Wined, dined and rested.

I warn you now, this is not going to be the most interesting post I’ve ever written – unless it’s still 2020 and you have finally managed to break out of the UK and take a ferry after several months in lockdown.

 

The mindset that is created by living in a limited, controlled environment reminds me of everything I’ve read about people becoming institutionalised; you are astonished to find within yourself a little lump of nervousness as you leave the security of the only place you’ve been for 3 months. But I travel, part of my mind protests, I love discovering new places, I get that spark of excitement every time I drive off a ferry, a kind of Mr Toad hurrah-for-the-open-road feeling that the world is my oyster…… And I want that all back, please.

 

So, to cut a long story short, I spent a couple of weeks making face masks out of all my lovely remnants of material (thank you @daisymultifacetica for your excellent videos!) ….

 

…. and suddenly here we were boarding the night ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre, wearing said masks. I have no photos to include of our ferry experience because it was so efficient we went from car to cabin in a flash, small groups of passengers at a time, stayed there overnight and then reversed the procedure next morning after a comfortable night’s sleep. Apparently there was breakfast available, but we never have that anyway, preferring to have the full French café experience. Hats off to @brittanyferries on a good job in difficult times.

 

And now, finally, to the nominal point of this post – breakfast in France. It is not as easy as you would think to find a nice little café to have breakfast after disembarking at Le Havre. In the town itself there are lots of places, but once you’re in France you really want to make some kind of progress towards your final destination and we were heading towards Cognac so where else but Bourg Achard, found after several years of trying to find a café, boulangerie and small shop all in once place so we can do breakfast and buy our lunchtime picnic in one go.

 

In Bourg Achard, just south west of Rouens, there is a café called – gasp of surprise, drum roll please – the Café de la Place:

It’s located on a little square where there is also a massive Mairie (population of Bourg Achard, according to Wikipedia, being around 3,000):

On the other side of the square is a beautifully restored church, the église de Saint Lô, its creamy white stone gleaming in a comforting way even under the northern European clouds……

… and its beautiful 15^th and 16^th stained glass, miraculously intact despite two world wars.

But I digress.  BREAKFAST. In France, if a café does not do breakfast it is usually fine to go and buy something at a local shop and then take it to the café to eat alongside whatever drink you order. Bliss. We bought our croissants and pains aux chocolat from the pâtisserie round the corner, took them to our friendly Café de la Place and really really felt we were in France at last.

We then sauntered round town picking up a baguette, tomatoes, some cheese and some pâté ready for our picnic lunch later and were ready to set off at last. French breakfast had returned us to normality – no more nerves, dab hands now at masking and unmasking when required, and a lifetime’s supply of 75% alcohol hand sanitiser in the car. The holiday was beginning!

 

I leave you today with one last image from Bourg Achard, a chalk sign on the pavement outside a small restaurant:

Translation “A little water for dogs who know how to read.”  They give us breakfast and a sense of humour – what’s not to like about Bourg Achard?