{"id":3368,"date":"2014-07-28T09:21:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-28T08:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2026-05-23T08:17:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T07:17:00","slug":"here-there-be-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/2014\/07\/28\/here-there-be-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"Here There Be Giants"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kevin
Kevin and Julia under their cherry tree in Le Fenoulier<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well well, we arrived at \u2018The Well in Fennel\u2019.\u00a0 Le Petit Puis in La Fenoulier, Julia & Kevin\u2019s holiday home in France. It\u2019s a pretty name; certainly prettier than say \u2018The Bucket in Garlic\u2019 and we had a pretty good time there. Their daughter Hannah arrived a day later than us, flying in on Monday evening and the five of us enjoyed a week of endless chatter, eating well, getting jobs done, visiting beaches, shops and markets, the boys played golf and we all had a lot of late nights.\u00a0 Hannah taught us, and beat us all constantly at, the French card game \u2018Mille Bornes\u2019; always love a new game.\u00a0\u00a0 On Wednesday morning we borrowed their car to get into busy St Gilles Croix de Vie.\u00a0 It was a bit weird sitting in the gutter on the right-hand side with no steering wheel in front of me.\u00a0 And Rodney found it strange to be sitting on the left on the centre line and still have a steering wheel.\u00a0 We had a Pommie Aussie, driving a Dutch car, in France; thoroughly international but a little bizarre.<\/p>\n

\"Julia
Julia and Laura on Plage de la Sauzaie (photo credit to Hannah)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Wednesday evening we ate our dinner sitting amongst the sand dunes at Plage de la\u00a0Sauzaie near Br\u00e9tignoles sur Mer.\u00a0 We were intending to watch the sun set, but at 9:30pm it was still nowhere near the horizon, so we passed on staying in the sand too late.\u00a0 On Thursday Julia and Kevin drove us up to Nantes for the day where we checked out the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne and the restored Cath\u00e9drale St Pierre and St Paul.\u00a0 We ate a simple quiche \u2018menu de dia\u2019 lunch and then strolled through the old town for a while.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Pulling
Pulling faces on the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n
\"In
In the courtyard of the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rodney and I then spent a number of hours visiting Les Machines de L \u020ale which was quite an eye opener.\u00a0 For many years I\u2019ve wanted to see their creations up close and we finally had the chance to do so.\u00a0 Nantes is the birthplace of Jules Verne and the mechanical sculptures being created in the enormous workshops on the banks of the Loire River are a fitting tribute to his imagination.\u00a0 The first machine to come to life was the Grand \u00c9l\u00e9phant in 2007.\u00a0 It is made of steel and tulip wood, is three times the size of a fully-grown elephant and carries up to fifty people as it strolls slowly around the old shipyards.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The Grand \u00c9l\u00e9phant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
The Grand \u00c9l\u00e9phant squirting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t have time to ride the elephant, but it was brilliant watching it stride past you, occasionally spraying out water from its trunk at anyone who got too close.\u00a0 We did ride on the Carrousel des Mondes Marins, a huge mechanical aquarium.\u00a0 We picked the top, sea surface, level, sharing a seahorse and pulling levers to make its head, mouth and legs move as we went around and around.\u00a0 It would have been fun to have another ride on the middle level, the abyss, in a prawn or a large fish, floating above the smaller seabed creatures on the bottom level.\u00a0 In fact, it would have been nice to spend a lot more time going around and round staring at the movement of all the sea creatures around you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
Riding the Carrousel des Mondes Marins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
Looking down to the abyss and the seabed on the Carrousel des Mondes Marins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The workshops are open to have a look at the builders working on their next project and there is a short film explaining a lot about the company included in the ticket.\u00a0 Then there is the Galerie des Machines which is laid out like an enormous greenhouse with real plants hanging and spreading about amongst some fabulous creatures and mechanical plants.\u00a0 There is a giant ant, a huge caterpillar that creeps along a rail and lots of other peculiar beasts.\u00a0 Above it all hangs a beautiful heron with an eight-metre wingspan carrying two baskets big enough to carry an adult.\u00a0 Two operators climb aboard the bird and it spreads its wings and flies above the audience; it is fascinating to watch.\u00a0 This will apparently become part of the current scheme to build the Arbre aux Herons, a massive tree 35m high, where you will be able to walk along some of the 22 branches and have a drink in a caf\u00e9 that will be hung amongst the branches.\u00a0 Two herons will fly on and off nests at the top of the tree.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The heron inside the Galerie des Machines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
A small critter in Compagnie Le Machine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Les Machines de L \u020ale is definitely a place worth going back to in a few years\u2019 time; I would love to see what other fantasies they will create in the future.<\/p>\n

