Kate arrives in UK

It is the 25th August, just 5 days before we leave England and Kate arrives from Australia on her way to Vienna and spends just over 24 hours with us. We are so excited to see her at the airport, I am not at all sure how Stephen managed to focus on driving.
We head first to Brenda's for a quick shower and breakfast before the journey south to Bournemouth to see Stephen's Mum. The photo shows the 3 generations having a great time.

After lunch it is back to Bill's where my family gather. The photos show Kate with her 3 cousins and the entire family (missing are Stephen - taking the photo and Phil and John). We had a splendid time and Bill and Viv made us so welcome once again.


We drove Kate back to the airport and then spent the night with Hazel and David (ex ICL) who we had not seen for many years. We passed an entire evening catching up with the news of all our ICL friends.

One more visit to Stephen's Mum for a few days and it was time to leave the UK.

I should add that the van was sold the day before Kate arrived. It went back to the dealer from where we bought it in a very painless transaction. We would have liked a private sale which would perhaps have given us an extra 1000 pounds but it was not to be and we had always been prepared to lose a bit more than planned. Buying new gave us the best of both worlds - we had a new reliable vehicle for the trip and it was at least 50% cheaper than hiring for the same period of time.

Back in the UK

We had a perfectly calm crossing of the channel and arrived safely back at Bill and Viv's late Tuesday evening. We then spent 2 days cleaning the van for sale. The big question is of course do we really want to sell? Should we store the van to use next year? Should we then take it back to Australia? Who knows!

Friday we went north to Shropshire to visit Jane's friend from when she was 7 years old. We had not seen each other for 15 years and we had a great time catching up. Marion and Martin have a garden that should be entered in competitions it was so beautiful.




Saturday we went south to Warwickshire and spent 2 days with Stephen's cousin Geoff, his wife Judy and their family. We got to sleep in a bed for the first time in over 4 months and we had forgotten how comfortable it could be. The 2 days were spent enjoying their company and getting to know them again.




Monday south again to Oxfordshire and Jenny and Phil. Jane went to school with Jenny and had managed to get in contact again through Friends Re-united. Phil is a Morris Dancer and fortunately was dancing last night so it was a pleasure to be invited along to watch. It looks great fun.

Paris

Paris was our last major city on this trip and we arrived with mixed emotions. The last 2 weeks have flown by and while we are anxious now to see family and friends we do not want the trip to end. We have had the best time.

The weather forecast was for 3 days of rain but in the end we only needed the rain jackets to keep warm as we walked the city streets reliving previous visits.
A day at Versailles was a first for Jane and we thoroughly enjoyed a visit through the palace. We had not expected the crowds but it is August now and the french are on holidays.
The campsite in Paris was huge with facilities that were severely lacking. However our pitch was on the banks of the Seine and we could lay in bed watching the waters flow past.
We were so lucky to meet with Maureen and John who were parked opposite, they were wonderful neighbours and great hosts for dinner. It seemed we ate more meat on our last evening than we have eaten all holiday. It was cooked to perfection on their portable BBQ.

Champagne

On our way to Paris we stopped at Epernay - at the centre of the champagne region. We had seen a map showing a number of champagne houses and thought we would visit Moet et Chandon. Little did we realise we would be able to walk some of their 28 klm of caves with over 50 million bottles stored. The tour in English was very informative and the glass of champagne at the end (Moet of course) was a lovely way to celebrate Kate's anniversary and Stephen's birthday. The largest bottle of champagne in the picture is only 1210 Euros! A normal size bottle is fourth from left.

Ligny-en-Barrois

We usually do not do a blog for the odd one night stops but this place deserves a mention. We are approximately midway between Obernai and Paris and all our maps (2) show no camp sites in this area. We pulled off the dual carriageway at lunchtime and were surprised to find camp site signs. A municipal site just 5 minutes walk from town with a new bathroom block and at lunchtime we were the only people here. Yes empty what a bonus after the last few weeks when sites have been full.

We walked into town, found the tourist info and got the local guide and directions to the internet. The internet was free and the town we think boasts a tower where Joan of Arc was imprisoned. We say think as our french interpretation of the brochure may not be completely accurate.

Strasbourg photos