Bonjour! We’re back after an absolutely splendid nearly three-week sojourn in la belle France. We had a marvellous time with family and friends – so much fun, I’m afraid, that we will have to give you a summary in bits and pieces. The bad news – that means I will inflict photos and descriptions on you for the next four weeks or so. The good news – I will probably have forgotten most of it before I get round to telling you all about it. Buckle up.
The itinerary in brief – an overnight ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, two nights with our old friends Pam and Erik Benson, formerly of Radway, who now live in Breville near Cognac, then off to Douelle near Cahors for a week avec la famille. Then, when they all vanished Penelope, Daisy and I took off camping – three nights at St Emilion and four nights in Saumur in the Loire valley before making our way back towards the Channel, stopping for two nights with our lovely friend Jane Reay-Jones in Josselin in Brittany. We caught the afternoon ferry from Caen to Portsmouth on Monday 14 August and arrived in the early hours of Tuesday morning back in beautiful, downtown Moreton Pinkney.
And so, we’re off!
On the afternoon of 26 July, we loaded up the campervan and made our way to Portsmouth – a two-and a-bit hour drive which naturally became a four-hour drive because of the need to exercise Daisy on a couple of occasions and the numerous toilet stops an old man of my age and disposition requires. Our ferry wasn’t until late that night but we wanted to get there early to give Daisy a good run and us some dinner before we boarded. We found both – an excellent park where dogs could run off lead – and then a dog-friendly pub, the Florence Arms, which was very good indeed.
After dinner we made our way to the port and, after an hour or so, began the process of boarding. Thankfully, Daisy’s paperwork was all in order and so too, luckily, was ours!
We had secured a “dog-friendly” cabin which proved to be very comfortable – ensuite with a shower no less. And, the shower was a lot better than many I’ve encountered in other situations. As we didn’t board until about 11.00 the drill was find our cabin, show Daisy where the dog exercise area was to be found (she wasn’t interested in any further exercise this being well beyond her bedtime) and bed.
We arrived in Cherbourg the following morning anticipating the sunshine and heat of the French summer only to be greeted by sheeting rain which stayed with us until about an hour shy of Cognac and our first port of call with our friends the Bensons.
We haven’t seen Pam and Erik for eighteen years, I think. They left Radway a few years after we did and moved to France permanently settling in the little village of Breville just outside Cognac. We last saw them when their daughter Jane got married in Cognac about eighteen years ago. They’ve both had their share of health issues but are now fit and well and it was grand to see them again, just like old times.
We enjoyed a fabulous dinner with them, smoked salmon (home smoked by Erik) and several gallons of champagne and wine. We finally dragged our tired backsides into bed about 11.00.
The next morning, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then set off to Cognac – Pam needed to feed their daughter Jane’s cats so we had the bonus of seeing her house right on the Charante just outside Cognac. Sadly, Jane and her husband Gary and their daughter Daisy were off on holiday in the Pyrenees so we missed them. Jane is a lovely woman (we knew her as a primary aged child, of course) who is now famous throughout Cognac for running a very successful and very popular market stall in Cognac market (Sugar et Spice) selling cakes and other baked goods. We were very sorry to have missed her.
From there we made our way into the edge of Cognac for lunch at La Courtine, a lovely restaurant on the banks of the River Charante which was excellent. The sign of a good restaurant? This was lunch on Friday and there was a sign outside the entrance – very sorry but we are completely booked today.
On the drive back to Breville, Erik took us on a little detour to show us the graveyard and the monument erected in memory of some local heroes of the resistance. As it happened, they were captured on 28 July 1942 and we visited on 28 July – 81 years after their arrest. They were arrested in Cognac, two were shot in Bordeaux and the other two were shot in Auschwitz.
We bade farewell to Pam and Erik on Saturday morning and set off on the drive to our holiday rental near Cahors. What should have been a four-hour drive turned into a nearly six-hour drive due to several large congestions – it was holiday changeover day and the whole of France was on the road.
About half past three we arrived at the gîte we had booked for the week, just across the river from the lovely village of Douelle on the River Lot. It was possibly beyond all our expectations, a 17th century manor house set in its own woodland with, of course, the essential swimming pool. Nick, Lucy, Annabelle and Adam and Jessie arrived an hour or so after we did – they had flown from Birmingham to Bergerac and driven the rest of the way. Later that evening, Nick drove into Cahors to collect Ben, Brex-Anna and Max who had taken the train down after a few days in Paris. Trains, planes and automobiles. A great spot with a bunch of great people.
