Covid times so it took A LOT for me to convince Steve to go on this trip. Weighing up the pros and cons however – the con being I would probably kill somebody if I didn’t get a ‘proper’ holiday – it seemed like a sensible option. Instead of flying, we decided to do a road trip in our newest car member, ‘Melvin’ a Volvo V60 with the addition of a roof box which screamed ‘I have a family and want to pack tonnes of pointless crap in my car to please my tiny child with toys, etc when he’d be happier playing with a bloody cardboard box!’ Traveling like this gave us the opportunity not only to get abroad and for me to speak French and Spanish, but get Elliot some French books and toys and most importantly, to see our family and friends in Spain that we’ve been meaning to see for ages AND they could finally meet Elliot!

Travel

Drove to Dover for a 2.35 pm P&O ferry – over £100 cheaper than the Eurotunnel and only an extra hour’s travel so felt worth it for us. To be honest, the rocking motion of the boat and the sound of the engine soon had Elliot asleep so I was grateful.

Once we arrived in France the driving was fairly easy. The notable things to be aware of are they drive on the other side of the road, you need a whole load of items to legally drive on the road; a GB sticker (magnet or actual sticker NOT just a license plate with GB on technically (although we saw tonnes of cars with it just on the plate), headlight reflectors (alters your beam light so not to blind oncoming traffic), a hazard triangle, a reflective jacket and, for some very strange reason, 2x breathalyser testing kits – if the police stop you and you don’t have then they can fine you £135! Finally, in a lot of Europe, motorways are chargeable and so a road trip can be very expensive – important to factor this in when planning your trip (you can use an online trip calculator to calculate the cost of your trip before setting off).

Hotel 

We stayed in a variety of guesthouses in France – we have found it rubbish in hotels in the UK as once Elliot goes to sleep at 7 pm we have to be in the room and pretty much silent. At least in guesthouses we have a living room to chill out in and can use our monitor to keep an eye on him.

Our first guesthouse was ‘Les Hortensais’ in Bray-lès-Mareuil, a wonderful little place next to a lake with amazing views! Part of the owner’s main house but the old couple were so welcoming and allowed us to use their kitchen and veranda to have our dinner. I’d highly recommend it; a lovely big bed, a cot for the little man, a bath and a separate shower plus a toilet. There was even a small fridge freezer which served us well for Elliot’s food, teething ring, and our juices.

Our second night was at ‘Une escale en Berry’ in Foëcy, originally a house which has been separated into self-contained rooms with ensuites and a communal kitchen. Very nice, good space for a cot and the host was accommodating too. Breakfast for this one was included and used local produce.

Our third night was very unique; we stayed in a vineyard ‘Chartreuse de Mourgeres’ in Pézenas with a pool. We chose to have an evening meal with the hosts and WOW, so glad we did. Everything was local, with regional specialties – it was just incredible. The views were equally outstanding. The only downside was the pool wasn’t heated so fairly cold, definitely too cold for me although Steve took Elliot in for a bit.

Nights four to six were at our friend’s house in Viladecavalls, Spain and then we headed over to their apartment by the beach in Estartit for three nights. If you are looking for a beach setting but more authentic Spanish setting then Estartit is perfect! It is a small town but there are plenty of amenities.

On day 10 we were heading back so stayed in Carcassonne at ‘Le Logis Gout’, again a converted house, but this time in the city of was like a townhouse rather than previous where we were in the countryside. Perfect for a one to two-night stay and close to the fortified city. Breakfast was a ‘help yourself’ but had what we needed.

Night 11 we were in Naintré at ‘L’esprit du Clain’ again with a pool and again not heated but at least this time I managed about 10mins before I was freezing. The room was a bit tight but that was our fault as we hadn’t mentioned Elliot and his cot. Breakfast was again local produce.

Our final night was ‘Ibis Styles Rouen Centre River Gauche’ in Rouen and our only hotel. By the time we booked, there wasn’t much available but this was an ok one-night stop off. Not much in the local area restaurant-wise but the room was certainly big and comfortable enough; plus Steve and I were tired so were happy to stay in bed and watch a film whilst Elliot slept.

Guesthouses are definitely the way to go; hosts are generally extremely welcoming and if they do breakfast it is normally good local produce which trumps any croissant bought at a supermarket. Equally, you could stop at a bakery and buy croissants and pastries for an ‘on the go’ breakfast.

