An hour after boarding the ferry in Jersey we arrived in St Malo, a quaint medieval port in France. We drove a few miles along the coast to Dinard which is a small seaside town, and there we enjoyed a day on the beach in between rain clouds, a run around the ramparts, and moules frites for lunch. We headed to Dinan, an even smaller and more quaint fishing village on the canal in the evening where we would spend our first night in our new home. We found the camp site and 'checked in', then cycled up the hill to the old town for a much needed drink and dinner. We took a walk through the cobbled streets full of overhanging tudor buildings and retired for the evening. The next morning we headed for Normandy and visited Mont st Michel in the afternoon. This is a huge national monument dating back to the 8th century and a maze of winding paths around the island. The tide goes out for 9 miles around it and the views of the countryside are stunning. We then drove North back along the coast to the twinned towns of Deauville & Trouville, each with their own lovely sandy beach. Found a lovely camp site with views over the sea to Le Havre where we could walk down to the beach from. Cooked a lovely barbecue and enjoyed the sunset. Got up and went to play tennis the next morning, cycling past the huge gothic style houses lining the beach front. Had a big bowl of fruit de mer for lunch - whelks and all - might not be doing that again in a hurry! We stayed for two nights as it was so nice to have a base we really liked and could relax in. Next we were headed to Paris where we were looking forward to the Bastille Day national celebrations on Friday. We had a hotel booked 5 minutes walk from the Eiffel tower and made it our first mission to climb it! Had found an article in the Observer in Jersey about gastronomique experiences in France and decided to book a restaurant for Thursday evening called Le Quincy. on arrival at 8.30 we were one of only three tables so were slightly suspicious! The newspaper article had 'warned' us about the eccentric owner called Babosse and he had greeted us very warmly with a glass of champagne. Chris really wanted a beer after that but he insisted we have another. Once he realised we could hardly understand anything on the menu, he explained the various options from (look away now if you're squeamish or vegetarian) head of hare, snails, frogs legs...calves liver was about the most normal! he then proceeded to tell us he would cook his recommendation, so we didn't appear to have much choice despite the large menu! We shared delicious pate then frogs legs for starters - they really are just like chicken, and then calves liver for Chris and cray fish for me. All absolutely delicious, but the atmosphere was lacking slightly and we didn't have much of a say in the humorous proceedings! For dessert we had a chocolate mouse and fresh mint ice cream which was amazing. He even leaves the whole salad bowl size dish on the table for you to help yourselves to seconds, but it was all too much by then and we headed elsewhere to relax! The next day was Bastille Day and we cycled down to the Champs Elysee to watch the military procession attended by the President Jacques Chirac. it became very quickly apparent this was going to be a very busy day in the city. We cycled around taking in all the major landmarks, stopping for lunch in the Latin Quarter, took a boat ride along the Seine for an hour to relax, then wanted to look at the Arc de Triumphe so cycled up the Champs Elysee - probably one of the scariest things I've ever done! The 7 lane roundabout at the Arc was a little too much but we still managed to wheel the bikes across! Finally we took a dip in the pool at the park opposite the Eiffel Tower to cool down, before heading back to the hotel to get changed for the evening. The culmination of the celebrations is a huge firework display at the Eiffel Tower so we stayed near the hotel for dinner and then went to a bar to wait for them to start at 11...or so we thought! No sooner had we bought a drink, the first firework started and everyone ran, including us, drinks in hand two streets away to the site! The display was unbelievable, it seemed to go on forever, was so vast and the music it was set to made it very powerful. A fantastic end to our two days in Paris. And so to our next destination - Eperney in the Champagne region. We arrived after a hot drive, and went to a cafe for some water. Almost everyone on the tables around us was drinking champagne - old guys on their own, young couples, anybody - It's clear that not much else goes on in the town! We headed for Avenue de Champagne where the main houses are and the first top was Moet & Chandon. You get a really interesting tour of the cellars that stretch for 28km and stores 90 million bottles, and get to taste the product! The most important thing we learnt is that champagne does not age well like wine as the ageing process is completed when the sediment is removed from the bottles before they're corked...so if you have any bottles lying around and you're thinking you'll save it for a special occassion, don't wait too long! We also did the Mercier tour which paled in comparison and had obviously jumped on the band wagon. They did have quite a novel way of doing the tour on a little train inside the cellars which went off it's tracks if you used a camera with a flash!!! We spent the night camping in a vineyard in nearby Oger, a normally sleepy village which happened to have a big fireworks display that night. It wasn't on 'til late so we tried to find some food beforehand. Went to the only bar and had a drink then inquired, only to find the only place serving anything edible apart from Chuppa chups lollies was a bakery so we had baquettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and lots of champagne - top day all in all! Drove out through the beautiful lush green vineyards towards the Loire Valley, and the town of Blois (pronounced blwah) to visit some stunning Chateaux dating back to the 12th century. Chris not having had any use of his toys since being in Jersey getting very itchy feet by now, so after a swim in the fast flowing Loire we continued our journey towards La Rochelle. The drive was stunning as we wound our way through countryside mostly flanked by the Loire and fields of sunflowers. We followed the Loire until it flowed into the Atlantic ocean north of La Rochelle, at a place called Longueville. There are a series of beaches here where the surfng is reportedly good - but better in winter. Not a wave in sight but we settled for two nights in a very small town with one main street leading to the beach called La Rocher. We relaxed as much as possible in reportedly the hottest place in Europe, enjoying many an ice-cream. We then moved south to La Rochelle itself for the hottest evening yet where there was a great African influenced outdoor music festival. The next day we continued to Dune de Pyla, south of Bordeaux in search of waves again! Chris is very happy, and I am relieved that he is surfing as I write!! We are settled for a week in a beautiful spot by the biggest sand dunes in Europe and the sea, south of Bordeaux, near Arcachon. The camp site has everything you could want including a lovely pool to cool down in.