Avranches, Normandy, France

The Aire this morning proved to be just the right location to see a fabulous sunrise. The lengthening sunlight lit the bay as fishing boats left the harbour and slipped through the golden waters.

We have been been lucky to have stayed in some beautiful places whilst we've been away. Met some lovely people, and seen some fantastic sights. This morning was just another one of those moments. We were away early, for us. Marge bowled happily along country roads that sliced through fields of rusty brown peppered with crumbling farm buildings from a time gone by. The trees that lined the road, a riot of colour. The first sighting of the Mont St. Michel never fails to impress. We saw it the second day we were in France, and now here we were enjoying its splendour once again. Sadly the whole area close to it has become one big tourist trap, and it's difficult to find somewhere to stop that's free to take a photograph.

But we managed it. All this stopping and starting, makes a day pass by quickly, and it was lunchtime when we reached the outskirts of Avranches where we stopped at a Decathlon shop for John to purchase a couple of pairs of trousers for the winter. Lunchtime is the best time to shop here, Besides us there were a few others including a couple of nuns. And why wouldn't there be? The Aire at Avranches is situated very near to the town, but it's not the best, with sloping ground and large bins for the local people to use. It was busy, and Marge is right by the bins. Luckily, the wind is blowing away from her. 

A walk up to the imposing church, built from granite, then a stroll around the town, stopping at the American war memorial.

The Americans liberated Avranches at the end of the second world war, and General Patton has certainly left his mark. Hotels, pizza restaurants, even a barbers bear his name. The flowers at the memorial were beautiful. Chrysanthemums, lined the path, a riot of colour that softened the stone and military hardware around the area.

November 1st is All Saints Day in France, and these flowers are to be seen everywhere, especially on memorials and in cemeteries. Returning to Marge, she was now one of ten vehicles. A fairly large French motorhome had squeezed in between her and the bins, thankfully. Just after six, the sun slipped towards the horizon, the sky turning orange, then, pink, then purple. Sat majestically in the fading light, the Mont St. Michel. As we said, it never fails to impress.