France Holiday

Date: 19/06/2004 to 25/06/2004

A large group of us went on a holiday in Normandy. Here is the combined (and very cut down) set of photos from at least 7 cameras!

Saturday

On Saturday we all had to get up very early to be in Portsmouth for 6:00am. Getting to the ferry meant my car being stopped by the police to check that we weren't football hooligans taking the back road to Portugal! When we got there we tried out Matt's Monster Rocket before having a BBQ and some quiet drinks.

Sunday

Sunday was our first full day. In the day while the weather was quite nice we played a bit more with the monster rocket, losing it more difficult to reach places. Drinking seemed to start fairly early, with lots of sitting around talking before someone posed the question "How many people would fit in a Ford Ka?". Of course this question needed answering, so we duly made the attempt. 14 people managed to fit in, although the rear suspension took offense. A bit later Reuben, Chris, Pete, Sues & Claire decided to go for a boat trip. Which we decided was obviously the perfect time to take all of the water pistols down to the jetty and wait for them :). After this, dancing in the living room ensued and all it took was a Britney song for certain people to start removing clothes.

Monday

Monday was the day of England v Croatia in Euro 2004, so we had planned to find a pub that would be showing the game. Unfortunately, it was also France v Switzerland on the same day. We started by going to the hypermarket for supplies - the local shops weren't exactly huge and the alcohol was running out fast. A few of us made a couple of trips out to try and find a pub that would be showing the match, but we decided nowhere locally was going to be able to help us. So we headed out to St. Malo, the nearest big town. We wandered around all of the pubs for ages looking for one showing England without luck, then sat down to watch the first half of the French match over dinner. At half time, some people went back to the cars to listen to the rest on Radio 5, while the rest of us walked around enjoying the sunset. On the way back to the cars, we happened to stumble across the only pub in St. Malo that had been showing the game, 84 minutes through and after all of the action. Once we all left around 12:00, we figured that was it for the night. Unfortunately getting back didn't turn out to be straightforward in terms of navigation and a few U-turns were made. Then when almost home I got a phonecall from Pete who had run out of petrol and was in a 24 hour garage that wouldn't take his cards. I duly left with a spare can of fuel to rescue them. Drinking had started when I got back, and although lots of us went to bed early-ish, a few people stayed up going down to the boat and drinking until about 7am.

Tuesday

By the time everyone had got up on Tuesday we decided to do a tourist-y thing, and went to Mont St. Michel, a big monastery on a hill. We went on a tour of the monastery, and walked around lots. We then went home for food and some quiet drinks, as most people were tired. After watching a film, we went to the loft of the cottage to watch the rest of the Ghost Wrestling tournament going on, mainly between Sues and Claire (with Sues not making much of an effort!). Lots of people ended up falling asleep up there and eventually drifting off to their own beds.

Wednesday

On Wednesday lots of people did different things. One group went off to the beach at Granville. Some more people went on the boat again, and others stayed around at the house. We had another BBQ for dinner, which ended up back at the main house playing a nasty game- "Danger Dice". Six numbered glasses, each person takes turn rolling the dice. If the glass is empty, fill it (with anything), otherwise drink it. Lots of hideous drinks were made and drunk, including ingredients like Jam and Tea (thanks Reuben!). Many more drinking games were played for the rest of the night, before everyone going to bed very late.

Thursday

Eventually everyone got up after the night before on Thursday. Thursday was the day of England's quater final against Portugal, but this time the match was on TV. We headed into St. Malo again to have a look round in the daytime. After the unfortunate ending to the football, some dancing eventually sprang up from the not-so-depressed people and then a bit more liveliness.

Friday

Friday was our last full day on holiday but we couldn't make it a big night due to needing to clear the house up. In the day time we went to a number of beaches looking for a suitable one, eventually settling on one next to a waste outlet! After a major cleanup operation in the house, we took some group photos and went to Ducey for a meal. I think the restaurant owners were happy to see the back of all 16 of us. No staying up drinking this night as all had to be up at about 7 to finish cleaning and leave in time for the ferry.

Saturday

An early start had to be made in order to finish cleaning the house, and leave to catch the ferry in time. We got there fairly early, so entertained the rest of the queue with bouncy ball antics. We all went back to Southampton ready to go out for the last night of Jesters, but that's a different story!