Under way - Normany Post # 02

 

2013

29.04.13 - 01.05.13     

Well here we are again, back in Europe after our six months of summer back in NZ.

A bit surreal as it all seems to have happened so fast.
 

We were met off our flight by Paul and Mary (friends we met in Epernay last year) and taken to Hayling Island near Portsmouth.

We spent three days rushing here and there getting organised, and reintroducing ourselves to Lefty, who looks very smart with his new sky lights, blinds, fly screens, wheel trims and rust coloured curtains.

We also purchased two new mountain bikes (B Twin Rockrider 8.1) from a French Decathlon store in Southampton (we paid a little more than we planned but they are the “real deal”) with quick release wheels, disc brakes and adjustable shock absorbers, ( no mountain is safe!!).

We also got a hell deal on two slightly sun faded sun loungers, originally priced at 360 pounds and reduced to 150 pounds, we bargained them down to 100 pounds, (more relaxing to be done this year!)

 

Our favourite purchase though has been a “Remoska” Electric cooker which comes from the Czech Republic.  It’s basically a portable pot with a lid that has a heating element in the lid,  it cooks exactly like an oven but uses only a fraction of the power (essential when you only have 6 amps of power at most camps).  So we are now able to have roast dinners, casseroles, baked potatoes and even cakes (I can just see Pamo baking us a cake!). 

03.05.13

We caught an 11pm overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre on the “Normandy Voyager” arriving at 8am to another sunny day, a little sleep deprived but none the worse for wear.

Normandy is the land of the three C’s,  Camembert, Cows and Cider.

The largest region of France not to contain a single vineyard but makes up for it with it’s amazing range of seafood and cheese.
 Onto the right hand side of the road and a short 30 minute drive crossing the “Pont de Normandy,” an amazing futuristic bridge spanning the Seine (6 Euros toll).

Arrived at Camping “La Briquerie” a huge campsite, 3ks from Honfleur.  The camp has two pools (indoor and out), mini golf, tennis, gym, bowls and wifi (16 Euros).

.

We walked into Honfleur which is a busy, charming,  Normandy seaside town based around an Old Harbour filled with pleasure boats and surrounded by brightly coloured buildings. Honfleur’s seafaring tradition dates back over a millennium. A fantastic place to sit and have a drink or eat “ Moules Frites” (mussels and chips).

A grocery shop on the way home and roast beef for dinner with our favourite red wine.

04.05

 

Spent the morning working out how to work our new Garmin Cycle GPS....Still a long way to go but the basics have been worked out! Went for a long walk to the Bois du Breuil but got lost!!!  How is that possible? More work needed on the GPS front!!!!

It’s a great asset as it also gives you all the points of interest in the area and all the shops, banks etc and how to get there.

Went to the Gym while our Remoska cooked us a roast pork dinner with parsnip, carrots, potatoes and broccoli.  No roughing it here!!!

Starting to unwind and get into the swing of things... loving it!

05.05

 

Found the Bois du Breuil this morning!!  What started off as a 20 minute exercise before breakfast ended up as a two hour walk through the forest and we didn’t arrive home until lunchtime.  Spent the afternoon stretched out on our new loungers and read our Kindles.

06.05

Time to try out the new “trusty steeds” so cycled back to Honfleur to take some photos and continued along the coast road to Trouville.  Aligning the route, overlooking “La Manche” (English Channel) were large villas with their apple tree orchards all in blossom.
 

Trouville is a working fishing port, with a large tidal, sandy beach with a similar feel to a “Brighton” in the UK.  Here though the beachside homes and hotels are mostly grand 19^th Century Villas. We walked along the beach boardwalk which runs for 583m with everything from fresh water swimming pools to tennis courts and donkey rides!! 

 

Walked through the town and purchased some prawns from the “Poissonnerie” stalls that line the roadway.  No frozen seafood here!  All straight off the boat.

Back home and a first up ride of 30kms, bikes get a 10/10 rating!
 

07.05

A day spent working on the blog, groceries, reading in the sun and a good walk after lunch back into the Bois du Breuil.

08.05

Our first rain overnight and an overcast and showery day so an opportunity to do a wash in the camp laundry (8euros) for a wash and dry.

More work on the blog and lots of reading.  Great to be able to catch up on sleep and recover from the trip over.