10/10/09

Day 32 – October 10
Today was designated a “big drive” day so we could get in another couple of days on the Normandy coast for a last ozone fix before we sail back to England on Tuesday. It was a horrible morning when we set off, very wet, and Irvin consequently did not honour his promise from the previous night to go for pain chocolat for us all this morning, blaming the weather and a hangover – just to reinforce what a bad influence we are! The rain very soon cleared though and by the time we reached our destination of La Mailleraye sur Seine we were ready to sit out with a glass of wine while Peter and Irvin had another shot at fishing for our dinner – but still nothing!
The aire is in a superb location right on the banks of the Seine although you would never think it is the same river that runs through Paris. We thought the guy next to us was joking when he told us container ships went past – then they did! They were absolutely huge, and the wash from them very nearly washed us off the riverbank!
Unfortunately our visit coincided with a camping club meeting and the French had cordoned off the whole riverbank area for their own use, whilst we were confined to the area behind. This is simply not the done thing, the whole idea of aires is that they are on a first come first served basis and it is not possible to book or reserve space. We gave them a few dirty looks, but they didn’t seem to notice!