‘Allo ‘Allo, it is I, L’Eclaire …….not really, it is I, Stewart!

I have been allowed to guest blog tonight as a surprise following a surprising day!
All was good on L’Ille this morning with some sunshine, a long sleep from team A and a pumped coffee for mummy first thing! Things were pretty normal with two days left at Noirmoutier, then disaster struck, thunder in the distance heading our way!!!!
After breakfast of more fresh bread, the children headed for the park, the adults to the bar (sadly just to check out the weather forecast, as this is where there is internet!)! Much of France not looking good, especially northern France where we were heading next!
The heavens opened, with rain stopping play, so we stopped for an early lunch! If only the heavens opened at the cricket, as I see the Aussies have enforced a follow on….bad times!
The lunch conversation led to the surprise, in that by then end we had ditched all of our plans and were packing the van ready to head to St Gilles, just down the coast!
St Gilles Croix de Vie is great, my happy place and the best place in France, end of! Massive beaches with great waves, amazing bike paths and a great little town with everything you could wish for. One hour and twenty later we were in sunshine……it always shines in St Gilles – though I have to admit I am sitting out in the rain writing this now!
Back to the old faithful campsite where the lady in reception recognised Sarah and asked if her friend was joining us – we camped here last year for a week with the Hargraves and obviously made an impact!
A quick pitch and time to kick into the usual “shall we just stay an extra night?” mode! So on the phone Sarah goes to Brittany Ferries, needless to say we are now coming back on Wednesday night!
Dinner out tonight, by the seaside……but just long enough for us to pop into the town to find the regional fete, this is the one last year that we had so many wine tasters that we were four times over the limit when we got back to the site, following Stefans chatting to all the wine sellers! So tonight we did it alone and somehow we came back with six bottles of wine, with Sarah packed up like a mule with it all in her panniers!!!
Dinner of moules was delicious by the sea and we topped it off with some chis chis, before coming back to camp and writing this in our little pop up tent as it is raining and the kids are sleeping in the van! Still makes a good shelter to drink a bottle of the local Vendee rouge we bought!!!!!!
   
    
 

Another quite relaxing day…. after making ourselves get out of bed by 10, we went and got bread for breakfast.  The children got watches before we came away on holiday as i thought that it would be a good way for them to gain a little independence, and be able to play in the park with a time limit.  Its worked really well all holiday, and this morning proved the motivation required to get the children dressed and sun creamed up so that we could get out.  They had seemingly arranged to meet their gang in the park at 10:30 so following breakfast they were ready in super quick time.