Now if I had a euro for every time I have said watch out on this trip I would be staying out here a bit longer. Now your all wondering, what is he on about now, has the cheese slid off his cracker, has he finally lost the plot due to to much sun. Everywhere you walk in Spain, France or Portugal there is dog poo. They just don’t pick up after their dog. Well some do, but most don’t. I know it’s bad in the Uk but not as bad as Europe. And it’s not the dogs fault, it’s the owners. So as we walk off down to the beach or town to the Chinese shop, supermarket etc it’s like a obstacle cause with me shouting WATCH OUT as weave our way around the poop piles, some small, others bigger. That’s enough of that dirty talk now.

Over the back of our pitch here are olive trees and barren ground. The amount of different birds I see in there is amazing. Blackbirds, sparrows, blackcaps, redstarts, Black redstarts, Siskin, and even on rare occasions a hoopoa. the other day when we came back from the shop, sat on the fence singing away was what looked like a white sparrow, grabbed the camera but to late he had flown away. The next day he was back, hopping about on the ground eating. I managed to get some photos of him this time and relized he was a canary and must have escaped from his cage. Going back to the Hoopoo, no we’re not talking about the dogs and Chinese shop again. HOOPOO he did that one over there, no not him hepoo no Hoopoo I don’t know Hoopoo. The Hoopoa is a mistle thrush sized bird found in Europe and sometimes seen in the south of England in the spring while on there migration course. Beautifully coloured with a long bill and a crest on there head which stands up when they are excited. Wanted to get a photo of one but you don’t see them that often. Well the other day one landed and was searching for food on the ground, they eat spiders and grubs etc and dig in the ground with there long bill. Got the camera out and stood very still and reeled off a few shots. He was very obliging coming even closer and at one point even sitting down in the sun for a small nap. He was not very excited about having his photo taken though as he never raised his crest.

Before we came away I dusted off my 25 year old mountain bike to bring with us. I wanted to be able to get out a bit further than just walking. We both did to be fair and the idea was to buy two E bikes but lack of funds put that on hold until next year. Nikki was ok with me bringing mine and her running along behind. No not really. She does not do running, even a long walk is painful for her hips and feet. So before we come away next winter we are going to get her a E bike. I have not used my bike for a long time so my bike fitness is very poor but I go out for small rides now and then. I used to bike a lot and am getting back into it now. Although not as mad as I used to be when I used to go up on ex or every weekend and hurtle down the hills at stupid speeds. I checked out google maps as I knew there was a reservoir not to far away and wanted to go up there. You can cycle to it with out going on many main roads which is always nicer. Took me about half an hour to get there. The reservoir is called Embalse de Amadorio It’s the closest reservoir to the sea in all of Europe supplying all of Benidorm and surrounding areas. It’s not very full at the moment considering it’s winter time which is when it mostly rains and fills up. It was really Erie up there, nobody about. In the summer it would be packed as there are lots of nice picnic spots all around, loads of paths shooting off all over the place. A road runs all around it up and down through the hills but the road is fenced off so you can’t get through with a car, only a bike or walk. My aim by the time we leave her is to be able to cycle from where we are staying all the way up to the dam and around it and back. Will keep you posted. You go through a tunnel to get on the main dam wall go across and a tunnel the other end takes you to the start off the road. Lots of graffiti on the walls as usual in Spain. I noticed a couple of good points to get some photos so cycled up into the tunnel. Found the archway, covered in graffiti, dark and Erie. As I stepped into the archway and started to take photos I could hear footsteps and a voice. I had not seen a single person. Am I going to be mugged and thrown into the dam and my 25 year old bike stolen. I stepped out of the archway and saw this scruffy unshaven man approaching me with two dogs. I smiled and said Ola and he walked on by. Lucky for him, I like my old bike and the water looked cold.

So that’s us to date. As we don’t do Xmas we both wish you all happy holidays and hope you have a good one and it’s not to cold. We will have a walk down the beach in the sun and if it’s to hot take shade under a palm tree. Until the next time. WATCH OUT.

