We had decided not to sail to France this year, but we weren’t going to miss out on visiting France altogether. We hired a car, booked some Gites and drove to the years last Plymouth to Roscoff ferry.

We love accommodation that moves while we sleep. Travelling with Bernie we have to book a room on the ferry anyway. Its such a joy to wake up and find your room is in a new country.

Exploring the Brittany coast we came across an appropriate seafood restaurant for lunch overlooking the coast. Food is important, simple and tasty here and we weren’t disappointed. After an overnight stop in Brest it was time to head south for a few nights near Vannes.

Bernie found a good lunch spot and we were soon tracking dear and watching ducks
A stop at the markets provided the essentials

The area was known for its oysters but all the oyster shacks were closed for the winter. Our host told us French people get oysters at the L’eclerc supermarket where we found them fresh and inexpensive. We took a trip into Nantes and visited the WW2 submarine pens and the site of the famous WW2 commando raid on the dry docks at St Nazaire.

Submarines used to live in the building on the left
Its quite a solid building!

Next day we were heading south to the Dordogne region, but co-incidentally were passing Les Sables-D’Olonne on the same day as the Vendee Globe solo sailing around the world race started. Along with many thousands of others we waved as the sailors headed out to the start line.

The skippers were introduced to the crowd one by one, jumped on their boats and head out to start the 2-3 month trip around the planet
This was the view from our window in the little stone village in the Dordogne
We set about sniffing around the area. We were told not to walk outside the village on Sundays due to the boar hunting
One day we visited the village Oradour-sur-Glane where the Germans had massacred 643 residents in 1944 and then burnt the village to the ground. The village has remained as it was 1944 as a memorial. A sobering place to visit.
A visit to the market means difficult choices. Can we get a slice of all of them?
And if the markets are closed there is always the vending machines
The sun setting on a delightful stay in the Dordogne
On the drive north we stopped off a wolf reserve. The wolves were spooked by the local boar hunt passing by and were very active during our visit. Poor Bernie was relegated to the car.

Our next stop was in the Loire valley know for its chateau and wines. We found limestone cliffs that used to be used for housing, but mostly garages and storage now.

A winery we visited had kilometers of underground tunnels used for wine storage. We were the only people in the tunnel on a wet dreary day in late November.
The tunnels were illuminated with projections of local art works
There is still some wine stored in the tunnels
And evidence on the wall of past bottle storage
Bernie insisted we visit a Chateau
He got very excited when he saw the signs and tried to ignore the speed limit
And appreciated the architecture
This was perhaps the finest garden Bernie has wee’d on
But he had to stay in car while we explored the inside
After every good chateau comes a well deserved galette
We took a day trip to Domme a hill top town. The multiple car parks outside the town hinted at the summer time tourist congestion. In November it was quiet and a delight to wander around the streets.
We visited Leonardo da Vinci’s last home at Amboise. Bernie loved the garden and was even more excited to have his Mona Lisa moment
Inside Leonardo was no longer there, but his cat was still on his desk studying his sketches
We even had an unseasonal snow fall before we left

Net stop was Cherbourg to catch up with Marie

It was a bad hair day for some
A bad beard day for others
and an ears back day for Bernie
Not the day to visit this harbour

All too soon we were boarding the ferry back to not so sunny England for a family Christmas, friends New Year, winter boat jobs, and a trip to sunny Australia.