Sun 31 March - visited a local retail park to buy a bike seat for Daisy then had a short walk along the river in town. It was buzzing with people and there were lovely views, the place just has a really nice feel about it. At lunchtime we headed south and drove to Max's house in Kent (arrived about 4pm). After unpacking a few bits we walked to the local pub 15 mins away and enjoyed catching up over a pint. We then headed back for tea and a chill before bed.
Mon 1 Apr - I had a short run around the block then we had breckie before packing up and driving 1.5 hours to Dover port. Other than lots of huge ships there's not really a lot going on and the town didn't look particularly welcoming. We got the 12.30pm boat over to Calais (spotting the white cliffs of Dover as we headed off) and then Glenn drove (on the right!) south to our B&B just outside of Rouen. After a slightly apprehensive start Glenn took to the driving no problems - there was pretty much one road out of Calais and then you join the motorway south. Daisy has also been really good with the drives; we have been alternating an ipad with Hey Duggie episodes, crackers and nursery rhymes to entertain her and seems to be working well. Again, we arrived at Rouen late afternoon so just went to the local supermarket and then sat on the terrace of the B&B enjoying a glass of wine with our tea. The scenery so far in France has been very green - lots of trees and huge fields and pretty much what I expected, although I expected it to be more built up around Calais so this was a pleasant surprise.
Tue 2 Apr - Breakfast was lovely - bread, meat, cheese, coffee, cereal, yoghurt, fruit, carrot cake (?!)...more than you could eat! Continued our journey south, stopping once Daisy woke from her nap to grab a coffee from a service station. Got to Poitiers and checked into our B&B which was ok - smelt a bit damp and room was fairly small and simple. Walked into town for a little mooch around (nice old town centre but also plenty of modern shops) however it was near Daisy's tea time and also started to rain so we headed back to the B&B instead of enjoying a quick pint as we had planned. The B&B had a shared kitchen so we chilled there and gave Daisy her tea. Again we were sharing a double bed and she struggled to get off to sleep, ending up getting over-tired and then waking and going absolutely mental - to the extent that we could do nothing to stop her crying (not even Mr Tumble or wheels on the bus on youtube!) and had to go into the garden of the house to calm her down. This happened twice (at 11.30 and again at 1am) and nearly again at 3am but she was just too tired to get going with her crying. Not much sleep had by all.
Wed 3rd Apr - had breckie with other guests and apologised for keeping them up! Last day of driving today - phew. Drove about 3.5 hours to our gite at La Closerie de la Beyne in a little hamlet in Naussannes, about 20 mins east of Bergerac. The gite is great, plenty of space and well-equipped with a patio and garden area. The property is down a private lane and there's also the owners' (Vanessa, Vincent and their son Manu) house and Vanessa's parents' house. The owners also run a restaurant on site (which is shut during our visit) and there's also a pool and lots of animals including horses, dogs and cats. Naussannes is 5km away from the nearest town of Beaumont-du-Perigord.
Thur 4th Apr - Had a chill morning, Glenn did some work and then we walked around the property (nice walking trails). Pretty cold today (7 degrees) and cloudy - hoping the sun will come out soon! Drove to Beaumont for a look around, nice little Bastide town with a church and cafes in the main square and small independent shops on the streets leading away from the square (wine shop, butchers, organic food, bakery etc). Roadworks going on from now until June unfortunately so diversions in place and one of the main roads being dug up which took away from the peacefulness slightly! Even though it's a small town it's easy to imagine it would be buzzing in the summer time. Went to the supermarket (a bit late for Daisy as she fell asleep in the trolley!) then back to the house for tea and I had a short run around the trails before bed.
Fri 5th Apr - Another cold, cloudy day initially but then cleared up at lunchtime - nice and warm! Took Daisy in the backpack for an explore around the trails while Glenn worked. Then we drove about 45 mins east through lovely scenery (typically Dordogne with lots of trees, rolling hills, over the river and also past a place called Beynac-de-Cazenac which had a great view of a castle built on top of a limestone cliff...very impressive!) to a 'Monkey Zoo' where we saw a sample of animals from the 5 continents (lemurs, monkeys, tapir, maned wolf, wolverine etc). They were in big enclosures that we could walk through which was good and Daisy loved seeing the monkeys (cue lots of monkey noises!). Drove on to Sarlet-le-Cande which is promoted as one of the nicest towns in Dordogne. It's a lovely medieval town, quite a bit bigger than Beaumont with lots of shops (many selling foie gras!), cafes and a nice square with lots of people sat outside cafes soaking up the atmosphere. Whereas Beaumont was really quiet this place was buzzing even though it's low season so obviously a popular spot. Drove home for deli tea and drinks (seems to be our norm!).
Some piccies from week one....
