Day 4: Best childhood memory
I don't want to boast, but my childhood was pretty awesome, so I'm struggling to label just one memory as 'the best'. I think I'm just going to have to go with a list of some of the things I remember from my family camping holidays in France, which were literally the BEST SUMMERS EVER.
Going to this park en route to a campsite- it was absolutely boiling and there was one of those big round swings for us to play on. But what made it memorable was the fact that there was music playing out of speakers hidden among the plants, which I remember thinking was the coolest thing ever. (I found out years later that we'd stopped because our car had broken down, so my parents were pretty stressed....My brother and I were completely oblivious and had a great time!)
Staying at pretty French B&Bs overnight to split up the journey to a campsite. One I can particularly remember was run by an English couple who had been living in France for years and had brought their children up there. They could all speak fluent French, which I remember being very jealous about. One evening, my brother and I got our bikes and cycled through the French countryside with the children. We ended up next to a field full of hay-bales, which we climbed and sat on. We also went into a woods and climbed a few trees. I remember wishing that I lived in France.
At another B&B I had the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted.
Wandering around French markets and buying hot chicken, potatoes and bread for lunch. One time, it was pouring with rain so we sat in the car with our food, all cosy and dry.
Going to 'Fish Suppers' and 'Hog Roasts'. Everyone sat on long benches together and just enjoyed fresh fish (or hog). I had my first tuna steak at one of these suppers. Then there were crepes for dessert. In my memory, all the other people were locals, but there may have been some tourists there too!
Cycling to the little campsite shop and asking for "deux baguettes, s'il vous plait" or "deux pain au chocolat et deux croissants, merci". Then I'd cycle back to the tent with the baguettes sticking out of my rucksack.
Staying up late in the tent playing Rummikub and using squares of Milka chocolate instead of money.
Endless hours playing on the beach and in the sea. Feeling very windswept and outdoorsy.
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| Brittany 2003- Playing on the beach |
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| 2005- Making a friend on the beach |
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| 2006- Looking very tanned and pensive on the beach, wearing a home-made tie-dyed top and Mini Boden shorts |
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| 2007- Just bought a baguette! Wearing my favourite knee-length shorts and a Mini Boden jumper |
I hope that one day I'll be able to take my children on such amazing holidays so that they can make memories like these!
Harriet x
