Doggie Road Trip!
Day 2 Tours Left Rouen and made our way Southwest to Tours What a Lovely town Had pre dinner drinks at L’Univers Dinner at Conti great Highlight was drinks at Caffe Leffe with the lovely Louis fabulous waiter. Ibis hotel very central, good secure parking, great friendly staff Basic clean rooms would recommend if on budget. Tours you’ve been a blast and very Dog friendly. Would recommend.
Day 3 Left Tours, travelled Southwest to La Rochelle Lovely hotel highly recommend the Ibis budget La Rochelle Nice walk around town Drinks at Pazza Notte Fantastic dinner at “Pass Port” would highly recommend fantastic service by Florian
La Rochelle you have been so much fun
Day 4 Finally, after a 4-day road trip have arrived at our home for 2 weeks a 5-bedroom villa, at Madame Vacances Villas la Clairière aux Chevreuils Absolutely gorgeous. Private pool however not heated unless you pay an additional cost of approx. Euros250.00 per week
Day 6 Long walk over 2hrs via the Nature Reserve to Moilets. Amazing reserve with fishing opportunities. The boys loved their walk and we finished with coffee at the local patisserie.
Day 7 Exploring the Complex today There are 3-, 4-, 5- & 6-bedroom Villas available to rent. All with Private Pools and some with enclosed gardens (our one does) for Doggie safety.
Day 8 When travelling with Dogs you need to have Tape Worm administered by a vet in the country you are departing from. This can only be done 120-24hrs before arrival back into the UK. It’s good to think ahead so today I made vet appointments for Bill & Ernie!
Day 10 - Beach life The beach at Moilets is so beautiful over 20 miles of soft golden sand. Excellent for surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding. Dogs are allowed on beach in off season. However very disappointed there are no bins so there were areas where rubbish had been left. After you leave the beach there are plenty of bars and restaurants although a lot were closed as its off season but in the height of the summer this would be a real happening place and has that surfer, California feel. Would highly recommend although there is no shade on the beach so recommend taking umbrellas and some sort of windshield as it’s open there. And not for weak swimmers!
Day 11 – Soustons Went to the best Hypermarket E.Leclerc in Soustons, approx. 20mins drive from the Villa Great Crémant for 6Euro's !! Then rainy Saturday here in Moilets. Getting Rugby ready! Come on Wales and then come on NZ
Day 13 Soustons Market for Gill's last full day with us Really good Market on Mondays and quaint village. Would recommend its approx. 20 mins drive from Moilets. Parking is also free which is a bonus. Had a great Dog and Cat Stall there, boys were spoilt as always.
Day 14 So taken out of my comfort zone today. Drove Gill to Biarritz airport to catch her flight back to Gatwick. For Johnboy to arrive on the delayed inbound flight. When he arrived, it was dark so had to drive on opposite side of road to UK 50 miles on the motorway and country roads in the dark. Feel proud of myself. Welcome to Moilets Johnboy xxxx
Day 16 My own pool cleaner all the way from Eltham! Puncture on my car there's no Kiwk Fit here however there is a very helpful, friendly local garage called Garage Montier! Finding lots of more shops, cafes and restaurants are closing due to being end of season. Didn't help that we had to wait 3hrs for the car to be fixed sitting outside a closed cafe that attracted a lot of locals who thought it was open.
Day 17 Very rainy day in Moilets so just stayed in the Villa. It has been a good experience however would have been made so much better if the restaurants and bars had been open as it clearly is the end of season.
Day 18 Today we leave the Villa early and drive Chateau Le Merles in Mouleydier . Firstly, it’s a stop at the vets for Bill and Ernie to get their tapeworm tablets. This is a requirement to enter back into the UK and can only be administered 120/24hrs period to departure. Approx cost is EUR 80.00 for both boys. The journey took just over 4hrs with a couple of stops. But wow! When we arrived the place is amazing, we had a beautiful room which opened onto the patio and gardens just perfect for the boys. That night we ate in the restaurant and just couldn’t fault the meal. This was one of the best places I’ve ever stayed and can’t recommend enough…. Will return!
Day 19 An even longer drive of 8hrs to Hotel de Chatenay just outside of Le Mans. Over 4hrs of this drive was across country down winding roads definitely not for the fainthearted! We finally arrived at 7.30pm to be told if we wanted food, we would have to order from Uber eats. I did fin the owner and staff very unfriendly and not helpful ar all. They were happy to supply with wine but no food, which I found strange as at breakfast there was cheese, cold meats, and bread they could have provided this the night before. It wasn’t just us that felt the same way the other guests staying also did. Wouldn’t recommend!
Day 20 It was breakfast and up we left to make the journey to Amiens which was about 3.5hrs with a stop on the way. Mostly motorway however the weather was just so awful. When we arrived at Amiens the parking situation was very stressful as it was a public car park and not attached to the Holiday Inn Express. Hotel is very central, clean and staff friendly. That night we ate in the Towers pub opposite the Hotel, great food, friendly service and very dog friendly would definitely recommend. The hotel room was quite small but adequate.
Day 21 After a good breakfast that was included in the price, we checked out and made the 1hr 30mins motorway drive to Calais. Once again it was easy with the dogs as long as you have all the correct paperwork. They also have a dog park area which is opposite the duty free and others shops and cafes. As we arrived early I paid an extra £58.00 to put us on an earlier train.
Highlights: Rouen, Tours, La Rochelle, Chateau Le Merles, Travelling with my boys! Not so good: Lots of driving, Hotel de Chatenay, times at the Villa and lack of amenities open in Moilets.