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!]

She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain

We're back after a week's drive through France...via car, not train...all 1960 miles!
This is a model train (HO scale) from the Dortrecht Steam Festival we attended back in May and is a welcome back from traveling...and my way to also say it's my turn again at Vision and Verb.

My job is now cut out for me...to go through my 1,000 photos and pare them down to half that number and then get them into collages. It was such an incredible experience to see France apart from Paris. It's like seeing Holland apart from Amsterdam. Seeing the real countryside and how the smaller villages look. I can tell you this: there's a huge difference between France and The Netherlands by landscape alone. I didn't expect, for instance, so much stone in the architecture of normal houses. Or so many hills and valleys. You'll see.

What maybe surprised me more than anything, however, is the proximity of France to Holland!

It was 50 km (31 mi) from our house south to the Belgium border, another 154 km (96 mi) through Belgium to the French border, and another 220 km (137 mi) to Paris. Pinch me: that's 424 km (263 mi) or 5.5 hours from our house to Paris! I'm still in shock. It's nothing for people here to drive to Paris for a long weekend! One day...maybe when you come to visit us.


Speaking of driving, that Granny Towanda sure knows what she's doing. Next trip I'll make a point of highlighting her a bit more. She deserves all the attention she can get!
(Top) our first B&B, in Thenioux. (Middle) at a small cemetery. (Bottom) at another cemetery.
(NO. That is not an omen. She is not ready to give up the ghost!)


Just a taste of a few activities in which Astrid is showcased. We saw more sunflowers than you can shake a stick at...raised for it's oil more than for its seeds. Our Dutch friends have their own spring-fed swimming hole, good for skinny-dipping. Yup. The Normandy coast was a must, in honor of those who came before us. And Mont St. Michel....
[Click on any collage and then on an individual image to enlarge.]


This was what we wanted to see more than anything else...and this is the first picture I took from several kilometers away. We arrived at 6:30 p.m., late in the day because we intended to stay till dark for time-lapsed images.


This was the last photo of Mont St. Michel, 11:15 p.m. In between photos, we walked all the way to the Abbey on top.

Next post I'll start being more specific about the entire experience. For now, this is the appetizer. The taste to whet your appetite. Or maybe to whet mine and get me in gear to tackle all my photos this week. I will love it.

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It's summer vacation for school but I am allowed to still go to the Learning Center as long as it's open this coming week...followed by 3 weeks when the school is totally closed, and then another 3 weeks of Learning Center before school is back to full operation at the end of August. It's a 3-day schedule instead of the typical 4 days, but at least it will keep me up on things. I'm committed to maintaining my momentum.

A reminder again that it's my turn at Vision and Verb today.