Gretel, Fergus, Elsbeth and Liam arrived in Craon from UK on Saturday evening. We cycled down from Laval (55km) to join them on Sunday.

Our departure was delayed by Kris’s bike breaking a spoke again on the outskirts of Laval – the second in two days.

The route was along another one of the Voie Verte cycle routes – along an old railway line again – nice and shaded and away from the traffic.

Kris and I stopped at the small supermarket in Craon to get a few supplies before meeting up with the family. We had a wonderful surprise when we suddenly saw Gretel and Fergus, also just entering the supermarket! So we shopped together and followed them back to the Gite (holiday house).

The first thing we saw was Elsbeth waiting at the gate, looking very well, and Liam riding around on his bike. He seemed happy with the Meccano gift and I was impressed with his dexterity in putting the motor together and making a simple model – a grass cutting device.

We had a wonderful family evening chatting over a braai. We all missed Lilette’s presence – she was unable to join us due to delays getting her British passport.