After a very peaceful sleep on a very comfy bed (I can recommend the Holiday Inn Express in Valencia) we trundled on down for a continental breakfast.
The first issue was the lack of child-friendly food. Abigail really wasn’t keen on anything that was on offer, life would be easier on her if she wasn’t so fussy. So she had to make do with bread and jam with orange juice. Tilly, on the other hand, ate everything we put in front of her except the muesli (Spanish muesli is a bit bland). I had some of most of the offering and I especially enjoyed the cheese and ham. Emma had a bit everything as well (except the bland muesli).
So, in the car for 11ish and back to the motorway. The roads were reasonably quiet since it was a Sunday morning.
The thing that always strikes me about Spanish motorways is they are very boring. However, it’s a bad idea to lose concentration because of how the Spaniards tend to drive (more on that elsewhere). We drove for a couple of hours, Tilly slept for a while and Abigail was quiet (although probably bored silly).
We were hoping to make it as far Murcia before having to stop but we needed fuel and as soon as I turned off the car Tilly woke up. We drove on because there is a shopping centre just off the motorway on the north side of Murcia but (thanks to rather poor signposting) we took a wrong turn and ended up going along another motorway until the first junction. We turned around and gave up on the idea of finding the shopping centre, instead opting for the next services.
Now, when I say services I mean it kind of loosely in this instance. The “services” was actually a run-down petrol station and a run-down restaurant on the edge of a small industrial estate about half a mile from the exit off the motorway. It didn’t look very promising but we had little choice but to stop.
We picked a table outside the restaurant and the (rather bolshy) waitress asked us if we wanted to eat, we said yes and she said that eating was indoors because they were busy. We sat down where we were anyway and then she agreed to serve us food since we were here. The service didn’t improve at all but the food was good and not too pricey either.
So, after a large lunch all round we boarded the car for the last 2 hours of the journey. This bit went with predictable lack of incidence, driving towards the sun in the 30 degree heat wasn’t all that much fun though.
Have to admit that I was in the pool as soon as we unloaded the car, it was lovely and warm and very very welcome.
 This was worth 1630 miles
8am – I know this is really mean…..but we delight in getting up when all around us are in bed and making a bit of noise by cooking breakfast. They didn’t go to bed till 3am… but to be honest i didn’t hear them.
And Tilly had no problems sleeping. So that was ok. The plan today to get packed up and then spend a bit of time in the pool at Blanes before we leave for Valencia.
9.30am – lol….I am quietly laughing my head off as the Spanish next door (who rudely assume we understand no Spanish whatsoever) have been complaining about Karls snoring!!! Thats what I call justice i’m afraid… 
11am – trek over to the pool which isn’t as packed as I thought. Tilly isn’t keen on water at the moment, so we encourage her to go for a dip, but she isn’t impressed.
The pool, however, is lovely and Abs really enjoys her dip.
 Relaxing by the pool in the sunshine  All clean after a dip in the pool....  Cool pool! 11.45am – back to the car after a quick detour to the campsite shop, which is also well equipped and well run. All the sites we have been to have been great.
Karl didn’t like Blanes so much because it was very busy and packed out with the noisy Spaniards, but all the facilities for kids and travelling with kids have been great.
12.00pm – we are on the run back down to the motorway and we have a short-ish day travelling today. Spain is quite boring compared to France, so I didn’t take any additional pictures…..
14.30pm – the rest stops in Spain aren’t so good, so we stop in a place called Clara for lunch. (Clara is the spanish word for shandy…lol) We had the Menu Del Dia for 12 euros and the food and service was great.
17.30pm – arrive in Valencia. We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express thanks to Mary Adams -Smith, who was a star and got us a good rate for a room for a night. It will be a welcome relief from laying on the floor to be honest. And the air-con will be very welcome too!
19.00pm – we have checked in and we wander off to find some food. We are on the edge of a big shopping complex so there should be somewhere for some food. But we just can’t find something we all want to eat, so we end up at a snack bar that does chocolate crepes. They are wonderful and very yummy.
 Abigail took this one I have lemon Granita too, which is very welcome in the heat. Then we all tootle around the shops for a bit and do some window shopping. Then its off to bed to make the last push to mum and dads in the morning.
22.00pm – finally, a soft bed with air con….Marvellous. The girls are sharing a sofa bed and Tilly is being a real wriggle bum. But I am looking forward to a very good nights sleep!!
