Monday 13 April
So - up early and onwards to Pamplona leaving the girls to tidy up the flat and give the keys back to Bernardo before catching their bus to Madrid and then their flight to Manchester.
It has been a wonderful time and we can't thank all our friends enough - especially Amparo and Bernardo for helping the latest leg of our trip in letting us use their empty flat!
THANK YOU!
A long and tedious journey to Pamplona in hot sunshine on minor roads for a lot of the time (with diversions and roadworks we did 100 miles in 4 hours - not much fun in the heat even with the pretty scenery!) - but we got there in the end...
We had a wander round and some nice tapas and ice cream in the sunshine but it had been a long day and we were tired out so we managed a short walk on the walls and then back to our nice (and very cheap!) little hotel.
Tuesday 14 April
The weather forecast was for another hot day (28 degrees) so we decided to set off early on our journey back to Puy l'Eveque. Another long drive but much more pleasant and the last bit was so pretty that we decided to go back there again the following day.
We had a late lunch when we arrived and then went for a walk in the sunshine - it was still very hot so we went for a stroll along the side of the river where it was a bit cooler...
So we sat at the top and watched another sunset...
A trip round the corner (literally just round the corner - it's far too accessible!) to the patisserie to buy something for breakfast.
There was too much choice so we eventually settled on the lemon, apricot and chocolate tarts.
Bit too much really but we needed to try them!
Good job we're only staying another day as we'd still like to try the peach, strawberry, lemon meringue, nut, apple, almond...
So - back to the villages we had seen the day before - Tournon d'Agenais and Beauville and some others - all of them very pretty and practically deserted - a good time for sightseeing!
The weather has been really warm but this is very unusual for this time of year we were told.
It was sunny to start with and then it clouded over but the temperature still stayed at 26 degrees...
Thursday 16 April
Another day of travelling up to Beaumont Pied De Boeuf - a little village just north of Tours. We knew it was going to be a long day of travelling but part way into the journey there was a bad accident somewhere just in front of us and everything ground to a halt. As we had a picnic with us we managed to pull off down the road but Dora was not happy!..
The police had stopped all the traffic and had set up diversions but eventually Mike did a bit of driving along dirt tracks around some fishing lodges and we managed to come out at a point literally just past the accident so we had the next ten miles of road to ourselves...
The village was a pretty little place so we had a short walk before eating...
The chef here told us he had worked for the Duchess of Windsor, one of the Bismarcks and a Rothschild grand daughter (or something similar!) and the place, although small, had a good reputation for food. So we tried the taster menu which was very nice...
Friday 17 April
A slightly shorter journey than the last few days so we decided to take our time a bit more and stopped to buy more picnic things and some fresh bread. This little church was open in the village - very simple inside but really beautiful...
And then on to Dieppe via Giverney to see Monet's garden and house...
Very beautiful but very busy!!...
As we walked towards the water garden we could hear a huge commotion which sounded like angry ducks... We decided that it couldn't be that but maybe it was some of the school children messing about - it wasn't them either.
It was FROGS!
The temperature must just have gone up enough to tempt them all to the top of the water and they were all busy puffing up their little cheeks (or their sort of little airbag things!) and making a huge racket! It was quite strange - and it stopped just as suddenly as it started.
The colours of the flowers were absolutely glorious - a great inspiration for painting...
And the house is lovely too - loads of character, paintings, bright colours - and glorious views from every window...
Yet another wonderful day - but it's nearly time for home.
On arrival at the hotel in Dieppe we were so tired that we went to the nearest place to eat - McDonald's!! Very funny as we didn't know what we were eating (this is when you need a grandchild!!) or how to order it - they had some sort of fast order computerised terminal that we couldn't operate...
But we eventually sorted something out - so we went from experiencing fine dining to McDonald's within the space of 24 hours!!
Saturday 18 April
We had planned to have a drive along the 'Alabaster Coast' from Dieppe after we had been round the Saturday market. But the market was big and colourful and very interesting and the town and the harbour looked lovely in the sunshine - so we changed our minds.
We took the car back to the hotel and strolled back down and just wandered. We ended up at an impromptu barbie which had been set up as part of a demonstration and music festival to save a local bridge. So we sat down to listen to the music with a carafe of wine and some food...
Then it was back to the market to look at the rest of the stalls and try some of the lovely meats and cheeses...
And a wander round the harbour before walking back over the bridge. People were tying on little strips of material to show their support for keeping the bridge open so we added some too..
Then it was time to head back to pack our bags for the last time!
Sunday 19 April
A 3.30am get up to catch the 5.30am ferry! A smooth crossing and then a short journey (in comparison to the last few days!) and we were home by early afternoon.
We unpacked the car - quite an interesting process rediscovering things that we had bought early on and forgotten about!
So - in total we had travelled 3991 miles (about 6385km!) and slept in 11 different beds throughout our holiday!
But we had a great time seeing lots of friends. A huge THANK YOU to all of them!
Already planning our next trip...
