Tuesday June 12

We drove along the Rhone delta and up to Arles. The photos we got there are so special 

The amphitheatre Arles

We saw what looked like a castle in the distance and so travelled there . It is The abbey montmagour.

It was built in  10 th century . The views were magnificent all over the marshes. Benedictine monks lived there for hundreds of years. 

We saw some wild horses too! No bulls or flamingos yet!

Hope you like the photos I tried to get a feel of what I saw. These are only a few of many I took. 

Monday

Had a really lovely family time in Cognac for our granddaughter’s first communion. We also (amongst everything we did) visited and were shown round the Courvoisier Napoleon cognac at Jarnac. 

Here are a few photos of the barrels and cognac tasting.

the church where Alice was celebrated with the other children The Eglise Sacré Coeur cognac

Today was a five hour journey…. plus breaks to the coast near to Arles. We had a bit of traffic around Bordeaux but otherwise plain sailing

We are here for 5 days. 

Our apartment is right on the sea shore! Very nice but in a tiny town by an industrial complex. …..

No blog until Monday now as we are having family time in cognac 

I may post some photos of it on Facebook for friends and family

Day 3

Up early and showered in soft soft water. Last night we walked around the village of Ducey. It is very historic and has a magnificent chateau build in stone and brick in 17century replacing an existing wooden structure 

Our hotel bedroom is the centre one overlooking the river

We went to join the crowds of Asian Dutch German and loads of French school children queuing for the buses to take tourists along the causeway to Mont st michel. Can’t imagine what it is like in the height of summer! We got our photos and explored the outskirts of the mount. Too many people to venture up to the top and also last time we came we were in our thirties…. More stamina then. It is an amazing sight and a world unesco site.

Next stop st malo 

We managed to park near to the old town walls on the docks. And wander through the town. It is so like Quebec.

The cafes, architecture and narrow streets very pretty.

The sun came out and it got much warmer. Winter into summer in just a few hours.

We sat bathing in the sunshine along the battlements I hope you like my photos from my mobile phone. My cannon camera photos are much better but take too long to process reduce  and upload

Day 1

Mann tours Europe has started 🤗

We had an early start to Dover and made the earlier crossing with Irish ferries 

The hotel inn at Calais was so good again and so near to the port in a small village with a windmill and free range cockerel and hens in their car park!

Day2

Left Calais and headed towards Le Havre and the landing day beaches in normandy.  

On the motorway A28 we crossed over the 2 steep valleys on high viaduct bridges.

(Last time I did this on my own in a thunderstorm with lashing rain and lightning all around. I remember being terrorised  and scared! That was in about 2001)

As we crossed the River Seine we stopped at the viewing point to see the beautiful bridge and see the wetlands nature reserve

We heard lots of birds in the reef beds and saw a huge egret fly over, 

We headed for Arromanches,

At Juno beach we saw the Canadian museum and the beach and memorials. Reading the soldiers memories was so sad. I felt very emotional . It was so beautiful that stretch of dunes and turquoise sea, It was wild with strong waves but peaceful. Very hard to imagine the scene as thousands lost their lives…..

We then headed via bayeux to pick up the motorway.

Ironically for us the Bayeux tapestry is packed away ready to be shown in London!  (But we knew about this and plan to see it in Britain )

We are now near to mont st. Michel more tomorrow.