Monday 13th 2015 After shopping at Sainsburys we visited our tenants to see if there was any mail for us but there wasn't any. We also explained that we would be having some work done to the rear wall. Then we went to B&Q for some sink/drain cleaner as we we were having problems with the kitchen sink in the motorhome. On returning to Newhaven beach we invited fellow motorhomers Roger and Penny in for coffee and afternoon tea and Ellie their dog came too. Roger and Penny wished us all the best for out ravels and asked to keep in touch.

In the evening we had a visit from Mum and our brother Tony. They brought a fish and chip supper and afterwards there was an emotional farewell. We are now beginning to feel that our venture to France is upon us.

Tuesday James came down from Lincolnshire with Frankie to see us at about 6.30 in the morning. This was really special for us and they stayed with us until we left the beach at about 8.30 am to make our way to the port. We had quite a wait before loading and whilst waiting we received many texts from family and friends to wish us well.

Allan on deck waiting for the Ferry to leave Newhaven

Unfortunately the mist came down earlier in the morning and seemed to be getting thicker by the minute.
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When we left the port it was quite dense but we were still able to see many people waving to us from the quayside. James, Frankie, Mum, Tony, Zelie, Martin,
Kirstie, Sebastian, Roger, Penny, John and of course Rocky and Ellie the dogs!.

The Adventure Begins...............

We had a very smooth crossing which pleased Dorothy immensely and after about an hour out at sea the mist cleared, the sun shone and it began to get very hot. When we arrived in Dieppe people were swimming in the sea!

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Our first stop was at an Auchan hypermarket to stock up on the essentials (wine and cheese!) and to get diesel on the way out at the equivalent of 87p a litre

We arrived at our first Aire at Val de Saane in glorious sunshine and spent the evening sitting outside relaxing after a busy day.

Wednesday Spent all day at Val de Saane taking several walks around the pretty village. These photos show the Aire and a view from the Aire.

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Thursday After a full English breakfast (probably our last for quite some time) Allan spent the morning cleaning the roof and outside of the motorhome which was covered in Newhaven Roadstone dust, seasalt and seagull poo whilst Dorothy caught up with jobs inside. The heat was almost unbearable up on the roof and we had cold squash to try and cool ourselves down.
Allan then had a well earned rest and Dorothy drove the motorhome to our next Aire.

We are now in Montville and are here to meet up with our friends Dawn and Martin who arrived late afernoon after taking the Newhaven ferry this morning. It is lovely to see them as we had not met up since last year on the beach at Newhaven and we spent the evening catching up over a glass or two (or several !!)

Friday We had a look around the town and did a bit of shopping to replenish our suppplies. On the way back to the Aire we visited the pretty church. After lunch we took a stroll around the lake adjacent to the Aire and did our first geocache of this trip.

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Views of the Lake

Looking back across the river towards the Aire

Saturday Was Market Day and the town came alive with people bustling here and there and stallholders selling their wares. We joined our friends Martin and Dawn to take in the atmosphere.

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To keep up with Dorothys' new fitness regime we took a few more trips around the lake and then spent another nice evening with Martin and Dawn.the eve

Sunday was a day of rest, well it was supposed to be! We first had a stroll around the lake and came back via the town. The flowers in front of the Marie were beautiful.

We are now planning where to go next........................

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