Places to visit/things to do

As always I researched a lot and looked at things that would interest us (we don’t like museums so not many are included).

In Rouen the must-sees are, the Old Market Sq (great for drinking and people watching), the St Joan of Arc church, the Gros Horloge – Renaissance clock, Notre Dame Cathedral (Steve and I love old churches), St. Maclou church, River Seine (lovely in summer for a walk or a bike ride – you can hire bikes in the town) and finally Jardin des Plantes for a picnic/wander.

In Chartres, there was the cathedral and ‘La maison picassiette’ which is a mosaic-tiled house – very quirky. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for the house as Elliot was shattered and needed a nap in the car – next time hopefully.

We stopped at Orleans not to walk around the town which had a church and all the usual art museums etc, but at Chateau de Chambord; one of the most beautiful castles in France. France, like the UK, has a lot of castles and I researched ‘the most beautiful’ and visited as many as we could along the way. You can pay to go inside the castle but I feel one castle inside looks like another and with a buggy it would be hard so we just wandered around the gardens, had a picnic on the lawns and admired the views – it was a lovely sunny day so it was nice.

In Clermont Ferrand, we had planned to do Park Montjuzet, Notre Dame de l’Assomption, Basilica Notre Dame du Port, and Puy de Pariou (a volcano hike) but unfortunately, Elliot wasn’t very well and so we decided to make our way straight to our guesthouse for the night so he could rest. Gutted we missed the volcano hike as apparently, the views are stunning – again maybe next time, when Elliot can walk himself rather than use carry his heavy ass!

Along our route to Argeles sur mer, we stopped briefly (no more than 5 minutes) at Millau for a picture of the beautiful viaduct. I would probably take a 20-30min stop for this next time. The reason why we stopped at Argeles is because, one it is a beautiful beach, and two, I used to work at the Haven campsite, like 19 years ago, so as it was only 30mins out of our way it was just a trip down memory lane. I can however highly recommend the area as it is a very clean beach and the village has lots of super restaurants and amenities.

I have already mentioned Carcassonne and the main touristy thing here is the Old fortified city. A lot like York (where I’m from) the city walls still surround the old town which still has old shops and merchants. There are cafes and restaurants inside which make lovely spots to stop and take in the views. I LOVE this city and have been before but wanted to show Steve and Elliot.

Limoges is a quaint and pretty town with lovely churches/cathedrals, and gardens – the botanical garden is certainly worth a visit and you can walk along with lovely riverbank on a sunny day and just take in the scenery. However, I think an absolute must is just outside of Limoges in a place called ‘Oradour sur Glane’ – a town affected by WWII that hasn’t been touched since but turned into a kind of outdoor museum. Perfect for kids and adults alike to learn about WWII and what life was like during that time.

Chateau d’Ussé was another castle we went to – it is known as ’Sleeping Beauty’s’ castle as the design for the Disney movie was based on this castle. It does have a very cool turret tower which gives the story of Sleeping Beauty in English and French (obviously I read it in French to Elliot) with mannequins etc. The grounds are lovely and although not as grand as Chateau de Chambord, it is certainly worth a visit.

Le Mans was a pit stop for timing because of Elliot’s ‘no more than 2 hours in the car’ rule but the 24-hour Le Mans museum was good (and remember Steve and I don’t do museums so that’s saying something!

Food

Well, we were in France and Spain so need I say more?!! Incredible pastries, bread, and carbs pretty much in general; whatever food you want, you can find anywhere in France. Sometimes we cooked for ourselves but mainly we ate out when not at our friend’s house or their apartment. Local markets are super for fresh produce and reasonably cheap – you can eat very well for very little in both countries. Whenever we could though we ate fresh and whatever the food from the region was e.g. you HAVE to try cassoulet in Carcassonne..like it’s the law! Equally, when on the coast in northern Spain, it’s fish, just fish, fish and more fish.

Final thoughts

I am so glad we did this road trip even though it nearly killed us in the car with an 8-month-old. We certainly learned some crucial lessons for our American road trip next year, Covid permitting (and it bloody better permit!) e.g. Elliot does best in the mornings so no driving past 1/2 pm, and if he does get grizzly then Disney’s Coco chills him out every single time. If you are still dubious about traveling on a plane or boat with lots of other people a road trip is the perfect solution; yes it takes ages to get anywhere but actually, it was nice just to see places along the way we wouldn’t have normally and having Elliot made us take breaks more.