Beachside, Bubbles and Boiling!

Firstly, an apology. The blog is the latest it's ever been - a full 12 days of fun and games to talk through! The reason for this - no not technical difficulties, or lack of material, but more just having a blooming nice time! The added bonus to which is that we are staying with regular blog chaser, Tess and her hubby Nige, which means she can't chase me as she's part of the story, but more on that later!

So we find ourselves into blog #21 and the last entry saw us mid way through our week with my Dad and his partner Liz, after enjoying a big housekeeping day with all the facilities that the Air BNB afforded us.

On Thursday we headed off with Dad and Liz to Cancale which was around an hour up the coast. A lovely drive was rewarded with some stunning scenery views. After parking up, we headed down into the harbour town and first took on some refreshments (a good excuse for a lovely cold Breton cider!). The town is really well renowned for its Oyster beds, and has plenty of lovely eateries with all sorts of fish and shellfish. It also had a wine cave selling my dad's favourite tipple - Muscadet! After an intrepid rock scramble, we were able to sit and watch a cormorant catching his lunch. After a lovely beachside picnic lunch ourselves, we found the coastal path and had a lovely wander along.

By the time we were back into the harbour, the size of the oyster beds were in plain view - I never realised there were so many different sizes and prices! Definitely one for the foodies amongst the readers.

After a final drink back at the same cider spot, we headed back to the ranch for a nice dinner together. I even managed to binge watch a couple of TV programmes from back home - a bit anti-social (sorry Dad & Liz), but nice to catch up a bit!

Some great news at this point - we had an email to confirm my prized camera has been fixed! Yay! Can't fault the turnaround by Jessops, just about a week. Jules has already been to collect it, and hopefully it will literally wing it's way back with Jo at the weekend (thanks both x)

Friday was another lazy start - think we were getting used to being in a comfy bed again! Jase and I spent the day doing a bit more washing, and cleaning out the van ready for our next bit of the adventure. For the evening meal, we indulged in some more home comforts by doing homemade pizza in the oven!

Saturday morning, and we packed up our final bits into the van, sending Dad back with just the broken TV, and some bits for the nephews from Le Mans. Of course, it was sad to say goodbye, but equally nice to be back on the road again. We had another date with Jase's eldest brother on Tuesday in Troyes so we got a fair bit of the journey south done, and headed back to the Loire. The drive was 5hrs pretty much, including stops for fuel, lunch and a quick food shop. We then headed for a free Aire in Tour-En-Sologne which was a place Jase had checked out when we were in the Loire back in June. It was a fairly small car park, with 4 motorhome spots. When we arrived there were a couple already in place, including a British van. The weather was pretty hot again, so we spent an hour or so hiding in the shade, before cooking a lovely chilli - madness I know! We also had a go with our new TV - works brilliantly, thanks Dad for bringing it over. I was a bit worried how we'd both settle back into the van, but fortunately we both slept really well.

Sunday morning, and another lovely sunny start. We headed out on the bikes for a lovely 43km ride around the local area - still marvelling that although it's mid July, and surely well into tourist season, things remain pretty quiet. We spotted plenty of vines, sunflowers and a couple of woodpeckers too.

The best bit however, was a misting machine installed outside the chateaux in Cheverny!

Once back at the van, and after a blissful solar shower, we started chatting to the fellow Brits who were parked behind us. They'd been out riding since 11am that morning, and rolled back in around 7pm - fair play we thought, until they said they'd been holed up in McDonalds on the free WIFI watching the tour! We spent a good couple of hours swapping various travelling stories with them, as a result of which, dinner was a bit later than planned. Not to worry, it was so hot, timings don't seem to matter so much!

Monday morning was a bit of a lazy start - we are finding that with the hot days, and the sun not going down until very late, we rarely go to bed until gone midnight, but sleep in later - we headed back on the bikes for another pootle around. Similar route to the day before, but a bit shorter. Again, lovely views and very quiet roads.

Back at the van I had the hottest solar shower ever and almost too hot! We had a lovely lunch in the shade and then packed the van up. The Aire was limited to 48hrs max, and although I am not sure anyone was really noticing, I'd hate to take the mick. We opted to head back to Sully-sur-Loire where eager readers will remember we stayed back in June. This was a lovely free Aire, literally on the side of the Loire and just behind a chateaux. We headed back here as we knew it would be nice, and it was a great stopping point for the onward trip to Troyes.

