Racing Spring through France and into England

Lovely French Village with river in spring flow

Our first day in France - disaster struck! We took out a truck mirror, that was parked up on a cycleway/pathway in a one way street, plus cars parked up the other side. Damn! Next blog will probably have the outcome on this one!
We were in this particular coastal town checking it out for when my brother Allan & Nicky come over in June. Certainly know now to avoid this area, particularly as this was the quiet season we were travelling through. The owner of the property where the truck was parked at thankfully spoke English and did the translations as we filled in the "Truck Drivers" accident form for his company & copy for our Insurance company. She said even they have trouble getting out onto this road when the tourists arrive June to August.

Gothic churches throughout this area of France

We used the motorways when necessary to avoid big cities or get north. But by keeping off the motorways to avoid tolls (as Bill says "the french know how to extract euros, some sections, the cost exceeding the diesel spent") we got to see more than passing glimpses of villages. This was slower, at times frustrating and confusing (thank goodness for GPS on smart phones) but we did get to see some picturesque villages.
The houses appear, in some instances, to be so authentic they are in dire need of restorative maintenance. In reality this is well beyond the means or will of some of the inhabitants, and as is easy to appreciate, owning these heritage buildings can become a mill stone....

Bill's litte DIY challenge

French villages are old with the exposed wooden structures, crooked as and possibly getting more crooked, Bill guesses from crumbling footings, over the hundreds of years. Many have been restored to their former glory and worked in the leans to the restorations. They look amazing as you walk the narrow streets, but Bill is not keen to be doing any work on these properties! Must be getting soft!

Le Mans - not a car in sight!

Travelled through Tours, getting on our bikes to see this city as it looked like a large city with complicated streets after getting lost a couple of times trying to find the city centre. Failed at my Navigation 101 again!! Luckily it was Sunday, and France shuts down so it wasn't too busy with traffic. There was a market on in the "Avenue" - very much like a cross between an Antique Fair and Garage sale. It was huge. If you wanted to clothe yourself cheaply in great gear - this was the place to do it. But, as I keep telling Bill, how many jackets do we need!!

Troglodyte housing - Google them

 We spent the night in a stretch of the Loire Valley known for its wines & troglodyte housing. The cliff has taken lives over the years but is still lived in this day, with renovations being carried out while we were there. Obviously a rock or two doesn't upset the locals. They are lovely looking out over the river & fields, but really! No not for me.
Onto Le Mans which was an insight as to what goes on there, neither of us being motor  racing fans, Bill got sorted that the Isle of Man TT racing and Le Mans have no connection except both offering plenty of action for motor and motorcycle racing.

Bill & his mate from his
early days

A 24 hour motorcycle event was due on the weekend after we left, in view of the activity expected and road closures, our time spent here was enough to get the feel, see the historic old town (which was lovely) and move on to somewhere where the roads would not be closed for fast motorcycles.

Original roman walls
around Le Mans

Our second to last night in France we stayed in Pont De L'Arche another picturesque village on the river Seine, just out of Rouen. A lovely municipal parking spot right on the river, just along from the bridge that was constructed in 1944 by Allied troops, from pieces of artificial "Mulberry" harbour built for Arromanches, used to unload material after the D-Day landings. And still looking in good condition today. Google these artificial harbours - just amazing.

"Mulberry" Bridge 

Our last night was in a camp ground just off the motorway outside Calais so we ( really I) could have the luxury of a long shower to wash my hair. These things many of you take for granted, but when your water cylinder is only so big - you learn to minimise your water usage. The shower was real luxury :)
We had a quiet crossing, the weather was so changeable and cold as we travelled up the coast of France, and it didn't change once we arrived in England. We  tried 4 places to stay for the night but the ground was too wet to take vehicles. So it was off to Kath & Owen's in Winchester a night early. So nice to be reacquainted after 11 months, and spend some evenings in conversation. Kath having just returned from a trip in India and them having moved house since we were last here, there was plenty to talk about.

Pont De L'Arche

Our Plan now is to spend 5 weeks heading well north into Scotland to see people we met in 1979 when we spent 3months in Edinburgh. Hopefully the snow has cleared but it is still dropping randomly about the UK, we may find it anywhere.We are loosing our tans.
We had stocked up on wine \food beer Thank goodness.... but over looked the diesel.
Alcohol is nearly twice the price in supermarkets,3x in the pubs, and fuel 25% more, but food is about the same. This will make it easier to cut back on our excesses over the coming weeks, giving our livers a lighter load before heading back into Europe and spending time with Graeme & Claire.