The final chapter

Wednesday, May 8 Another holiday? Something to do with the end of the war. Drove to Bordeaux, then east. No hotels. Yes, the signs said there were, but they lied. Finally found an Ibis and walked around a 2 mile lake. Charlie went for wine, whichever we drank at a picnic table out front, then we went to the Buffalo Grill for dinner. Good food, but more expensive than some of our great dinners!



Watched some Netflix while Charlie snored.

Thursday, May 9 Up pretty early and on the road for Limoges. Beautiful countryside, even in the light rain. Stopped for lunch stuff and a quick coffee and then on the way again. Took a couple neat side trips, found a good place for our picnic lunch, but had to eat in the car due to the rain. Made it to Limoges and actually found a hotel without much trouble. Must be because today is (another) holiday. So was yesterday... Found a laundromat and got the laundry done so we can enjoy ourselves tomorrow! Relaxed for awhile before dinner then went to the restaurant suggested by the hotel. Very nice, a bit spendy, but the funniest thing was the dinner. I ordered lamb (recognized that word) and Charlie ordered the "menu" with no clue what it was. When the waitress brought it, not the same person who took our order, she said "menu?" and Charlie raised his hand. We started eating, I though mine was really mild for lamb, and very chewy. Charlie liked his "pot roast" but said it had a strange flavor. That's when we realized we had the wrong dinners! So, we switched half way through and both had a great meal! Slept well.

Friday, May 10 Time is getting short. We spent the day on our feet, seeing the sights. We visited the Royal Limoges factory and took the tour, walked to the historic city. We visited the St. Entienne Cathedral and lit a candle for our moms. Old habits die hard, I guess. Lots of porcelain shops to browse being acutely aware of my purse flopping around! We bought a few little things (why couldn't we have been somewhere that they made dish towels instead of heavy porcelain?) Then we took the Petite Train though the city. Fairly interesting, but a screaming child didn't help. And we never could get our bearings with all the little streets. Back to the hotel for a well deserved rest. Got to Face Time with Sam & Ed and then John and Rita!

 Warning - this may sound interesting, but don't do it! Ick.

 

Went looking for pizza which sounded good and easy but turned out to be tougher than we thought. Most were take-aways. Finally found an Italian restaurant and I got a great salad and Charlie got pizza. The owner was very nice. She is Italian and is working on her English. She already speaks French, Spanish and German, in addition to her native Italian. Got a bit lost trying to get back to the hotel. Took us almost an hour and I was pretty stressed. But, we survived.

Saturday, May 11 Woke up feeling a little punky with a headache, body ache, etc. Had breakfast at the hotel but didn't enjoy it. We headed out about 10. Drove to Oradour sur Glane, site of a massacre by the Nazis on June 10, 1944. Very moving place. The memorial is good but walking through the burned out village, which was left in the same condition as it was almost 70 years ago, was heartbreaking.
I'm really glad we went though.

Finally found a place to have lunch about 2. 4 aspirin and closing my eyes for awhile helped, but still not totally on track. Made it to Le Mans in pretty good time and actually found a hotel without too much trouble. The best part is it's just a short distance to the track! Charlie headed over there while I just relaxed in the room. Walked across the street for dinner which was good, but too much food again. Early to bed!

Sunday, May 12 Woke up feeling great today - what a relief! Breakfast in the hotel where we met a couple from Australia who are just starting a 3 month vacation! We would kill each other!

Toured the racetrack, watched the race school practice.

Rode the tram to the end of the line one way, then got on going the other way to get to the old city. Being Sunday, pretty much everything was closed, but we did manage to find a little restaurant where we had onion soup that didn't come close to Marie's and our first galette. Yummy! Enjoyed walking around the city and got some good photos. Beautiful church there too. Met an Australian family with 3 children who are on a 5 month holiday! Young but semi-retired. What are we doing wrong? Back to the hotel where we decided to have a drink. The cute girl who helped us when we checked in was there and she was a lot of fun to talk to. Her name is Guyonne, which she says is rare and difficult even for the French to pronounce. It was the name of her father's sister, who died as a baby. She spent a year in New York going to school and learning English. However, she never learned what a martini was! Relaxed and caught up on notes, Facebook, etc then drove to the Buffalo Grill, the only restaurant near by that was open on Sunday! Mediocre but the company was good.

