Lou and Si go East (of Paris) (1 Viewer)

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Van Si

Van Si

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155 miles north this morning. We decided on Neufchâtel En Bray, so I set the sat nav to avoid Rouen. I enjoy driving in France and find it much easier and less stressful than back home, but having driven through Rouen twice before, I bloody hate driving anywhere near Rouen. That sat nav kindly told me halfway through the journey it had found a better route, yep ... Rouen. Any way made it round there ok with no dramas, still hate it though, on the homestretch towards Calais.

Neufchâtel is just what aires (in my opinion) are supposed to be. Hard standing pitches bordered with little hedges each with their own lawn. It accommodates 15 vans, has EHU and a service point for everything else. The shower block us spotlessly clean and it us just nice. It's situated enough out of town to be peace and quiet but near enough to supermarkets and town to walk or cycle to. For dog owners the disused railway track over the road is now a cycle route which is great for long or short dog walks (and car free access to the town centre).

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There were 6 spaces free when we arrived at 2pm, by 6pm it was full. We've had another BBQ tonight and chilled out, although a bit too much emphasis on the 'chilled' as the temperature has dropped quite significantly.

The plan tomorrow is to head to Montreuil sur mer, our usual pre / post Calais stopover for our last night. A lovely little town inside its own ramparts with some nice bars and restaurants.
 
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Van Si

Van Si

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70 miles further North this morning and our final stop before Calais in the morning.Montreuil sur Mer

We have friends that used to live not far from here and they recommended it and now seasoned travellers that we are (twice to the continent) we use MsM as our first or last or both of those ports if call as it is only 50 minutes from Calais.

There are only 8 hardstanding pitches basically on the edge of a housing estate a service point and not much else facilities wise.The car park next to the aire serves as an overflow aire and there are often 5 or 6 Van's there too.

We like the town, a short walk from the aire it is a friendly place with a mix of bars, cafes, restaurants, bistros and other eating and drinking places. Plus, a nice market on a Saturday morning.

Finally, the whole town is surrounded by ramparts and it is a lovely walk, with fantastic views starting at one side of the road, walking all the way round and coming out 2+ miles later in the same place on the other side of the road. (No photos due to poor signal)
 
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Van Si

Van Si

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That's it, all over. Sat at home back in Lincolnshire, the boys are pooped one in the armchair and the other sprawled across the rug.

Having wined and dined last night, eating in Froggy's, a very nice French restaurant we were up a bit earlier than usual to get sorted for Calais. Took the boys for one last walk around the ramparts of Montreuil sur mer, stopped off at the patisserie to pick up breakfast and back to the van.
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We drained the van at the service point of everything, fresh, grey and black water which made us a bit more fuel efficient and set off. 10 miles later we stopped off at Brexent-Enocq at the wine cave and offset the fuel efficiency buying half a dozen or so cases of wine!

At Calais the boys went through their pet check in, we then went to check in and got told we were too late, so ended up on the 11.20, rather than the 10.50 crossing, no extra charge. Border control took the opportunity of the extra time we had gained and we got pulled and had to go for a van scan. That used up surplus time and we grabbed a Starbucks and boarded.

Back in the UK it was back to British drivers and British roads, I like driving on the continent it's so much easier and no one lane hogs everyone uses the inside lane.

All in all we had a great two weeks, enjoyed everywhere we went and saw different parts of France. I've been reading the various threads about France, those in favour, those dead against and those in the middle. For me, I enjoy France. I've got nothing to compare it to, so I'm not comparing it to how it was. Yes I do find it more expensive for certain things, there are obviously cheaper commodities as well, but it dies seem slightly more expensive. The size of the country, the different regions, the ease of travel and of course the weather all make it appealing. It's motorhome friendly, dog friendly and I've always got on with the vast majority of the French folk.

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Aug 21, 2014
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Thoroughly enjoyed reading your thread. This year we haven't been to France so have vicariously enjoyed your holiday. Thank-you for sharing, all things going as planned (fingers crossed) we're planning our next trip to France for next April and May, can't wait.

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scousebird

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Glad you enjoyed France, we love it. I can't say we've found it too expensive although the euro rate obviously doesn't help but we've been over here when it's been 1-1. We're currently in Fougeres and will be on the train home on Sunday evening but we'll be back in September.

I hope you enjoy planning and travelling your next trip over.
 

Mark and Mindy

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Great blog to read, we're heading into France in September in Hymie and planning to overnight in Saumur so Mark can visit the Musee des Blindes while I chill out - tanks aren't really my thing!
 

Riverbankannie

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Thanks for taking the time to post this thread. Very enjoyable.

Great blog to read, we're heading into France in September in Hymie and planning to overnight in Saumur so Mark can visit the Musee des Blindes while I chill out - tanks aren't really my thing!

You might enjoy a visit to the National Riding School instead ? I did.
 

suavecarve

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You can get 12 volt fans, which are very good for dog cooling. The Endless Breeze is generally considered the best but they are very hard to find now and expensive when you do find one. But there are other models around, you need a large diameter, say 10" or so. Smaller ones tend to be noisier.

Be careful letting the dogs swim in water if it looks a bit murky or stagnant. There is a danger from toxic algae and it isn't uncommon in France for dogs to die from this. There were several cases last year I think after dogs swam in the Loire.
I must admit that the lake in Seyssel looks as if it has lots of that algae but he is at least 3 days past that. Much better lake at Serrieres 10km down the road but not quite the views of Seyssel

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