Boondock Puffins

As I knew I had an interview this morning, I dressed in my smartest (only!) shirt, but still had to wear my motorbike jeans and boots on a swelteringly hot day… this didn’t help with nervous sweats!

Packed up daily leisurely, made coffee then headed into the not-so-thriving metropolis of Sassetot-le-Mauconduit.

Dealing with an interview on the road:

This turns out to be slightly tricky. After realising that completing an interview in a tent would not be ideal, I rang the Chateau de Sissi and they were unbelievably helpful. The receptionist ushered me into a lovely little private room where I had my interview. All went smoothly aside from a few connection issues (the Chateau’s wifi was not as up to date as it’s modern plumbing systems). Once finished, the staff wouldn’t even let me pay, and they were so friendly, welcoming and presented me with iced water and all.

Post interview, I celebrated making it though with pain au chocolat. In the meantime, the rest of the family had been exploring the little town and throwing some yoga shapes…

Finding a campsite on 15th August in France:

Next, we were off to find a campsite. We set off on a 2 hour ride to see what we could find… we quickly learnt that, as it’s the 15th August, it is the Assumption of Mary – a major bank holiday in France. This means that not only are all shops shut, but also all campsites are “complet” (full – sometimes even explained to me when I rang to ask on the phone as “complet, complet”, such is the demand for camping spots on this day).

After ending up at a site that seemed to be the only one for hours around with any space, we drove in to find a grotty space dominated by static caravans, one loo and shower in a block that didn’t seem to have been cleaned in years, and a field filled with thistles.

Despairing of our options, we looked further afield yet again, rationalising that at least a good day made for nice riding! Ultimately the ever trusty L’Hypocamp at Omaha Beach saved us (once again).

We rode on, giving in to motorways (but still avoiding tolls… we’re not made of money!) and we finally arrived at our destination and set up camp in an undeniably very full camp.

Tom’s brother had spent most of his birthday by this stage driving around the backcountry roads of Northern France, hunting for an elusive camping spot. In a desperate bid to semi save the day, we bought a 6 pack of beers, a litre of cider and also a half dozen pack of eggs just in case our dinner plans fell through.

Setting up camp with impressive speed, we soon had all three tents ready to go and piled into the Mazda to explore Port en Bessin.

I have a sort of soft spot for this little harbour town. Packed with fascinating history (Tom is so interested in learning about WW2 – it was about 2 miles outside of Port-en-Besson that men of 27 Commando broke through defences on D-Day before 2 German ships in the harbour opened fire), and today it is a working fishing port that mixes local and tourist in a way that mostly works.

After failing to find somewhere not too seafood orientated so that everyone could find something to eat, we settled on pizza. John saved the day by returning to pick up the ordered pizzas an hour later, while Hazel made a lovely mix of vegetables and egg and a salad. This was all topped off by some homemade apple cake that had made it in the car all the way across the Channel. All in all, a successful if marginally stressful day 😅