Monday, May 13 After breakfast we decided to drive to Orleans. Just couldn't bear to go to Paris a day early. Beautiful drive, pretty cloudy. Found an Ibis near the gare and decided to just take it and not hassle with finding something better. Actually a very nice room, if small. Had lunch down the street and then bought all day tram tickets to tour the city. Not a lot to see here but lots of construction everywhere. Did a bit of window licking, bought a shirt, then stopped for supplies (wine, cheese, sausage) so we could last until dinner. We're on a very strict feeding schedule! Great dinner just down the street. Ate too much but managed to resist dessert.

Tuesday, May 14 Took our time getting started since it wouldn't take too long to get to Paris. Nice drive, no rain, beautiful scenery. Got a little crazy as we got closer to Paris. Missed the exit for the hotel and ended up at the airport. Found our way back to the hotel and, despite many reviews to the contrary, were greeted pleasantly and found our room adequate. I think most people who complained about the Comfort Hotel had never stayed in a Paris hotel! Dropped our bags in the room and headed out to return the car. Needed to get gas which took about an hour. Had we turned the other direction of the hotel, it would have taken 10 minutes! Anyway, got it returned, checked out the terminal to make sure we knew where we were going in the morning and had a bite of lunch. Caught the shuttle back to the airport. I went to the room while Charlie rode the shuttle back to the airport just to see where it stopped since we were going to be on a tight schedule in the morning. I tried for an hour to check in on line with a lot of frustration. Went to the computer in the lobby and after another hour and another glass of wine, finally got to the part where we could print our boarding passes. However, the PDF wouldn't load, despite the helpful woman at the front desk. Oh well. Packed our bags, relaxed awhile, then decided to try dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was a buffet, pretty spendy, but not too bad and a good way to kill a bit more time. To bed early. Too bad my phone rang several times during the night. Need to see if the alarm works if the sound is turned off! (note - it does.)

Wednesday, May 15 4 a.m. and here we go! Caught the shuttle at 5, no really long lines at the airport and security was a breeze. Had a coffee and my last pain au chocolat for awhile. Met a 90 yer old WWII vet from Chicago while waiting to board for Amsterdam. What a hoot he was. He was in Paris for a reunion. I hope we're still traveling at his age. Flight home was uneventful. I don't recommend Delta. Another great European adventure. Already planning the next one!

 

Heading to Spain!

May 4, continued!

Dinner out was delightful. Still warm enough to eat outside. I had a salad with fresh anchovies, mashed cauliflower, mixed seafood with lemon butter sauce. Charlie had chicken in red wine sauce, salad with gizzards, some sort of mixed veggie dish. Everything was great. We ordered decaf but I don't think it was. We ended up watching a movie about Ben Hur that was, amazingly, in English, appeared to be a British movie. I was wide awake and even after the movie couldn't sleep.

Sunday, May 5

Staggered out of bed so we could go to the Sunday Market. Would have been great if we could have taken food home to cook later. Everything looked so good! We did find some Marseilles soap for Angela though! Had a quick petit dejunier at our favorite place then headed back to pack up.

Started driving south along the coast until we got to Spain and then headed west. Charlie wanted to drive through "The Pyrenees, also spelled Pyrénées, a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain." He got his wish, several hours worth. A lot of white knuckle roads but the views were incredible! We drove to Andorra just to say we did. There was a street fair going on and we wandered around looking at things. Chatted with a nice young man from Italy who moved there looking for work. Then we stopped for lunch. Learned an important lesson about the menus and next time we won't be fooled! Charlie ordered paella and I ordered pizza. All was good until we watched the waiter go pull them out of the freezer! Oh well, it wasn't horrible, but we didn't enjoy it that much. We can say that we had breakfast in France, lunch in Andorra and dinner in Spain!

