12th May 2019

The lingering Brexit uncertainties and the purchase of our new motorhome resulted in a late departure for Europe. We got the Eurotunnel out at 5:30pm after watching the Premier League climax on the laptop in the Eurotunnel car park. Not the conclusion we wanted but still we have the Champions League final to look forward to when we reach Spain.
We arrived fairly late in the St Valery Sur Somme/ Le Crotoy area, too late for campsites so we stopped at the aire in St Valery (12 euros with 'lecky but no toilets). A well positioned aire close to the town centre. Unfortunately we were also too late for the restaurants so settled for a tinned curry and rice washed down with a few tins of Boddingtons...how French.

St Valery Sur Somme

The following day we headed to one of our favourites Les Andelys, a beautiful riverside town with a great ACSI site. Walking along the riverside in the warm sunshine made us feel like we were on holiday. The site has good facilities although the electric connection wasn't strong enough for the heating in the van.

 Les Andelys on the river Seine

Early Tuesday we decided to 'bite the bullet' and take the shorter route to The Loire which meant touching Paris. For the last 20 years we've always avoided Paris but I felt confident that we would avoid traffic and just 'skirt' the capital. How wrong , the sat nav kept to the main artery route but got pretty close to the Eiffel Tower. Yes we hit traffic but we still made decent time and arrived at the aire in Chatillon Sur Loire just after noon. A lovely location close to the Loire river and on the banks of a canal port. The cost was just under 10 euros with electric, toilets, showers, water, dump and a large pitch. We discovered some lovely walks in the area but only stayed one night.