Whenever we are on a campsite we always end up giving peaple names, only because we don’t know there real names. So at the moment, one side of us we have a retired Dutch couple. She is called the Ya Ya lady because everyone she talks to all you seem to hear is Ya Ya. Her husband does not say a lot. She is normally talking to the guy the other side of us, a Belgium guy called the walrus, because he has this big walrus’s type moustache and just looks like one. Another Dutch couple walk past us to go to the shower block. She is very stern looking and never smiles she is scary lady, he always wears his clogs so is called Mr cliperty clop. Then we have Hat man, he was here last year and is still wearing the same cloths and no matter what the weather he always has his hat on, a black leather beret style, must be so hot but I don’t think we have ever seen him with his hat off. Tilty man is over the other side of the campsite, named because last year his pitch was sinking but he refused to move so his van was all lop sided. Maybe he is related to the leaning pole down the road. I will let you know if more peaple with funny names arrive. Just don’t park next to us, you never know what we might call you.

It was time for a hair cut again. While coming back from the beach one day we saw a barbers with an English name and all the signage was in english. Makes it easier if they can understand you. So a couple of days later we were passing that way and it was open. No time like the present I thought and went on in. Only one girl in there and another guy. Yep you guessed it. Spanish speaking. So the trying to explain and lots of hand gestures to the young lady and I think her boyfriend, with Nikki joining in and me she stood there nodding. To be honest she could have been saying she was going to cut my head off and I would have said yes. She was very nice and gave me a very nice hair cut.

Weather wise, we have had some frosty mornings, well I think it was three,but by nine o’clock the sun has come out and it has been hot. We are due for some rain tomorrow. Not happy about that as that will be the second day of rain in the 24 days we have been in Spain. Still we can’t complain when we hear what you guys in the Uk are getting. I am still trying to get a fishing licence sorted but seems very difficult after doing some research on line, you have to have two passport photos, an address in Spain etc. I have one more place to try down by the marina so will wander off there soon. Nikki is happy as Cava has been reduced in the supermarket, now down to £1.32 a bottle. Think we’re going to need a bigger camper. Which leads me onto a very nice camper that arrived two days ago. A Concorde liner plus. German built with hundreds of options and a garage in the back for your small car. When something unusual arrives on site it’s like a magnet, everyone wants to see it. We were lucky it was not far from us. It parked up on the pitch, only just fitting lengthways the back end went down, the garage door opened and out came a original fiat 500. By this time there must have been about twenty peaple all looking on. The garage door closed, the camper levelled itself and the owners went in for a cup of tea. Never even signed autographs.

We went for a loverly coast walk, passing the marina and heading on along the footpath past some loverly houses and some not so loverly. Or they would have been when they were built a few years ago, now they are just abandoned with a loverly piece of land, just waiting for someone to buy and completely rebuild. Nikki sat in the sun while I went a bit further along on the rocks. Camera in hand I was trying to get a shot and had to be low down and as I crept further forward on the rock towards the sea, I started sliding towards the sea, it was like ice. All I could think was I am going in. I was not at all worried about going in the sea but was worried about my camera, holding it as high as possible and a quick decision to launch myself at a rock nearby worked. It all happened so quick but seems like it was in slow motion, if you know what I mean. I never went in but was close and the camera was ok. This is not the shot I wanted but a safe one.

Good morning, that’s what the title says in Spanish, just in case you thought I had gone mad. Really I am just showing off that I have remembered some Spanish from our Spanish lessons. I know a couple of other words also, but must admit Nikki is far better than me. I suppose that’s the difference in going to school and not going a lot when we were young. We have now had two Spanish lessons and I must admit I am struggling with it. They say things in such a different way to what we do. I know that’s stating the obvious but it’s true. The teacher Yvonne asked me what year was I born. I know I was born in 1960 but to say 1960 in Spanish you say it as it is in numbers, so it’s one thousand nine hundred and sixty. Mil novecientos sesenta. Can you see why I am confused. Mrs clever clogs Nikki gets an easy question. Like what pitch are you on. 90 = noventa. Still we are having a laugh. It’s a good job we don’t go to the Bingo, but i think that’s all in English.

Our friends Bill and June took there van to the garage after the Mechanic came out and said it was the injectors and would need it for a couple of days. They had to find somewhere to stay while it was in the garage and found a loverly little apartment down in the old part of Villajoyosa overlooking the sea. We let them get settled in and then went down to see them. The view was fantastic, shame it was a overcast day. The photo is taken from their balcony looking out and to the side.

Looking up the street from the balcony.

