Friday 19th

Yesterday, Thursday 18th, Rosemary had a board meeting to attend with two participants in Australia, two in the UK and the LLW in France; such is business in this technology age.

Ray was sent off on his own to cycle to Ars en Re and back a round trip of 16 miles. Not only was this to be accomplished on a manual bike but on a fairly ropey one which has reminded us that whilst it often seems a good idea to rent rather that take our own bikes, rental bikes are often rather poor quality and not as well maintained as our own bikes. This is indeed the case with our bikes on the Ile de Re but the island is flat with very few hills (OK more like mole hills) but the wind can be quite strong, straight from the Atlantic Ocean and large numbers of recreational cyclists often undertake extraordinary manoeuvres. 

Ars en Re was really quiet which is rare and Rosemary’s favourite patisserie had hardly woken up

The ride back to Le Bois Plage was quite tough with a head wind, aching muscles and no electrical assistance!

Another swim in the sea and dinner in our patio area which has worked out perfectly. We always seem to be able to find some shade which at this time of year is quite remarkable.

Friday 20th was yet again hot and sunny and the management committee decided unanimously that e-bikes were needed today. There was a heated discussion about whether or not to attempt the ride to Les Portes en Re and back but one member decided that coffee and cakes at her favourite coffee shop took precedence. Not only were the cakes Rum Babas but two extra sachets of rum were provided to drizzle overe both. I'm not sure what the drink cycling limit is in France but we might have been borderline and our AlcoSense testing kits had been left in the car

We cycled back along the north eastern side of the island which was quite busy and in places the cycle track is narrow. Another swim in a sea which seems to get a little rougher every day but is still very enjoyable

We had booked at a restaurant on the outskirts of Le Bois Plage for dinner. L'Aile de Re has a good reputation and we have looked at it several times but never eaten there. It is sited next to a windmill as close to St Martin de Re as it is to Le Bois Plage. The X3 was taken out of its parking compound for the first time since we arrived on the island to drive the short distance to thge restaurant. Ray had spectacularly good oysters followed by something totally new to him - mussels smoked on the BBQ which were excellent.

The LLW had prawns and mango in a dressing as a starter and for the main course had pluma de cochon which is apparently the end of the loin and is highly prized.  She rated them as good but not super good but liked the restaurant generally and the atmosphere. The LLW fancies a new career as a restaurant critic in addition to current career paths!!

Wednesday 17th

Yesterday we had our first cycle ride on the island, riding from Le Bois Plage to Loix which was about 11 miles return and was Ray’s longest ride on a manual bike since the Achilles affair of December 2025. All went well and was helped considerable by a coffee and cakes stop at one of Rosemary’s favourite cafes in the centre of Loix. The Ile de Re is a relatively small island being about 20 miles long and 2/3 miles wide but cycling is complicated by the large number of salt flats covering a fair amount of the island as you will see from the map below.

We were struck by the very significant increase in e-bikes on the island which is generally very flat and probably e-bikes now outnumber manual bikes. Whilst the island is not that busy with visitors there are a lot of cyclists and evidence of grandparents on e-bikes, probably day trips from La Rochelle,  looking after grandchildren.

The leg muscles needed a short rest when we returned to our apartment before we headed down the nearby beach, La Plage de la Gollandiers for our first swim in the sea. It was lovely; the beach was very quiet and the sea really warm but with some strong waves.

Back to the apartment for a dinner of quiches, cheeses and a baguette followed by a walk along the seafront in glorious evening sunshine. A lovely day!

Tuesday 16th June

Yesterday we docked on time at Ouistreham but there was an hour delay getting through customs and passport control. Nothing to do with EES as there was no attempt to use facial recognition or fingerprint checking. The upshot was that having expected to leave the port at 07:30, it was 08:30 before we left.

Eventually we were on our way and after heavy traffic around Caen we were soon paying the tolls and making very good progress down the autoroute network. For the first part of the journey Rosemary joined a Stafford Board meeting via MS teams, which worked perfectly until close to the end when she was unceremoniously ejected as someone had put s time limit on the meeting and when it overran nobody told Microsoft!

The intention had been to stop at a service station near Alencon for the meeting but the delay at the port of Ouistreham put an end to that 

Soon after the meeting ended we did have a pit stop to change drivers and to purchase coffee and croissants. After we left the autoroute network there was some heavy traffic but no delays and about 14:00 we were crossing to the Ile de Re on the bridge from La Rochelle. 

Upon arrival at our destination of Les Bois Flottais in Le. Bois Plage en Re we discovered we were a few minutes early before reception opened for the afternoon. However, we soon had the keys to our apartment and everything was unloaded from the X3. We have stayed at this hotel 2 or 3 times before but this is the first time we have booked the apartment or studio as they refer to it. It is very nice and perfect for our needs

Having settled in to the apartment we visited the local Carrefour and purchased the immediate necessities before resting in our small but perfectly formed garden.

A walk down to the beach, which was quite busy since it had reached 35C today, and it was time for dinner at our residence.

B

Sunday 14th May -off to the Ile de Re

Tonight we take the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to  Ouistreham (Caen) and it is due in port at 07:00 French time on Monday. We have used this route on many occasions and we are usually on the Il de Re by early afternoon. The French motorways are very quiet and as long as we are prepared to pay the tolls progress is normally quick. 

Today is also the day for Amberley Open Gardens where local resident open their gardens for visitors to view and to raise money for a charity Action Medical research. It is a biennial event and is always hugely popular and this year even more so as the organisers publicised it widely.