FRANCE MAY 24... CHASING THE SUN PART 2
Back in late may we took a trip to France with a busy summer I have been a bit slow to update the blog below is part 2 of this trip there will be a part 3 hopefully in the not to distant further .
We don't want you to think that we are bad weather adverse some of our best trips have been in bad weather conditions but when you have traveled 18 hours on a ferry and you are from Ireland the least you can hope for is that it will be a wee bit warmer. After getting spoilt in may/jun 2023 with a long hot dry spell in Northern France this year the weather just wasn't playing ball with a cold wet forecast in the short term and in spite of planing a route based in Brittany we agreed to move south and in the time honoured scientific method of choosing the best place to go .... we checked the weather app and stuck a pin in the map !
So the satnav was set for the 5 hour drive to Bois Soleil camping in Saint Georges de Didonne near Royan we had visited this site before but we only noticed this when we arrived at the gate .This is a full service site right by a beautiful beach with a pool a bar and shop the weather while warmer was still very grey we stayed for a weekend but the site was a bit quite we were keen to move on . On my cycling trips I had noticed some nice aires, Meschers sur Gironde had 2 both within walking distance of the small port we used the one with the barriers €11.50 with ehu and good wifi included with the weather picking up a bit we really liked this spot and I spent a few days revisiting some of the places we had come to on some of our first trips to France.
On day 3 on the Aire the weather must have been good because Polly requested that her bike be removed from the garage I was to ensure it was fully charged ! This was indeed a red letter day as sometimes on a 3 to 4 week trip that bike will not see daylight as it turned out we had a lovely day out covering 50km stopping at the cafe by the Aire Mortagne sur Girode for lunch where we got talking to a interesting Irish couple who had a house in Royan we had a nice chat about the pros and cons of keeping a 2nd home in France not a cheap exercise by all accounts.
It was time to hit the road again we would move back north as the weather was improving plus we never wanted to be this far south in the first place , we really were unsure where we might go and while we had toured the Atlantic coast extensively we had never been on Ile De Re so it was time to put this right.
On the way to Lle De Re we broke the journey with a stop in a campingcarpark which have taken over many of the old style aires with there barrier setup while theses are very handy when you are on the road with good services and wifi I feel they can be a bit pricey for what at the end of the day is a car park for a few extra euro you can have a full service site but as I say if you just want to visit a area or are on the road they are perfect for a one night stop we will continue to use them.
It was then over the toll bridge €8 on to Lle De Re you only pay one way on to the Island. We picked Camping Municipal Le Remondeau form our acsi book but when we arrived we found it to be full we were however directed to Camping Le Puma this turned our to be an excellent recommendation with big pitches spotless services with a super Italian restaurant on site right on the cycle way and within walking distance of a fantastic beach for the pricey sum of €15pn, At long last there was a spell of good weather a bit overcast but at least it was warm, we had a lovely time on Ill De Re there was a nice buzz to the place even in may with a lot of people about it is very cycle friendly with the town Saint Martin well worth a trip we even got to have a swim in the sea while Polly is a regular sea swimmer I on the other hand try to avoid cold sea water at all cost but once I was in I have to say it was lets say refreshing. After a few days our time was coming to an end we had a flexie fare for the return leg Polly had no choice as she was due back in work but I was in no hurry to get home and after 3 weeks with the poor weather for the start of the trip I was only getting into the swing of things and was keen to extend the trip. While we were having our meal in the site restaurant which was delicious we got chatting to the waiter who told us he had just booked a Ryanair to London for €20 this prompted Polly to check for flights and before we hand finished our meal she had booked a €20 flight to Dublin in 2 days time leaving me to make my way back to Cherbourg in my own time, we spent the last few days chilling and Cycling about the only drama of note was me getting badly lost when I left the Island for a cycle I had forgotten to bring my cyleing GPS on the trip and this was causing some problems on longer rides, as the phone would die after and 2 hours of running Maps leaving me with no navigation and very lost on more than one occasion.
18 days had just wizzed by it was time for Polly to head home we had moved to Aire by the bridge as you enter the Island as the Airport in Le Rochelle is literally just over the other side of the bridge we had the last supper in La Chaloupe de Riveddoux which we had booked earlier in the day, while it was very nice I felt it was a wee bit expensive but maybe that's just me being tight !
Next morning it was up bright and early to drop Polly to the airport in Le Rochelle which is literally 10min from the aire by the bridge on Ill de Re we said our goodbyes I was now a solo traveler with no plan and a open ticket for a ferry .... it was time to come up with a plan .
https://park4night.com/en/place/42923
https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/
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