Travels and Travails

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You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.
 
 Just when we thought spring had arrived again, we were hit with cold weather again. The Jet Stream has moved to North Africa and doesn't seem inclined to reposition itself into its usual place in Europe and so we are subjected to 'below average' temperatures. The UK was hit with terrible snow storms right at lambing time so the poor wee lambs and their mothers had to be rescued from under a 2ft snow blanket and many people were without electricity for a long time. Therefore, must not complain.

In the middle of March we took our first overnight trip since September 2011 (1-1/2 years!!!) up to the Loire Valley. There was an RV for sale near Orléans, which looked interesting on the Internet, however, we couldn't see it until Sunday and since we love that area we left early Saturday morning. We arrived mid morning at Amboise, where we had stayed nearby for one week in 2006 and where Leonardo da Vinci lived his last 3 years at Clos Lucé. The former Royal town was built on the banks of the Loire River and sports its own beautiful chateau. 
It was miserably cold when we arrived so we found a café/pâtisserie and ordered croissants and coffee. We wandered the streets, reminiscing, freezing our buns off.

The restaurants had their outside seating in place but no one was taking them up on it.

         Click: for more about Amboise and its history

 I have brightened up the sky just to add a wee bit of color to such a dull day.

After lunch we drove to our hotel. The Loire Valley is filled with magnificent Chateaux and I had booked a hotel near the most famous one, the magnificent Chateau de Chennonceau which is built over (in) Le Cher rivièr.

Click: Chateau de Chenonceau photos and history

 From our hotel the chateau and its tour bus parking lot were within walking distance and when we arrived in the small town of Chennonceaux we spotted Japanese tourists photo-snapping everything in sight.

Our hotel was small and quaint. We had forgotten the delights and oddities of old European hotels: the small rooms, lots of staircases, the narrow halls with lighting which only turns on when you hit a switch and turns off after a little while, windows that open, the quiet, the ambiance and the friendly staff. This hotel seemed to be operated by  4 or 5 women who did everything efficiently from reception to dining room.
We spent time in the room relaxing and catching up on emails. I had walked down to the chateau which is obscured by a high wall and surrounded by water so I couldn't really see anything other than bus loads of tourists, but I took a couple of photos and then Angus and I strolled into town to look at what other hotels and restaurants had to offer. It is law in France that eating establishments post their menus outside. I think this is brilliant - no surprises. We decided that our own hotel offered the best and also we would not have to brave the cold.

Hotel Le Relais Chenoneaux is a member of "Logis" which is a chain of independently run hotels each one offering something different and usually with very good food. Having purposefully stayed at Logis hotels during vacations, we were again very pleased with our meal and accommodation.
Our waitress answered OK to one of our requests so Brian taught her Okey Dokey! The next morning at check out the desk person confided in Brian that the waitress had taught her to say it too! 
We do try spread culture no matter where we go...
To travel north we took the road which closely follows the River Cher with it's little islands and green fields. There was the occasional small chateau or village on the other bank but primarily it was fields. 

 
We were heading for Orléans where the seventeen year old Jeanne D'Arc (you know, Noah's wife) defeated the English in 1429. We'd like to return, on a sunny day, to explore that historic city and all its splendor.

BANQUE DE FRANCE                       A MAIN STREET AND SUBURBS

We arrived downtown and as it was Sunday the shops were closed but some restaurants were open. I found a Tex-Mex (not common) on the GPS but as usual we couldn't find the destination in real life but did discover a McDonald's like no other McDonald's we have been in (and I have eaten at their head office restaurant in Illinois).

Coffee and pastry were ordered here and brought on china to your table!

If you wanted a meal
then a quick 
way to order was
from the machine.

Touch screen menu, order what want, put your debit card in, get a receipt and Voila! Now that's a meal deal!

After our snack we traveled further north to meet the seller of the RV. We found out that he is a baker hence the 3:30 Sunday afternoon appointment. The RV was OK but not what we were actually looking for. He was disappointed and we were too. So, we decided to travel non stop back home.  Poor wee Angus was a mite bit hungry when we finally arrived having surpassed his 4 o'clock dinner time by 3 hours. Snacks were given along the way, no animals were harmed making this trip.

Our renovations are momentarily stalled. As I mentioned in the last post everything was going well. But, for an unknown reason the contractor failed to complete the work on time, he put his hands to a couple things which did not result in quality workmanship and he was clearly not focused on the project. We had no alternative but to fire him. And here we thought we had done our homework! We have had Ray the Carpenter lay the wooden floor but he will have to wait until Michelle the Painter is finished before completing the closet floor and the other woodwork.  She has to bring the walls up to a paint ready finish first; a time consuming task. So, we still live in a construction zone but at least it is not a room that is in use (yet).

Onwards and upwards, sucess was finally realized on the RV hunting front!
We looked at 100's online and four in the 'metal'. Eventually, we narrowed it down to a certain model and a week later we found one in Bergerac, about 3 hours south of us. The ad was on Leboncoin an online for sale and wanted site. This is predominately used by French people, English speakers mainly use English language sites. We were quite sure after looking at the owner's name that he was French and that verbal communication about the vehicle maybe a bit difficile. Through emails we arranged a meeting.
We had never been to Bergerac, what a lovely town with a big square and two statues of Cyrano de Bergerac subject of the famous play of the same name, though Cyrano never lived there.   
We had a chicken and couscous lunch then drove the 2 minutes to Jean and Martine's house. Their house is right in the city but it was so quiet in their garden. 
What a surprise to learn that Jean had spent a year in California's Silicon Valley. Language problem solved. Martine was patient with me, spoke slowly and with gestures I was able to comprehend her instructions on the interior systems.
We loved the vehicle on sight (I loved it on the Internet and knew it was the one). It is immaculate with everything we could ever need. The deal was made and then we were invited into their beautiful home to sign papers and partake of a glass of champagne. The French - they sure know how to do things in style.
 

We returned in a few days to pick up the RV and Brian drove it home.

 Our first fill up.
 HOW MUCH???
€1.35/litre = US $6.64/US gal.









The following pictures are from the online ad.

            Introducing: Our Boat On Wheels. 

We plan to see much of Europe and Morocco but our first long trip will be to Scotland. 
It is a 2008 McLouis Tandy 673G on a Fiat Ducato, 49,500 kms/30,700 miles. Both bodies are made in Italy and somehow there must be a Scottish connection as another McLouis model is called Nevis. Maybe we'll visit the factory when we are in Italy.
That is most of our news, but not all, for March. Will give the rest in the next blog. 
A bientot! (See you soon).