Douelle is a charming little village. There’s not a lot to it but the boulangerie was excellent providing piping hot bread and croissants fresh out of the oven. As we wandered into the village one day we came across the Mural de Douelle which turns out to be the largest contemporary mural in Europe at 800 m2. It is 120 meters long and 6 meters high and unfolds like a film. It was created in 1992 by the local artist Didier Chamizo and tells the story of the wines of Cahors from Adam and Eve to the present day.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the pool was exceedingly attractive to folks – it was hot and humid. Unfortunately, Daisy felt it was her responsibility to keep everyone safe and when anyone went into the pool it set her off! She would sprint up and down the edge of the pool barking vociferously informing everyone that they had to vacate the pool immediately!
On the second night there, Adam got up in the night and walked down the stairs just outside our bedroom. This set Daisy off – she did her “singing” routine and her tail was thumping against the floor like a drum. The following morning, Penny was telling Max the story, how Daisy’s tail was banging on the floor like a drum and woke everyone up.
Later, Max retold the story to Jessie. He said that Daisy’s tail was thumping on the floor like a drum and that it woke everyone up. “Well,” said Jessie, “I didn’t hear it.” To which Max naturally replied, “DAISY’S TAIL WAS BANGING LIKE A DRUM!”
We had a couple of adventures and outings – on one day we all set off to go canoeing on the River Lot. It was sweltering and the sun was streaming down but it was still a lot of fun. The sight of one old man attempting to remove himself from his kayak at the conclusion of the outing amused everyone, rather like a beached whale as someone kindly pointed out.
We also visited Rocamadour which we had visited on our French Cycling adventure in 2005 and it was equally stunning on this occasion. Rocamadour was built along the cliffs in a gorge above a tributary of the River Dordogne. It became a place of pilgrimage known especially for its historical monuments and its sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Daisy was remarkably good but was somewhat freaked out by the lift/elevator which took us up to the Sanctuary at the top of the gorge. For some reason, she found going down worse, especially as the lift had glass walls and she could see the rock walls of the lift shaft whizzing by!
On Wednesday Nick, Lucy, Annabelle, Penny and I set off early for the weekly market in Cahors. We had set off early to avoid the crowds but we were so early that the market traders were still in the process of setting up when we got there. We spent a happy hour or more wandering around the stalls and making ourselves reasonably understood whenever we decided to purchase something. Excellent.
On one of the last days at the gîte, Nick, Lucy & Annabelle and Adam & Jessie went to a local climbing adventure park while Ben, Brex-Anna, Max and Penny & I went into Cahors for a ride on the Petite Train which took us all around the ancient parts of the city. The rope and tree climbers had a great time and the petite train was very interesting, kind of like the double-decker tourist city buses you see which take people around all the sites. Very informative and very interesting.
On our last full day at the gîte we were joined by John Cass and his friend Katherine who were kayaking down a couple of rivers in the vicinity. John is an old friend of Ben’s who he met while working at IBM between high school and university. John came for the famous “snow weekend” in Radway where we, along with about a dozen IBMers, were snowed in for the weekend. Once the youngsters accepted that they were not going anywhere, we all settled down and had a great weekend in spite of no power and no water!
Alas, all too quickly the week had sprinted past and it was time to say “Good-bye” not only to La Moulinat and Douelle, but also to Ben, Brex-Anna and Max who were off home to the States. We packed up (most) of our belongings and took them into the train station at Cahors for their journey back to Paris. A quick sprint back to the gîte to collect the rest of our belongings and then Nick, Lucy & Annabelle and Adam & Jessie set off back to Bergerac for their flight home. Meanwhile, we followed in the campervan on our way to our first campsite near St Emilion. About half way to Bergerac, at Nick’s suggestion, we stopped for lunch in the beautiful little village of Monpazier.
Monpazier is described as one of the most beautiful villages in France. A tall claim to be sure but it was, indeed, absolutely gorgeous and not overly crowded. We had a stroll through the main square and found the excellent Chez Minou for a delicious lunch. And then, back on the road towards the next chapter of our adventure!
To be continued . . .
And, the holiday continues! Tomorrow morning we sprint down to Heathrow to collect my lovely youngest sister Sarah who is visiting for a fortnight. What fun!
Meanwhile, be good, be careful, be safe, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg