Grand Tour 2008

Day 1   Sunday 18th May 2008

We left home and travelled by car to Portsmouth calling in at Thatcham to visit Gareth, Toni and Kirsten and Ethan. We arrived at Portsmouth quite early and were happy to wait on the quay until we were loaded. We then found our cabin and went to bed. 
Start mileage = 11485	Finish = 11615		Miles travelled = 130

Day 2 Monday 19th May 2008

We arrived in the Caen docks (at Ouistreham) at about 6.15 and managed to get disembarked by about 6.45 am.  We travelled south by motorway as far as Saumur. From Saumur we went along the south bank of the Loire and managed to find a reasonable picnic spot on the bank for lunch.  Then we went to Fontrevaud Abbey to sightsee. Afterwards we drove on to Pouant to find the holiday cottage. We were early, so went on to Richelieu to do some food shopping. The cottage owner greeted us on arrival with a welcome drink of orange juice and showed us around. After unpacking and a meal we were glad to go to bed.
Start mileage = 11615	Finish = 11842		Miles travelled = 227
								Total miles = 357
Day 3 Tuesday 20th May 2008

After a leisurely breakfast whilst we waited for the travelling baker, we went to Chinon to view the fortress. It is under comprehensive restoration so we could not see as much as we wanted. However, the restoration will be well worth seeing when finished – perhaps about 2 years time. We then continued down the hill to explore the town centre. There is still a lot of the older town there, with enough shops to be happy with.  We bought some nice jambon and fromage baguettes for lunch and ate them sitting on a bench on the banks of the Vienne River.  Later we found some steps up to the car park. After a rest (from the steep climb) we drove along to the Chateau Ussé.  

This was where the Sleeping Beauty fairy story was written and there were several tableaux of same in one of the towers. After looking round the main chateau and the gardens, we returned to Pouant via an Intermarché Supermarket.

After dinner we walked round the village of Pouant which did not take very long and discovered that we are renting the house from the Mayor.

Start Mileage = 11842	Finish = 11891		Miles travelled = 49
								Total miles = 406