This time though we managed to grab a riverside spot which was lovely. The late afternoon and evening was spent riverside, trying not to get too hot - seems to be a recurring theme this one at the mo. If I've learnt nothing else from Jexit, I think I've learnt that weather really does get into my head one way or another! I spent the first 2 months wishing for sun and heat, and since it's arrived, I'm wishing it would cool down! Surely a nice mid 20's temp and a cooling breeze isn't too much to ask?!

Tuesday morning we woke to another clear blue sky morning, and after a quick pit stop at Super U, we drove across to Troyes. After one or two sat nav problems, we located the campsite where Jase's brother Ian and his girlfriend Shaaron were staying. We'd stayed here before a few years ago, and remember fondly it's cooling swimming pool! However, at €31 a night, we'd only be able to stop for one night really - a good way of reminding ourselves how lucky we've been to land a lot of free nights thanks to Aires, family & friends for the high season weeks. Once pitched up, we had lunch then went and found Ian and Shaaron, and spent a good few hours catching up before giving in and hitting the pool. The evening was spent over a lovely BBQ supper and more chat. It was a crystal clear evening too.

Wednesday morning, and we eeked out our stay until the 12pm chuck out time. After saying goodbyes (again), we headed across the Champagne region to Loches-sur-Ource where my ex work colleague Tess and her husband Nige have a place. Now, in the weeks leading up to this stay, I'd been messaging Tess to offer any help they wanted in exchange for our place to stay. At one point, there had been mention of the "small house" they were currently renovating and included a picture. That look a fairly sizable pad, and I was almost afraid to ask how big the "big house" was! Anyway, on arrival into the village, we soon pulled alongside the lovely green gates to have a welcoming committee of Tess and Nige to wave us in. We parked up the van, and within minutes had a glass of bubbly/a beer (I'll leave you to work out which way around this was) in our hands. At this point, I must say that the house is every bit as stunning as the picture looks, and we feel extremely humbled to have been welcomed in the way that we have. I've been lucky that I've met some lovely people through work, and Tess is no exception.

We would have paid a visit anyway, but the coming weekend was set to be a Champagne Fete, all set around villages along the Ource river, one of which was Loches. Tess and Nige were hosting their own weekend event, code named "Fizz Fest". They had others joining over the course of the next few days.

After a lovely lunch, and customary introductions to the slightly excitable dogs (Boodles the Beagle and Bonzo the Boxer), we had a tour of the house, adjoining Gite, garage and wine cave. Just stunning. My words won't do this justice, and I know Tess and Nige feel they have a long way to go, the place is so welcoming and homely, it's a real tribute to their hard work.

The afternoon saw a heavy (and welcome) rainshower which sent us inside for a cool off. The evening had turned into a steamy, misty affair, but we had a nice walk down to the river with the dogs.

Thursday morning, and with guests due all day, Jase and I had jobs to do. Weeding, path laying and mowing (on a ride on mower) for Jase and window sill cleaning, shopping & cooking for me - more than fair given we were staying in such a lovely place. After lunch, the first guests arrived - Rusty and Kay who were on their way north and heading home. Tess and Nige had very kindly extended their invitation and we squeezed their Hymer through the grand gates, and onto their parking spot. Later in the day we were joined by Jan and Sean, Dave and Helen and Marlene. As you'd expect, the evening as a very social evening as we all got to know each other and ramp into the lasagne dishes prepared earlier (thanks for the help all).

Friday morning, and another warm day. Rusty and Jase headed out for an explore on the bikes, and Kay and I went for a walk around the village. Really great to see things starting to come to life ahead of the Fete the following day. The whole area is dotted with these stone buildings (5th picture) - Tess tells me they are Cadoles and were built to provide shelter to those working the vines.

After a lovely group lunch - which featured my first ever experience of a Jeroboam of champagne - during which we were joined by Tess's daughter Jo and her boyfriend Jack, we headed into the cool of the lounge to watch the last mountain stage of Le Tour.

