9-16 JUN 2013 GETTING TO FRANCE

9-16Jun 2013  Off to UK via Korea

Hi-I decided to publish my jottings in this fashion as a record of my comings and goings.

Admin-I have a local UK phone+447425874969 or skype-russmorison or dabblers2@hotmail.com

England is 9 hours difference, France, Germany etc is 8 hours. ie 0900 UK=1800 CBR.

I left from Sydney using Korean Air-they have one of the highest security ratings according to my sources and I did enjoy roughly two trips of 10 hours each; Syd-Inchon Korea, and overnight in Inchon and thence on to Heathrow London. When I arrived on Monday evening Andrew's smiling face was

waiting to greet me. We travelled back to Abingdon and settled in, and on Saturday I caught the bus into London for a Singapore primary school reunion, a stones throw from Trafalgar Square. My how we age-I noticed quite a few recognised their old school chums straight away. Wonderful! 

Next stop France

Jan and I came out to France in 2011 but I got crook at the time and I only had a short time to visit Arromanches then, one of the Normandy beaches, and I also wanted to explore inner France and undertake a housesit in the process. 

Condor Ferries took me to Cherbourg from Portsmouth where I overnight at a lovely B&B as the ferry arrived late afternoon from UK. Following a lovely French breakfast with the hostess and family I drove down to Mare Deglise (where the paratrooper got stuck on the church roof),with a mock up parachute still hangs there as a reminder of that period. With all the worries about terrorism it still surprises me to be able to walk into a military style shop and see AK47s, pistols and other paraphernalia on sale.

Am learning to drive on the right hand side of the road with all that entails and taking it very defensively. I stick to the far right hand lane, and find it amusing when the GPS tells me to take a left but go anti clockwise around the many roundabouts. Looking left to give way is a little more difficult from the drivers side right hand drive auto than a French left hand drive vehicle.

With a population in the order of 65,821,885, I guess they have ample funds from which to build their highways-motorways. The run down to the Normandy beachs and Arromanches, is via the villages rather than the highways, which are like some of the B roads in UK, there are heaps of highways-motorways and it is possible to travel along the side of and through major towns like Poitiers and Tours.

Ecoine Clussais-la-Pommeraie-a rural housesit. Anyway, it took six hours to get here from Cherbourg and at Ecoine Clussais-la-Pommeraie, France, that is the house and part of the hamlet area where I am staying.

Definitely rural and a significant number of UK expats living here, mostly retired. Bill and Celia welcome me warmly and their two dogs, five cats, and five chooks. The highset stone house is at the end of a cul de sac-"le petite boucle" -in this hobby farm rural suburb some 9km from nearest main town of Sauze Vussais (is Sozzy Vozzy the right pronunciation?). SV seems as big as Queanbeyan and has a large SuperU supermarket and a Bunnings equivalent across the road.The town looks poorly to me, stone terraced buildings, narrow roads etc but is normal for towns in the bush.

There is a tunnel like green pathway alongside us which is the start of one of the walking tracks-very nice and green etc tho we have been blessed with lots of rain, wind etc and not hot at all. A hot tub and covered, warm pool at the back of the acre property is inviting and lots of eggs-the girls are doing a good job. 

I do like the peace and quiet, agricultural country and although shopping is a distance, I don't lack for anything. There is Sky TVs, internet etc-but I have watched little and got stuck into a novel instead when I get a chance to sit down.

Will endeavour to go out and explore when it is a little sunnier 

Until then, take care and write or Skype if you have time. 

Russ