Dordogne to Normandy

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Another foggy morning, but this time it was misting, too, and cold.  We got things pretty well organized last night, and since we didn’t have to pack or move the kitchen stuff, getting the car loaded was much less of an ordeal than on our previous moves.  We left most of what we bought for cooking, including the little bit of food we had left, behind.  Derek & Pat arrived about 8:30 and helped me get the suitcases in the car.  They have a friend who has some health issues and had mentioned last week that she might benefit from bed lifts like Mom’s.  So, we offered them the bed lifts, which they gratefully accepted.  We need the room to get all of our purchases home.  I plan to jettison a lot more before we get everything all packed.  We have another set of bed lifts at home and for $20 it’s a small sacrifice.

It was a little after 9:00 when we got on the road with Francine on the dashboard.  By the time we got to the Autoroute, about 15 miles, it was raining and it rained off and on most of the way north until we got into Normandy.  The traffic wasn’t bad, though, and there was only one place where there was a back-up.  Unfortunately, it was so foggy that we couldn’t see anything from the highway and I’m sure we were missing some nice scenery. 

We stopped at one of the aires (rest areas) for coffee, and checked out the boutique.  They had polar fleece jackets on “promotion” – buy one for 24.90 euros and get a second one for 14.90 euros.  Did I say it was cold?  Those jackets looked pretty darn warm, so we both bought one.  We had to laugh, though, because it seems like we always end up buying jackets when we travel because we don’t bring anything warm enough.  We figured that this is the fourth time.  We bought sweaters in York (England), jackets in North Conway, New Hampshire, and fleece jackets at the Target in Tumecula, CA when we were there at Thanksgiving and it snowed!  Anyway, those jackets made the rest of the day much warmer.

Traveling north through different regions and departments, it was interesting to see the changes in architecture.  Most of the time we were in farming country and saw a lot of cattle and sheep as well as crops – plowed fields as most crops have already been harvested.  I think one of the things that makes France such an interesting place to travel is the diversity of the landscape from one region to the next.  It’s almost like going through different countries.  Since other countries have laid claim to areas of France at various times throughout history, you can see the influence of those countries.  For example, Germany in the east , Italy in the southeast, Spain in the southwest, and England and Norway in the northwest.

The trip was approximately 370 miles according to Michelin and Francine followed the same route.  We were on the road for about 9 hours, including 3 stops.  It was just  before 6 when we arrived at our hotel in St. Pierre du Vauvray, which is right on the Seine.  The hotel is very charming and the people are so nice.  There is an elevator – a typically French elevator that is probably not even a meter square.  They very kindly let Mom in through the basement, so she could take the elevator from there, avoiding any stairs.  They originally had us in a room on the 3^rd floor, but switched us to one on the 1^st floor (in the US it would be the 2^nd floor).  The new room has a bigger bed (2 twins on the same headboard), and a much larger and nicer bathroom with a separate shower.  We also have a terrace, which is the roof of the porch below us, and have a view of the river from both sides.  We are in the rounded part of the building.  Since there is only 1 flight of stairs, I let Mom use the elevator while I take the stairs.

We had dinner in the hotel dining room and it was excellent.  The décor of the dining room is like an old ship's dining room, or captain’s dining room.  We had a starter course of shrimp and scallops in puff pastry, and Mom had halibut for her main course while I had rack of lamb.  There was a chocolate dessert that defies description.  Suffice it to say, it was so good!

There were 2 families each with 2 little boys, and 2 couples also in the dining rooming.  It was interesting to watch the parents deal with the children.  The dining room has an aquarium with several different varieties of gold fish and that really attracted the boys, who are all French.  Two of the boys are maybe 4 and 6, the other two a few years older.  The younger ones were quite active, but the parents did such a good job of keeping them under control without raising their voices or having to scold them.  They came into the dining room about 30 minutes after we did, and they were still there at 9:30 when we left – pretty late for young children to be up, eating dinner.  The same family had breakfast with us this morning and the kids didn’t seem to have suffered for it.

