Monday 28 June 2010

Sat 26 June - Medical Matters - Dr LUNACY!

Trust Jane's doctor to have a name like Lounici.....

And this is the ENT or ORL specialist.....


.....at work. All is now well apart from some minor side-effects of the various medications. We now have to try and get the costs refunded from the NHS otherwise Allan will be suffering some side-effects!



Friday 25 June 2010

24 June - Gnome, England's greatest fan

Two bottles of wine and two cans of beer - Gnome is ready for kick off....

Campsite World Cup HQ - a wooden shed with a homemade screen at the end and wires everywhere. Uk H and S would shut it down immediately! The portly couple on the right have a tiny round caravan - photo to follow if I can take one without them seeing me. I think they must take it in turns to sleep in it.....


23 June - La Baule and PORNichet

This is the bay at La Baule. It's a bit posh here so we feel completely at home. The road along the front is called Ocean Boulevard, just like Blackpool - not!

And here's Jane cycling along it.
Jane, what is going through your head????




Tuesday 22 June 2010

21 June - The French Health Service

Jane has developed a horrible and very painful ear infection . We managed to get a doctor's appointment the same day [22 Euros], get an appointment with an ENT specialist within half an hour [44 euros] and came away with a bag of different pills and potions [25 euros]. We also have to stay put here in Southern Brittany for another week as Jane has to return to Monseiur ENT on Saturday for further treatment.

We have no pictures to support this story so here's the test card to look at [this will only be meaningful to older viewers]

21 June - Beaches

This is our local, just a few hundred metres from our campsite. It has wonderful beachfront properties.

And this is one of many quieter bays within a few kilometers. I've photographed the rocks for artistic effect but there is a huge sandy stretch too.


20 June - Car Boots, Submarines and Fishing

This is one of two car boots we went to today. The French have junk just like us. We bought a caffetiere [1 euro] and a pair of table tennis bats [1 euro] and are now looking for the balls.

This is the submarine dock that the Germans built at St Nazaire. It held 14 submarines in separate bays. It is huge and bombproof. It is now a tourist attraction and houses cafes etc.
The beach front at St Nazaire. Fishermen lower nets into the water. It was low tide so we didn't see the catch.




19 June - Parc Briere - Canals, Thatched Roofs & Newlyweds!

This is a nearby national parc consisting of marshlands and a network of canals. Punts are used to harvest reeds used for thatched roofs.

Looks just like Devon around here
It is a tradition for newlyweds to set off with their friends collecting money for them. They block the road and encourage you to part with a euro or two. It is all good natured with a party atmosphere.


And here is the happy couple.





Friday 18 June 2010

17 June - Gnome's new car

After several months search, Gnome finally finds the car of his dreams - and in his favourite colours too. Note the name of the house .


Wednesday 16 June 2010

15 June - our new house

The Old Man and the sea - with baguette!

Our little place in France right on the beach



13 June - La Baule

We're on a site within easy cycling distance of La Baule and this shot was taken from the marina.

Sea salt is 'harvested' near La Baule in vast salt pans like these. So you all know what you're getting for Christmas.....
'Oh no - they want to put me in a puppet museum!'



Spotted in a supermarket car park....I can't really find anything to say about this other than she'll probably do the hair on your head as well.




12 June - Football and Food

The bar-come-newsagent where we watched England draw with USA - IWe knew we were stuffed when they had Vin Diesel in goal! We also saw the France v Uruguay match here.

This is the school dinner menu for the village primary school around the corner - can you imagine British kids even knowing what Salade Nicoise or pasta with fish was, never mind eating it?
Sam and Jack (two British students touring France until their money runs out!) in what must be the highlight of their holiday - a photo with gnome...




Monday 14 June 2010

10 June - back in the countryside

We left the coast for a couple of days - mainly because the two sites we chose on the coast near La Rochelle were closed due to storm damage courtesy of Hurricane Theresa. Not that we minded as we found a wonderful municipal site inland.



Jane recreates her 1987 Tour de France victory - although her bike in 2010 is, obviously, far more 'state of the art' and sophisticated.


Two gorgeous Pitou donkeys on the Ile de Re island near La Rochelle (which film buffs will remember as where Das Boot came to grief). Bigger than the usual kind (the donkeys not the island). Or maybe just one donkey with a second pair of ears attached to its bottom.



Allan having a Grazia moment - AND bang on trend with his ready readers and shorts combo...






Thursday 10 June 2010

9 June - The Dunes at Pyla

The highest dunes in Europe - with a wonderful view when you finally reach the top.

And here's the wonderful view!

The view along the top of the dunes - spot the couple walking in the distance and you gain an insight into how huge the dunes are.

Jane on the descent - more fun than going back down the steps.


Paragliders use the dunes to land and take off - although one of the more inexperienced decided to land in the sea while we were there. There were literally hundreds of people gliding about all over the place here and we couldn't understand why none collided....







8 June - Bordeaux

A day out in the city - raining again...


The magnificent fountains of Le Girondes - nearly melted down for the war effort in 1940 something but found years later and re-assembled.




The longest shopping street in Europe - Jane deciding what to spend her pocket money on..
Lady Gaga's latest look. Not one of her best.





Allan reading the satnav instruction manual for the umpteenth time - will it ever sink in?




Jane reading in bed wearing her anti-double chin bandage.








7 June - Pyla

Our pitch among the pine trees.


A view of the sea through the pine trees.

Another day, another pool......




Thursday 3 June 2010

1 June - Mimizan, SW France

Our Pitch at Mimizan Plage under the seeping fir trees. Luckily, we had a friendly neighbour who helped us move the van with awning in situ forward to avoid the dripping sap.


And this is the friendly neighbour - Chris from Oz. Chris is on a mammoth tour of Europe and North Africa (and possibly the Middle East if his bike holds up!).
We have two pools to choose from - heated indoor and unheated outdoor (in order not to lose my coveted membership of the Outdoor Swimming Society, I, of course, choose the latter).

And these are the two pools, which we invariably have to ourselves.



2ndJune - birthday boy Allan relaxing by a nearby lake.



People round here seem to decorate trees in their gardens to celebrate birthdays - the garlands are made from colourful paper flowers and a lot of effort obviously goes into them.





We went on a super bike ride - The French certainly know how to build cycle tracks - this one was through the forest, was fully tarmaced and went on for literally miles. Superb!