Woke up to a rainy morning so decided to just mooch about and set off to Mont St Michel around lunchtime. Had a phone call from Will on his way to work, then got some breakfast and watched the rugby! France v USA! There was a minutes silence for Jacques Chirac. I quite like watching rugby, which will surprise a lot of you. I went to a rugby league match just before I came to France. Huddersfield Giants! They were playing to avoid religation – and they did it! My lovely friend Mick was delighted! He’s supported them since forever, as did his Dad and his Grandad before him. He talked me through the rules as the game unfolded. He’ll be proud to know that I recognised the difference between league and union! France won today’s game easily 33-9.

Still a bit cloudy as I set off for Mont St Michel, a place that inspired Joan of Arc to take up arms against the English, but some blue sky and sun. Enough blue sky, as my lovely Grandma Taylor would say, to make a pair of sailor’s trousers! I passed Alligator World again on my way there!

You can’t drive right to Mont St Michel. You have to park and then either get the shuttle bus (free coach; costs if you choose horse and trap) or take a 33 minute walk. I decided to walk. It seemed to be the right way to approach this amazing place. Typical of me, my imagination went into overdrive, and I imagined the thousands of pilgrims who have walked this way and have visited the site over the centuries and the impact it will have had on them. It was a lovely, bracing walk across the causeway, I could smell the sea, and as I approached the sky was blue on one side of the town and stormy on the other (see pics) I walked through the imposing entrance- and couldn’t believe my eyes! It was so crowded and so commercial! I had a sandwich and a coffee and carried on up the narrow street, because that’s the only way to go. On both sides of the street were shops selling snacks and souvenirs. It wasn’t what I’d expected and I have to admit I felt disappointed! I love to visit churches when I’m away but the beautiful, small church of St Peter was noisy and busy and, I felt, not being treated as a church should be, so I quickly left.

Up again and I reached the Abbey. I paid my 10 euros and set off to look around with an audio guide. It is a beautiful place- absolutely stunning- all built very simply which, I feel, adds to it’s beauty. The views are spectacular. Again though it was so busy! Lots of organised parties with guides. It was hard to get a proper look at things and to feel the place. I know! It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site- it’s bound to be so popular! And I guess that, back in the day, the lower parts of the city will have be bustling and busy- and at times not a good place to be. But I feel that, for me, it held far more appeal looking at it from the outside than inside the city walls. If I were to visit again I would like to stay in a hotel there and then I could explore at night without the crowds! I’m a travel diva aren’t I?!

One thing happened at the end of the tour of the abbey that was totally unexpected! I was, as per, taking several pictures of the same thing, over and over! On this occasion through the stained glass out onto the bay. I turned around and there was a soldier facing me wearing full camouflage uniform and carrying a BIG rifle! I did a double take and wondered what was happening! It would seem nothing! There were four of them, all dressed the same and all carrying weapons. They walked ahead of me down the spiral staircase to the exit, one of them held the door open for me and then they were gone! They were so young too! Which refers back to what I said previously about my visit to Bayeux.

A brisk walk back to the car and an easy exit from the car park this time! Absolutely cream crackered after all that fresh air, steps and walking!!! Bobbed to the supermarket, then a quick tea and a glass of red with some Milka chocolate. Mmmm! 🙂

I think my french is improving a little. Certainly my confidence in speaking it is getting better. I’m watching French television. I watched their version of Four in a Bed yesterday (can’t remember the name of the show). Then an advert came on which caught my attention for many reasons! I realised that the screen was full of images of various things which had been formed into female genitalia! Purses, knickers- loads of other things I can’t remember now! They’d all been animated and looked as if they were talking and singing! Really! I kid you not! One shot was of a woman using a magnifying glass! They were advertising feminine hygiene products, including…….the dreaded wipe!!!!! As I and my colleagues at LSMP are aware, feminine wipes are the devil’s spawn! Causing all manner of problems “down there”. And here is an all singing, all dancing advertisement, worthy of the old Hollywood musical spectaculars, telling us how wonderful they are! Subject matter aside, it was actually fabulous. It must have taken hours to make. I hope I see it again and I’ll try and video it.

I have noticed that things are more relaxed here with regard to what is and isn’t shown on tv and I think it’s great. The naked body isn’t hidden away and sex isn’t either. There’s a great IKEA advert that shows a couple grappling about in the dark, undressing each other, and the light goes on and they’re both in their late 70’s I would say (it’s his place and a bit of a tip so she declines to stay- until he’s visited IKEA that is!) Hurrah! 🙂

Bonne nuit 🙂

A lazy day today. Lots of writing and planning as the weather forecast was poor.

