot tart which is my favourite. Off he went and after a while came back, empty handed. Didn’t you have a dessert I said, oh yes, he said, an apricot tart 😳 Which he had eaten all to himself 🙁.

As there were so few of us on the ferry it was a quick exit through customs, and we were on the road straight away.

Found our aire in Honfleur quite easily. It’s a big aire which holds about 200 vans and it was rammed. We drove around and eventually parked on the end of a row, and paid our 11e for 24 hours. Most vans were French with a couple of English, Irish, Dutch and Spanish. Probably going to cycle into Honfleur tomorrow and have a look around.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

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