Sword Beach

Yesterday we decided to stay for one more day at our lovely location by the Seine ...

It is such a peaceful, scenic ... and fascinating spot - all for only 5 Euros a night.  Yesterday was particularly warm too, so we thought we would make the most of our sun-loungers!

In the afternoon, we took ourselves for a little walk but we didn't go too far as it was a tad too hot for us ... and the dogs!

We loved this house, it had a bit of Adams family about it ...

On the left of the pic you can see the white motorhomes parked up at the Aire ...

Elaine took the pic of me, the dogs and the ship ... but really I think she was taking a pic of the couple to my right.  They had just come out of a rather nice house to check out the passing ship ...

The dogs don't care for the ships at all ...

This is their house, nice eh?  If we could speak French we would have asked them to adopt us!

Elaine was woken by a passing ship at daybreak and she got a great early morning shot from her bedroom with a view!

OK, that's it, no more ships ... I'm pretty sure my reader is getting the sh**ts with ships!  It was just such a surreal thing, to be sitting on the banks of the lovely, peaceful Seine,then to see a massive ship passing by!

This morning we finally dragged ourselves away from the banks of the Seine and set sail for 'Ouistreham' Beach or more commonly known as the D Day beach Sword Beach.  We found the location in the Aires book and it sounded interesting and only a couple of hours drive away.

It was a lovely drive, through some lovely towns and villages but did stop at a supermarket on the way for a small top up of goodies.

Once again we are parked up at a motorhome-designated overnight stop (Aire) right behind the beach and a two minute walk into the town.

This one doesn't have any immediate views and is a pretty basic carpark with fresh water and elsan facilities ...

Shortly after our arrival, after having a spot of lunch, we went for a stroll along the beach.  

We spotted these guys doing synchronised kite flying, which was just brilliant!

A little further along we found this monument, which commemorates last year's 70th anniversary of the landings on June 6th 1944 ...

It was attended by some of the worlds dignitaries, including Aussie prime minister Tony Abbott!

The trouble with Tony is he is a Manly boy and as soon as he sees a beach he is straight into the 'budgie smugglers'.  I believe the rest of the dignitaries wore more appropriate attire though.

He could have at least worn a tie!

There is also a ferry terminal here.  The Brittany ferry sails to Portsmouth twice a day.

We spotted these guys walking along the beach ... they were heading towards the ferry terminal, I have no idea why!

Carrying along the promenade town ... they do like to decorate their roundabouts with nice flowers and plants ...

Further along the beach there is a monument to the Free French Commandos who took part in the landings ...

Looking back along Sword beach, with the ferry terminal in the background on the right ...

As it was a Sunday the town was fairly buzzing with tourists ...

This shop sold all types of tinned fish!!

On the way back to base we picked up a couple of French tarts!

They tasted better than they looked ... so yummy!

This is today's location ...

More of the Seine

We worked out our plan yesterday!  It is in a very basic form at the moment ... we plan on staying in France for a month, ending up in the South of France, then spend a month travelling through Spain ending up in Mojacar! We will then stay in Mojacar until Feb/Mar time.  Detailed or what?!

Back to yesterday where we decided to stay put and watch the ships go by.  It also helped that the weather was superb, with a very nice 29 degree temperature ...

Elaine very kindly gave my feet a massage and after about 5 mins I was away in the land of nod.  

Sammie just chilled ...

Elaine then got carried away and started massaging the feet of our fellow motorhomers ... well our two neighbours anyway!

Later in the day, when the weather had cooled we took the boys for a walk around Mailleraye Sur Seine.  Here is our 'prom shot' for the day ... 

It is a very clean and super-tidy village. The locals are very friendly and it has two hairdressers, a newsagent, two patisseries, a supermarket, a car wash, a vet, a huge 'gendarmerie' building (which was generally closed) a restaurant and a couple of bars.....what more do you need? 

Talking of bars we met our new friends, Graham and Elaine, outside one of them ... so it would have been rude not to join them for a drink or two!

We already had had a good chat back at the motorhome ... they are a lovely couple from Devizes and it didn't take too much chatting to realise that we had a lot in common, including a love of the best shoes in the world CROCS!  We all had a pair on! 

After a few 'Leffes' we headed back to our respective vans to find some dinner!  It was a stunning evening ... 

This morning we bade farewell to Graham and Elaine as they headed off back to the UK. 

They were great people, so we plan to keep in touch ... and maybe meet up with them at Cropredy next year!!

We then popped up the road to get a few supplies from the local shop.

We passed this vet on the way ... they were offering a very good price for the pet check which is required before you can take your animal back into the UK.  Last time I think we paid about 35 Euros each dog! 

Once back at base we filled the van with water, emptied the nasties and decided to stay here for another day!

The awning is out as the temperature is nudging 30!  Life is very, very good ... I can't believe we have found such a lovely spot on our first few days into the adventure.