Monday 14 May
Dad was on bread duty this morning but the Boulangerie was closed! Keith and I dashed out to the Super U in Gorron and brought back two large fresh loaves and some delicious croissants. The others appeared, took what they wanted and then ate next door. We had all agreed to have our main meal at lunchtime today and then stay in again in the evening as the whole of France, it appears, is closed on a Monday, including restaurants!
Today has been one of the most memorable days of my life so far. Mum and Dad accompanied us to the coast and we headed for the seaside town of Granville, by way of a small coastal road. The weather was beautiful and sunny and quite warm out of the wind. After almost getting lost in the village of Landivy, because of a diversion, we were soon back on track with me navigating. We joined a motorway very briefly and then turned off at Avranches onto a pretty road that wound along a bay with views over to Mont St Michel. Beautiful villages appeared at regular intervals, all of them with lovely looking restaurants! Typical! We stopped in St Pair sur Mer for a cup of coffee and a beer and went onto the beach but it was deserted. Sophie wanted to stay and play on the beach but it really wasn't the weather for sunbathing despite the sunshine!
Granville was slightly disappointing and the place didn't quite live up to our expectations of a quaint coastal town full of seafood restaurants! However, we did find a friendly eaterie in the square, shaded by trees that served delicious food. We had a long leisurely lunch, the children behaved impeccably and the sun grew hotter as the afternoon wore on.
We said goodbye to Mum and Dad at the car park and headed back to St Pair sur Mer to the small supermarket where we stocked up with wine and beer. We then made our way to a village called Dragey where there was the most marvellous expanse of beach and a small bar serving drinks and ice-creams. Keith took Sophie and Michael onto the beach and left them run wild. They absolutely loved the total freedom and we had a wonderful time with them as they played in the sand and ran about. It was Michael's first time on a beach and he couldn't believe that we were happy for him to get all sandy and wet. His favourite thing to do was to pick up pebbles and shells and throw them about with wild abandon!
When we'd all had enough we changed the children into warm clothes and treated them to an ice-cream. The man running the bar was English and I couldn't help envying him and the lifestyle he was living.
Within minutes of being back in the car both children were asleep and we had a lovely drive back to the gite through some truly beautiful countryside. However, our enjoyment was tempered by the fact that we had the only key to the gite and we had lingered rather too long on that lovely beach! We were further delayed by the diversion in Landivy which was turning out to be a real thorn in our side! Luckily Keith made me turn back at Louvigny du Desert (or Loving in the Dessert as we renamed it) otherwise we would really have been lost as well as being stuck in the middle of a herd of cows!
When we eventually arrived back Mum and Dad had been there for about ten minutes, but after explaining that we had the key the others hadn't even offered them a drink while they waited. It really was war between us!
The salad tonight was almost as good as the previous nights, but we were excited to have some eggs to liven it up. Keith and I took the executive decision to cook a few more as we really felt that half an egg each was a little miserly. Thank goodness for the lovely lunch we had!
It is at this point that I should mention the kitty which was an idea put forward by John. Each couple would contribute £100 and would take out any money they had already spent. Therefore John put in his share and then promptly took out £70 to cover the groceries they'd bought in Calais, Mum and Dad took out about £30 for the staples (tea, sugar, coffee, etc), Keith put in our £100 and then we waited for David and Pat to put in their contribution...and we waited!
Dinner was a moderate affair and the bonhomie so present at our normal Wine Club meetings was sadly missing. The children were still awake but were behaving very well and if they were excited then that was only to be expected. They were on holiday after all!
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