I had another chat with Jean Luc who speaks no English so I have to speak French and that’s exactly what I need. I’ve started to look up any words/phrases I get stuck on and am writing them down in a book. I think it will be pretty full pretty soon!!!

I had a FaceTime call from my lovely LSMP girls this afternoon. Absolutely fabulous. It shows I’m settling in because I couldn’t have done that a few days ago- I would have been too upset. Progress! I’m looking forward to another one same time next week please 🙂

I found the whole episode of Strictly from Saturday night on YouTube- and the internet held out so I could watch it all! So good! The only other things I really wish I could watch are Bake Off and Taskmaster but heyhoe it’s a small price to pay for being here.

Ooh, and I also looked at house prices in Bayeux today- just in case……..can’t afford them!

Off to Mont St Michel tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Bonne nuit 🙂

Up and about early- well, ok earlier than I have been! Switched on the television. There was a programme on called La Maison Des Maternelles talking about all things babies, birth and boobs- literally! What a great programme. Completely dedicated to that subject. Upbeat and modern with 4 presenters, one of whom was a man. Excellent! I just wish I could have understood a bit more of what they were saying because at one point one of the women (I think she was a midwife) took a leaf off a large cabbage and covered her boob with it! Interesting. I must look that one up!

I set off to Bayeux in lovely sunshine. It’s an hour and a half’s drive away. I really enjoyed it and was accompanied on my journey by another of my favourite podcasts- Off Menu, hosted by Ed Gamble and the wonderful James Acaster. Dynamo was an interesting guest as he has Crohn’s disease. He sounds just like Mark Owen from Take That.

Parked easily in Bayeux (hurrah!) and it was just a short walk to the building that houses the Bayeux Tapestry. It was amazing to see it in real life. It is so very long and so detailed. I don’t usually do audio guides but it was useful as it talked you through each section of the “story” and then, when that had finished, I went right back to the beginning to have another, more detailed look. There must be hours and hours of work in it. Hats off to the people (one assumes women) who created it. A staggering feat.

I got talking to two lovely elderly ladies from Australia whilst there. One of them had bought a tapestry kit of a section of the original and we were discussing the stitches used. It looks very complicated but actually, called the Bayeux stitch, it is made up of just 3 different elements. For sewing nerds like me I’ve added a photo! The other lady had been in Keighley last week paying an “every 20 years” visit to her nephew and his family. Imagine that! Small world!

They asked me about Brexit and how that might affect my travels. I said I had no idea and wasn’t going to think about it until if/when I have to. I made it clear what I feel about Brexit and that the situation is an absolute farce. I said “the whole world must be laughing at us” and one of the ladies replied “yes they are” Wow! For me to say that is one thing but then for someone to confirm it- what a mess!!

Her comment stayed with me for the rest of the day. Particularly as the beautiful town of Bayeux was trimmed with flags from the D Day anniversary celebrations and the Union Jack was side by side with flags from other nations everywhere I turned. Also lots of shop windows were painted with images of soldiers and airmen and people from that time and everywhere it said “thank you, thank you, thank you”. I’m not a political person and my decision to vote to stay in Europe came therefore mainly from my heart. Seeing what I saw in Bayeux just reinforced this. It spoke of unity and security and friendship, whatever the days and months and years may bring and whatever language you may speak. Together has got to be better. Surely?

So, lunch next (quiche Lorraine salad and chips) and I finally managed to publish the first bit of my blog! Internet wonderful! Hurrah! My apologies if it’s not very polished (and I’d also managed to lose some of it!) but it can only get better I guess!

Next, the Cathedral. A stunning building inside and out and with some outward features similar to those of Notre Dame in Paris. I lit another candle- the votive had a picture of a poppy on the front.

There was a relatively modern black and white photograph on the wall in one of the side chapels of a lady wearing a hat and it said underneath “Sainte Thérèse-Bénédicte de La Croix (née Edith Stein)” I was curious to know more about her and I found that she was born in Poland, was Jewish but became an atheist in her teenage years. She went to university, became a philosopher, converted to Catholicism and became a nun, but then died in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942 aged 51 years. She was canonised as a Saint in 1998. What a lady.

If you should ever find yourself in Bayeux then you must go to the MAHB museum. It is a walk through the centuries which is beautifully displayed and is so interesting. An absolute must.

I am officially in love with Bayeux. It is a beautiful town. It’s almost like stepping back in time. It is easy too to evoke images of the war as seen in films depicting that period. You can almost hear the marching feet and see the Nazi flags. We owe the people of that time so much.

