A weekend in Boulogne sur Mer.

In this article Loic describes a weekend in Boulogne sur Mer.

At Easter I went to Boulogne sur mer and visited the " Nausicaa " which is a big aquarium.

First we looked at clown fish, star fish and jellyfish. We continued our tour of the lagoon and looked at the coral reefs. Then we watched the sharks swimming with grace over our heads. We watched some Californian sea-lions in the water and on the rocks. We patted some skates in a touch tank. They lived with turbot, cod and dogfish. We also visited the environment friendly house. We made some experiments and played games to learn how to respect our planet. We visited the submerged tropical forest.In this part of the museum, we could see caimans, a Mississipi paddlefish and birds. The museum was created to raise public awareness about the importance of managing the oceans and their resources.Later in the afternoon we visited the castle of Boulogne sur mer which was surrounded by ramparts. We saw paintings, Egyptian mummies and catacombs.I had a great weekend.

Acknowledgements : Photos provided by jeronimo's Eye ( sealions), Setaou ( touch pool), Gbworx ( corail) JL62 ( méduse)Bertha 0210 ( cathedral) HitnRunTony ( paddleffish) under Creative commons Licence via Flickr.

Country festival in Cozes.

On April 19/20th , Cozes offered a great family and friends day out. Every year Cozes a small town south of Royan is pleased to welcome people to its country music festival. Lots of volunteers spend countless hours of time, effort and enthusiasm to the success of this memorable weekend! When we arrived on site line dancing was in full swing. We met our friends at the beer tent and enjoyed watching the line dancers. There were also a good variety of stalls selling clothes, jewelly, western wear, belts, hats ...and vintage cars, motorbikes and trikes were displayed. This year my article will emphasize the horseback rides and educational demonstrations for axample our friends watched a rider who had his horse perform a dressage number for visitors . We noticed that horses love to be photographed and cuddled! and people's common love of the horse is very effective in forming bonds of friendship.

Horses and poneys looked at their best and the latter waited for kids to be ridden. Francesca on the photo looks confident on her first poney ride!This kind of event is also a day of togetherness with grandparents and children and horse and poney owners like to share this festive time with all the visitors.

At around 7.00pm we left the festival and went home to have a rest for we had left Paris at 4.00am and needed a break before going back to the country festival for the live country music concert. On Sunday morning I joined a group of walkers. We left Cozes at about 10.00am and walked across scenic country taking in spectacular views which are so unique. The rural countryside offers unspoilt and beautiful nature trails which avoid paved roads. However we didn't walk along nature trails because it had rained a lot and it was slippery . We took some quiet narrow roads and had a good time talking about flowers and nature. We walked past hamlets following the itinary planned by our guide Graziela. The scenery was breathtaking and we were lucky because the weather was quite good. We reached our final destination " Les Monards" at about 11.30am . There we met the horseback riders who were having a rest with their horses. We all had an excellent "snack" composed of bread and paté , homemade cakes, coffee or a glass of wine. I didn't have time to walk back to the departure meeting point because my family was waiting for me to have lunch. But I promised to join in for a future walk.Cozes has been running the country festival for a few years now and I'm sure its success is due to its friendly live aspect.Horseback riders and walkers enjoyed being off the beaten tracks and our region is ideal for riding and walking. And France was the country where equestrian travel was reborn and most highly developed. The common love for horses adds an additional bond with local people.

PS : Thank you Catherine for the photos.

A trip to Great Britain.

In this article Sirine ( 14 years old ) describes her holidays in England. It was her first trip to Plymouth and she enjoyed it very much.

During my holidays I went to a language school in the south of England. I spent my holiday in Plymouth near the sea. I stayed nine days there.

I was a bit anxious because it was the first time I'd met people who didn't speak French at all. But my host family was really nice and warm-hearted. They had two cute sons, Brinley and Kieran who were six and nine years old. There were used to being a host for foreign students and therefore were very nice. I got on well with them. Every morning I studied English from 9.00am to 12.30 pm. I enjoyed it very much because I had the opportunity to learn a lot of things. On the first day I was frightened because I got lost in the middle of the city! I came late to school because I'd missed my bus and had taken the wrong bus! I managed to get out of that difficult situation by asking an English passer-by my way. But on the following days I paid careful attention to get on the right bus!

Every afternoon we went out and visited the city. We were lucky because it didn't rain and it was very sunny however, it was windy because we were near the harbour.

