Coquelle Friday 7th April

We drove to Saint Josse as we are returning there in September with Aileen and David. It looks nice. We then carried on to the Kyriad hotel in Coquelle. It is a lovely wee place, near Calais and we stayed there as it was easy access to the ferry in the morning. We then spent the afternoon in Europe Cite shopping mall. We loaded up and headed back to the hotel where we had a beautiful meal. We retired to our bed for our early start. We have had an amazing trip. Home to Kilwinning tomorrow .

Abbeville 6th April 2017

Today we visited our friends Malcolm and Marie - Anne. It was a nice journey with lovely sunny weather. Marie - Anne and I sat out in the garden relaxing in the sun. We then went out for dinner to the local Chinese buffet restaurant. We stayed over with them. We had a lovely breakfast in the morning fresh croissant and pan raisin. When we were leaving we were given a box of Pettit fours. We then headed on our way to our final destination. Coquelle. It was lovely seeing our friends again.

Caen 5th April 2017

Left La Rochelle with a heavy heart as the weather was fabulous and the hotel was great. Today is a bit of a lost day as we are heading to Abbeville and we don't want to be driving too long . I mean Arthur driving. We are stopping at one of the little hotels on the outskirts of Caen so that we can pick up the motorway in the morning. Took about four hours to get here. Came into the hotel no one around and Arthur noticed the self check in machine. Novel. Gave us the key to get in to our room. Got in room fine until we opened the ensuite only to discover that the shower is outside in the corridor it only had a toilet and wash hand basin. This will be fun and games in the morning. As they say in France oh la la. We then headed out to find Festi which is a party supplier store this is where I get my fancy table coverings. We then drove about looking for something to eat. We stopped in at Le Clerc which is a supermarket to get a gift bag. We stopped to look at the cakes and couldn't resist these two puddings staring at us. Arthur had the isle flotant and I had the pear belle Helene. We then drove about trying to find somewhere to eat and would you believe it we ended up in McDonalds. Actually the food was good. I had a Mc chicken and Arthur had the 280 original which had real beef. We then came back to the hotel and scoffed our puds. Delicious they were.

La Rochelle 3rd April 2017

Arrived in La Rochelle had been here 2 years ago and the sun came out for us. It is a beautiful place and our hotel is gorgeous. Masq hotel. Sorted out our room then headed out for lunch. Arthur I had his moules and frites and I had a ham and egg galette. We had a great day walking around the old town and round the harbour it was so warm. We came back and rested and then went back out for dinner in the evening we ended up sharing a pizza I find the food in France hard going as they have so much fish and cheese dishes and the only chicken dish I have come across is a chicken curry dish. Not my favourite. Hopefully today will be better. Today has been a lovely day. We went walking around the old town, it has been 2 years since we were last here and we cannot believe the changes that have taken that have taken place. They are certainly going all to improve the walkways, there are far more up market shops like massimo dutti, Swarovski, Agatha and Arthur. I was going to buy Arthur a pair of boxers from his namesake shop but at 39 euros a pair I declined. We went into a jewellers called Retour de Plage where I finally spent my Xmas money from my father in law. I bought a handmade necklace and bracelet. The jewellery was beautiful and the jeweller is onsite to make any changes. I got her to add a few links onto my necklace. We then went for lunch. I decided to bite the bullet and go to a fish restaurant as I knew Arthur really fancied oysters. He had his beloved oysters followed by fillet of sea bass served on buttered mash. I had prawns and battered fish with little sautéed potatoes. For my pudding i had the most delicious chocolate mousse with a salted caramel topping. Arthur had the smelly cheese. We were so lucky as the weather suddenly changed and just as we got back to the hotel, the rain started, thankfully it didn't last. Just getting everything condensed into less bags so that we can get the car packed properly as we return home on Saturday and I want plenty space to accommodate my last bout of shopping. Tomorrow we head for Caen. 

Biarritz 1st April 2017

Travelled to Biarritz from Santander, sadly it started raining as soon as we began our journey and it continued big style when we got to our destination. We stayed in an old fashioned hotel called Anjou right bang smack inthe centre of town. We had private parking which is a big plus albeit it cost 24 euros for our 2  day stay. The hotel was lovely and clean, downside was we were on the top floor, a few flights of stairs later and we reached our room. Luckily we were happy with it. We went out for lunch it was torrential rain so we jumped into this little bar. Ordered 2 croque monsieurs and a glass of wine and a small beer. It came to 26 euros. We soon discovered how expensive France is, especially Biarritz. We continued on our travels around town but the weather was so bad that we had to call it quits and return to our room. The next day thankfully the rain stopped so we got out to see the sights. Biarritz is beautiful and you can appreciate the opulence of the buildings of a bygone era. The church of Saint Eugenie is stunning as is the virgin on the rock. So much to see and thankfully the rain held off. Delighted we seen the place that's another tick on Arthur's bucket list.