November in Normandy

Our first time to Normandy was a pleasant surprise. We have always landed in Calais and driven, via the auto route, focusing on getting past Paris before looking for somewhere to stop on our drive south.

We had a sit near Le Havre, on the banks of the River Seine, in a small hamlet which used to be the main port for the area in Roman times.

The houses in this part of France are very unique. A typical house of the region is thatched with Iris growing out of the top. This method is used to help hold the thatch, as the roots grow
down and help bind the materials together.

When taking a walk through this region you feel as if you have walked back in time, it is very much like an Anglo Saxon theme park. The villages are breathtakingly pretty, and the towns are medieval wood and winding streets.

We were looking after two very sweet dogs, and had plenty of walks through woods and along the banks of the Seine right on our doorstep.

One of the dogs is a white alsation which is a first for us. He was so well behaved and such a sweet dog. His coat was soft and thick. We were worried he would need a lot of cleaning, but miraculously, he stayed clean even after a long walk through muddy woods. Amazing.

The basset hound was a lovely character, who took a couple of days to get used to us, he was very shy to start with, but once he felt safe, he was glued to our side. He suffered from fits, which he had a couple of whilst we were looking after him. We had been pre-warned about this and were well prepared when it happened. It was just a case of being with him whilst he was fitting, and then comforting him afterwards whilst he was a bit disorientated.

We are pleased to have another opportunity early in the new year to sit for these lovely dogs again.