We visited the famous harbour where the Pilgrims had left for America. Plymouth is a new city. In fact, the town was almost entirely destroyed during the Second World War by the Germans. However, there remains some lovely places to be visited near the harbour.

We also went bowling and to the cinema. We watched a very good film

( in English of course) but I didn't understand everything.
We also visited a huge aquarium and we saw sharks, turtles and we touched skates as well.

It was wonderful.There are also a lot of pubs and big shopping centres. Besides, the city of Plymouth is reknowned for its "gin" which is the best of all. We also went to Cornwall with my family to visit a park called "Eden Project"( a complex that houses plant species from around the world ). We walked in the villages of fishermen. It was very interesting and beautiful.

During my stay, I noticed that the English ate a lot, because I could never finish up my plate and we often had dinner in front of the TV so we couldn't speak together. Actually my holiday in Plymouth just flew by. It was great and I really enjoyed myself.

Acknowledgements : Photos provided by : diolbygraham ( Bus Plymouth) ,Paul Keleher ( Mayflower II) werewindle ( Plymouth), Marxchivist ( Meet the Pilgrim Fathers), Sleepless in Sommerset ( Plymouth aquarium) Kinicol ( aquarium) Bhicks359 ( turtle), Dysanovic ( The Eden Project Cornwall) under Creative Commons Licence via Flickr.

Ride to St Emilion

On Easter Sunday ( 23rd March) twenty-six people joined in the first motorbike ride of 2008. It was a freezing cold morning but we didn't postpone the rally as the weather was promising. And we were right. We gathered in front of the market hall in Cozes at about 9.00am. The sun was shining and the sky was flawless, blue without any clouds.
Warmly dressed we all headed for Blaye enjoying the "Green Road" along the river Gironde. The hilly scenery was magnificent. We rode past vineyards, marshes and fields. Blaye is a fortified town surrounded by ramparts. We stopped at a tiny café inside the " citadelle" and most of the riders had a cup of coffee. Some preferred a hot chocolate at Euros 4.30. The price was unfairly high, so we all got the impression that we had been ripped off!! Some cafés, restaurants, shops... tend to overcharge consumers at Easter and during the holiday season. But nothing could spoil our enthusiasm and we cheerfully set off for Libourne. We rode past chateaux and vineyards which reflected centuries of history. We got to Libourne at 12.30 according to schedule and had a lovely lunch. Prawns to start off with followed by lamb and beans ( traditional on Easter Sunday) then cheese and pudding. We really had a good time relaxing , talking and enjoying ourselves.Then back to the motorbike again, now to St Emilion which was within a few kilometres of Libourne so it didn't take long to get there.

St Emilion is a famous town surrounded by strong walls. Many of the buildings and monuments were damaged by wars between the French and English and the town was looted. St Emilion's history goes back to prehistoric times and is now a World Heritage site. Not only St Emilion is known for its architecture but also for its wines which are reknowned and enjoyed all around the world. It is a medieval town which stands proudly at the top of a hill overlooking the Dordogne valley. The town was built in the shape of an amphitheatre. All the houses have the same warm colour. The roofs are all the same and covered with Roman tiles. The town was named after the monk Emilion, a travelling confessor, who settled in a hermitage carved into the rock in the 8th century. It was the monks who followed him that started up the commercial wine production in the area. The growth of the wine trade related to St Emilion brought a new prosperity to the region and also brought tourism. We didn't have time to visit all the sights but we strolled along the steep and narrow streets. A shop advertising a " Petrus" at

Euros 10,000 drew our attention but we bought a bottle of St Emilion at Euros 8 which was lovely ( We tasted it on Easter Monday).We also walked past the Monolith church which sets on a rock. This building is spectacular. The town of St Emilion blends in the surrounding landscape and you would spend hours relaxing and admiring the natural setting. It is really worth visiting.

We left St Emilion at 4.30pm so that we could get back to Cozes around 6.30pm. After an hour riding past vineyards and beautiful chateaux ( the road was called " la route des vins" " the Wine road") the temperature dropped reaching 4 or 5 ° and we were all very cold. We stopped at Jonzac to stretch our legs and headed for Cozes. As soon as we noticed a road sign saying Epargnes ( the village where we live )my husband honked the horn to say good-bye and we got home as quickly as possible to warm ourselves in front of the fireplace. All in all it was a great day.