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!
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