After leaving St Valery – sur – Somme, I spent two days driving through Normandy. I really wished that I had a dash cam installed, as the countryside and the villages were just amazing. It felt like driving through a set for a Beauty and the Beast movie, with gorgeous half timbered cottages and farmhouses everywhere. The roads were fantastic as well, miles of straight roads through woodlands and little villages, and I loved it.

The first day there was a lot of driving along the banks of the Seine, around Rouen. I was aiming for an aire by the side of the lake, but it seemed to be closed for refurbishment so I used Park4Nite to find this paid for aire on the banks of the Seine, in a little village called La Malleraye-sur-Seine. It was 8 euros for the night, and as I had been driving most of that day I didn’t do much when I got there but chill and watch the barges on the river.

The following morning was definitely one of those wonderful van life moments when I got up early to find the most magical sunrise, so sat with my cup of tea watching the colours change until it was time to leave.

Again I was helped with the barrier by a very kind man who had been walking his dogs, and came back as he saw I was stuck. One of the only issues I had as a solo driver, with the steering wheel on the wrong side, was that sometimes it was tricky to punch in codes or licence plates at the barriers as I couldn’t reach and had no co-pilot! The same was true at the few tolls I used.

The following day I was headed for La Ferte Mace, another paid for aire that I found through Park4Nite before I left the UK, but booked online the night before. This one was 9 euros. I had planned most of my route in advance, but not the stopping points, as I didn’t really know how far I would want to drive on each section.

The previous evening I had identified two castles, using my printed map book, so headed for those, as they were great stopping off points, as well as giving me more lovely rural driving. By this point I had not used any motorways, just minor roads.

The first castle really was like something from a fairy tale. This is the Chateau Saint – Germain – de – Livet. Sadly the castle is closed for renovation at the moment as its main roof beams have fallen in. This means that you can only tour the grounds, and have a short talk (in French) outside the castle. It does mean that it is free to enter at present. The drive there was beautiful, and I parked up next to this gorgeous little church.

It was such an amazing place, helped by the most beautiful sky, and so I spent the time walking around the moat to take pictures, meeting some friendly peacocks on the way.

The second castle was a short drive away, so I got there in time for a picnic lunch in the grounds before it opened again at 2pm. This is the Chateau de Carrouges and is well worth a visit as it has beautiful gardens as well. This one was 6 euros for entry.

Even though it is a very grand castle, originally defensive and later a family home, inside felt very liveable. I loved the portraits of the family, the owners had commissioned the same style of portrait to capture their ancestors and there was a wealth of gorgeous costume in these portraits.

I ended the day at the lakeside at Ferte Mace, again having lovely chats with some of the campers there, in English and using my slightly rusty French. People were always keen to stop and chat, I think the novelty of Katy helped, the first statement was usually along the lines of, ‘c’est un petit car-de- camping’, to which I always agreed 😉 Especially when we were parked next to some huge motor homes!

I am now back in the UK, house sitting for my daughter for the next 3 weeks, so taking the time to catch up with blogs, writing and kitting. Ellen was over in Spain with me last week, she had her first driving in Europe experience as I got her insured for Katy, so she took me and her Granny out for lots of adventures. Like me she loved the driving, and didn’t have any issues with being on the other side of the road. She is now continuing her adventures in Europe for the rest of this month, so I hope she has an amazing time.

I shall be back in a couple of days with more driving through France adventures, this is the bit of the trip that really challenged me, so I will tell you all about it then. Whatever you are doing have fun, take care, stay safe, (and warm, I am so not used to this 7 degree weather!), and thanks for visiting.