Chambres d'Hôtes: Bed & Breakfasts

Astrid and I both decided we did NOT need to go the hotel route on our week's drive through France, therefore, long before we left, we started Googling for B&Bs. It had been years since I'd been to a B&B but I hadn't forgotten how much I love them. It was Astrid's first time.

On our way south from home, driving through Holland 31 miles to the Belgium border and then another 96 miles to the French border (the proximity still blows me away), we knew we would be driving around the Paris perimeter. What we didn't know was that it would take us an hour to drive those 24 miles around the cig bity (at which time I happened to be driving). We'll probably never do that again.

After 425 miles from home, around 5 p.m., we arrived at our first B&B: Le Petit Nançay in Thenioux, France:

This was the first B&B we confirmed for reservation long before we left for France. At least 4 other groups of people were also there at the same time, from England, the Netherlands and France, so we had 3 full tables at breafast time. It was wonderful and we totally recommend the place. The farmstead is from the 1500's, as I recall, and is a work in progress for Michèle and Joél, the proprietors.

Then we were with our Dutch friends, Pim and Lia, for the next 3 nights...our own personal B&B in Montaigu-de-Quercy:

The front of their house is totally shaded and hard to find if you didn't know the exact place to find it. But the back is open to the rolling hills and their own spring-fed swimming pool. It so happened we were there at a very hot time for most of Europe (I'm wearing a sweatshirt right now as I write this), so the swimming hole was a big plus (even if I didn't use it myself). It was here also where we watched Holland beat Uruguay in our semi-final World Cup game. I was wearing my magic orange shirt.

Besides visiting Pim and Lia, our main goal of the week was to vist Mont St. Michel on the north coast (next post). But when we left Montaigu-de-Quercy in the south of France, we knew only that we would take our time to get there and would stop somewhere along the way, hopefully at a B&B that still had room for us. Almost the minute we got in the car to start north, we made the decision to NOT visit Bordeaux like originally planned (last post). A Cig Bity. Suddenly we were not into cig bities. So, going with our mood, we drove through Bergerac, Angoulême and then stopped for 1.5 hrs. in Cognac for a nice break.

Commercial intermission: To be more specific, we stopped in Cognac to buy a bottle of Cognac from Cognac in Cognac. Astrid had special memories of drinking cognac with her father from age 17 till he died 10 years later. This was a holy moment for me because I began to feel how important this was for her. She found the Napoleon brand similar to what her dad always bought. It may take us a year to drink it on only special occasions, but every time, it will be in remembrance of him.

From Cognac we continued north past Niort and Nantes and started looking for unreserved lodging...hotel or B&B, it didn't matter which. We knew we'd find something between Nozay and Chateaubriant, an 18-mile stretch. But little did we expect to find a delightful B&B just outside Nozay...with an available room: Grand Jouan in Nozay, France:

We arrived at 9 p.m. and still hadn't eaten supper. We had bread and cheese and fruit but no wine (cognac, yes, but no wine). We asked Monique if we could buy a bottle from her. YES. (She actually said it was gratis when it came time to pay but we paid, of course.) So we were happy campers, eating outside on the terrace table. When in France.... Later, before going to bed, we saw Pierre watching Spain beat Germany in the World Cup soccer match...determining who would play Holland in the final that next Sunday.

Then Mont St. Michel and our last B&B of the week, reserved for our last two nights: La Crépellière in Le Mesnil-Garnier:

This happens to be owned now by an English couple who met in Hong Kong and then moved to France, married for 7 years. What they have done to this place is beyond incredible and reminded me of sister Nancy who turns anything she touches into gold. One thing they offer is a 4-course evening meal, with a bottle of wine, for €50/couple, which we decided to order for our Last Supper in France before driving home the next day. We were the only guests that night and had our own private dining room. For the price, it was a no-brainer.

From this B&B we were able to drive to Mont St. Michel one day (next post) and to the Normandy coast (Utah Beach) the next day, before ending our week's vacation. It was the cherry on top of the whipped cream on top of the cake!

Enough for now. Little by little, beetje bij beetje, I'm getting through the pictures, loving every memory that passes my eyes. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

[Sad to say, the final game of the World Cup once we got home did not go in Holland's favor, but it was still well worth the ride!]