Torrential rain and thunder in the night resulted in a few puddles in the porch this morning. The children and I got up, left Adrian in bed (he had made a lovely cup of tea for me by the time we got back!) and headed to the shop for breakfast just as the heavens open again and we had to seek refuge in the toilets! We ate breakfast in the tent and proceeded to all play Uno until the sun shone. Emily won her first game of the holiday and then made it two in a row with a little help in tactics from me! At around 11.30 we eventually managed to make it out deciding to cycle to Arcachon centre to look around. We needed food supplies, more sun cream, wanted to check out the beach as well as the train station in preparation for Saturday. The map the campsite gave us showed a cycle/pedestrian path to the centre as 1.8km, but what I hadn't realised was that the whole area is full of hills and I beg to differ in the actual distance down as well. Plenty of hills both up and down followed. Once in the centre, we took a ride along the sea front, along the beach and past the port. There are board walks on the sand for pedestrians and cyclists which gives a lovely view of all the boats. The beach area and all the streets off it are bustling and busy with lots of designer shops and restaurants. Next we stopped at a cafe for lunch where I had my first Croque Monsieur of the trip.... It has to be done!... We locked up our bikes, took a walk along the pier to get the low down on boat trips around the basin and headed to the super market for supplies. We found a lovely sweet shop en route so treated the kids and also found a souvenir shop for them to spend their money on presents for their friends - the smallest and lightest ones we could find! Let's hope we get them all home in one piece. After a short play on the beach and a paddle, we headed back up to the campsite for tea via the Gare SNCF. The lady at the information desk said that the trains can take 30 bikes! (My email to French trains before I left said only 4 and no trailer), and it seems that they are doing a summer group offer of 30€ for up to 5 people - bikes free. I'll believe it when we are all safely on one train together on Saturday morning! Once back at the campsite the kids read and made loom bands and we all enjoyed a lovely tea made by Adrian followed by a cuppa.
9.76 miles cycled and walked today
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