On our last night, Hannah\u2019s 19th<\/sup> birthday we had dinner at 46 \u00e8me Parall\u00e8le. The stylish restaurant overlooks the entry to the estuary in to St Gilles Croix de Vie, right opposite the jetty for the ferry to the L \u020ale de Yeu, and every dish of the three courses was a spectacular creation.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got the recipe for the green papaya salad entr\u00e9e, so I have to try and re-create it, it was so very tasty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
Rodney and Kevin deliberating over carving lines on Hannah’s delicious chocolate pavlova<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On Sunday morning, with Eileen looking rested, clean, polished and shiny, we said our fond farewells, checked the date for meeting up again at Buckingham Palace and set off to\u2026\u2026\u2026 the supermarket.\u00a0 We stocked up on supplies for our last 2 \u00bd days in France and then set off in the direction of north.\u00a0 For the first two hours of our journey the other side of the road was crawling with traffic heading for the Vendee coastline.\u00a0 We were very glad to be going in the opposite direction as it didn\u2019t really clear until we turned off the N137 towards Ch\u00e2teaubriant. \u00a0At Pouance we found a nice lake to sit beside for our lunch and then we continued driving until 4:15pm when we arrived at Camping Gu\u00e9 St L\u00e9onard in Mayenne.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Looking
Looking across the Vie in St Gilles Croix de Vie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seventeen hours later we checked out again and set of north east towards Alen\u00e7on.\u00a0 I\u2019ve decided there are far too many crucifixes with a dying Jesus hanging around France.\u00a0 A statue of the Madonna can look nice, a plain crucifix looks respectful, but the sight of so many effigies of a cruel and painful death is rather horrific and somewhat depressing.<\/p>\n

Strangely we seemed to be passing, or travelling through, a lot of places beginning with a \u2018B\u2019; Broglie, Bernay, Boisney, Brionne, Bosrobert and Bosnormand (not sure what they had done wrong), Bourgtheroulde, Bourg-Achard and most of those I really can\u2019t pronounce!<\/p>\n

Our last European picnic stop was a brilliant find.\u00a0 Four years ago we stayed in a tiny mediaeval cottage on the banks of the Seine with our friends Lynda, Mark, Caroline and Steve.\u00a0 We realised that the route we were following would actually take us really close to the village of Heurteauville, in fact it was only a 2km slip off the main road down to the river.\u00a0 We had such a lovely holiday there in 2010 that it was really nice to go back and reminisce.\u00a0 We parked just past the cottage and watched the little ferry transport a constant stream of vehicles across the Seine to Jumieges and remembered how the noise of the first ferry plonking down its metal ramp on to the concrete slipway would wake us each morning at 6am.\u00a0 The ferry captain was declining to carry every campervan and caravan that turned up, despite there being no sign to say that they were prohibited.\u00a0And while we munched on our sandwiches, one campervan chap pulled over beside us\u00a0to ask if our little van had also been declined and “how on earth was he now supposed to get to the campsite in Jumieges”.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t happy, but I\u2019m sure he managed to cope with the extra 22kms drive round the big bend in the Seine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"
The ferry moving across the Seine to Jumieges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reminiscing over, we set off north over the Pont de Brotonne to Yvetot, then east to Totes and finally north to Dieppe.\u00a0 Numerous tractors and combine harvesters were plodding up and down every road we took.\u00a0 At one point we passed a convoy of six massive agricultural vehicles; we managed to\u00a0overtake them only because they had all pulled over in a lay-by to enable the growing queue of traffic to pass\u00a0\u00a0We checked in to Camping Vitamin, strange name and there doesn\u2019t seem to be a pharmacy here\u2026..but it\u2019s a nice place and we have some colourful flowers next to our pitch. Tomorrow we\u2019ll have a lazy start to our last day on mainland Europe and catch the 6pm ferry over to Newhaven.\u00a0 I think we\u2019re both a little sad to know that this is the end of our 2014 life living in Eileen and the freedom that we feel travelling on a whim and looking for wonder in this remarkable world.\u00a0 Now is Rodney really planning another year\u2026\u2026..?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The
The lovely Lu Biscuit Factory in Nantes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Well well, we arrived at \u2018The Well in Fennel\u2019.\u00a0 Le Petit Puis in La Fenoulier, Julia & Kevin\u2019s holiday home in France. It\u2019s a pretty name; certainly prettier than say \u2018The Bucket in Garlic\u2019 and we had a pretty good time there. Their daughter Hannah arrived a day later than us, flying in on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8310,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions\/8310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.petersphotogallery.com\/rodneyandlaura\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}