After the holiday

I think Keith and I have definitely proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that travelling over twenty four hours with brief naps in the car wasn't the best thing for us to do and of course, we did do it twice just to make sure. The result is that we are still quite tired. We can deduce this from the fact that Keith has been tucked up in bed by 9pm at the latest every evening this week and I have been found slumbering gently on the sofa for a good hour every afternoon. Hopefully, we will eventually get back to normal (whatever that is) like Paddy, who was totally exhausted on his first day back home from the kennels but has since been his usual self. Maybe we will need another holiday to recover from this one.
Meanwhile, I'm off to make a cup of very strong coffee!

This time last week

This time last week, Keith and I had spent a couple of hours in the swimming pool at Floc Ferme enjoying the sun and the calm relaxing atmosphere. My main problem with actually getting into the pool as I don't do heights and anything above three feet above ground is 'height' in my book and this pool has 'up and over' steps to get into it.
However, taking my courage in both hands, and with Keith holding onto the steps, I finally made it (courage or wot!).
Keith's main problem was that he forgot that he is rather fair skinned and two hours in the pool without the sun protection that he forgot to put on resulted in Very Sore Shoulders Indeed, which are still pretty sore a week later.

Being twenty again

When Keith and I climbed into the car a fortnight ago to set off on our travels, he turned to me and said, "How old do we feel?"
"Twenty!" we both cried and off we went.
Of course, by the time we got to the south of France, after an almost non-stop journey, we felt more like a hundred and twenty.
This, however, did not stop us doing much the same on the way home. We had allowed ourselves three days to get back but we decided to cut that to two and, instead of stopping overnight at Limoges, carried on to Orleans, but then, having reached Orleans by mid afternoon, it seemed like an irresistable challenge to carry on all the way to Calais. Once there, it was a piece of cake to hop on the 11pm boat and then carry on from Dover, with a couple of stops on the way to catch some zeds.
So here we were, back chez nous at 10.45am yesterday.
Of course it then became necessary to sleep most of the afternoon and for eleven hours last night and to spend most of today feeling totally exhausted, so no, we still don't feel twenty.
Funny thing is, when I was twenty, I probably would have had far more sense than to do a journey like that so maybe I am growing backwards.
P.S. Keith is talking about making it to Florence next time.
       I think he might be on his own!

Today's news?

...while I have an internet connection, is that my camera seems to have decided to die and, whilst trying to revive it, I seem to have deleted the photos I have taken so far on this holiday! So, any further photos will be on my phone.
However, the weather is lovely today and temperatures are promised to be around 31 degrees. Not bad!

Rain???

We arrived safely to Floc Ferme, our gite for the week yesterday. It was lovely to catch up again with our hosts, Robin and Susie, but, unfortunately here, it is a 'chilly' 20 odd degrees and we have already had rain twice! It is clearing up now and the sun is doing its best to peep out from behind the clouds, so we are hoping for an improvement for the rest of the week. (Bet the sun is cracking the flags back in Wrexham!)
Internet is very hit and miss here, so blogging will be curtailed and no photos just yet but for now, it's just pleasant to be 'en vacances' and we are making the most of it.

En route again

The last few days have hot, extremely hot, at least 30 degrees if the weather forecasts are to be believed, and we have been visiting the local beaches, riverside areas etc, most of which we have visisted before, but, whereas as few years ago when we first came, it was a quiet, unspoilt area, it is fast becoming busier and more commercialised. In this area, the French are building and extending road networks like there's no tomorrow. One wonders where they are getting all the money from, and then, if one is a cynic, the thought that they are getting it via the EU and that we are helping pay for it comes to mind.
Anyway, we have caught up on the zeds missed on Monday night and are now packed up and ready to set off once again, this time to Coussa, where we shall stay for a week before setting off northwards again.
Not sure what sort of internet connection we shall have next week but if we have one, I shall try to post.
Laters, tout le monde!

En France enfin!

Well, here we are, in the south of France, not far from Sete, with free wifi and temperatures of 30 degrees plus.
Keith thought it would be a good idea to drive to Dover on Monday, cross over in the evening and drive all the way to the south by Tuesday evening, taking cat naps in the car during Monday night. I, like a fool, agreed to do this. As it happened, we arrived early at Dover and were able to transfer to an earlier crossing, so we were in France and heading south by eight o'clock, or 9 BST+1, as it is over here. Around midnight we stopped for a snooze and I dreamt of how wonderful the following night would be - in a BED. At 12.45a.m. Keith was boiling the kettle to make us some coffee (The Boy Scouts really missed a gem when he decided not to join them). As we sat at a picnic table in the 'aire' drinking our coffee, Keith said,
"I bet you've never done this at this time of night before."
Amazingly, I couldn't think of one occasion - certainly not sitting in an aire in France, anyway.
To cut a long story short, we made our way down France, stopping at intervals, sleeping at intervals and arrived here  in Balaruc les Bains at 3.30 yesterday afternoon.
By 6pm we were both asleep and so we remained, on and off until 7.45 this morning.
At 10 o'clock, we were in the local Carrefour, buying food for today's picnic. (Note to self: Don't attempt to go shopping on the first day of the French sales.)
At 10.15 Keith was hobbling around, clutching the trolley, wondering why he had severe backache and I was promising myself that never again would I agree to anything so ridiculous as our journey south - but never!
Now, I am typing this and he is lying flat on the bed, trying to get better quickly...
or else!