I went to the war cemetery on the edge of the town to pay my respects. I didn’t expect to be quite as affected by it as I was. It was very emotional. Rows and rows of gravestones- all standing silently to attention. Such young people. It made me think of the young people I know and love and, as a Mum, how terrible it must have been been in both wars, and indeed in today’s conflicts, to see your child go off into a dangerous unknown.

The graves that affected me in particular were those of unknown soldiers and sailors- the headstone simply saying “a soldier of the 1939-1945 war” and at the foot of the stone “known unto God” So terribly sad. I wished I had taken flowers.

On a lighter note my exit from the car park at the end of the day was eventful. The problem of being a lone traveller in a right hand drive car in France is that the ticket machines are of course always on the left. So one has to get out of the car, walk around to the machine then get back in the car and continue on. On my return to the almost empty car park I paid my money at the pay point, got in my car, drove to the ticket machine which raises the barrier, got out of my car, tried to put my ticket in the machine but it wouldn’t accept it! I tried several times- at one point the ticket went in but wasn’t “swallowed” by the machine so then I had to use my (thankfully) long nails to tease it out again!! So I thought I had better move my car away from the barrier in case anyone else wanted to exit the car park. I was starting to panic at this point- I had visions of having to stay there overnight! I parked up, went back to the machine, offered up my ticket, it went in easy as you like and the blooming barrier sprang up!!! I ran to my car (I thought the barrier might come down again if I wasn’t quick enough!) jumped in and off I went, laughing with relief and wondering if I’ll be featuring on the French version of Candid Camera sometime soon!!!

A very rainy journey back to Dol. A lovely day had. Very tired and very happy 🙂

Not a good day really! I woke up and it suddenly dawned on me what I’ve done!!! I felt teary and had a Tufty Club tummy (my Mum will get that reference!) This isn’t a 2 week holiday! This is it! My life! OMG! It felt extremely overwhelming! Definitely a day for pjs! I’d discovered too that the internet connection here is very poor- and that is an understatement. It comes and goes as it pleases! But mainly goes! It took around 3 hours (with Tom’s help) to download an app!!! I also typed around 1200 words of my blog , lost part of it and then it wouldn’t publish!!!

By mid afternoon I was going a bit stir crazy so I had a word with myself, got dressed and walked into the lovely town of Dol de Bretagne, which is where I’m staying.

I went to the supermarket and did a “big shop”, got a call from Will, then opened a bottle of red wine (a South African Pinotage left over from the wedding!) and got ready to watch Danse Avec Les Stars- the French version of my beloved Strictly. It wasn’t very good. I was a bit disappointed. No-one does it like the BBC! A truth I am loathe to admit as they won’t let me watch it whilst I’m here! 😦

Bonne nuit 🙂

A much better start to the day! Tufty tummy resolved!

I decided to stay put today and plan things to do for the following week. I’m going to go to Bayeux tomorrow to see the tapestry and to visit the war graves there. Still deciding the rest!

My spirits were lifted today when I tuned in to the 1st episode of the 5th glorious series of the BEST podcast, the one I bang on about all the time (no pun intended!) My Dad Wrote a Porno! Hurrah! Rocky Flintstone has excelled himself with this one! Hilarious, awful, disgusting and hilarious! I love it! Thank you 🙂

I also watched the television coverage today of Jaques Chirac’s body being driven to Les Invalides in Paris to lie in state ahead of his funeral tomorrow.

As any one who knows me at all will know, I am a perfectionist and have very high expectations of myself! In all things! So I wanted to step off the boat in St Malo speaking fluent French! Yep! Ridiculous! On the ferry I greeted the lady in the cafe (at 8.45pm) with a lovely “bonjour”!!!! Idiot! The thing is I have no confidence in my spoken French, which is, I think, something that is common to a lot of people. I can think it and read it (although my vocabulary is sadly lacking) but ask me to say something and I clam up!

So, I’ve decided I need a teacher. I’m watching French tv, am speaking French whenever possible and am reading lots of French literature. But I want to speak it well and with confidence. For example, I knocked on the door of the house whose annexe I am staying in today. All I wanted to say to their son was “is your Dad in?” I messed up and then said it out loud (and correctly) to myself as I walked away!!! Grrr!!! I’ve emailed Cynthia who was my fabulous teacher at the Alliance Française to see if she can help- all in French of course!