07.30am – OH MY GOD…..its sooooooooo cold!!!! From being a bit warm the night before to being so freezing I had to sleep in my fleece! And had to share the quilt with Tilly, as I was a little worried she was too cold. But she slept soundly andIi feel like death warmed up!
But after a bite to eat and some coffee, I feel a little more human again. Tilly delights in helping wash up at the tap, getting wet feet in the process.
09.30am – after breakfast and packing up camp, we are off on the way again. We take a detour through places called La Bourboule and La Mont Dore, looking for a petrol station. We stop in Mont Dore, but not after driving through some breathtaking scenery and some very swiss looking villages.
 Mont Dore Mountain Road...the view was amazing.  At the top of Mont Dore 10.30am – we fill up with petrol and I drop in to the Intermarche for bread and provisions to keep us going. Whilst there I am asked something by a very friendly lady, but the question is in french. Using my very limited knowledge,I explain that I am on holiday and that my grasp on the french language is limited. She asks me how long we are on holiday, how i’m finding the area and the people and where we are headed. I manage to explain that we are not here for long but that the area is breathtakingly beautiful and we would like to stay longer than we are here for. She tells me that my french isn’t that bad, but that my accent needs work……. i’ll take that as a compliment!
10.45 – we drive through a village called Chambon Sur Lac, which is picture perfect. We stop and raid the nearest patisserie (again) and watch people water ski and fishing on the lake, which sparkles in the sunlight. It is truly a beautiful place and I would love to have been there much longer. We also drive through St Nectaire and Perrier on the way back to the motorway.
 View of the St Nectaire Valley. 13.00pm - Down the motorway a ways and another stop at a rest stop. These seem to be a godsend for all those who have families. They are really clean, have places to stop and eat, facilities are great and food in the services is a very high standard. Looking forward to crossing the Millau Bridge…
15.30pm – The Millau bridge comes into sight and its pretty impressive…
 The view of the Millau Bridge crossing from the road. We go across it and later find out that there is a rest stop where there is a museum all about the bridge and its creator. So…for those interested….
The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the French structural engineer Michel Virologeux and British architect Norman Foster, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast’s summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft). So there you go…..
17.00pm – cross the border into Spain… you know, no-one has even looked at our passports yet.
17.10pm – As we cross into Spain, the driving standards take a turn for the worse. In France the French have been polite and cordial, not like their reputation in the continent. We have enjoyed driving through France very much. Once in Spain, the French seem to take on a Spanish mentality, of “sod you, i’ll drive where and when I like…….and its tough if you don’t like it!” (I’m being polite here!!) So, be warned, when driving in Spain, the driving standards don’t just fall….they plummet….
18.30 – stuck in traffic on the way in to Blanes. It seems that the Spanish are all heading for the coast as well. They take EVERYTHING with them, and I am not kidding here. There was a rocking chair on top of one car.
There seem to be a lot of Dutch people around too. As we drive into Blanes, we are desperately hoping our campsite is a decent one, as a lot of them are in the town centre, and the town looks a bit like Skeggy!!! As it happens, the site is on the outskirts and seems clean and with good facilities..
http://www.elpinarbeach.com/principal.php?lg=gb&menu=1&n=0
We book in and are given a pitch near a load of Spanish on holiday. They are polite, but really look at you as if you have stepped on their dog. There are no other British on site, which doesn’t both us at all, but the Spanish on holiday can be very noisy…so tonight could be interesting.
19.30 – We are pitched up and hungry. So we head off to the restaurant near the beach.
The restaurant is large and the menu has a lot of choice, especially for the kids. Abs has Pasta Bolognese (of course!) and Tilly ends up with a Cheese and Mushroom Risotto..which is absolutely delish! I have to admit I did eat a little …
Karl and I both had bread, house salad, fish and very nice fries. We also had some great red wine that was only 3 euro’s a bottle (in a restaurant this is amazingly reasonable) and we drank quite a bit of that…as did Tilly… She seems to have taken a liking to red wine.
 I've only had one drink Mum...honest...!!!  Is it dinner time already?  Say Cheese!!!! After dinner the kids were all up dancing and having fun. Although she was the only british kid there, Abigail joined in and had a lot of fun with the other kids. They were all up doing karaoke too and she didn’t want to leave at the end of the night.
 so thats how it works!! Tilly also didn’t want to leave as she was having fun running around waving madly at everyone. She got a lot of smiles.
