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Well, that’s the Bisto put away for the night; a taste of home! We’ve spent the last few days heading further south. We particularly enjoyed the Charente area; Cognac and Angouleme.
We spent a night in luxury at a campsite on the Ile d’Oléron, France’s 2nd largest island (a prize for those who know the biggest!) This area supplies 60% of all the oysters eaten in France. It was great to have the pool to ourselves and relax.
The day spent in Cognac was really interesting, especially seeing a bottle of Cognac on sale for €7000! If ever you find yourself in the area it’s worth knowing that all the museums are free on the first weekend of the month – lucky for us! This meant our trip to the international comic book museum in the beautiful town of Angouleme the next day was also free; all very nicely done in a really cool building which looked very sci-fi. Sadly there wasn’t much in English, so we read a few comics and Alex bought a Tintin book! Then we had a quick stop at the paper museum. This seemed to focus on the production of cigarette papers and how babies and children were shown smoking in adverts for them – all very politically correct!
On the way from Charente to Spain we decided to go to the Dune du Pyla; the biggest sand dune in Europe just next to the biggest forest in Europe – a bizarre sight that very much confused the dog who couldn’t work out where the sea was! Over 100 metres high fact fans, and plonked in the middle of nowhere. We think they had the sand shipped in to create a feature!
Things have all been going great in the van but the cold weather has meant that we’ve decided to head to Portugal, and Lisbon by the end of this week. It’s not just Britain that has balmy weather. We had snow this afternoon, bright blue skies this morning and icicles on the beach!
So, upon leaving France, a few observations:
- France is massive; huge areas with absolutely nothing in them.
- The French, as a rule, don’t believe in indicating!
- Wine’s cheap – and, at times, nasty! But you get what you pay for.
- There are a lot of motorhomes around, but many places close for the winter.
And finally... Monday morning; you were at work, and we were doing this...
...it's not all glamour!
3 comments:
Largest French Island has to be Corsica! Whats my prize then?
I was told by two Spanish speakers that Portuguese is Spanish with a bad accent! Have fun in Portugal.
We've just got home from Norfolk/Suffolk/Essex seeing all the relatives - 23 in all ! Had a great time, and gathered some good old photos of the family. Weather been fine all week with some sunny days, but still cool.
Now need to recuperate in a darkened, quiet room with a bottle of something that will help us relax.
Sorry you missed the poste restante. No return address on the envelope, so you'll have to call back to Biarritz, or forget it. Didn't think you'd be in SUCH a hurry to get south.
Hope you find the sun soon !
Love
Mum & Dad
We have been on the trent and mersey canal with our boat. Weather very cold at night but bright sunshine. My friend from Texas is visiting.
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