| Day 1, Thurs 21 Feb 2002 Ferry trip was fine - watched Harry Potter and we didn�t bottom it coming off the ferry! Driving on the wrong side of the road was scary for the first 10 mins but after that it was ok - very used to it now and it�ll be very strange when we come home! Found first campsite no problem (even though it was dark) and were shown to the pitch by a nice lady - don�t get that in England! We listened to french radio and failed to get the TV working. Decided to stay another day as we were so tired. Day 2, 22 Feb 2002 Bought the campsite shop out of food (stuff that we couldn�t take with us like butter, cheese, ham and milk etc plus french baguette - lovely), went into Caen and tried to get diesel but found out our credit card didn�t work in the automatic machines and then got stuck trying to go through the pay barrier, ended up getting through with half an inch to spare and knocking the drivers mirror - no damage though luckily. Spent about 2 hours in the hypermarket and found ourselves behind English people in the queue (spent about 60 pounds!). Day 3, 23 Feb 2002 Left campsite at about 10.30 am and took all the country roads because we would have to pay for the motorways. But we got to see all the nice scenery. Arrived at campsite in Evron at 1.45 pm but it was closed - saturday and they close at 1 pm! so we had to drive on to Saumar. Lovely campsite on an island with a wonderful view of the castle. Got there at 4.50 pm. Had a nice walk round the town and had our first meal out. Day 4, 24 Feb 2002 Left Saumar for Poitiers and got halfway there when we saw a 3 and a half tonne restriction sign (for those of you who don�t know we weigh 5 and a half!) and got diverted by about 50 km. Arrived at campsite with a view across to Futurescope (Light and laser park) but it was too late to go in so watched the lights from the warmth of the bus. Day 5, 25 Feb 2002 Up early to go shopping and then on to Payrac. Funny little dutch owned site. Adam had to sort out a dispute between a french man and the dutch woman running the site - all very amusing to watch! Day 6, 26 Feb 2002 Drove to Toulouse and stopped in a site just outside the town centre. Really lovely weather and for the first time felt we were really on holiday. Rode bikes for the first time which wasn�t as bad as I thought it was going to be - haven�t fallen off yet!!! Late February: Last time we left you in Toulouse due to lack of time on the Internet. From there we went to Les Barcares near Perpignon where the most interesting thing was our first proper experience with the bicycles. The French have a very strange sense of distance - we were told the beach was 500 metres away but we discovered it was more like 5 km after much walking, so took the bikes the next day! The weather was lovely and we thought of you all lots. Stayed there 2 days and then headed for Spain. Report continues in March |
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