There will be time enough to reflect on the past six weeks’ festivities. Suffice to say it was an amazing trip which shall long stay in the collective memory of all who took part.
I’ve unpacked the car including all the booze. A modest haul. Not totes counted it but includes three cognacs, an armagnac, two calvados, a couple of bots of pommeau, two aperitifs from provence plus two rose from same area, a mix of seven reds of various qualities from Cahors, four other miscellaneous reds purchaysed somewhere en route and a solitary bottle of champagne. There are also numerous cidres from Normandie and a prosecco of unknown providence that slipped in somehow when I wasn’t looking. There is also a case of lager that was not consumed at the manoir which will do for a party sometime.
The rest is mostly dirty laundry and memories. I did buy a replica screaming eagles badge and a clicker from the Airborne Museum in St Mere Eglise and a le Mans poster from Antibes.
What sticks in the memory?
Lots of good stuff. Most hotels we stayed in were great, being very well researched in advance. Only non five star I’d say was the Hotel des Augustins in Aix which was very well positioned and we had a great room with the terrace but the breakfast was poor – the staff didn’t seem to be bothered.
Breakfasts, all be they continental obvs, were generally good but great at the Hotel du Chateau in Carcassonne and Un Hotel en Ville in La Rochelle where I stayed twice, on the way down and then on the way back up.
The restaurant in Bordeaux, Le Bistro du Sommelier was great and conveniently next door to the Mary Hotel where we were staying. I’m struggling to remember all the restaurants. The pre match lunch with Dave and Cecile at Charlot 1er in Cagnes Sur Mer was particularly good. We also enjoyed the dinner at Chateau De Creissels en route to Manoir Des Sines.
The Manoir had a real wow factor. Best place any of us had ever stayed at. Five kilometres outside Montaigu de Quercy, itself in the middle of nowhere, it was a remote self contained haven surrounded by fields of sunflowers. We had jaunts to nearby small towns and villages, all seemingly built on hilltops with either castles or churches surveying the countryside around, ate out once and had our own private chef in one evening. The chef, Brooke’s assistant was the daughter of Windsor Davies who my dad had known at Bangor Normal College when he did teacher training over sixty years ago and whose best man, Pete Clarke was also dad’s best man. Small world.
The campsite near Nice did the job but it must said that the chalet was a very poor cousin to the hotel accommodation we had got used to. Lots of insects as well.
Car park height restrictions in city centres that were a real issue for the Defender, particularly in Toulouse but also Avignon. City centre parking is generally a pain in the arse. Same the whole word over I guess but particularly so in France where they all drive small cars that are expected to be bashed.
The Defender was a great car to take on the expedition and came in particularly handy when Waze took me down a farm track to a field about half a mile from Gold Beach. I should have sensed something was wrong but each farm track seemed to have a road name that somehow legitimised the directions. The track was v narrow and I turned around in the field itself. No crops were damaged. Waze defo had weaknesses in France.
France is a huge country. Including the start in Ireland we did 3,443.2 miles. Most places were a long drive apart. A looong road trip. The countryside was as fantastic as it was varied. Very rural. Very varied. Mountains and flatlands particularly in the Vendee. Some of it looked very British and some distinctly French. It seemed to be far more enjoyable to drive around than the UK. Not much in the way of services though. They expect you to pull off the Autoroute and into a village although there are some well stocked Aires.
There were lots of laughs. I’m thinking particularly of the time when I had a fruitless conversation with a taxi firm which turned out to be a recorded message. Then there was the occasion where Ajax had identified a restaurant for lunch that was less than a minute walk away. We settle the bill for the drinks and set off. Turned out it was the restaurant we had already been sitting in!
By the time we made it to Nantes for the last weekend of rugby there were only four of us left and we were starting to show signs of wear and tear. We all looked forward to days of quiet nights in without having to drink French lager.
Also in my case six weeks, five in France, away from home eating out a fair bit and partying left me longing for some British food, especially breakfast. My first stop on reaching Lincoln this morning was Fosters Butchers where some bacon and spicy Lincolnshire sausages were purchased. My intention had been to have beans on toast with bacon and sausages tonight but I’ve shifted that to breakfast and am instead having a Charlie Bigham’s chicken madras.
One high point was meeting Wales rugby captain Jac Morgan’s mam and dad in the bar of the Hotel du Chateau in Carcassonne (great hotel) as was bumping into an ex pat from Solva in West Wales who knew Meic Stevens. It was very nice to be able to spend time talking Welsh in Nantes. I also met someone who knew our friend @Eirian from Caernarfon.
I guess finishing off following in the footsteps of Easy Company in the countryside around Utah Beach was a great way to end the trip. Very poignant. I will almost certainly return someday to the hotel, Domaine Utah Beach – Le Grand Hard with THG. Perhaps next summer after the Paris Olympics trip.
Anyway it’s good to be home. Curry, good soak in the bath and early to bed.
Ciao amigos.