They had this for two nights and everything was in it they needed. After admiring the veiw we decided to go for a stroll along the front and have a drink with them. We sat outside at one of the bar/ restaurants watching the fishing boats coming back with a huge cloud of seagulls around them. Peaple strolling past. And ordering our drinks in Spanish. When we are back in the UK we don’t go out a lot because of the expense, preferring to save our money for when we are away. You will understand when you work this out. Just add up the price of what we got where you are now in the Uk and then look at what we payed. So between us we had. 9 x glasses of wine, not small ones, 2 x small beers, half pints, 3 x large beers, 1 x big Brandy properly 3 measures, 1 x coffee, 2 x large plates of chips to soak up all that drink. And whenever you get a drink in Spain you always get tapas, so we also had dishes of olives, nuts, crisps. The total bill for that was. £33. Now you can see why we don’t go out much in the Uk. And that is with a poor exchange rate at the moment. Another example is when we go shopping. Last year Nikki bought a bottle of wine at 99 cents just to try. It was really nice so she gets some every time we go shopping now. At the super market the other day. Four bottles of red wine and two bottles of carva. £7 and two pence. So that’s enough of telling you about prices as you probably hate us now or your landlord next time you go down your local.

We left the bar about 7.30pm peaple we’re starting to come out then. Walking up through the town it was like the middle of the day, well not spanish middle of the day because they all close up and go and have a kip. The town was buzzing, all the shops barbers etc all open and every doing there shopping. The Black Friday sales were still on so everyone was looking for a bargain.

Now I am going to make you happy, why because we had some rain, the first rain we have had for over two weeks. Not a lot of it just enough to dampen the ground. Today it’s blowing a hoolie buts it’s going to be sunny later. Then we are in for a cold snap for a couple of days then back to normal. We went for a walk yesterday around the back streets and old houses not far from the campsite. It’s amazing how the Spanish live and we saw some loverly old houses that needed some TLC. This was one of my favourites.

Bill and June got there motorhome back and came to say goodbye, they are off to another site an hour further south. We may go down there to see them, just to get off site for a couple of days and to give the camper a run. We have lots of other things planned also. We will see how the money goes. Can’t believe we are into December already.

Here we are a week later at Camping imperium at Villajoyosa. We plan to be here for up to three months, before heading back for the ferry home. But we don’t want to talk about that. The reason for doing it this way this year is, one to see if we save any money, but I don’t think we will, and just to see if we like it this way as lots of peaple do this. As our aim is to get away from the horrible winters in the uk, we are just living in Spain for the winter. But my itchy feet just want to see more and more. My feet don’t really itch, I don’t need cream or anything to make them stop itching. It’s just a saying, you know what I mean. I must admit it’s nice to be back here seeing the same peaple we saw last year when we were here for a month and hearing their tales of what they have been doing since being here. One couple have been here all year, another couple went home and sold everything and came back and are staying here for the moment.

We have used this week to recharge, walking down to the beach, the supermarket, the Chinese shop. The Chinese shop is not a takeaway but a shop where you can buy almost anything, and you never know what your going to find in there so we always go in there and come out with something we didn’t even know we needed. The supermarket we use has had a refurb from last year and looks very nice. One of the wines Nikki drinks is still 99cents and still tastes as good so I am informed. We did a shop there and it cost us €40. When we got back to base Nikki sat in the sun, sorry there’s that word again and did a like for like comparison with what it would have cost us in the Uk. It would have cost us about £25 pound more. So even though the exchange rate is not to good you still get more for your euro than your pound.

The site has a pool, out door not heated and always looks so inviting. Spanish outdoor pools are not heated because in the summer it’s so hot they just get warm anyway. I dipped my toe in one day and thought, that’s not too bad, I am going to go for a swim tomorrow. Tomorrow came we walked down to the pool, Me with my towel and swimming shorts, Nikki forgot hers for some reason. The reason being she has a brain that works. Got to the pool and it was looking so nice, shimmering in the sun, blue sky overhead, no German towels on the sun loungers. So yes of course I went in. Was it cold, yes it was but once I was in and swimming it was ok. Apparently cold water swimming is good for you. I know why, because when you get in you think how cold it is and say sod this let’s go down the bar. The picture below proves I did it, and yes I will do it again.

Another thing we have done this week is have some Spanish lessons. They came round asking if anybody was interested in learning some basic Spanish. When we’re away we always like to try and communicate as much as possible in the language of the country we’re in, even ifs it’s only a simple hello, thank you, goodbye. The lessons are free so thought, let’s go for it. It’s only for an hour once a week. Do we have time though, I think so. The lady doing the lessons, Yvonne speaks five different languages. She is Dutch but also speaks Spanish which is lucky as she is trying to teach us that, also she speaks French, German and of course very good English. It’s amazing how she can switch from one to another if speaking to a group. I was never very good at school and am not very good at learning things now as I get older, but the way she taught it was very basic and we had it all written down so I can practise. Nikki is much better than me. So when we get back to the uk and see any of you and start speaking and it doesn’t sound right to you, please remind us we are in England.