Languedoc to the Dordogne

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Languedoc to Dordogne

We had the car packed and house closed up by 9:15 this morning, so got an early start.  We drove straight up the A-75 Autoroute through Millau, and over the Millau Viaduct.  Going over that bridge is really exciting.  It’s 2.5 km long  and higher than the Eiffel Tower.  It is the only toll portion of the A-75 and costs 6.20 euros.  Not long after crossing bridge, we left the autoroute and travelled west toward Rodez on D routes, which are maintained by the local department (county).   Most of them are excellent roads and pass through many villages and small towns, giving a much more scenic experience than the autoroutes.

The scenery was so different here than what we had been seeing since we had come to the south of France.  In Provence and Languedoc: grapes, grapes, and more grapes, and some olive trees.  The landscape is very rocky and the hills/mountains are rugged.  Where the land hasn’t been cultivated, there are scrubby oaks and pines.  The buildings are grey stone with red tile roofs, and very square, and even squat.   Some with towers and turrets.  Nearly every village looks closed up – there are stone walls around most houses, and shutters usually cover street-facing windows.  The primary signs of occupations are flowers in window boxes or in pots on the front stoop.

As we drove west through the departments of Aveyron and Lot, the vineyards gave way to pasture land with grazing cattle and sheep.  The fields are separated by rows of shrubs and trees, rather than by stone fences.  The forests are oak and other hardwoods.  The architecture is dramatically different.  The houses are more stand-alone made of honey-colored stone, with steeper roofs – many of them slate.  The houses are not hidden behind walls, and appear to be more open and occupied.  The towns and villages are charming, and we didn’t go very far without some sign of habitation.  A couple of the towns were built of red stone, apparently quarried from the local area.  The road took us through the Lot River Valley, which isn’t as well-known as the Dordogne River Valley, and doesn’t get as many tourists, but is very pretty, just the same.

The scenery on the entire drive was so pretty, and we’re so glad we decided to come the way we did, rather than what might have been a quicker, but less scenic way.  We stopped in Rodez for lunch in a cafeteria, which was really good and inexpensive.

The directions we had for finding the house were very good and we drove right to it.  It isn’t far off the main road into Sarlat, which is about 10 km away.  The house is in a little hamlet of several other houses and farms.  Our neighbors have a productive garden and chickens (I hope they don’t have a rooster that crows early in the morning).  The owner’s caretakers, Pat and Derek, were here to greet us and are a nice British couple who have lived here for 9 years, but don’t speak any French.  He said he lets his credit card speak for him.  The kitchen in this house isn’t as well equipped as our prior houses – the stove is electric, and not many pots & pans, and no dishwasher.  But, there is a clothes dryer, so we’re happy about that!  The owners provided quite a lot in the way of supplies: eggs, milk, juice, ham, bacon, cheese, and a big bowl of fresh fruit – so we didn’t need to shop today, and were able to put together an egg, ham & cheese sandwich for dinner. Once we got here this afternoon, we stayed put.  It was a good 7-hour drive, and I didn’t feel like going out again.  Tomorrow we’ll go exploring. 

Provence to Languedoc

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Last night a little storm blew through – some thunder, but quite a distance away.  There was a brief cloud burst, but not a lot of rain.  This morning there were some dark clouds, but mostly sunny.

Today was moving day.  We got up at 7:00 and after breakfast we finished our packing.  It seems like we have a whole lot more now than we started out with.  Louis & Cathy came at 9:30 as arranged, so we could settle up.  They gave us back our security deposit, which we gave them in cash.  They are such nice people and we enjoyed visiting with them.  Louis speaks good English and Cathy speaks a little English.  I spoke to them in French, supplementing in English as necessary, which was quite often, and Louis translated for Cathy.  I know I didn’t always use the correct tense of verbs, but they seemed to understand me.  And, I think Cathy appreciated my effort.  Louis gave us a tip for a better route to get to Pezenas, which worked out very well, and we were on the road by 10:00. 

