Didier picked us up from the Royan train station as planned and drove us home. We were starving because there was nothing open in the Saintes station where we had had a long layover. Sandrine brought out some leftovers which were much enjoyed. We had an early night and the following morning, woke up to a gray day. We were getting back on the road in three days time so we began getting organized for it: doing laundry first and foremost, filling the water tank in the car, re-stocking the fridge, re-packing our clothes into the van cupboards among other things. None of it was particularly difficult or time consuming but we did it all at leisure since it was cold out and the weather wasn't particularly inviting us to be outside. That afternoon, Sandrine made us an absolutely delicious lunch with the entrée being a mushroom and clam gratin, cooked in crème fraiche and white wine. It was scrumptious and everyone mopped up their bowls with some baguette. Dessert was yummy pie with an almond filling accompanied by an espresso. Needless to say, I had a bit of a food coma that afternoon and didn’t get much done.

The remaining days were spent relaxing and visiting with the Lafeuilles, eating royally, and getting ready to get back on the road. We went for a stroll along the waterfront one day which was quite relaxing and on the way back stopped by the local Vietnamese shop. We were looking for hoisin sauce and rice vinegar so we could cook a Thai meal for Sandrine and Didier for a change. We went back to the house and made a coconut curry accompanied by a rice vinegar cucumber salad. They quite enjoyed the meal and I was relieved as we were cooking for Sandrine, who is an expert chef. We pretty much stayed indoors the rest of the time enjoying the comforts of home knowing that we would be back on the road soon enough. We did have a brief hunt in town for an off-season camping card to no avail. We decided to chance it and ordered it online on a Monday afternoon, putting our faith in the Royal Mail to get it to Minh-Yen’s hotel by Thursday afternoon.

We were very thankful that Didier and Sandrine had looked after our car for the past six weeks and for hosting us again these past few days. We would be back around June to visit them once more before heading to Canada, but for now, we were back on the road and looking forward to it.