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!)
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).
.
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
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.
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.
Good to see that you've hit the track again. We have spent a month in Arizona, west Texas and New Mexico. Now in the mountains of north New Mexico. "Ernie" like his namesake (the golfer) is big and easy and performing well!! Cheers, Don & Val
ReplyDeleteHello Col and Pam. Great to know that you are back in Europe and on the move again in a very smart Lefty.
ReplyDeleteWe are sat looking at the famous Erg Chebbi sand dunes here in the Moroccan Sahara. Our adventure continues so as we follow you, don't forget our http:// dafnsue.blogspot.co.uk.
Travel safely x The Pensioners from Stoke on Trent.
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