We asked Louis about the little snails -- they are not the ones that are eaten here.  Last night as I closed the shutters from inside my room, 2 salamanders fell into the room.  One stayed on the window sill and scurried back outside, but the other fell onto the floor.  I sure didn't want it in bed with me, or deciding to hitch a ride in my suitcase, so I got the broom and swept it out the front door, but not before it lost its tail.  I hope it doesn't have trouble growing a new one.

The drive was easy.  Traffic was pretty heavy, and we had to navigate around Nimes on surface streets to get to the A9 autoroute.  As soon as we got into Languedoc, we were excited to be coming back – we noticed a lot of changes as well as a lot of things that were the same.  The big difference is the foliage – when we arrived in early April 2005, the trees and grape vines hadn’t leafed out yet, and now the grapes are being harvested and some leaves are starting to fall from the trees. 

We stopped on the autoroute for a quick sandwich.  We arrived in Pezanas around 1:30, and the first thing I noticed was a McDonald’s – it wasn’t there 5 years ago!  Saturday is market day, and they were just starting to put things away when we got there, but we were able to get some lettuce, a melon, cauliflower, pears, and some flowers.  We walked down the little pedestrian street to see what had changed.  The little olive shop is still there, but was closed (we were friendly with the woman who runs it & hope she’s still there).  The internet café is gone, but there’s a different one down the way.  The quilt shop is still there as is the pottery shop, but both were closed.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see the shop that sells the Southwestern French decorating fabrics where we bought the material for the tablecloth, napkins, and placemats Mom made.

We found our way to our village with no problem, but the light on the pharmacy was turned off & I missed the turn to our road.  Pharmacies in France all have neon green crosses on them.  We quickly found our way and got to the house.  It hasn’t changed too much.  The owners have put in a new main bathroom, but otherwise the décor and furnishings are about the same.  The pool is uncovered this time, but I don’t think it is heated, so I doubt that we will swim. 

It was quite windy when we arrived this afternoon, and we hope it isn’t the start of  3, 7, or 9 days of winds.  The winds here cycle in 3, 7 or 9 days, but always bring clear skies afterwards.

After we unloaded the car, we headed up the road to the Hyper-U supermarket in a town about 10 km north.  As we learned a week ago, Saturdays are not the day to shop.  It was really busy and the kids were all tired and cranky, as were we.

In France, you have to put a 1 euro coin in a slot to release the lock on the grocery cart (they are all locked together).  When you return the cart, you put the lock back on, and the coin is released, so you can use it next time.  It’s a pretty slick system and keeps the carts from disappearing.  The carts are also corralled under cover, so they stay dry.  Safeway can take a lesson here!

We also bought gas, though I still had half a tank.  Gas can be difficult to get on Sundays if you don’t have the “chip & pin” debit cards, which are used here rather than the strip cards we use.  We were paying 1.11 euros a liter in Provence, and here it is 1.09 euros/liter, which is only 0.10 cents more than we paid at the same gas station in 2005.  So, gas prices here haven't gone up proportionately as much here as in the US.  We’re still paying about $4 + per gallon, though.  These diesel cars get excellent gas mileage.

We had a little problem this afternoon when I was putting the bed lifts under Mom’s bed.  I got 2 of them on, but when I put the one at the head of the bed, the headboard came off the bed frame – not good.  What to do?  The caretaker lives close by, but doesn’t speak English, but I called him anyway, and explained that we had “une petite probleme” relating to “un lit” (bed).  He came right over and fixed it.  A very nice man and the same one who came over when the breaker blew the last time we were here (at least now I know what button to push to reset it).

I couldn’t get connected to the Wi-Fi tonight, so will try again in the morning.

