Bridges, Batteries and Beds!

Ok, so blog #20, wow that's a lot of stories I've managed to tell! Hopefully you are all still enjoying things & are all still out there!

This week's blog is again on a Wednesday, and finds me at a dining table, in an actual house, with walls, windows and a plentiful supply of hot water! No, nothing has gone too badly wrong with the van, but we are currently staying with my Dad and his partner at the AirBNB he has rented for the week. The van is having a well earnt rest on some lovely tarmac, and we are enjoying some home comforts for a few days - but more on that later!

So, as I signed off last week's blog Jase had been out riding with the boys on the Wednesday, and us girls (in a 1950's style!) had been getting the various van chores done. After a nice lunch, the rest of the day was spent hanging out with our friends in the field, and preparing ourselves for what was to be World Cup disappointment in the evening! We also met some lovely Kiwis who'd been on an 18month European trip since last March. Nice to swap stories and hear their adventures.

Thursday morning was another bright day, and it was tour day. However, with the caravan not due until around 3.30pm and the race itself around 5pm, Jase had another spin out with Rusty, Paul, Ed and Geert. The girls took a walk up to the village of Mur-de-Bretagne where I spied a whole load more street art - enjoy!

On the boys return we enjoyed a very social lunch with Rusty and Kay and prepared ourselves for the race. Initially, and having seen the sheer volume of vans now parked in the field courtesy of some drone footage from the Kiwis (which looked like something resembling Glastonbury!) we had thought our chances of seeing much would be pretty slim. A bit galling when you've spent 3 days in a field! However, fortune played our way, and it seemed most of our neighbours were more than happy to head further up the hill, leaving us with a lovely bit of roadside view. Having learnt from some of my previous experiences, I took our little footstool out to gain me a few extra precious inches above anyone who might want to crowd me out. We even managed to grab a few goodies from the caravan too - more glue, lovely Madeleines and some saucisson for our pasta dinner.

The race had 2 passes up the Mur-de-Bretagne climb, which was the main draw for so many people. The race itself was full gas as we expected, although there was splits further down the field. I managed to grab a couple of ok pictures, with the second one having GB's Mark Cavendish in the white top. The stage ended up being won by Ireland's Dan Martin which was a great result.

The roads weren't due to open for a good while after the stage, so despite a few of our group planning to head off, everyone ended up staying in order to avoid the traffic chaos. We had another lovely social evening with Rusty and Kay, swapping music choices across the Bluetooth speakers! Farewells at the end of the day though as they were heading south to the Alps for the 2nd week of the tour. We'd already decided that we'd only be doing the 1st week as the driving & fuel costs would be too much for us to take.

At this point, I have a question to answer - this week from Jase's best mate from school Craig - What are our favourite things about the tour, and what things would we change? For me, my favourite thing is the camaraderie and friendships you make along the way. There is something quite special about standing roadside for hours or days, which gets you chatting and creating bonds that seem to last. Jase's favourite thing, aside the friendships, is the racing itself, I can practically hear his heart rate pick up as the helicopters come closer, and you know the bikes are imminent. I think he always wishes they'd go slower so it would last longer, but it doesn't matter how steep the hill is, they always seem to be past in a flash! For me, I wish there was a way of keeping the crowds sensible. As an event, it is such a juxtaposition because it would be nothing without the crowds, but equally I wish they wouldn't all stand in my way!

So Friday morning we waved farewell to the gang, and wished them well for their 1,000km southwards trips. We had a much more sedate 12kms in mind to an Aire where we could service the van, and plan our next steps. We ended up at a lovely Aire in St Gerand - we'd spotted this in the tourist information we'd been given roadside, and it suited us perfectly. It was right alongside the Nantes-Brest Canal which we had a lovely walk along, spotting a great flight of locks. There was also a small village complete with bakery for the essentials - following a visit to which we've found our new favourite French cake - a Lorraine - essentially a light bun with crème patisserie through it, yummy! Note the Tour street art from a village that didn't have a direct pass - seems it's impact is wider than you would imagine!

Saturday was a pivotal day in the calendar as it marked our 4months away - seems like only yesterday we were rolling onto the train at Folkestone, but when we think of the miles we've covered and stories we've got, it feels like a lot longer. There are bits we missed from home, family, friends and some food bits, but I think we can both say we don't miss the stresses of working in the slightest! Sorry to rub that one in, but it really does feel as good as we'd hoped!

Anyway, after a leisurely start we rolled away from the Aire, heading towards the Cotes D'Armor of Brittany. Our destination was Tregastel which is right on the coast and known as the Granite Rosa (or Pink Granite coast). On arriving into the town, we'd read about an Aire which wanted to charge €8 a night, but someone had helpfully mentioned the Super U car park literally just across the road which was free. We headed in and found a lovely sectioned off bit of car park which was set aside for 10 campers vans. Perfect.

After parking up, we did a bit of shopping (which I guess kind of negates the free nature of the Aire, but you have to eat!) and then made a quick picnic before heading towards the coast path. The scenery was simply breath taking. The bluest sea, with the pinky tinge of rock and crystal clear water just looked lovely. We had our picnic lunch by the water before headed further along the coast path, passing a really interesting tidal mill.

