One Life.....Live it!: May 2016

May 2016 Homeward Bound.

After a fantastic 10 months away from home it was time to head slowly home. After a few days in Lisbon we headed into Spain to Salamanca. We stopped at a site on the outskirts of the city called Camping Don Quijote at Cabrerizos. A lovely site on the banks of the river with a bus route into the city.

Camping Don Quijote

The elegant streets of Salamanca

The Bell Towers of Salamanca University. We climbed to the top.

The stairs in the floor to climb to the top

Top of the Bell Towers

The amazing views towards Salamanca Cathedral

Don't look down!

Salamanca Cathedral

The detailed facade of the cathedral

A seat with a view!

We got up early the next morning and drove to San Sebastian on the North coast of Spain, the roads are long and winding but an easy stress free drive with more lovely scenery. Everything is looking green! Thats worrying!

We stopped at an Aire in the city which was full when we arrived but Neil spotted a car reversing out of a space as we were about to leave. Not the best spot next to the toilet and waste drop but at least there was a hedge in the way! We squeezed Bessie in with just enough room to open the door! The cost was €3.25 a night! Our belgian neighbour was very friendly, he was living in his old Mercedes estate car parked next to Bessie. He was busking his way around Portugal and Spain. We felt a little sorry for him cramped in his car but he had left a high powered job in Belgium to live this way of life and he seemed happy enough. We shared our dinner and a few beers with him. He was so thankful and told us that most of the time people look down on him because he is living in a car. Just goes to show you should never judge a book by its cover! We wish him well.

Our next stopover was near Bergerac in the Dordogne region of France at a little free Aire

tucked away in a little village called Lembras just south of Limoges.

Aire De Camping Car Du Caudeau

Who says women can't multitask!

The next day we travelled north west of Limoges to a famous village called Oradour Sur Glane.
On June 14th 1944 a German massacre took place here and the remains of a whole village stands frozen in time as a memorial to the 642 people who lost their lives.

The remains of the burnt village.

A front room with iron fireplace still intact

A ground floor room with the iron bed frame in place

Haunting image of a burnt out car.

A memorial to the family that lived in this house.

The trees still grow around the remains.

A car in the remains of the owners garage.

A pan on the kitchen floor of a house.

The remains of the butchers.

The infant school where the children were taken by the Germans.

The SS rounded up 247 Women and 205 children and locked them in the village church, they set the church on fire, some were shot as they tried to escape through windows. The 190 men were rounded up around the village and shot.

The fire in the church was so intense it melted the churches iron bell.

A pushchair frame was found inside the church.

A bike frame amongst the ruins.

We will remember!

The day was a heartfelt but memorable one we shall never forget. We are glad we made the journey to pay our respects to all those lost in such a tragic and pointless act.
We moved on into the Limousin region just 40 minutes north to a beautiful village called Confolens.
The campsite called Camping De Ribreres is situated right next the the La Vienne river. The belgian owners have worked hard to develop the site in a picturesque location. We were glad of free Wifi for a change and 16amp electric and decent hot showers for Neil! They are now luxuries to us!

Bessies view from her pitch of the La Vienne

River Vienne

Confolens

Rooftops of Confolens

The village is packed with old buildings this one was built in the 15th century! And its still standing!

A simply beautiful place.

The weather has changed considerably since leaving Spain and we have been climatising to the northern climate. We are not looking forward to Blightys weather!

After a 6 hour non-toll journey through the Loire and Bretagne Regions our next stop was Mont Saint Michel. Our campsite Aux Pommes is a smallish well run campsite in Beauvoir just 3km from the mount. The site is 15 minute bike ride to the mount but we later found out from a kind policeman bikes are only allowed after 6pm! We did manage to bike to the entrance but there was nowhere to park you bike!

Mont Saint Michel is an island with fast tides. The Abbey that stands proud at the top originally was a notorious prison. Today you can walk the mile and a half to the entrance when the tide is out or take a bus and wander the maze of little narrow streets that wind up to the Abbey.

The mile and a half walkway to Mont Saint Michel

Camping Aux Pommes

A fairytale place.....

Neil had his fifty something birthday here, I treated him to a big fry up and a box of chocs!

Isn't he a lucky boy!

DDay Landings and Omaha Beach

A few miles west of Arromanches is the famous battle of Normandy DDay Landing beaches, The cliffs are riddled with german bunkers and shell holes. Thousands of soldiers mainly American and Canadian lost their lives with direct attacks from German soldiers amounting to approx 2000 casualties.

The Memorial on Omaha Beach is made up of three parts, The wings of hope, The rise of freedom and The wings of Fraternity.

Omaha Beach today - So tranquil

An old landing craft

American vehicles saved and preserved

Some time to remember

Shell holes on Omaha Beach with a little girl playing nearby

The Gun Towers at Longues Sur Mer

Our Aire overlooking the Beaches

Such a peaceful place now......

Our next stop travelling north was to the very pretty Hornfleur, it is located on the southbank of the Estuary of the River Seine just across from Le Havre. The massive Aire right in the centre holds 250 motorhomes and it was pretty full when we arrived!

Hornfleur Aire

Honfleur is a very old port and is famous for artists such as Monet painting the wooden buildings surrounding the harbour

The sainte Catherine church is the oldest wooden church in France!

Just leave me here Neil I will be fine!

The old timber framed houses of Hornfleur

We stayed 2 nights in this pretty place and then moved on to our last few nights on foreign soil.

We had a one night stop at Camping Vitamin in Dieppe, an average ok site but we needed Wifi and Washing machines. We took advantage of the commercial centre nearby and Neil bought a few souvenirs!

Urm....where are we going to house the beer Neil??

I know, a coffee table!

Another culinary delight from Neil!

We drove to an Aire right in the centre of Dieppe and right next to the Port for our ferry.

We had a strange feel about this stop and it was probably to do with the surprising number of immigrants wandering around. The Aire costs €12 a night with electric and water so it isn't a cheap stop and when we saw the immigrants walking freely into the site and washing under the free water tap we didn't feel comfortable with the lack of security, we were the only GB motorhome in there.

We decided that as we still had 2 nights in Dieppe before we caught the Ferry home there surely was a safer and nicer place to stay nearby.

We opted for a campsite just 8km out of Dieppe on the coast called Camping Marquerval and we are so glad we made that choice. The Campsite is in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills with most pitches surrounding 2 lakes.