When I feel a bit rubbish and scared and alone I obviously read all the lovely messages from friends and family and look at the fab photos of the fab things that we have done together. But I have been thinking in particular of 4 individuals over the last day or so:

The first is a person who I have only known for a short time but have found to be so inspirational. She left her home in Bulgaria, came alone to England, studied and worked hard and tomorrow will open her own business. If she can do all of that then I can do this. Wishing her all the luck in the world.

The second is a person who I met for the first time at Rob and Amy’s wedding. She has travelled a lot both with her partner and alone. She told me that she always feels sad and homesick when she embarks on a trip that takes her away from loved ones but that I should expect to feel like this and just keep on going, get through it and out the other side. This advice has been so helpful and the words are in my head even now because, as much as this is what I really want to do, I am homesick and I am missing people.

The third person is a lady who I thought was doing ok, but it turns out she isn’t. I thought she was happy, successful etc, etc but she told me just before I left how unhappy she is, and has been for a long time. She told me she has a dream of doing something like I am doing. My wish is that someday she will. If I can do it then really, honestly, anyone can.

And lastly is a lady I met when I went to the bureau de change to get some euros for my trip. She asked where I was going and who with. When I explained my trip and that I was going alone she became tearful and told me that her marriage had ended 2 years previously and that she was having a very difficult time and still couldn’t imagine a time when she might feel ok again. Or indeed when she might even consider doing something like I am doing now. I told her I had been just like her but that time heals and that she would get there- just keep looking forwards.

So, there endeth what some might see as a feminist rant! But thinking of all of them (plus everyone else of course) is helping me through a transition which has been harder than I expected. So thank you x

N.B. I just need to say that the place my satnav took me through during the search for a supermarket wasn’t used in the making of Les Misérables. It was apparently filmed mainly in Belgium (including the scenes set in Paris) but some scenes were filmed in Northern France (Marville, an hour east of Sedan and close to the Belgian border) and the Netherlands.

Also, a typo in the first part of my blog. I won’t go into detail but it should say “scrunchy holder” not “crunchy holder” Ha ha! Oops! 🙂

I was beginning to feel rather weary after the long journey, so I decided to say “à bientôt” to beautiful St Malo and head towards my accommodation. My plan was to find it and then kill some time by going to the supermarket. I found Dol and my accommodation very easily, and the driving was fine too, but finding a supermarket was a different matter! I put “supermarket” into my satnav and set off. I drove for ages, and ages and thought “ I bet there is one in Dol” but as I was still too early to check in, I kept on driving. Finally she (my satnav) said that I had reached my destination………..Alligator World! Clearly my satnav was weary too!

I told myself not to worry and drove a little further. I didn’t find a supermarket but there was a shop at the road side so I went in and asked in my best French where the nearest supermarket was. The girl gave me directions that I thought I understood and I set off again. I ignored my satnav and followed the instructions I had been given but, no supermarket! All the time I was not going the way she wanted me to, my satnav was shouting instructions at me so, realising I had no idea where the supermarket was, I began to follow her instructions again. Bad idea! We went round and round in circles! Then she tried to take me down a one way street! Clearly upset at having been ignored previously!

I began to panic a little but told myself it would be ok. It’s at times like that that travelling alone becomes difficult but my policy these days is to take a deep breath, reign in the anxiety and keep going and generally it pays off. It did on this occasion(thank goodness) and I even think I might have gone through a little hamlet that was used in the latest BBC version of Les Misérables. You see- silver linings!

I finally got back to Dol, was shown into my lovely accommodation by the lovely owners, then walked about half a mile up the road to the supermarket!!!

Bonne nuit 🙂

So I only went and fffffffflipping well did it! That f was always going to be a different one but in the end I thought that I’d better not as I have some little friends who I hope will be reading this and Auntie Jane really ought to set a good example, didn’t she?!

I never thought it would happen though! Little me who up until not many years ago wouldn’t say boo to a goose! Me that got a job as an au pair in Paris aged 19 and chickened out! Hopeless I was!

But life is short and precious and this trip, and my love for languages and particularly all things French, has been on the back burner for some time now. It was approaching the now or never stage really so, having considered and finally dismissed the idea of a sabbatical and tefl course (not doable financially!) I began to wonder about selling up and doing this trip. I think the thing that gave me the kick up the bum that I needed was being unwell due to Menieres last year and, the cherry on the cake was having my driving licence taken away and then the fight that ensued to get it back!

So the house sold in a week in February this year and then took 25 weeks to complete!!! I left work at the end of June and then the completion date fell through and to say this was a bit of a stressful time is an understatement! I was surrounded though by so many lovely people who kept me going with encouraging words and support. I will always be grateful.