Eventually we headed to a little bar in St Guirec for a cold one to assist the journey back to the van. Once back, we'd decided we wanted to stay another night so we could venture further afield the following day. I had a quick look at one of the Aire apps which suggested Super U would knock at 8am to remind you to leave by 9am - not something which was noted on any of the signs. We were stumped at what to do next. This was Bastille Day, plus the following day was the World Cup final, so would anyone in France really worry if we stayed another night? Jase was well up for it, and having thrown a quick poll to our Tour buddies, they said the same! So we agreed that as long as no one came a-knocking in the morning, we would stay. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying a lovely salad dinner and watching fireworks over the seafront.

Sunday morning came, the alarm was set, just in case, but no one came over, and most of the other vans (mostly French) looked like they were in for the day too. So, throwing caution to the wind, and thinking "what's the worst they can do" we packed our picnic and headed back to the coast path for another walk. We headed further this time, covering just over 10miles in total. The scenery didn't really let up as the pictures hopefully show (despite a flat camera battery part way round!)

Our return journey saw us stopping again at St Guirec but this time we had an ice cream - Brownie for me, Café Gourmand for Jase. Once back at the van, there were no windscreen notes, no wheel clamps, and the supermarket was long since closed so we figured we were pretty well in the clear, especially once France won the football and seemed the residents were more intent on wearing their car horns out around town!

Monday morning, not wanting to be seen to be taking the mick we did make sure we were up and away from the car park fairly early. We headed the other side of town and had a nice breakfast before heading inland. We were due to meet up with Dad and his partner for a few days, but on route we stopped at Guingamp, initially to service the van, but it turned out to be a lovely town with a great Notre-Dame and stunning Hotel de Ville (town hall) too.

And what about this for my next business venture?

On from there we stopped for lunch at Dinan which is a hilltop town perching on an overhanging precipice. We found some motorhome parking underneath the viaduct and set about an explore. The town is enclosed by a 2miles wall that is the oldest in Brittany. The other claim to fame is the Porte du Jerzual which is a steep cobbled hill that runs from the town right down to the harbour and dates back to 1123, with plenty of timber houses throughout.

Although we enjoyed a wander around, we have picked up a bit of a van concern in relation to our battery or solar - we aren't sure whether the rooftop panel (40w) has been overworked by so much off hot off grid, or if the leisure battery is starting to show signs of age. Anyway, it's going to be a process of elimination for a bit there I think. That is one thing we both need to remember - any motorhome or campervan is not designed to be lived in full time, so we will have these little issues. I am trying my best not to worry, but when it's everything you've got, and you don't want the adventure to stop, it is hard.

Anyway, on from Dinan we headed to La Chaise Baudouin where my dad had booked his Air BNB for the week. The journey was easy enough, and it was great to see his happy face waving us on the parking spot next to the house.

The evening was spent catching up over the past 4months, and swapping stories. He'd also come loaded with goodies including a big bag of stash from my mum & stepdad, plus the bits he & Liz had brought plus our new TV (thanks all!). Our original TV started to go wrong a few months ago, with DVDs stopping in random places. We are hoping we'll be able to get the other one repaired, but for now we have a new light weight addition on board - another sign of how much wear and tear the van and it's gadgets are getting I guess.

Now here we reached a pivotal decision - did we want to sleep in the van, or head into the house? Something I thought would have been an easy decision, but I was surprised to find that I felt like I was letting the van down in some way by opting for the bedroom! That said, having a bit more space, and giving the van a chance to air through and have a good break is probably not a bad move.

Tuesday morning, after a shower of epic proportions, the 4 of us headed off in Dad's car to Pegasus Bridge. None of us had been before, and I think we were all blown away not just by the stories of bravery and heroics, but also the more personal stories from the area. The house which is now the café, was the first house in France to be liberated - it remains in the same family today, with it's owner being just 4 at the time of the D-Day landings. The museum was fascinating, with stories of how the 3 gliders were drawn across the channel, crashing just alongside the river, literally catching the German's napping.

The museum also housed an exhibition around the Bailey Bridges which were the type my maternal grandfather was working on after D-Day.

From there we headed up the coast road, following the landing sites for Operation Overlord with a final stop at the Mulberry Harbours, and a cold one to digest the days sights.

And so to today, Wednesday, Dad and Liz have headed out on their own while we do some much needed housekeeping. We have hot water on tap, a washer and dryer plus plentiful Wi-Fi (hence a few more pics this week!). We've done 6 loads of washing (it is a fairly small machine) and have even vacuumed the van out.

We have a coastal day planned tomorrow, before we head on our way on Friday for a rendezvous with Jase's elder brother Ian and his partner Shaaron next Tuesday. July/August is proving a great month for seeing people, with Fizz Fest staying with Tess and Nige plus seeing Jo and Luke in Epernay still to come.

Til next time, stay safe all

J&J x