Another good thing this week, our friends Bill and June texted us to say they are stopping in on this site to see us for a week on their way further south. So nice to see them. We met them three years ago and have managed to see them every year at some point. When we went round to say hello, I could smell diesel and said to Bill, you have a leak and started to investigate. He has had a lot of trouble with his motorhome this year so was not too pleased about more problems. I got on the Internet that evening and found a garage just down the road with a English speaking owner who we went to see the next morning and is coming out to have a look today. Then he will get it booked in for when Bill leaves this site.

Just one more thing. I have to tell you about the tilty pole. The way we walk to the supermarket, the first bit is through a cut through, small road, orange groves in the fields and lemons etc. Last year we noticed this electricity pole leaning over and thought then a good wind and that would be gone. Not like in England where the minute the wooden poles get a bit of rot in them they are replaced. Good ol Heath and safety. Well there was the pole still there, a year later but leaning even further over now. I really don’t know how it is managing to stay there.

As the title says 1437 miles after leaving Devon we are at our winter destination, camping imperium at Villajoyosa in Spain. More on that later.

We got to Parcverger campsite and were met by Frank the owner. Had a chat with him. It’s always nice to see peaple you have not seen for a while, catch up etc. He told us what he had been doing to the campsite etc. We got parked up eventually. We were going to spend a couple of nights here to recharge our batteries. That’s me and Nikki not the camper. We use Guinness and wine to recharge, the camper uses electricity. The weather was not good, misty and raining on and off so we never really got out for a nice walk. Another couple who live on the site in a small chalet invited us over for tea in the afternoon which was nice to catch up with them. We often check the weather while we are away to see where we’re going is going to be nice etc. As I said we were planning on moving on after a couple of days, but the weather was set to be gale force winds as in 50/60 mph where we were heading for which was Palamos in Spain. My nervous passenger and co pilot was not looking forward to the journey, so we stayed another night at Parcverger.

The day we left Parcverger was sunny and dry. We decided to use the toll roads because we wanted to get there the same day. It was very windy at one point, but with a firm grip on the steering wheel we were ok. If we had a pound for every cone we saw on the road or a euro we would be very rich. There was mile after mile coned off because they were cutting the grass banks. Or what I really think is they never had room at the yard for all the cones so the boss thought, let’s put some out on the road so it looks like we’re doing some work and solve the storage problem.

Our sat nav has been playing up on this trip and on more than one occasion has been very close to being thrown out the window. At one point we had the sat nav on which was Emily, she does have a nice voice, Nikki had maps on her phone for directions which was a woman’s voice also and of course Nikki with the map. I was thinking, this is great here I am driving along and I have three women trying to tell me where to go. And none of them have ever driven anything bigger than a shoebox.

We crossed the border into Spain and the sun was shining and we were soon at Palamos. The place we’re staying for a couple of nights to recharge again was a cross between a aire and a campsite. All very nice, plenty of space, clean showers and toilets etc. We got checked in by a nice guy who spoke very good English and told us to park where we liked. As we drove in we saw a nice pitch in the sun and guess what. There beside it was another bloody cone. We did laugh and had to have that pitch. The next day we walked off down to the beach which was about 1km away. We sat on a bench in the sun gazing out to see thinking, this is what we work for, to spend winters like this. Well and to buy our recharging sources. There was a group of students setting up some small sailing boats for lessons in sailing. I think they got ripped off because there was hardly any wind, where were they the day before when the winds were blowing a hoolie.

On the way back from the beach we spotted a big bug. A praying mantas to be precise. Fantastic looking bug. Reading up on them later, it turns out that they have sex and then the female eats the male. No wonder he is called a praying mantas. I think I would be praying if I thought after sex I was going to get eaten. Here’s the one that got away or he is still a virgin.

Off we go again after two days, heading for Benicarlo, to a site we have stayed before. Another loverly greeting by one of the owners daughters who actually remembered me which was nice. Pitched up and time to recharge. Saw some old friends there also which again was nice. Washed the camper as it was so dirty after the bad weather and all the miles/ kilometres. The weather again was fantastic, no wind blue sky’s and warm enough to be sat out in shorts and vest top until the sun went down.