11pm – back at the tent and all the Spanish around us are all just eating. They are really noisy, but we are hoping that the amount of wine we have had will help drown it out…….
DAY 2 – Les Andelys to Tauves
6.10am - I am reminded why I hate camping by the rubbish nights sleep I got and the rude awakening of the guy in the pitch next door slamming his car door……. some of us are trying to sleep you know!!! Fortunately Tilly doesn’t wake up and we all nod back off again.
7.30am – coffee….and a slow awakening. Looking forward to cooking breakfast and making everyone jealous with the smell of bacon. Notice there are lots of rabbits on the camp site, as well as the ants that are walking over the top of the tent…. we obviously pitched over their motorway!
10am – all packed up and ready to leave. We decide to go for a quick trip into Les Andelys for Petrol at the Carrefour, and to pick up some provisions. Wine and bread…is there anything else?? I buy fruit for the journey and some water to go with the wine.
10.30am – Karl has spotted a patisserie and insists on stopping. I decide not to go in because i know i’d buy the whole shop. He comes back with more bread and a very suspicious looking package “for later”…….
11am – Finally on our way to Everux, Dreux, Chartres and Orleans….hoping to stop at a Chateux on the way…stuck behind lorries galore…this could be a long journey today……..
14.30pm – impromptu stop at Chateuneauf sur Loire.
 Is it time for lunch yet? Karl hunts for a loo and Abigail is so disgusted by the one she finds she takes a picture and refuses to go in there again..lol.
 Don't know what the fuss was about. There are handles and loo roll too!!!! We picnic in the park near the Loire and I take some good pics of Karl with the girls.
 Family cuddles...  This Chateau has a Maritime Museum.  Hooray!!!  Sharing Daddy's peach Its a bit of a long haul today, taking a bit longer than i expected..
15.00 – back travelling through the Loire… there are so many beautiful Chateaus to look at.
 crossing the Loire  Chateau on the Loire... can't remember what its called! The rest stops in France are fabulous, and on one of our rest stops, the kids have plenty of safe room to play.
 are we having fun yet?  Abigail the monkey Karl presents me with the patisserie packet. It contains two very gorgeous looking cakes…which don’t last long.
 Very yummy cakes At this rest stop there happened to be another Chateau on the horizon…
 Can i have this one for xmas?? 17.00 – back on the motorway and about to stop at Aire du Volcan. This is a reststop where you get a great view of the inactive Volcano’s in the Clermont- Ferrand region. My boss suggested we stop and we agree that it was a good place for a wonderful view of the area.
 The inactive Volcano's near Clermont. 20.00 – We finally arrive at our campsite. http://www.camping-les-aurandeix.fr
The drive has been a very long one and its nearly dark when we arrive. I hadn’t appreciated how high the elevation of the campsite was and have a horrible feeling i’m in for a chill night. However, my chilli and rice is good and Karl and I polish off a bottle of red wine. The campsite is quiet and well maintained. And so…to bed…
DAY 1
5.45am - awake before the alarm…whats that about?? Are we really about to drive through France and then drive to Spain….with an 18 month old??
6am – coffee….and a pounding headache. This planning lark is stressful!
6.15am - showered and wake the kids…. actually Tilly was awake and had milk whilst Karl had his coffee. Abigail is still in bed after going to see Eclipse with Rowe last night.
6.30am – breakfast for the girls and a quick run around for me to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything…..like toothbrushes!! Phew…..Karl shouts that he needs help with the roofbox because it won’t close… eek! It will close with a bit of re-engineering. We attach the buggy to the roofrack and stick the portable fridge in the back. That has to be a godsend….a portable car fridge. Who’d have thought?
7am – breakfast for the adults and for Cosmo. I have visions of lots of dead things being presented to me when we get back. I pack the fridge with the frozen stuff…i just need it to stay cold for a couple off days, and the fridge is well insulated too so hopefully it should do the trick.
7.30am - have run round like mad making sure i’ve done everything….we should be leaving, but i’m still rounding up the girls and packing the inside of the car. This driving to Spain lark is a bit harder than I thought and we haven’t even left yet!
7.46am – right, kids in the car, bags in the car, cat fed, house a tip because I didn’t get time to hoover up, house locked… and finally pulling out of the driveway….
8am – forgot to empty the bins in the house…. bugger…. quick text to Rowe…i’ll owe her big time at this rate!!
