This was our first family holiday in several years and we had four new additions, all under 4, so a lot of planning went into this holiday. We had also swapped our beloved Matty for a caravan. On the day WE got set off in time! But then we had to stop at Blyth services to wait for the Joneses to catch up!! And once they had decided that Kate was going to drive to Dover cos PJ kept falling asleep, we had a reasonably uneventful drive down with only one toilet stop, not at Thurrock. We arrived at the ferry terminal in time to get an earlier sailing and were first onto the ferry, so we arrived in France at 8.00 their time. We had decided that we would stop at the first Aire for breakfast and a rest. Both Pauls went to bed (not together!) and had a bit of a sleep while the rest of us looked after all the kids. We set off again about 11.00 and made very good time to Paris. Aah….Paris! The Peripherique!! French roadworks!!! THREE hours it took us!!!! It also cost a fortune in phone calls trying to keep in touch with Kate because the walkie-talkies were still sitting on their dining table back home. The traffic was horrendous, we kept getting diverted and our sat-nav and Kate’s sat-nav were sending us completely different routes. Never trust a sat-nav, I’d sooner have a paper map. At one point I’ll swear I saw them going over the top of us. Kate says she nearly didn’t have any teeth left cos she was gritting them so much, especially when we were having to change lanes. We eventually made it round Paris and headed off towards Orléans and the campsite. Again the sat-navs proved totally useless when it came to getting us to the site. As I remembered it from years ago it wasn’t that difficult. But then we did use proper paper maps and didn’t rely on sat-navs, which took us the wrong way through the village. It took us ages to finally find the site after having to turn around in the middle of a small village with the caravans on the back. Once there and checked in we went the wrong way around the site and ending up at a dead end at the clubhouse which necessitated having to do another three point turn with the caravans on the back and everyone watching us. Ours was not so bad but Kate and Paul’s is so long it took a bit of manoeuvring. Feeling very embarrassed and flustered we finally found our pitches and got pitched up before barbecuing at 10pm!!
We had a slow start to the next day which was spent getting to know the site and surrounding area. We drove into the nearest town, Lamotte-Beauvron, to find a supermarket and get stocked up. On the way back we found the way we should have come the day before! Much quicker and easier!! Back at the site I started to sort the caravan out, starting with unpacking Netti’s stuff. But Netti, as usual, would rather be messing about with the kids than sorting her stuff out. In the end I dumped it all in the awning so I could unpack my belongings and tidy the caravan. And then, with no warning, tempers flared. Netti moaning, Paul questioning why I was in such a rush and me, of course, going completely off the deep end at them both. I threw all my clothes on the floor in a heap and started to goad Paul, getting in his face. He pushed me away, I tripped over all my clothes and went flying, landing on my back, half on and half off the sofa, at which point I accused him of trying to kill me. All because I wanted to get everything sorted so I could start enjoying the holiday too. Whilst all this was going on the kids were running riot. Lils loved her new bike and tried hard to keep up with the older ones and we kept losing Harry on the skuttlebug. And we never knew where Harvey was either as he kept wandering off in all directions. The first injury of the holiday was sustained by Cain (it would have to be him!) when he came off Shawna’s bike and took the skin off his elbow.
We decided to go to see the chateau at Chambord the next day. As PJ said he’d got a headache, we convinced Kate to take the kids and let him have a quiet day, but just as we were all about to set off he decided to come with us, so he ended up in the back of our car with all the kids as I was already in with Kate! We had a really good afternoon around the chateau. Our first port of call was the cafe for a coffee and a sandwich as we were all hungry. Then into the chateau which was as pretty as I remembered it. It was hard work though, keeping tabs on all the kids, especially Harry and Harvey, as there were loads of hiding places for them! The older kids loved running up and down the famous Leonardo Da Vinci designed double helix staircase. Up on the roof of the chateau Harry and Harvey were fascinated by the ornamental waterspouts. It was a good job we went to the cafe before we went in the chateau, because just as we came out the heavens opened. However we did still manage to stop at the farmers market and spend a small fortune! Kate insisted we kept the same arrangement in the cars going home and we sang nursery rhymes with Lils all the way back to the caravan. Back at the campsite we did our good turn and helped a poor couple trying to pitch their tent in the rain and watch two small children as well. It seemed that every time they got it all upright the wind caught it and blew it down. They admitted they’d never done it before. We eventually got it pitched between us all and so had new friends for the rest of our stay!