We had ravioli and salad for dinner tonight.  We’re both extremely tired and since tomorrow is Sunday, no alarm clock – we’ll sleep in.  We probably won’t go far tomorrow – might even stay home as we have a pile of laundry to do.

Beaune to Provence

Saturday - 9/18/10

Our second night in Beaune, I parked the car in an open lot down the street from the hotel, not wishing to deal with their tight garage again.  I couldn’t find a pay station, so asked a woman if it was a free lot, and she said yes, so saved us 9.50 Euros.  Another successful conversation in French – well, mostly French – a lot of sign language was used.

There were 2 bus loads staying at the hotel and I couldn’t load up our car until one of the buses left, so after breakfast, we brought our luggage down just after the 1^st bus left, and I went to get the car.  Beaune has a ring road that is one-way counter clock-wise, and because of where I was parked, I had to drive all the way around the town so I could get back to the hotel – only took 10-15 minutes.  As I said before, it isn’t a very big town.   We got the car loaded up and were on our way south on the A6 by 10:00AM.

Originally, I had planned to make a couple of sightseeing stops along the way, but decided I would rather just get going as I was anxious to get to the house and get settled.  I put Francine (our GPS) to work and she did a brilliant job of getting us through Lyon, which is a very large city, and the traffic was very heavy. 

The French autoroute system puts our interstate system to shame.  The road is smooth, well maintained, and clean.  There are rest stops, call “aires” spaced frequently along the highway.   A few are just picnic spots and restrooms, but most of them have a café or restaurant, gift shop, and gas.  Some even have motels.   However, they are toll roads and not cheap.  It cost us 19.60 Euros from Paris to Beaune, and I think a little over 25 Euros from Beaune to Avignon.  They also have whimsical sculptures periodically alongside the highway, and do an excellent job of showing what historical or tourist sight is off the next exit.  We had lunch at one of the aires at – would you believe – McDonalds!  It was jam-packed, too, and we didn’t hear a lot of English being spoken…none that I recall.  They had kiosks where you could order your food and pay by debit or credit card, then just pick it up – pretty slick.  We had grilled chicken sandwiches called “So Grilled” – it was a new recipe, apparently.

When we got to the Avignon exit we were to call the owners of the house we are renting so they could meet us there.  We called from an aire just outside Avignon and spoke with the owner, who speaks pretty good English.  I didn’t have really good instructions to find the house – the best directions were in French – so relied on Francine.  She took us down a one-lane back road and got us to the road the house is on, but we didn’t see the house or anything with the house number on it.  I wasn’t really sure what the house looked like from the front because the pictures I’d seen were all from the back.  We drove up the road again, and I called the owner, but he didn’t pick-up.  There was a man in his yard nearby, so I approached him and asked him for help in French.  I showed him the French directions, but I couldn’t understand what he said in reply, but started out up the road again.  We meandered up a narrow road to an old village, and the owner called – we had to go back, but he would wait for us in front.  We went back to where Francine first led us and started down the road again.  Finally, we saw a man and a dog standing at the foot of a long driveway – it was Louis!  The house isn’t even on the road, but at the top of that long driveway.

When we got up to the house, Louis’ wife Cathy was there, and they showed us the house.  It’s a very spacious house with a large kitchen, large salon (living room) and dining room, 2 bathrooms, and 3 bedrooms.  One bedroom has 2 sets of bunk beds for kids.  One has a queen sized bed and one has 2 twins.   The grounds are nicely kept  - the lavender is done blooming, but there are olives on the several olive trees around the back.  Louis says they harvest the olives in November and take them to a mill.  Last year they got 13 liters of olive oil from their own trees.  The décor inside is very Provence-like:  Bright yellow and orange in the main room, tile floors throughout.  The bedrooms are white and the bathrooms are tiled.  They had the house built for his parents, so it isn’t too old.