So - up early and onwards to Pamplona leaving the girls to tidy up the flat and give the keys back to Bernardo before catching their bus to Madrid and then their flight to Manchester.
It has been a wonderful time and we can't thank all our friends enough - especially Amparo and Bernardo for helping the latest leg of our trip in letting us use their empty flat!
THANK YOU!
A long and tedious journey to Pamplona in hot sunshine on minor roads for a lot of the time (with diversions and roadworks we did 100 miles in 4 hours - not much fun in the heat even with the pretty scenery!) - but we got there in the end...
We had a wander round and some nice tapas and ice cream in the sunshine but it had been a long day and we were tired out so we managed a short walk on the walls and then back to our nice (and very cheap!) little hotel.
Tuesday 14 April
The weather forecast was for another hot day (28 degrees) so we decided to set off early on our journey back to Puy l'Eveque. Another long drive but much more pleasant and the last bit was so pretty that we decided to go back there again the following day.
We had a late lunch when we arrived and then went for a walk in the sunshine - it was still very hot so we went for a stroll along the side of the river where it was a bit cooler...
And of course it would have been rude not to have another bottle of the frog wine over looking the river Lot...
A bit of Lola's 'longing down' after walking back up loads of steps and a walk over a high bit...
Puy l'Eveque is a bit like a smaller scale Cuenca - lots of up and down. And they are even talking about building a hanging garden...
So we sat at the top and watched another sunset...
Yet another lovely day!
Wednesday 16 April
A trip round the corner (literally just round the corner - it's far too accessible!) to the patisserie to buy something for breakfast.
There was too much choice so we eventually settled on the lemon, apricot and chocolate tarts.
Bit too much really but we needed to try them!
Good job we're only staying another day as we'd still like to try the peach, strawberry, lemon meringue, nut, apple, almond...
So - back to the villages we had seen the day before - Tournon d'Agenais and Beauville and some others - all of them very pretty and practically deserted - a good time for sightseeing!The weather has been really warm but this is very unusual for this time of year we were told.
It was sunny to start with and then it clouded over but the temperature still stayed at 26 degrees...
Thursday 16 April
Another day of travelling up to Beaumont Pied De Boeuf - a little village just north of Tours. We knew it was going to be a long day of travelling but part way into the journey there was a bad accident somewhere just in front of us and everything ground to a halt. As we had a picnic with us we managed to pull off down the road but Dora was not happy!..The police had stopped all the traffic and had set up diversions but eventually Mike did a bit of driving along dirt tracks around some fishing lodges and we managed to come out at a point literally just past the accident so we had the next ten miles of road to ourselves...
The village was a pretty little place so we had a short walk before eating...
Friday 17 April
A slightly shorter journey than the last few days so we decided to take our time a bit more and stopped to buy more picnic things and some fresh bread. This little church was open in the village - very simple inside but really beautiful...
And then on to Dieppe via Giverney to see Monet's garden and house...
Very beautiful but very busy!!...
As we walked towards the water garden we could hear a huge commotion which sounded like angry ducks... We decided that it couldn't be that but maybe it was some of the school children messing about - it wasn't them either.
It was FROGS!
The temperature must just have gone up enough to tempt them all to the top of the water and they were all busy puffing up their little cheeks (or their sort of little airbag things!) and making a huge racket! It was quite strange - and it stopped just as suddenly as it started.
The colours of the flowers were absolutely glorious - a great inspiration for painting...
And the house is lovely too - loads of character, paintings, bright colours - and glorious views from every window...
Yet another wonderful day - but it's nearly time for home.
On arrival at the hotel in Dieppe we were so tired that we went to the nearest place to eat - McDonald's!! Very funny as we didn't know what we were eating (this is when you need a grandchild!!) or how to order it - they had some sort of fast order computerised terminal that we couldn't operate...
But we eventually sorted something out - so we went from experiencing fine dining to McDonald's within the space of 24 hours!!
Saturday 18 April
We had planned to have a drive along the 'Alabaster Coast' from Dieppe after we had been round the Saturday market. But the market was big and colourful and very interesting and the town and the harbour looked lovely in the sunshine - so we changed our minds.
We took the car back to the hotel and strolled back down and just wandered. We ended up at an impromptu barbie which had been set up as part of a demonstration and music festival to save a local bridge. So we sat down to listen to the music with a carafe of wine and some food...
Then it was back to the market to look at the rest of the stalls and try some of the lovely meats and cheeses...
And a wander round the harbour before walking back over the bridge. People were tying on little strips of material to show their support for keeping the bridge open so we added some too..
Then it was time to head back to pack our bags for the last time!
Sunday 19 April
A 3.30am get up to catch the 5.30am ferry! A smooth crossing and then a short journey (in comparison to the last few days!) and we were home by early afternoon.
So - in total we had travelled 3991 miles (about 6385km!) and slept in 11 different beds throughout our holiday!
But we had a great time seeing lots of friends. A huge THANK YOU to all of them!
Already planning our next trip...
