France; Coast and Country with Jamie & Lisa

France; Coast & Country

Oh we do like to be besides the seaside! A beach day was in order and we had fun playing ball games and a few of us were even brave enough to have a swim it the sea! 

We were lucky enough to have 2 art classes at the local village hall where under Dominique's tuition we drew a still life drawing of a vase and flowers and a castle scene. He explained about mixing paint colours and we applied this to our drawings. Overall, we were very impressed with our masterpieces. 

In our local village we were lucky enough to have a chocolate factory and we just had to visit! Here we learnt that they make chocolate with cocoa beans grown on their own trees from Ecuador. We were allowed to enter the workshop floor and saw ladies working with melted chocolate to pour into moulds, we were even offered some samples as she explained the process. In their shop we were given more samples to try before making our purchases for friends, family and of course ourselves. 

In our best clothes we travelled the short distance  down the road to Auberge d'Inxent restaurant for a fine dining experience. Inside we were seated in the most quaint and ornately decorated dining room and the owner took our orders. The food was sublime and the desserts we equally as indulgent too. 

We passed through Étaples which was the scene of much allied activity during WW1. It was home to 16 Field Hospitals, so it was no surprise to learn that Étaples was the place of many casualties and unfortunately many deaths. The Military cemetery is the largest in France and holds over 11,500 dead from both World War 1 and World War 2. As we were passing, we decided to enter and pay our respects. Through the trees we were amazed by its beauty and tranquillity with row upon row of neat white headstones, a very humbling experience. 

It was off to Le Crotoy Railway station to catch the train which would take us around the Bay of Somme. Posing for photos on the platform in front of the old vintage station front Thomas, who loves trains, was excited to hear the whistle of the steam engine as it chugged to the front of the carriages and coupled up in readiness for the journey. Boarding the carriage, we took our seats and as we pulled out of the station with passers-by waving us on our journey to St Valery-Sur Mare. 

A great morning was spent at the biggest aquarium in Europe. Inside we ventured underground looking at jellyfish and brightly coloured coral fish. As we turned the corner, we saw the sealions gliding under, over and around us in their tank, they seemed as curious in us as we were in them. We had timed it just right as the sea lion show was about to start and these were Nick’s favourite. He clapped and waved at them as they jumped twisted and turned. Next, we saw crocodiles and large catfish in the jungle area before entering the large tunnel where sharks, stingray and turtles swam above us. We all agreed we could have sat there all day watching in amazement at their beauty.

After a short drive we arrived in a wooded area at Rando Rail, a disused railway line with adapted pedal cycle carts. We set off going up a slight incline and we were glad of the battery packs to assist us peddling. After an hour and 5km journey we turned our carts around and returned only this time downhill and as we picked up speed it was, “scream if you want to go faster”.