Louis & Cathy told us where we could find a grocery store, so after they left, we went to Cavaillon, about 10 KM away to the supermarket – it’s huge – sort of like a Fred Meyer store.  In addition to some food, we had to buy things like dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, TP, paper towels, etc. as these houses are normally rented to Europeans who bring their own from home.  We also bought a couple of bath towels to supplement what are here – we’ll take everything we don’t use with us to the next house.  The supermarket was a madhouse.  I learned that tired kids are the same here as in the US – cranky!

When we got home, I fixed dinner of hamburger steaks,  potatoes, and tomato salad.  We had cassis sorbet (black current) for dessert.

We went to bed early as we were both beat – my light was out by 10.

Paris to Beaune - Day 4

We got up early this morning and were in the lobby to pay our bill and get a taxi by 9:00.  We needed to go to Orly Airport to pick up our car.  I had arranged for a shuttle, but again, they were a no-show.  The hotel called a taxi for us, but none came, so finally I walked a couple of blocks over to the taxi stand and brought one back.  All the way there, I mentally rehearsed what I was going to say to the driver. I still had to wait about 5 minutes for a taxi -- I guess this is pretty typical of Paris in the morning as everyone seems to want to go someplace by taxi.  When the taxi finally pulled up, I said, "Bonjour...I need to go to my hotel for my mother and my luggage, then go to Orly."  I said it all in French & he understood me and there was no problem!  Yea!  When we got to Orly, I needed to call the car company to have them send a shuttle, but I couldn't find the courtesy phone and couldn't get a signal on my cellphone, so I went to the Information Desk and they called the company for me and a few minutes later we were on our way to the car place. 

We got a brand new Peugot 5008 van -- only 8 km on it.  It rides very nicely, but I'm still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles.  Our luggage & Mom's ambulator fit in it just fine. 

I missed one turn trying to get to the Autoroute, but found a gas station and filled up (the tank was empty), and found my way back in the right direction with no further problems.  Once on the Autoroute, no problems.  We stopped for lunch at a rest stop.  It's about 182 miles from Paris to Beaune and we made pretty good time.  When we got off on the Beaune exit, I did have some trouble figuring out where to put the money for the toll as there wasn't an attendant.  American credit cards don't work in those machines because they have magnetic strips rather than chips.  Finally, a voice came over the speaker and we figured it out.  We got to the hotel with no probem, but the parking garage is really tight.  I still haven't gotten a feel for how big the car is and it is bigger than the typical French vehicle, I was afraid I'd get it hung up on a wall or post.  So left it sort of double-parked and went inside.  The desk said they had a nice room, but there were some stairs -- I checked it out: too many stairs for Mom.  They found another room, we got checked in.  The toilet is in a tiny little cabinet parallel to the door, hardly any leg room.  Mom says "this won't work."  I go back to the desk.  They have ONE more room -- "only solution" -- I check it out.  The toilet is still in a tiny little cabinet, but this time it faces the door, so it will be okay -- we just won't shut the door.  I think the woman was getting a little annoyed.  I tried to move the car, but just couldn't get it turned around, so asked if there was someone who could help me.  This garage is like a deadend and there is a post between each parking place.  The hotel manager came went down with me, turned the car around like a pro, then moved his car which was in a much bigger space, so I could back into his space!  What a nice guy!  Tomorrow, I am going to park in an open lot down the street!

Later in the afternoon, I went out to scout around and walked down into the center of Beaune -- not too far, actually, but quite a walk for Mom.  There's a really nice restaurant just down the street, but when I checked at the hotel desk, I learned they were booked solid (it's a Rick Steves' recommendation, too).  I didn't want to take the car out & I knew Mom couldn't walk too far, but we found a nice place, Le Grand Bleu, and had one of the best dinners we've had on the trip.  Escargo, beef steak (from one of the Charolet (sp) cattle we saw on the drive down), wine, and dessert.  It was after 9:30 when we left the restaurant.  We're finally getting the hang of eating dinner in France.

Well, now I'm all caught up on my postings and it's 11:30 & time to head for bed.

All for now.  Take care.