Still driving the back roads through the mountains. Found a little town called El Pont de Suert and a nice looking hotel. The room was fantastic compared to what we have stayed in and it was only €65. Of course, parking was €12! But, it was worth it! After enjoying a glass or 2 of wine, we headed to our first tapas bar. Filled with locals watching a soccer match on tv but we just forged ahead and ordered. Wow, what a great meal! Meatballs, salad, sausage and a potato omelette, plus a bottle of the house wine and the fun of watching the game, just 22€!

The bed was lovely and soft and we slept well.

Monday, May 6

Sunny, cool, bright blue skies. Incredible breakfast of orange juice, coffee, pan tostada, jamon, cheese, yogurt, croissants and tomato. All for € 4 each! That got us off to a great start.

Headed out about 9:30 and it got warmer every hour. Some beautiful scenery. Stopped in a little town and had a coffee, then found a mercado to get lunch fixings. Then we took off again. I found a spot that was an interpretive center and we took the road up to it. Fascinating place with all sorts of birds that nest on the mountains, mountain climbers, etc. The center was closed, of course, but there were picnic tables where we enjoyed our lunch with some of the most beautiful scenery around.

On our way to Pamplona, out in the middle of nowhere, we found a little dog running down the highway. Of course, I had to pick him up. Had a collar but nothing written on his tag. He looked well cared for but was obviously hot and tired. We drove up and down roads looking for houses but couldn't find anything that looked like his home. We stopped in one village and the person we found didn't speak English but understood that he was lost. She said he didn't belong there so we went on. Found a town with a gas station and there was a couple getting gas who spoke a little English and even though they weren't from there, were able to get the gas station person to tie the dog, get it some water, and call someone to help. At least that's the way I'm believing it.

On to Pamplona! Found a hotel without too much trouble and in the parking lot met a guy wearing an Oregon Ducks hat! Small world.

Settled in and then took a walk looking for dinner. The old town seems dirty and a little scary in the dark. Lots of people out, but not many restaurants open. Finally found one that was open and gave it a try. No English but we ended up with great dinners! Charlie had a salad with chicken, a big tortilla-type dish with chicken and veggies and this wonderful, spicy BBQ sauce. My dinner started with paella then very tasty chicken cutlets topped with queso fresco, and frites. We both had some sort of ice cream desserts. Oh, there was a bottle of wine involved...

Tuesday, May 7

After a good night's sleep we went in search of food (again, you say?). Actually found a place that had coffee to go! Drank that while walking around looking like real tourists. After awhile we found a place that had interesting breakfast sandwiches so we stopped there.

Spent a few hours wandering around the old town, visiting churches, the old city wall, and picking up some gifts for Chuck. Managed to work up an appetite and found a bar with all sorts of interesting tapas. The ham was incredible, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with paprika.

Did a bit more walking then headed back to the hotel to relax and figure out the next day's adventure.

Seriously bored (me) so we hopped on a bus and rode it for about 1-1/2 hours, then found a restaurant for a great dinner.

We're Heading South!

Wednesday, May 1

On May 1, 1561, King Charles IX of France received a lily of the valley as a lucky charm. He decided to offer a lily of the valley each year to the ladies of the court. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became custom to give a sprig of lily of the valley, a symbol of springtime, on May 1. The government permits individuals and workers' organisations to sell them tax-free. Nowadays, people may present loved ones either with bunches of lily of the valley or dog rose flowers.

The day is sunny and warm! A good day to travel, but a sad day leaving.

Traveled to Lyon on the back roads, since there were no trucks allowed today. Beautiful rape fields, grave vineyards, etc. quite a bit of rain for awhile and then the sun came back and the weather was wonderful.

No joy Lyon as far as finding our way around. Sort of found the museum that I wanted to see but finding a hotel proved to be impossible. Finally headed away from town and found a Novatel near the autoroute. Perfect! Room, wi-fi, lots of restaurants to choose from. Found an Italian one and it was excellent! Good dinner, good wine, good sleep.

In the morning we took the tram, Metro and bus to the Museum des Canuts where I was able to watch silk weaving on a real Jacquard loom! My weaving friends will appreciate my enjoyment of this. We took the tour which was in French, but the woman translated a lot of it for us. I found that of the 20 or so people on the tour, none were weavers and, in face, pretty much no one in France weaves!