We left Benicarlo yesterday at 10am heading for Villajoyosa. The journey is mostly motorway and the miles flew by. As we turned into the site it felt really good to be back. Greeted by Yovonne who again remembered us. Pitched up on our pitch and within ten minutes we had been greeted by three different people, all who had remembered us from last time we were here which was December/January. So after leaving Devon and driving 1437 miles we are here. Time to recharge.

. Had a great last couple of days in the UK, at the Sparkford musuem and a nice meal in the pub for my dads 80th.

And now we’re in France. We caught the 8.30am ferry. Big surprise we never got searched this time. Quite disappointed really I was looking forward to getting patted down by a nice French lady. We don’t normally like to go far on the first day when getting off the ferry, but decided to drive for a couple of hours to a place called Fougeres where we would spend the first night on a aire near the chateau. The sun was shining, the roads clear and we were on the road. Found the aire and parked up.  The sun was starting to go down so we had a quick walk around the outside of the chateau which was very impressive. A good nights sleep and a. Dry frosty morning followed.

We needed to top up with fuel and get a bit of shopping the next morning before heading out on the highway. There was a big supermarket up the road and we could also get fuel there. The car park was busy but we managed to find a space on the end of the row, well two spaces actually as we take up two spaces and being so big it’s better if we can get on the end of the row for getting out. All went well. Off to get fuel and try and squeeze into a gap where a car would normally go for fuel. A bit tight but we managed with me at the nozzle end and Nikki at the put your card end. Lucky we are both so slim. LOL.Back on the road we are heading for an aire by a lake out in the country. Again the sun is out the roads are clear. The speeding laws have changed in France now where now if you get caught speeding now they can access the uk database and fine you. It’s still a bit of a grey area from what I can gather. But the reason I mention it is because I got flashed. Not by a loverly French lady but by a little box on the side of the motorway. Being over 3.5 ton my limit is the same as HGV lorry’s 90kilometers per hour. This is very frustrating as the lorry’s bumble along and so do we normally, but when you want to get somewhere I tend to cruise at about 70mph on clear open roads with hardly anything on them. So we will see what happens it’s done now so no point in thinking about it.

We get to the next aire by the lake after a small detour. Thanks sat nav. The road leading to the village of Boisme is used like a race track it seems as the cars coming towards us are going at motorway speeds except for one ol boy who must have been about 110 years old and in the middle of the road, but we passed by. Parked up, the sun is out the trees look beautiful in there autum colours, so a walk round the lake was what we needed after being on the road for four hours.

A pint in the sun and some tea and as the sun goes down it starts to cool down. All cozy inside looking forward to a nice quite night beside the lake in the country. WRONG the race track is behind us and also the big juggernougt lorries have joined in the race, dogs are barking and the trees we are parked under are dripping on the roof. Plip plop plip plop,pliperdy ploperdy. It sounds like a bunch of sqeurals are having a party up the tree. Would we come back to this so peacefully aire. NO. We move on the next morning for another 4.5hour drive to Parcverger a campsite we have stopped at before for a nice shower and a peaceful night.

When I say we’re off we’re not actually on the ferry yet and no we’re not off our rocker. Well I might be. We left Devon yesterday and drove a couple of hours to Sparkford in Somerset. It’s where the Haynes motor museum is. Have not been there for a while so plan on going there tomorrow. The campsite we are on is Long Hazel, a adults only site but I managed to convince them I am a adult. Met by the owner as we arrived, set up and off down to the village pub for a beer or two. 

Today is chill day. We have worked for eight months with only a couple of long weekends so think we deserve to chill. Tomorrow after the museum we will head for another campsite in south lychett just outside Poole. It’s a great campsite and is only just down the road from the ferry terminal. Oh yea there is also a nice pub down the road. The pub is where we will meet my dad to have a birthday meal. It’s his 80th so I will treat him. So that’s us bought up to speed for now. We are on the ferry on Wednesday the 8th. 

We have booked our ferry for our winter away. We sail from Poole on the 8th November. Just counting down the days now. This year we are doing things a bit differant. We plan on being on one campsite in Spain for up to three months. Which gives us about two weeks to get there and two weeks to get back. Not really sure how it’s going to be but might save us a bit of money. We like the campsite and area. See how my itchy feet take it. You might be thinking, if they have been there before there will be nothing to write in the blog and no photos. Don’t beleive it. I will keep you up to date of our trip and happenings with photos. Update you all soon. 

