Days 17 18…castles, channel crossing, navy stuff

 Day 17…leaving Desertines. Lin was such a good host at Le Grand Malaise…..cooked lovely nutritious meals, answered all my questions about France, put up with my feeble attempts to speak French, acted as the translator in shops and restaurants, and kept up with chores around her big old farmhouse, like gardening, harvesting her veggie garden, making fruit crumbles and making sure her guest (me) was comfortable. Her energy seemed boundless, mine switched from high in the mornings to listlessly tired in the afternoon, leading usually to an afternoon siesta. 

And I will remember the smells of the countryside, the piggery, the cattle, the freshly harvested barley and the straw bales.

So yesterday morning around 11, we set off for the long drive to Cherbourg. James in the back, Lin driving and me wide eyed in the passenger seat, acting as navigator. First stop was Fougere, and it’s magnificent castle. There’s been a castle there for about a thousand years. Nice lunch there too.

Onwards Lin drove through Avranche, Granville (where we stopped to walk around a bit), Periers for a refreshing drink and then through to Cherbourg. I shouted Lin and James a hotel room for Friday night as it would have been too much for them to drive back to Desertines yesterday, and we had our last dinner out at a quirky restaurant where the lasagne was divine…

They drove me to the ferry terminal, and said our goodbyes. The crossing was 3 hours by fast ferry ‘Normandie Express’. Very nice crossing. Got through immigration quickly and grabbed a cab to my hotel, the Keppels Head hotel, 200 years old and right in the maritime area, the  Gunwharf Quay. Many hotel features hadn’t been modernised, such as no shower, just a bath. Old fashioned lift with 2 doors to close manually, 

Day 18….after a good sleep, I ventured out about 7 this morning for my walk. Lots of maritime sights and activities, a big tower, the Spinnaker, old naval guns on display and historic boats including Nelson’s Victory. Breakfast was included, and a substantial one it was. About 11, I wandered out downtown, the band of the Royal Marines was marching and playing. Bought a couple of T shirts, found out that I can’t copy my pics into this I-pad, so photos will have to wait til I get home.

Going by rail tomorrow to Cheltenham to stay with Lin’s brother Dave. Weather a bit cooler right now which is good….