As a youngster, holidays were something of a rarity. However, when we did get an opportunity to go away, France was always my parent’s first choice. I have fond memories of waking up in the early hours of the morning and setting off, bleary eyed, for the ferry port. Half the fun as a young child was arriving at Dover just as the sun was starting to rise, blissfully unaware of the long journey to the South of France that proceeded us. An hour or so on French soil and then the questions would start from myself and my two younger brothers; ‘Are we there yet?’, ‘I need the toilet….again’ and ‘so and so has done such and such’. Once at our destination a fabulous two weeks would ensue. Always brilliant weather, food that never disappointed and plenty of things to do and places of interest to visit, even as a child; a giant sand dune ‘Dune du Pyla’ near Arcachon and ‘Gouffre de Padirac’ at Gourdon, were two places that stick vividly in my memory. Unfortunately, the breathtaking scenery was lost on me as a child as were the delightful little villages that peppered the landscape. However, it is only as an adult when I recollect, can I truly appreciate what memorable holidays they were.
Now, a parent myself, France to me seems a logical first choice option. Feelings of the familiar mixed with its rural beauty and safe beaches, make France an obvious choice to take my young family.
We recently spent a wonderful week in the Cotes-d'Armor, Brittany in the picturesque seaside village of St-Quay-Portrieux. We set off shortly after midnight, in the hope the children would sleep the majority of the journey so as to avoid all the questions! We took our time travelling to our destination and enjoyed the journey and its varied scenery. Aside from one or two wrong turns, which resulted in a few extra euros on tolls, the journey was relatively stress free and we arrived at our gite mid afternoon, to glorious sunshine. The gite, which we booked through French Connections (prn: 103879), was quirky and typically French. Set in gorgeous countryside, with the only noises to be heard coming from our two over excited children, who had discovered a fabulously spacious garden and a family of baby frogs! We knew at that moment we had made the right choice in our holiday destination.