After that, we collected our car and headed south. Charlie decided he wanted to go to Marseilles And look for olive oil soap for Angela. That was almost worse than the time we drove through Genoa, although I never cried this time!

So tired of fighting traffic and not knowing where to go. Finally headed out of town towards the airport. Hotel with very little charm, but a place to park, a bed, food. Gratefully opened a bottle of Hubert's wine! Noisiest hotel I can remember and it was like sleeping in a K-Mart with the blue light on the tv that wouldn't go away!

Friday, May 3

Day starts out sunny and bright. Breakfast at the hotel then on the road. Gave up on finding Angela's olive oil soap...

Drive, drive, drive. Beautiful countryside. We did stop for a picnic in a beautiful spot.

Finally ended up in Banyuls sur Mer, a cute little town on the Med. The water is so blue! Found a little hotel with a tiny balcony where we can see the water.

After a nice nap, we went to dinner, which was good, but nothing to write home about so I won't.

Saturday, May 4

Woke to more sunshine. Found a nice place right on the water for cafe au lait and croissants. A person could get used to this!

Wandered around town enjoying the views and taking lots of photos. Where did the time go? All of a sudden it's time for lunch. A nice salad for me, filled with all sorts of seafood and the plat du jour for Charlie.

Finished lunch just in time to catch the Petite Train that took us on a breathtaking ride up the mountain to view vineyards planted on the sides. Stopped for a tour and tasting at Cellier Des Templiers. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

After that, we went back to our room and opened the bottle of champagne we brought from Barfondarc vineyard. The hotel had kept it in their refrigerator for us and we enjoyed it on the terrace!

Time in Verbiesles

I am giving up on posting photos in the correct position. Just too difficult! so, try to match them with the text.

Sunday April 28

Slept in again. Then we started working on the food for the party. I filled all the escargot shells, Marie sliced the pork.

We went to the garden center to look for a new wheelbarrow but they didn't have any. Everything else is closed so we'll have to try on Tuesday.

Hubert invited us over this evening. What an adorable home he has! Very cozy and comfortable. First we had champagne, then a salad with fois gras and a rose wine. Then he surprised us with paella! After that, cheese, of course and then 4 different pastries and some of his own wine. We left absolutely stuffed.

When we got home, I just crawled up the stairs to bed while Charlie and Marie watched a bit of tv

Monday April 29

A bit of sunshine today! Time to get ready for the soirée!

Everyone started arriving around noon and the champagne started flowing. Two kinds, brut and Demi-sec. Then the pâté and toast with a sweet white wine similar to Sauternes.

Next, the beautiful escargot I helped prepare yesterday. This was accompanied by bread, of course, and Riesling. Lots of lively chatter, mostly in French, but out hostess had made sure we each sat next to someone who spoke English.

The third course was the tender roast pork shoulder with an interesting purée of broccoli, celery, peas and zucchini. There was also a potato similar to our tater tots. With this, a California Zinfandel that Hubert brought over.

Just when I thought I couldn't eat any more, here comes the cheese course with more wine! And then, yes there's more, tart de mirabel that had been baked this morning. Coffee to wash it all down.

Lunch took about 4 hours!

Tuesday, April 30

Woke to rain and the promise of more.

Did the laundry while Charlie did a few honey-do chores for Marie. Danielle picked us up and took us to http://2012.routeduchampagne.com/cave/de-barfontarc to buy champagne. What a surprise to find they had closed for the afternoon ! It's good to go with a VIP because he got us in. We even got a discount on our case of champagne. Demi-sec, our favorite and Marie's too.

We drove through Colombey and would have toured DeGaulle's home, but it was so rainy, we decided against it.

Went back to the Breiton's home where Marie, Monique and Maurice joined us. Claudine prepared wonderful snacks and we enjoyed some champagne of course.

Such wonderful people! It will be hard to leave but I think we're heading for Barcelona tomorrow.

Back to Marie's for leftovers. So sad, escargot, salad, cheese, mirabel tart....