Notre Tour de France #27 (45 mi)

I've done it again. A double helping of cereal for breakfast. I just couldn't help myself, though there was a small hole in the carton of milk so really it was in our best interests for me to eat it all to prevent a leakage, right?

After packing away we made the short journey in to the town centre to the bar we have frequented a few times over the last couple of days for our morning coffee and wifi, since our spot in the woods didn't have an Internet connection. It cost us approximately €0.00 for two nights though, so really I'm not in a position to complain.

We're not far now from where we'll be getting picked up from, Saintes, so we're just skirting around it for the next few days until it is time to come home. Today we moved from the south west of the city to the north east. The route was pleasantly flat with only a few gentle inclines, but of course this dictates that there must be a strong head wind. That's just the way it goes.

There's not too much to comment on for the journey. We stopped off for lunch at about halfway, and found a pleasant village, Saint-Savinien, with a nice park not far from our destination. Here we stopped off for a cold drink since today is a hot one, and we watched people whizz about on the on their miniature ferries.

We picked today's campsite in advance using the iPad application we have, which told us it has Wifi and laundry facilities. When we arrived I was impressed by the immediate area. There's a picturesque river and from what I saw of the village it looked nice (Saint-Jean-d'Angély) and our very first impressions of the campsite were good. When we got to reception to sort out getting a pitch, that impression quickly went downhill.

Is there a washing machine here? Yes, but it costs €5. (Expensive compared to other sites)

Do you have Wifi? Yes, but it costs €7 an hour.

Have you any cold drinks? Yes, but they cost €2 a can. (In fairness we've seen better, and seen worse)

Is there a swimming pool? Yes, but you must wear budgie smugglers.

As we were pitching the tent, we soon discovered we were pitching on a solid layer of stone. Jwan managed to hammer each of the tent pegs in to the ground about an inch before they each struck something solid and would go no further. It doesn't take a lot to make for a pleasant stay at a campsite, but this one doesn't tick any of the boxes.

After doing our chores (pitching the tent, washing the clothes), we went for a walk around the river and treat ourselves to a ride on a pedalo. I won't mention the ice cream we also had because I seem to be mentioning that an awful lot of late. What ice cream? Exactly.

As we're categorically not paying the ridiculous price for Internet access, we've ventured just outside of town and found a trusty McDonald's to get our Internet fix. I suppose we better buy a coffee or something in exchange for taking advantage of their facilities.

The sun is shining and has been beaming down in all its glory all day. Our remaining days here in France are forecast to be just as good, so I'll expect when we're back in England that we'll need thick coats, hats, scarves and gloves.