La Belle France
1,200 miles later and we are back home. I feel like I have been away for simply ages. TOH managed to walk without the crutches after a couple of days, which was good as the pain in his ankle was being superseded by blisters on his hands!
We had a lovely time cruising around the French countryside, visiting ancient cities and towns such as Rouen (where Jean D'Arc was burnt as a witch), Angers, Saumur (where we just missed watching this peculiar equestrian competition) and Chinon.
There were the chateaux and medieval fortifications of the Loire Valley, the rural beauty of the fields and coasts, the simple pleasures of moules frites and vin rouge, and the ornothological delights of a bird sanctuary where we saw cranes and storks, egrets and rarities such as Whooper swans.
Some of the highlights of the week were the Apolcolyptic Tapestries, which illustrate Revelations, and the Bayeux tapistry, which enlightened us about 1066, an all that, although as every schoolboy knows, they are not a tapestry, they are, in fact, and embroidery!
Also the lovely town of Honfleur (tip: do not have moules frites at La Maison Bleu on the harbour front - they were full of sand and small orange crabs!) and the magnificent Mont St Michel.
The first four nights we camped in the drizzle and cold. Unfortunately, the tent didn't really have time to dry out inbetween camp sites so it was a bit leaky. Then the floor started to decompose! So the last three nights, I insisted on staying in hotels (Thames pathers, I take it all back about camping in the damp!) as I was beginning to feel a bit chesty!
It was fun driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and speaking appalling GCSE-level French to bemused looking waiters. Contrary to popular belief, all the French people we met were very nice and extremely patient with our verbal offerings. Perhaps the famous Gallic rudery is confined mainly to Paris.
We had a lovely time cruising around the French countryside, visiting ancient cities and towns such as Rouen (where Jean D'Arc was burnt as a witch), Angers, Saumur (where we just missed watching this peculiar equestrian competition) and Chinon.
There were the chateaux and medieval fortifications of the Loire Valley, the rural beauty of the fields and coasts, the simple pleasures of moules frites and vin rouge, and the ornothological delights of a bird sanctuary where we saw cranes and storks, egrets and rarities such as Whooper swans.
Some of the highlights of the week were the Apolcolyptic Tapestries, which illustrate Revelations, and the Bayeux tapistry, which enlightened us about 1066, an all that, although as every schoolboy knows, they are not a tapestry, they are, in fact, and embroidery!
Also the lovely town of Honfleur (tip: do not have moules frites at La Maison Bleu on the harbour front - they were full of sand and small orange crabs!) and the magnificent Mont St Michel.
The first four nights we camped in the drizzle and cold. Unfortunately, the tent didn't really have time to dry out inbetween camp sites so it was a bit leaky. Then the floor started to decompose! So the last three nights, I insisted on staying in hotels (Thames pathers, I take it all back about camping in the damp!) as I was beginning to feel a bit chesty!
It was fun driving on the 'wrong' side of the road and speaking appalling GCSE-level French to bemused looking waiters. Contrary to popular belief, all the French people we met were very nice and extremely patient with our verbal offerings. Perhaps the famous Gallic rudery is confined mainly to Paris.
posted by The WyeBird @ 3:39 pm
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