Summer Holiday 2018

I have just returned from my summer holiday spent in the Vendee in France.  I was invited to spend a week with my younger son and his family at La Garangeiore.  We had a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom chalet and I was lucky enough to have my own room.  This is a very popular place where my sister and her whole family often go and for the first three days of my visit my niece, her husband and their children were also staying.

The owner's house

 

Our chalet (my room on the very right behind the posts)

We all met up for dinner in the main restaurant on my first night and we had a very convivial night, with the children going off and playing between courses.

Next day we all went out together to O'Gliss Water Park arriving at about 10.00am.  We didn't leave until 6.00pm because there was so much to do.  It was brilliant, possibly helped by a temperature of about 33^oC.

Some of the high slides

 

Very steep slides!!

 If you look at this picture you will see a white cone top left.  People stood there and the floor dropped away and they went straight down the pipe that you can see going out at the right side.  My niece and two of her children did this slide - completely mad!!

More my style

The children went off and did their own thing, after we had found a central spot for them to return to for lunch, drinks, snacks etc.  I did go down one of the slides on a giant triple ring with my son and grand-daughter but I really enjoyed this swimming pool which was quite deep near that giant ball, that I discovered was the source of the wave machine.  I have no idea how it worked but sometimes the waves were small and sometimes big and gave me such enjoyable swimming.

The next day was Le Grand Defi where great fun was had at the Laser Maze -

My son 'skulking' in a hideout trying not to get hit!!

 

Two of the children

I have taken part in a Laser Maze before, which is not so painful as paintballing, but I didn't have a go this time.  There are also tree top adventures here, but we didn't do these this time, but my family went back for that after I had left.  As my niece was returning home the next day ,we entertained everyone with a family BBQ at our chalet that was so much fun.

On Sunday it was decided to go to a market at Bretignoles-sur-Mer, only 15 minutes away, and after looking at all the stalls I found Les Halles, where all the food stalls were.

Above and below were all the same stall of fish!!!!

Look at the size of the prawns!! 

 

Ready meals

 

Brochettes for the BBQ - all different meats

 

I didn't buy any of these but just drooled over them!

 

Huge loose tomatoes

Next stop was the beach itself and lucky for us the tide was going out so

we managed a paddle and a look in the rock pools and I saw this cockle moving very fast through the water.

I didn't know they had horns like a snail!

Next day was the Le Lac de Jaunay where we hired a 6 person pedallo, so that we meant we all got a turn to have a go.  First time I was with my grand-daughter but that was hard work, but much easier when my son and I sat together.

Photo courtesy of my daughter in law

After lunch we went for a walk and 'Mad dogs and Englishmen' sprang to mind as it was soooo hot -

 
but our reward at the end were crêpes so that was OK.  Back to base and we went off to the camp's swimming pool, that was not as busy as I was expecting.
 
The rain came overnight and the temperature dropped but for my final full day I wanted to go back to the beach.  We arrived just as the tide was going out and after shouting 'Last one in is a cissy' I was the first in the water and enjoyed myself so much.
 
All too soon I had to fly home from Nantes, but not before we had a stop on the way so I could take a picture of the Chateau d'Apremont and its church

 

 In Nantes we visited the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne where the Edict of Nantes was signed in 1598, allowing protestant worship in France.

 We followed an audio trail going right top of the building - all 98 steps.

Grand-daughter listening to the audio by the well

After lunch we visited a exhibition about the Vikings that was fascinating and so we left the Chateau but not before son and grandson had come down the castle walls very quickly -

Grandson's exit

and had I known what they were doing I would have had a go, but never mind another time perhaps.

After a very speedy drive they dropped me off at the airport for my flight home, (only 50 minutes) and the Heathrow Express to Paddington (only 15 minutes), I was back home in record time with many happy memories of a great holiday and a fantastic tan!!!