We made it

 Well…we managed to get through UK customs only having to show PCR test and state we were fully vaccinated. Then onto Pont Aven where we were snuggled up between Dartmouth Crab Company and a huge motor boat on trailer. 

Leisurely orange juice and crisps in the swanky atrium bar before retiring to smooth crossing and ear splitting wake up Celtic music at 5 am.  Adrian actually went for a cooked breakfast! Then we were almost first off and into the queue for passport control. With trepidation we handed our NHS and PCR print outs to lady. She was a bit baffled by them and her colleague had to explain what they were. She also seemed flumoxed by my red EU passport but he said it was the old English one! 

All the while I was chewing my nails in case ‘Ordinateur dit Non’ but eventually she grabbed an ancient stamping machine and clobbered both our passports. How awful - not had a passport stamp since 1982 and that was East Germany as was. With one bound we were free and off on the road to proper brekkie. This was partaken in a village outside Guingamp - goodly coffee and croissants/pain aux raisins.

Weather murky but warm and the roads mostly fast. We made it across the Loire at 11.40 and rolled up to the Mord’eau caff in Port du Bec at 12 on the dot. By now it was glorious sunshine. Not mussel season so Adrian smashed his way through a plate of crab claws and I had fish soup. We shared an ice-cream pud of salted caramel floating in some sort of alcohol, and coffees.

After a spot of bird watching on the jetty - heron curlew, terns and the ubiquitous egrets - we headed south across the marshes to La Rochelle. On the way saw many kites, two pairs of marsh harriers, and what were either storks or cranes strolling in the pastures. No signs of nests on pylons so I shall put them down as Probable Cranes.

La R is busy with roadworks so it was a crawl through the outskirts to Première Classe but here we are and parked right in front too. Might just find room for a small salad in del Arte later.

Good to go

 

At the moment! We braved horrible Exeter on Sunday and were PCR’d at Boots. Negative result came yesterday morning. France has not yet slammed the door in our face so I  booked one hotel - La Rochelle - for Wednesday night. All packed.

The garden is looking lovely so we are sorry to leave it and the pheasant was looking sad at breakfast time as if he knew! Spot him behind the courgettes in the photo. Courgettes! Ha! They will be prize marrows by the time we get back.

So we are watching stage 4 of Le Tour in our final couple of hours before leaving for the ordeal at Plymouth getting through customs. All being well we’ll be driving down their route tomorrow following the wheel ruts.

nailbiting

Tempting fate but we have booked to leave UK on 29th overnight from Plymouth. Before that there is the hurdle of PCR test in Exeter. Shock…haven’t set foot in the place for years.  Apparently Boots is open on Sundays for testing. No hotels have yet been booked - that will be done only if and when a negative result is sent! Then a print out of all necessary documents stating we are clean and vaccinated assembled for inspection. What a nightmare!