So, today was our last day at the Marriott! No doubt we will be back again some time in the future, it is just too convenient and too enjoyable to not become a regular haunt.

A brilliant sunny day, the sun really hot and hardly a cloud in the sky. That meant just one thing! We were going to enjoy the pool one last time. Bob did in fact venture out first thing to get a baguette and a couple of bags of tomatoes….. ok…. and some wine and cheese….. LOL.

We had struggled a bit with our locator forms this morning. Honestly….. who writes this software???? It is absolutely crap. I struggle to believe it has been written by a software professional. I would have hung my head in shame and expected the sack if my team had ever produced anything like this….. It has clearly changed since we last used it in July and it is also clearly under development because there were bits in it about “if you are fully vaccinated but coming back from a country we don’t currently recognise the vaccine for” …… Anyway, we managed it. God only knows how untechy people or very elderly people manage. The sooner it disappears, the better……. Rant over…..

The next step was to get it printed out at reception and that took a couple of goes too… but eventually….. Soon I was pegged out poolside and Bob joined me. He was very delighted that as he had come through reception, the manager caught him again and gave him a bag with a very nice bottle of Brouilly, macaroons and some other goodies….

We spent the day by the pool, in and out of the water and with just a quick dash back for lunch. Gave up about 4pm and came back and started packing. We have a very good haul of wine to bring home and quite a lot of actual food too. We clearly overestimated our food requirements. No matter…. none will go to waste.

We set off about 10am tomorrow. Will blog tomorrow so you can read about the experience of re-entering the UK. We have ordered our day 2 test from testing4all.org and had a message today that it was en route with the courier for delivery on Monday am. We used them last time and they were excellent. Hopefully this will be the last time we have to do a full PCR on return.

We have just had the best 2 weeks here. Just…. really like this place and this whole area. We like the fact we have our own house and it’s really got every comfort and facility. A total home from home. The facilities of the resort are great. It’s quiet. And a great position. We could be in Paris in a short rail trip. Disneyland in less than 10 minutes… And around us within a 90 minute drive are just so many fantastic sightseeing opportunities: chateaux, lovely little villages and towns, major centres like Troyes and Orleans… We have now spent 7 weeks here in little over a year and have never run out of great days out WITHOUT EVER going to Paris or Disneyworld. The Paris bit makes us sound like total philistines but in all honesty I have spent so much time in Paris over the last 30 years working or staying with a daughter who was studying there, quite apart from tourist visits that I don’t feel a pressing need to go back…. at the moment anyway…. We are just enjoying exploring more rural…. provincial cities…..

And we’ve been extremely lucky again with the weather! Last year we had 5 brilliantly hot weeks and these last 2 weeks have been similar – very good for mid September. Who would expect to be sunbaking this late in the month… A great way to extend the summer a bit…

So…. last French blog tomorrow….. tune in to read about our trip home……