Our petit tour de France

What a great time we had, 10 days visiting my favourite country, starting with an overnight ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Caen arriving early morning on my birthday.

Early start (4.45am alarm) to my birthday on board Normandie

We had expected our crossing to be on Brittany Ferries' new ship Honfleur but she isn't ready so we sailed on an old favourite Normandie, we first sailed on her in 1992.

My late Dad's photo of Normandie when we sailed on her in 1992

Thank you Brittany Ferries for our upgrade to a Commodore Cabin with room service breakfast ... what a way to start the day!

Room service birthday breakfast

Hubby and I love our road trips, using autoroutes, major roads and minor roads (all better than ours) we travelled across to the eastern side of the Loire, arriving at Sancerre .... my favourite wine region. It made my day to be wandering the village, enjoying a glass or two of this delicious wine before a superb dinner at Le Blouchon.

A glass of Sancerre in the September sun

My delicious birthday dinner at Le Bouchon

We stayed in Sancerre for two nights, you can read about our time here and our wine discoveries in my previous post Sancerre et Pouilly-Fumé.

The village itself was very interesting, lots of history. There's a red tourist line painted on the road that wanders around the tiny streets, a good way to learn more with the 28 points of interest. Sancerre is built on a hill with a chateau at the top which is now privately owned although the owners have given permission for the ancient tower to be open to the public.

Always ready for a challenge we climbed the 190 stairs to the top. A wooden structure with open steps .... not my favourite type of stairway but I made it and the views were amazing!

Sancerre tour

Not my favourite kind of steps

Stunning views from the top of the tour

Vineyards of the Sancerre

As well as our tasting in Pouilly-Fumé we also visited our second tour ... more steps, this time a more modern structure with more superb view across the Loire to Sancerre.

Another tour to climb ...

... with easier steps !

Stunning views with Sancerre on the hill

Travelling a little further south our next stay was in Nevers, a city we have not visited before. Our studio apartment was clean and comfy with a small kitchenette, although we were confused ..... frying pan and saucepan but no cooking utensils .... very odd.

Our three days exploring were slightly hampered by the unusual September weather. This time of year we were expecting around 25 degrees, instead we had very hot and humid 30 - 32 .... plenty of refreshments required!

The Ducal Palace

Nevers was full of history

St Bernadette - famous for her vision
of the Virgin Mary - we visited her tomb in the church where
her body lies  (she has wax hands and face)

Wildlife on the Loire - beautiful to watch while we enjoyed our picnic

Perfect picnic 

I love France and am always happy to make the most of our holiday, this time by having two nights in Le Mans before our sailing home. It's a city we have passed by many times but never visited. Staying by the river Sarthe in an Ibis hotel was the perfect location for walking into the city centre.

Our day of visiting churches, the cathedral, shops and of course a few bars was superb, the highlight being a trip on the Petit Train. I love these road trains and this journey was amazing, taking us through Le Mans' narrow cobbled medieval streets.

 Notre Dame de la Couture dating back to the 12th century

Le Mans stunning cathedral

The height of the ceiling was amazing

The stain glass windows were stunning 

The oldest part of the cathedral with its painted roof

Medieval cobbled streets 

The streets were so narrow

The Petit Train of Le Mans 

Travelling from Le Mans to Ouistreham we made two stops; the first at Falaise, the birthplace of William the Conqueror; the second at Pegasus Bridge, the turning point of WWII.

The castle at Falaise where William the Conqueror was born

Memorial at  Pegasus Bridge

We were so  lucky to see it opening ...

... even more so to have a Hercules fly past

Our overnight journey home on Brittany Ferries' Normandie was slightly choppy. Settled in our cabin I slept my way across the Channel waking early morning to a beautiful sunrise over Portsmouth.

The sunrise from our cabin window

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday trip to France very special, especially my super Hubby, it was a fantastic holiday and birthday.