Noirmoutier Day 2

Noirmoutier Day 2

You know the  old adage, it's best to get back on the horse straight away.... well I made myself do some driving today, and it was certainly a lot less pressured, but I still managed to get a bit lost and go round in circles.... I think the French roads are just  a bit like that. At least it wasn't pouring with rain when I was driving today.

However, having said that - I had a bit a sleep in till 7.30 and by the time I had read my emails and the Hawks websites  it was 10 o'clock-ish... (BTW - thanks for all those emails. It's lovely to have that contact with home whilst I'm here on my own)

Anyway, I get to the front door, all ready to walk up  to the car, and down she comes again. So there was no way I was going out in that. So I came back in and booted up my computer and off I went again. By 11 am it had cleared so I was ready to go. I have a wonderful internet connection here. It is a cabled network so I can't use my ipad, but it is fast  and very efficient. Lucky I brought my little laptop!

I started at the Office de Tourisme to get some ideas, and the lady was lovely. She gave me a map and some places to visit, but she also told me that the place I really wanted to go to - the Passage du Gois - was closed for renovations. Before they built the bridge to the Island this was the only way over and was very dependent on the tides. When the tide is out you have 3 hours-ish to use the causeway that becomes a road, but after that the tide comes rushing in and it's unusable. So you have to plan your journey according to the tides.

This link is in French but it gives some good pics, if you're interested
Passage du Gois
And this is a webcam of the site
Passage du Gois webcam

So, anyway, I thought I would drive to the top North West of the island, to a town called L'Herbaudiere. This is the main port of the island. Here's a pic

I have to admit that at this stage, driving is still not fun. Maybe it's because I'm in  littletown with lots of twisting, turny narrow roads. Maybe when I'm on the open road and the heavens are not pouring down, it might be better. But I have hired this car for  9 days, so I'm going to make the most it.
Anyway, having survived this little trip  I thought I would risk it to go and look at the beaches along the coast! Big mistake!!!! This is where I ended up in the same place a few times (called LeVieil)

 But at one stage I did actually stumble upon a beach by accident!!! I thnk it was called Plage de Mardi Gras... because the street that I went down multiple times was called Rue Mardi Gras. It looked a lovely beach and by this time the sun was out.

I was getting a bit frustrated by now  though  and just told Gaby Garmin to take me home. So I faithfully followed her instructions- though I did not have clue where I was in  relation to the map - and all of a sudden she said you're home in Noirmoutier, and there I was beside the Church where I park my car. Thank God for GPSs.

I decided that was enough driving for one day, so I parked the car and looked out for somewhere to have lunch but forgot about the fact that everything closes  from 12-3pm! Anyway, I managed to find one shop that was open that sold hamburgers, so I bought one and took it home to eat it.

It was good to actually have a bit of a rest at home today - sometimes a holiday can become too frantic so I happily played a few games on my computer, read my emails and more Hawks sites (it's  trading  period after all!) and waited for the shops to re-open, then went for a walk along the port and had a cafe  du creme again.

I also managed to find  a newsagent that sold the British newspapers, so I've brought one of those and when I finish this, I'm going to finish off that bottle of red (it's a sin to waste it) and sit down and read the paper!

Might just finish off with a few shots of the house I'm living in - the original house of Rose  Pelletier. The Sisters have done a wonderful job in setting it  up into  little self-contained studios- named after all the continents where Good Shepherd Sisters can be found. I'm staying in Afrique...

Ok- that's it for today - please pray for me tomorrow  as I journey back to Angers. May all those saints and guardian angels go with me again!

Chapel

Tapestry of the childhood and early years of Rose Pelletier

Original fireplace where Rose wold have sat in her childhood

Another view of sitting room with fireplace

Communal dining area

Communal kitchen