Childhood Memories: Le Petit Trianon de St Ustre

So, three month I went back to my favourite place in the world, my second home if you will… Le Petit Triannon de St Ustre (LPT for short).

Let me give you a little back story… My Mum, Dad, Brother & I went to LPT every year on holiday when we were younger. I first went there when I was 18 months old, and last went there, until recently, when I was 19 years old. My brother, 6 years older than me, stopped going when he went to University I believe, however for a few years he flew out for a week. I, on the other hand, was a constant for 18 years….

Looking back on the holidays, people always say how can you go to the same place every year… my response was always how can you not? I made new friends every year, as did my brother and towards the end of both our times there we had a solid friendship group that would meet only in LPT. It became like one big family who would only meet once a year, but that’s what made it so special.

I admit going back recently, I went with my boyfriend, brother, his fiancé, Mum and Dad. If I were to go back just me Mum and Dad I would probably be slightly bored after a while.

There is just something so magical to me about LPT, when we were younger and technology wasn’t as advanced as it is now, you couldn’t get wifi or signal… it was as if you were in a little bubble for 2 or 3 weeks, with nothing to burst it from the outside world. I remember one year when they first got ‘internet’ at the campsite, you had to pay 1 euro, (or 1 franc back then), to go on this really old, slow computer – the queue was never long…  people just were not that bothered back then. I think we all got used to the lack of communication while you were at LPT, most people even enjoyed it, you just spent a few weeks with people you don’t see that often and actually spoke face to face.

This year was equally as special to me as all the rest, although most of the ‘regulars’ back then don’t go anymore, there were still a couple of familiar faces. I found my name that I wrote on a wall somewhere when I was about 10, still knew where to find the glow worms and still managed to get bitten my almost every mosquito around! Ideal. 

Stupidly, I forgot my camera in the rush to get the 6:40am train so the only means of photography I had was my iPhone, I still feel it did the campsite justice though (apart from the major issue of lack of storage on my phone). The swimming pool is still the same, although looking slightly smaller than I remember when I was learning to swim in it. The baby pool still as popular as ever, and the mini golf which has never changed… I like to think of it as vintage. 

All in all I fell completely back in love with one of my favourite places in the world. Finding/having the time to completely zone out & relax was just what I needed.

Fran. X

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