Following a lovely evening BBQ, we had hoped to see the Blood moon, but the weather had other ideas with a big storm rolling in, accompanied by some strong winds which picked up the parasol and sent it flying into next doors garden. Nige boldly says, "that's ok, they are on holiday at the mo" - cue Superman Rusty to the rescue! Up and over the barn, and one parasol recovered - only the neighbour wasn't on holiday, and did appear in the garden to see what was going on! Fortunately she saw the funny side, and ran inside to grab her camera - as of course I did!

Saturday morning, and it's the start of the Champagne Fete. So the idea here is a kind of open weekend of all the champagne houses in the Ource valley, throwing their doors open for 2 days of samplings. The price is €25 and for that you get a nice glass, complete with lanyard (so you don't break it) and a book complete with map and token for the 18 establishments participating. The event runs across 2 days and 7 villages, with local petite trains and a bus system to get you around. Many of the villages also laid on camping and motorhome parking as well.

Our plan was brief, to head further afield on day 1, which was thankfully cooler than of late, and then stay local on day 2 which was to be hotter. To that end, we took the bus to the village of Noe-les-Mallets and hit the first 3 places - each one gives you around a 125ml measure in exchange for your token. Most places also have bands or music being played, sitting areas and food on offer.

After seeing those first three, we headed back on the bus to Fontette for another 2. All very nice champagne, and I don't think I saw a price tag over €20 for any bottle.

To this point the organisation had been fantastic, with not much queuing or anything. We had all planned to grab the bus back for another couple of houses. However, the bus had apparently got blocked in and with talk of waits of an hour plus, we had to rethink. It would have been about a 5mile walk back, so Nige managed to blag a lift back to the house and get a couple of cars back to shuttle us back. All added to the excitement of the day though.

For the evening, some of the group had opted for a meal at a local champagne house, but Rusty & Kay, Tess & Nige plus Jase & I had decided to stay put and enjoyed a lovely Steak frites meal, followed by a campfire - it was one of the few evenings which had actually cooled a bit! Day 1 had been a success, albeit with only 5 visits done, efforts would have to be doubled for day 2!

Sunday was another warm one, and we headed out much earlier with a 2.5km walk to Landreville which had 4 houses - all very nice and one with a sample of Rose too.

Just as we were at the last place, Jase spotted the bus heading in and looking empty, so with a shout of "BUS"! we rounded everyone up, and headed across to Essoyes for another 2 - the first of which had a lovely sitting area and some brilliant music that may have lead to some dancing at 1.30pm on a Sunday afternoon..........!

Essoyes is famously for being a place where Renoir lived and is buried. There are many lovely tributes around the village.

After a carb fuelled lunch, we headed back to the circuit and the second house for the village - this one was a bit flat - mainly because they'd chosen to serve regular wine! That one didn't stay in the glass for long!

Then a short 2km walk back to our village of Loches were we had another 5 houses to visit. It's fair to say by this point we were flagging slightly, partly the bubbles, but also the heat, so we only managed 4! The last of which, Tassin, had a lovely garden and band playing.

We then headed our way wearily back to the house. 15 out of 18 isn't a bad score really - and when you think each glass would be around €3-4 a go, pretty good value. I'd definitely recommend the event - it is an annual one, but moves around the local area.

And so to Monday, today. No hangovers that I could see at breakfast, although I'm not sure too many people would have wanted to do it all again today! Most have headed off to a local lake, and we said farewell to Rusty and Kay (heading home) Jo and Jack (heading south on their holidays).

We've had a quieter day making use of the washing machine (thanks Tess & Nige) and generally trying not to get too hot. Our plans from here are to meet with Jo and Luke on Sunday in Epernay, and we have an open pass to stay here as long as we want, which is really lovely - we hope to be able to repay the hospitality in some small way by helping out with jobs as much as we can over the next few days. But, to put it on record, huge thanks to Tess and Nige for making us and Rusty and Kay feel so welcome - we literally couldn't have wanted for anything more.

Finally, I have a question from my sister - how do we cope on long journeys? Well, for one thing we don't do any motorway miles because we can't justify the tolls when we have so much time. That means we are main roads, or "route nationales" which tend to go through towns and villages which give us way more to see. Plus, as anyone who knows us will know, we've always got something to talk about! Failing that, we have a substantial music selection and a load of audiobooks which pass the time.

So that's us up to date. Next blog will be the end of all our lovely visitors (sob) and will see is (probably) heading to Germany, but more on that next week.

Till then, stay safe all

J&J x