Another day round the campsite as Cain and Shawna wanted to try out the pool since the sun was shining at last. We didn’t see them for hours. The little ones were having fun on their bikes and on the lakeside beach whilst us grown-ups had a relaxing morning. About mid afternoon Kate and PJ decided to go and find the other supermarket whilst Paul and I took Rowan to the pool. Or so we thought…… We had been joking earlier that Cain and Shawna had been in the pool for so long they’d have shrivelled by now, all except for Shawna’s loud mouth, which we would find floating on the surface, still talking rubbish. Well, what was the first thing we heard as we got to the pool? That’s right, Shawna shouting and bawling. Eventually we deciphered what she was yelling about. Cain had apparently split his head wide open and was “bleeding to death!” all over the place. We soon found him with the first aiders (whose English was not that good) and ascertained that it was not as bad as it looked. All HE was bothered about was his mum being mad at him for bleeding on his trunks. The first aiders wanted us to take him to hospital in Orléans, so we smiled, nodded our heads and then I took Rowan to the pool for a while as promised whilst Paul took Cain back to the caravan, cleaned him up and applied steri-strips. Job done. It didn’t spoil his appetite either!! He eventually admitted that he had been going down the slide head first and hit the bottom of the pool. So, the second injury of the holiday was also sustained by Cain!
We had decided the previous night to do Kate’s trip to the troglodyte village and mushroom farm, so it was an early start. We drove two hours to find, once we had paid to go in, that it wasn’t the troglodyte village she was thinking of!! Still, we all enjoyed going into all the little cave houses. The baby walkers were impressive and we were very taken with the “washing machine”. It must have been good, we were there for about 2½ hours. And Rowan won a prize for completing the questionnaire. We found a small cafe where we paid a small fortune for drinks and pancakes before trying to find the mushroom farm but after several attempts, going around in circles, we gave up and went home!
We woke to grotty weather the next morning so Netti and I decided to try out the family swim morning at the spa. We told Kate so she could join us with Harvey. It turned out to be €2 each adult but was worth it for the warm pool. Lils took a while to get in but when she found she could move herself around by kicking her legs she was off. Joey became “The Joe- Fish”. He is definitely a water baby!! Harry on the other hand wouldn’t get in. It wasn’t until near the end when he discovered that he could jump in that he finally took the plunge. And then we couldn’t get him out. Harvey liked jumping in as well but unlike Harry he at least tried to move himself around. Harry just lay there waiting for someone to do the work for him. As the weather remained poor we spent the next couple of days around the site, with the mornings at the family swim, where PJ and Cain joined us. And we had to buy Cain some budgie smugglers!! We also hired go-karts for a couple of afternoons……Cain sustained injury number three when he fell off going too fast downhill!! Even I had a go and got lost round the back of the campsite. It took me ages to get back. The evenings were spent swimming in the lake, we even had Joey paddling at the edge in his walker. One afternoon as we were mooching round the shop PJ decided to invest in an inflatable boat, which was very popular with everyone. Good fun was had by all, including the adults.
Our final day and it was absolutely howling it down again.Rather than sit miserably around the caravans listening to the kids moaning and bickering we decided to go into Blois to see the Chateau and the House of Magic. We hadn’t driven a couple of miles before the rain dried up and the sun came out and surprised us with a scorching afternoon. We paid for the joint ticket and went to the House of Magic first as we were booked in for the 3pm show. We had a look round at all the optical illusions, puzzles and magic tricks before being ushered into the theatre where we watched a very strange magic show!! Something to do with Alice and the White Rabbit I think. However, the kids all enjoyed it, despite it being very amateur. More expensive drinks and pancakes!!!Then round the Chateau. Paul looked after The Joe-fish since he wasn’t all that bothered about it as we’ve been there before. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Back to the campsite for more fun in the lake.
Friday found us packing up and setting off to meet Bozzie, Jim and Spud, just outside Paris, for our Disneyland adventure.