We left the aire not far from the Normandy D Day beaches in glorious sunshine and headed off for the port of Cherbourg  to catch our ferry, which of course we really want to do….NOT. As we had time to spare we decided to go to the La cite de la mer Cherbourg. A exhibition of the Le Redoutable, the Titantic and a Aquarium.

Le Redoutable is the largest submarine open to the public in the world. Launched in Cherbourg on the 29th march1967. Its 128 metres long and 10.6 metres wide. Bloody big.There would have been a total of 270 crew split into two teams and you would have done 70 day patrols. The sub was maned 24 hours a day. We went inside with our little handheld voice box telling us what was what etc. So interesting, but would not be for me. Not being able to go outside for 70 days.

The Aquarium was very impressive. 11 metres deep and the glass was just over a foot thick. You can look in at differant levels, there also other tanks with some fantastic fish in. 

The Titanic returned to Cherbourg on 10th April 1912. The exhibition was a bit boring really but some nice old photos. Why we would want to go to a Titanic exhibition when we’re just about to board a ferry I don’t know. There are a lot of other underwater craft there also to look around. We were there for about three hours. 

So that’s our trip this winter. We are off to get some French fuel now and then wait to board the ferry, docking in Poole at about 10.30 pm, sleep on the dockside, well not on it but in the camper. Then back to Devon tomorrow. Hope you have enjoyed the blog. I really enjoy doing it. And if we met up and you want to see more photos I have a few to look at over a beer or two. We will be going away again next winter so the blog will be started again in November. Cheers. 

We left De Montreal campsite and headed for Parcverger campsite which is where we stopped on the way down south. Prefer it going that way to be honest. We are now getting really close to coming home. Three nights at Parkverger and the weather was just like a spring day. When we left there we headed north to another aire in the town of Pamproux, when I say town I should have put the ghost in front. The aire was on the edge of the town and it was a beautiful spring day again so we wandered into the ghost town. Lots of loverly old buildings again and a fantastic old covered market building. I think we saw two peaple all the time we were walking around. 

The story’s that building must be able to tell. We only stayed on the aire one night. You can’t have to much excitement in a ghost town.

We decided to make some ground and get further north so set off early and headed out on the motorway (peage)that’s a motorway you pay for. For us if we want to get somewhere it’s worth it, the road was empty, not as empty as Pamproux but very quiet and they are in good condition. To do the same sort of distance on other roads would have been a lot longer. As it was we were on the road for five hours, including a fuel stop for the camper and both of us.The aire was right beside the river L’Orne in a town called Pont d’ouilly. we had a front row spot and no one else there. Again another spring like day, and as we are just chilling out and looking out at the river I spot something on the bank the other side. Like a rat on steroids. Turns out it was a coypu, never seen one before and here in front of us are four playing in the river and then getting out and feeding on the field. Apparently they are a real pest and farmers shoot them because they do so much damage to the riverbanks etc. 

After checking out the weather we decided to move on the next day, forecast for rain and we wanted to get to North Normandy to go to the American war graves. So we set off again through some real bad weather, wind and heavy rain, lots of spray on the roads etc. Got to the aire and set up. The last few miles were very rural roads. The camper is now the dirtiest I have ever seen it, but no point washing it as there is more rain forecast, and we have to leave on the same roads. I must admit it is bugging me though. 

Today we went to the Normandy American war cemetery and museum. The reason we drove all them miles just so we would have the time to visit them. A bit of history for you. The battle of Normandy, also known as D Day started on June 6th 1944.The D stands for day. The cemetery is on the site of the temporary American St Laurent cemetery established by the US first  army on June 8th 1944. The first American cemetery on European soil in World War Two.It covers 172.5 acres and has 9386 graves of military dead. Most of which lost their lives in the D Day landings. On the walls of the missing, a huge semicircular wall are 1557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. 

The cemetery is so clean and regimental. All the crosses are millimetre perfectly in line what ever way you look at them. The grounds are perfect and you can see the  Omaha beach below which is where they would have landed in there boats etc. This was one of five beaches they landed on. All along this stretch of coast are differant museums and monuments.You can’t imagine what it would have been like to be there. So many young life’s lost. The museum is very good and a short film really brings a lump to your throat with relatives of the dead telling about the letters they received etc. 

So in two sleeps time we get on the ferry from Cherbourg to Poole and head off back to Devon. Thursday our last day we intend to get up near the ferry about an hour from here and visit a aquarium, a submarine and a Titanic museum just to pass the day. I would like to wash the camper also.