9.45am – quick stop at the services….Tilly is doing pretty well so far, very limited fussing which is great.
10.35am – quick unscheduled stop on the A10, as something hits the windscreen of the car but we aren’t sure its not one of the bungy cords come loose on the top of the car. It looks like its all ok.
11.30am – arrive at Dover.. half hour before we are due to arrive. Happy that the M1 and the M25 was good to us! We park at the ferry boarding park (line number 215) and notice that there is a Burger King nearby…. figured that it wouldn’t hurt to have lunch here and get something a little more healthy later on in the evening. So we all tootle over to Burger King.
12.10pm – fully fed, we pile back into the car for boarding. We park where told and go for a wander on board. Tilly is taken by the yellow chairs that whizz round and loves waving at everyone. Abs has taken her camcorder and is making a “ferry” movie….i wonder if its a disaster movie!!!!
 bit windy!! 13.25 – looking at the cliffs of Calais and about to disembark… the crossing has been smooth, but I still feel a bit yuk…i hate ferries! So onward journey …..
14.30pm – impromptu trip around Calais as we take a wrong turn.
But Calais has some beautiful buildings, especially the post office. Thats an amazing building.
 It's pretty... Heading out of Calais towards Rouen….the French are CRAP at signposts….be warned!
18.30pm – Finally arrived at our campsite in Les Andeleys – Campsite Trois du Rois. A very friendly welcome
 View of the campsite. One thing struck us on our trip through….so many Mcdonalds!! Even the small villages have one! And fortunately, they also have mini Carrefour supermarkets and petrol stations.
The campsite is really good. very clean, good facilities and a great view of King Richard the Lionheart’s Castle on the hill…..perhaps make a return trip and go for a look?
 Richard the Lionhearts Castle at Les Andelys 19.00pm – go for a dip in the pool and some food. The pool is lovely, but Tilly doesn’t think so…bit too chilly for her. So after a quick dry off we order some food..The girls have a pizza to share. Karl and I choose the special menu. 12.50 euro’s for a 3 course meal with bread. i had a lovely salad and steak with hot fries and icecream to follow. Karl had a meat platter, chicken in a mushroom and cream sauce with yoghurt and fruit compote. two coffees and two large vases of wine later… it comes to 45 euros for everything, which was fabulous considering the quality of the food.
The food was well cooked and tasted perfect after a long drive. The poor waitress however was run off her feet and had several complaining customers by the end of the day. But Marie (the waitress) and the Chef, Laurent, were courteous, and generous. (the coffee machine wouldn’t work and because i had to wait, they were free) and we wouldn’t hesitate to return to the site. Abigail loved it.
11.00pm – bed time… we’re all very tired, but Tilly is still running around like a mad thing…. could it be the wine she half inched off the table????
 View of the Castle from the Campsite.
We spent most of Monday packing. Because we’re camping a few times along the way we have a load of gear to take with us. Thankfully our friends, Mary and Jim, lent us a rooftop box to give us extra room.
We packed and re-packed the stuff for the box and finally managed to make it all fit. However, even with the roofbox and a real scaling back of the amount of clothing we’re taking we’ve only just managed to cram it all into the car. Camping stuff takes up a lot of space.
So a quick tip: if you’re camping, take only what you need and rethink what you want to take. You’ll never fit everything that you want to take.
Tuesday was final preparation. I put the box on the roof of the car and fitted the lenses on the headlights. When driving on the continent you need to put lens converters onto your headlights. This stops the lights shining directly into the eyes of oncoming drivers. If you don’t put these on you can be fined if caught since it’s not only illegal but it’s also very dangerous.
And finally, on Tuesday evening, I packed the boot of the car with all the camping gear. It took a bit of organising but it all fits with a little room to spare for the odd bottle of wine and maybe some French cheese too.
perhaps we are bonkers!! After all, we haven’t spent a lot of time together recently, so we could be murdering each other before we get to Calais…
But.. I have always wanted to go for a trip through France, after visiting as a child. So I saw this as the perfect opportunity. Admittedly, the one thing that has made me think twice is how long we can entertain Tilly in the car without her getting bored. And Abigail for that matter!
But looking for flights, airport car parking, car hire etc, was working out at at least £1500. So i figured, why not take the tents and see some of Europe, like we’ve always threatened to do.
Not such a bonkers idea, after all…..
Watch this space!!
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