Completion day finally happened, 29th July 2019. I think Abby and Alex (my buyers) and I, and lovely Tabby at Robert Watts, will never forget that date! So then I was homeless and jobless and so many people offered me somewhere to stay. I want to say here a big thank you to you all. But the people who I need to thank the most are the 2 Charlottes- Kelly and Bentley- and of course David and Jim and lovely Nancy too. I hope I was an ok houseguest. Thank you so much for having me.

In the weeks and months in between finishing work and setting off on my travels I have had some fabulous times. The LSMP end of term do/my leaving do was brilliant! I also went to Bedale with some of my lovely nursey friends, to the Fringe in Edinburgh with the Fringe girls (but minus Barbara this year sadly) and to stay with my wonderful boys Will and Tom in Glasgow. I’ve made a couple of trips to Shrewsbury to see the lovely Reeces, went to the wedding of Hollie and Sam which was amazing and then of course, just before I left, Rob married beautiful Amy- an event we had all been planning for so long and all of the hard work paid off. It was superb- 12 hours of sunshine and happiness.

I’ve also seen Harry Potter’s golden snitch (not pretty), visited a pottery that makes, amongst other things, beautiful ceramic dildos (aka bangle/scrunchy holders for the faint hearted!) and encountered a car accident whilst out walking with my friend Helen where in the absolute wreck of the car (from which the driver walked free with just a grazed elbow, thank goodness) we both individually found 2 dice laying on the road, both with 6 uppermost! We felt this was definitely something- not sure what, but something! Helen’s husband, Al, just shook his head and smiled at us indulgently!!!

Here are some pics………

Wow! What a summer! And how blessed am I to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.

So, on the morning of the 26th September, I awoke and thought “oh heck this is it”- or words to that effect!

I had all day to wait before I left Okeford Fitzpaine for Portsmouth! I was like a cat on a hot tin roof! Very nervous, particularly with regard to driving on the right but even more so I had developed a fear that I wouldn’t be able to find places to park!

The trip to the port was fine and boarding the ferry was unbelievably easy too. I don’t quite know what I had expected it to be like but, easy peasy! I found my cabin and then went out on deck. I spoke to Will and said it was like being on the Titanic- but on second thoughts hopefully not! Very exciting though.

I bought a ticket for the cinema. They were showing “Yesterday” and, although I hadn’t wanted to see it when it was out in the cinemas I thought it would pass on a couple of hours of a long overnight crossing. Oh dear! The cinema was on deck 5 I think, so quite low down. The sea was choppy to say the least. Rolling waves is probably a better description. I began to feel very, very sick! I’ve never experienced seasickness before but it wasn’t pleasant at all. The nausea reminded me of last years menieres flare up crossed with the first 12 weeks of both my pregnancies! It was awful! I managed to get to the end of the film (which despite my being a huge Beatles fan was, as I had feared it would be, pretty awful- sorry Danny and Richard!) without needing to use un sac a mal de mer (sickbag) but it felt an awful long way back to my cabin on deck 8- I just made it!!!

The cabins are very noisy but one advantage of being deaf is that the noise is dulled somewhat when one’s hearing aids are switched off! Still, I didn’t sleep. I felt too ill and was too nervous about the next day, which was gently introduced to my cabin with some piped supermarket style music at around 6am French time- 1 hour ahead of the UK.

I still felt grotty but made myself eat a croissant. Then it was into the car to await instructions for leaving the ferry! Eek! Driving! Parking! All my fears to be faced!

As it turned out, it wasn’t bad at all. A few little mistakes and missed turns but I was soon (thanks to my trusty satnav) parked up in St. Malo. I couldn’t get into my accommodation until 6pm and so had lots of hours to kill before then as it was still only 9am! But where better to be than this!

St. Malo is beautiful! I read a book which was set there a while ago. Set in the 2nd World War it’s about a French girl and a German boy. It’s called “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. I highly recommend it. In fact having been to St.Malo now I might reread it myself. Fabulous.

The weather yesterday was stunning. I headed straight for the beach. Walking along, the harbour’s edge was littered with empty mussels shells. The seagulls were literally having a feast! The tide was out so I could walk along way down the sand. This area is known as the Emerald Coast and I can see why. The sea is an amazing green, turquoise colour- and so clear. People were loving the day and the sunshine. Singing opera, riding bikes, running- all on the beach! As usual I took sooo many pictures! Including the only selfie you’ll see of me on this blog. It’s my shadow- makes me look tall and thin- hurrah!

I walked along the old walls of the city from which the views were spectacular. Then I headed into the city itself and wandered around the lovely streets and window shopped. I know! Didn’t I do well?!